CJJE

Had an interesting experience last night... Just before 10 pm the My Skoda app on my phone reported that my anti-theft alarm had been triggered, so I went to have a look at my Karoq which was parked on my drive as usual. Sure enough the indicators were flashing, but there was no-one about and the external lights on my house hadn't been triggered (normally they will come on whenever a neighbouring cat walks past!). So I unlocked and relocked the car to clear the alarm. A few minutes later the app told me the alarm had been triggered again, so I went outside to check, but again there was no-one around. I opened and closed the doors, checked the windows were closed and relocked the car. But as I was about to return to the house the alarm went off again! By this time I was wondering if it was being triggered by a spider inside the car, so I sat in it to have a look, and found a large moth with a very chunky body fluttering around. I opened the doors to let it out, relocked the car and problem solved as I've had no more alarms since. But... 1) I hadn't been in the car since last Thursday (4 days ago) so where had the moth been? Had it pupated inside the car somewhere? Or had it somehow entered via the ventilation system? 2) The Remote Access part of the My Skoda app seems to work very well as each time the car alarm was triggered I got a warning on my phone from the app, and also an email! Chris

I suspect the 4x4 kicks in more often than I'd expected. After driving FWD cars for many years I've become accustomed to swapping wheels around at 10,000 miles or so to equalise wear. (I prefer to change them all at the same time so I can switch all 4 wheels to a new make or to all-season.) But when I measured my tread depth at 7000 miles all 4 wheels were much the same! I'm thinking that on FWD cars the front tyres wear down more under acceleration, but on a Haldex car the rear wheels are helping out so the tyre wear is equalised? Chris

If its in the ACC menu then I suspect it only affects the acceleration when the cruise control regains your set speed. I'm surprised to see a Comfort setting though, as in my car (with the optional Dynamic Chassis Control) Comfort mode alters the damper settings rather than the engine. Chris

After January 2017 a new aircon gas HFO-1234yf had to be used in cars (to reduce hydrocarbon pollutants). Perhaps this also has reduced the efficiency of the aircon units? Chris

My MPG (measured by filling the tank each time and calculating the litres added and miles driven) is around 42mpg for long motorway journeys at 70mph, and 35mpg for short shopping runs. I've done 7000 miles so far and it still gradually improving, so yours could be better - and of course driving styles can affect this greatly. I use Eco mode occasionally, snicking into Sport mode for fast overtaking when needed, but haven't noticed any reliable difference in economy. I suspect Drive mode with a sensitive foot on the throttle is just as good. I used E5 petrol at first, but changed to E10 when the prices escalated, and haven't noticed any difference in MPG. Chris

Very true... I'd missed the point that Elson had a 2019 car. As you say the new KESSY key was fitted to MY20 cars (which have 'L' as the10th character in the VIN). Chris

You can turn off the KESSY receiver in the car each time you lock it by pressing the lock button on the key and then touching the outer dimple. I do it whenever I'm parking up overnight or in dodgy areas. This is really belt and braces though as the key turns off its KESSY transmitter after being motionless for 5 minutes. I also turned off the Soundaktor noise generator which makes a fake engine noise in some driving modes. You can do this in the settings for the Individual mode, but I did it permanently with OBD11. Check that the last owner's ID has been deleted from the car settings, and set yourself up as the new owner. Check the engine cover is firmly fixed in place. There was a VAG-wide recall recently for cars fitted with the 2.0TSI engine as the cover could move under harsh acceleration into a hot area and catch fire. The Karoq wasn't included in the cars listed, so it could be that the engine compartment is sufficiently different that it's not affected, but I check mine every now and again anyway. (The recall was to simply remove the engine cover for the time being until they can supply a safe replacement.) Enjoy it... but not too much with the price of petrol at the moment! Chris

Assuming it's the same as my MY21 Karoq, it needs the ignition on, and the car stationary (I think). So each time you stop at a traffic light or junction a bit more gets downloaded and installed. It continues where it left off each time you turn the ignition off and on again so once you've told it to go ahead you just let it do its thing. Chris

From the April 2022 brochure I think that the SE Drive and SE L trims have halogen headlights as standard (with the SE L having LED running lights). The LED Matrix lights are standard on the Sportline and optional for the SE L (the 'ordinary' LED headlights fitted as standard or optionally to pre-facelift cars don't seem to be offered any more.) Chris

I also like analogue watches, but love the flexibility in my digital instrument panel. You can still set it up to display the traditional round instruments, but choose the info to display inside the dials and between the dials. (I have the average fuel consumption and driving range, with the map between the dials. The dials themselves also display the speed you've set on the cruise control/speed limiter, and the actual speed limit. Chris

When I bought my 2.0TSI I thought I'd treat it by using E5, but with the recent price increases I've decided to save money by using E10 instead. (For me that's about £1.93 per litre instead of £2.00.) I record my fuel consumption each time I refill and can't see any difference in fuel economy, or if there is it's been masked by the difference in the trips I'm making. Chris

I really like mine, but added several options that are no longer available - like the 360 degree camera - that I find invaluable. And the bundling of options is annoying as I love the heated windscreen but wouldn't have to buy heated rear seats as well to get it. I rarely have people in the back of my car, and anyone using car seats for children would find it pointless as well. But that's the way it's going. Apparently Renault are now offering a fast track manufacture and delivery if you agree to a severely limited choice of options - even down to a choice of white, black or grey as a colour!! Chris

I'd believe Skoda UK's press release and June brochure over AutoExpress. And the press release tells you what has been added - like the 8 inch digital display being standard and the new options/ Chris

It's still shown as an option in the June 22 brochure.

Skoda have announced the MY23 changes for the Karoq at https://skodamedia.com/en-gb/releases/1339 The changes seem to be minor, but with some assist systems returning (despite Skoda saying they are there for the first time? I take this to be acknowledging that they were removed when the facelift was launched due to chip shortages.) Also, the Sportline now has 19 inch wheels as standard again (with a corresponding jump in price according to the latest price brochure. I'd advise anyone with a car on order to check out the changes and see if you need to amend the spec of your new car. Chris

Or if you just want to plug a USB memory stick in, I use these which also fit under the sliding cover: Integral 128GB Fusion Dual USB-C & USB 3.1 Flash Drive - 200MB/s £19.99 - Free Delivery | MyMemory Chris

I was checking my Skoda Connect licences on their website recently and noticed that I was being offered a 30+% discount to renew them (Remote Access for £36 and Infotainment Online for £44). I don't know if that's a 'summer sale' and everyone will see the same discounted price, or if it's connected to the fact my current licences will expire in 4 months' time, but it seemed a good deal to me and so I've renewed them. (You don't lose out of course as my previous expiry dates of November 2022 have now been extended to November 2023.) Anyone else who has (reluctantly) accepted the benefit of buying these services on an annual licence might find it useful to check their Skoda Connect webpage and see if they've got the same offer. Chris

Anyone waiting for a new Sportline might like to know that the UK June 22 brochure shows a price increase of around £500 for it as a consequence of it now coming on 19" wheels again instead of the 18" fitted previously. Depending on how long it takes for your car to actually be delivered, this might yet change again of course! There are also a couple of new optional packages that you may like to look at to see if you want them added to your order. - The Safety Package adds curtain airbags and crew protect for £480 - The Travel Assist Package Plus adds Blind Spot Assist to the Travel Assist Package for an extra £545. Chris

The Karoq was not included in that recall in the end (which only affected cars with the 2.0TSI engine), but it is interesting that engine covers are not being fitted to the facelifted cars. I'm checking mine to ensure it is not loose, but so far have not found any problems with it. Chris

OK, my Karoq has LED lights and a setting in the menus that alters the dip beam when driving in Europe, But it doesn't claim to do this automatically (although when I first had the car it twice changed the beam setting for me when driving in Stafford! However this fault seems to have been cured by software update.) I don't know the details for all Skoda models, but cars without LED headlights generally have to use stick-on beam deflectors as they do not have a menu setting to adjust the lights. Does your Scala have LED headlights or tungsten? What does your owner's manual say about adjusting the headlight beam? Chris

Not sure why you're linking Travel Mode with driving on the right... but my UK spec Karoq has Travel Mode, activated by a button on the steering wheel. It may have been provided as part of the Driver Assist option, but in practice doesn't seem to do much more than activate the Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Assist. I've only use it once in a year and a half, while driving down the M74/A74/M6 with little other traffic around. Now whether you could have it on your car by modifying the car's software is another story - but if you don't have the button on your steering wheel I'm not at all sure how you could turn it on and off quickly. Chris

Are you in the UK? The MIB3 maps update over air when you visit a region where they are out of date. But it could well be that a UK car is only supplied with European maps. Although the update portal shows updated maps, which are said to be installed via the USB-C port, in practice many of us have found this procedure does not work. There are several threads discussing this, and it would seem that a successful installation depends on the car's software version and where it was sold (Russian cars for example do not have over air updates and so have the manual install system enabled. Chris

I haven't used Skoda, but understand they are quite similar to Thule so should perform just as well. But the thing I love about Thule is their flexibility over time. I have use them for years with all my previous cars since the 1990s and just transferred them from car to car by changing the feet. You can also get matching key locks for the feet, bike carriers etc so 1 key locks/unlocks everything. For me, this advantage makes up for the initial cost. Chris

Some clarification on the original question in this thread. There are two versions of Android Auto - and it is Android Auto for Phone Screens that is being replaced by Android Driving Mode. This is the one that uses your phone screen as a display while you're driving. Apparently the version that uses your car's infotainment screen is NOT being discontinued. More details at Android Auto is not going away - Market for Phones (ma4p.com) Chris

I don't use it but understand Google are replacing it with 'Driving Assistant' which seems to be built in to the Android System. More details here: Google Is About to Stop You Using Android Auto on Your Phone (makeuseof.com) Chris