Hello,

I saw this advertised on Ebay and wondered if anyone had tried one or had any experience with one of these units ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ES1089EN-7-HD-Car-DVD-Player-Sat-Nav-iPod-TV-Radio-WiFi-3G-SKODA-OCTAVIA-2012-/321031645551?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item4abefa296f

Any tips or user info very much appreciated. Thanks

Rod

Look OK, might be worth asking if you will need a different fascia surround, it may be slightly different to the Bolero

Ian

I bought a more basic model Erisin ES 786 EN at the start of the year , worked well for 3 months and then failed.Sent it back for repair at cost £60 , they offered a replacement , did not really want it , after a bit decided to try again so agreed to a new replacement , that cost £40 and took ages to sort. I have it still in the box and have not bothered to install it again. You might have better luck and a better model. Personally i will not do it again. Will try the replacement model perhaps !

I now use my trusty single din , bluetooth enable sony head unit and my HTC sensation xe for the sat nav. Even though the sony is a couple of years old , it still sounded head and shoulder above the Erisin. They are what they are..... cheap! so might get a good one or one like mine. Some people have had good results , mine are very mixed. Would advise if you do try and it fails don't waste you time and money sending it back , they did not even tick replacement item on the return invoice , so customs want their money and you will also pay for customs on arrival the first time too. I wish you better luck than mine.

Edited 29 November, 201213 yr by Im gouki

Looks like its very very well specced, but id be wary as its so cheap :wonder:

i bought a VERY SIMILAR model 2nd hand from a member on here, installed it and everything worked ok....

except the BT connection was horrendous and the amplifier was so awful it sounded like the speakers had blown, it didn't even last a week in the car before it went on ebay at £100 loss.

I broke my own golden rule......, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!! spend a bit extra and get a Kenwood/Pioneer/Columbus!

Thanks for your input guys. Looks like it's best left in Hong Kong.

I have just had my second factory fitted Columbus fitted and so far as I have tested it, it has the same faults as the original. Appears to be poor ( cheap Indian possibly ) software. My old one had S/W version 4024 replacement has Version 4120. Old Map Version was 7690 replacement is 7333. Have no idea of the significance of this, nor does the Skoda agent.

I can tell you now that 7333 is not the replacement for 7690

what faults have you got

Columbus is a great unit, just fitted a new one to my car

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/256436-eddie-nls-octavia-vrs-estate-170cr/

Had the VW versions before, you can't beat it

What are the issues you are having with the unit ?

What haven't I had wrong with the Columbus;

The MP3 player does not mix the tracks, just plays the same album continuously.

I've had the map picture scroll off the screen whilst in western Europe.

The message, "no known route for that destination " when driving from Germany to Dunkerque.

There are two speech files, the one that says the route town is clipped and the recorded voice does not seem to be able to speak English so Southampton comes out as " outhampton" in a low throaty sort of voice, which is often hard to understand, especially with European names that one is not famiier with.

The voice command says turn left when the map route shows ( and I know ) the route to be turning right, this always happens on the M271 by Southampton.

The "Fastest Route" only routes via Motorways not necessarily the fastest route, the "Most Economical" is much better, I was advised to only use this option when I first had the car.

One of the most frustrating things is the In sensitivity of the touch screen, one has to keep tapping it to get a response, I think the new one is worse than the original. This could be seen as a safety issue as it is very distracting to keep trying to enter or operate the unit.

The "dymanic routing" option kept switching itself on when I set it off.

There's more but I can't put them all down now.

The unit is just a poor piece of kit. I will admit that I have not yet had time to check the replacement unit out fully, but I demonstrated the MP3 failure to the garage when I collected the car with the replacement unit.

It is a shame as the rest of the car is excellent, and I am very pleased with it.

I have had factory fitted Sat Nav in my 3 previous cars ( Not Skoda"s) and they have always been perfect. Before that a Garmin with a lap top on the passenger seat, never known one to be as bad as this.

Thanks for your input.. it is appreciated.

Edited 30 November, 201213 yr by WPANDYR

Sounds like firmware and mapping issues. I currently have the Columbus in my vrs and never had any issues other than when my roof mounted Ariel failed. My brother has one in his vrs too also works as it should. We are both running version 9 maps and so far the navigation has been faultless and our mp3's mix as they should the screens could do with being a bit more sensitive though although I believe this is cured with newer firmware which I will have to update on mine. I thought the skoda firmware always ends in a 4 not a 0 going by the other posts regarding updating it. Good luck in getting it sorted. I would be asking for a brand new unit though with those issues

Wood Butcher, thanks for the info, but how does one tell if Map Version 9 is installed when the Version number listed in the set up is 7333 ?

Yesterday I tried some more testing and found that I have no "POI" it is greyed out. But at least the bluetooth phone seems to be working perfectly.

As a mentioned above this is the second "new" Columbus unit to be installed in my June 2012 VRS. A friend in Germany is on his third unit and the Skoda technician there said that one can be lucky and get a good one but that there are a lot of Bad ones also.

One of the problems they mentioned was that the roof aerial, that is used for radio/phone and GPS is frequently not sealed correctly, this then gets corrosion in the connection terminals causing noise and spurious signal.

It seems a great shame that a car such as the VRS is excellent in respect of engine, ( performance, economy, ) interior space, comfort and load capacity, is let down by what appears to be a total lack of quality control regarding the Columbus units.

From memory version 9 is version number 7920 I'll check later though.

There would be a fault stored if there was a fault with the antenna

I think 7333 is map version 7.2

version 8 = 7690

version 9 = 7920 i think

Map version 9 has the code 7918 or if you get one with speed camera POI's on then that will be 7920.

I regularly go from Dorset to Havant on the M27 and agree that Southampton sounds different, Brighton sounds like she is saying Bri-ah-ton.

She will say turn left onto the M271 as that is what you have to do to leave the motorway then you go bend round to the right onto the M271.

The HDD will only mix the tracks in the same album, not others, I think there is a trick you can put in where you put a single track in the root folder, then tell it to mix and it will go through all the tracks. The fastest route will usually be on a motorway as it takes into account the roads and speed limits. I also find that there is a delay between pushing on the screen and actually something happening.

I have heard somewhere that one of the lads on here put 4024 firmware in his Columbus and that reduced the functionality of it, he then went back to 3914 I believe and that improved things, may be that is an option for you.

Ian

Thanks for your input guys, I will ask Skoda about V9 when they call me next week.

My original unit was better with 4024 than the current one with 4120..

HI Guys,

Can someone please confirm that there is indeed a Version 9 ( version number 7920 ) Map set, for the Columbus unit, My Skoda dealer thinks the latest available is V8 ?

Thanks

HI Guys,

Can someone please confirm that there is indeed a Version 9 ( version number 7920 ) Map set, for the Columbus unit, My Skoda dealer thinks the latest available is V8 ?

Thanks

yes there is a version 9 map set available, im currently running version 9 on my columbus

Thank you for the confirmation.. do you happen to know the part number or reference number for Skoda to order ?

Edited 18 December, 201213 yr by WPANDYR

V9 I believe is out with VW. It is the same mapping as used by Skoda, but Skoda seem to be about a year behind VW in rolling out the map updates. v8 has only just recently been available from Skoda.. as I understand it.

Thanks, for the additional helpful info.

Latest from Skoda is that they are thinking of installing a Kenwood

DNX-520VBT if they find it is compatible with my VRS.

Latest fault on my Columbus.

This morning I went to Romsey and came back straight down the main road to Totton, the sat nav thought I was miles away going across fields etc. I left it running when I got home and took some pictures in the car to show the error. this was just unbelievable.

See this;

https://picasaweb.go...286880229007474

If you look at the picture the road from Romsey to Totton is quite clear, The sat nav thought I was way over to the left of that road as one looks at the picture.

Edited 6 January, 201313 yr by WPANDYR

Sounds like a faulty gps antenna. I had a fault similar to that when my Ariel failed got it replaced under warranty.

Allan1888, Thanks for your input, yes my Skoda dealer thinks it is the aerial that is now at fault, but can you please advise where one gets Map version 9, ( 7920 ) as my dealer says there is no such level available ?

Thanks.

i installed a genuine v9 map on my units 7918

There are 2 version 9 maps available 7918 & 7920 the only difference is 7920 has speed camera information not sure about 7918. Skoda may be unable to get v9 at the moment as vw get it first. But it's the same disc. I'll have a look for a part number