Hello all,

It's coming close to me changing my trusty MKI for a used MKII CR170 Elegance. I'm budgeting for a 2010 model with full history etc. I just have a question about the Columbus units. Were they upgraded or changed at any stage since 2008 to prevent failure? Any other relevant info on buying the car would be greatly appreciated ..

Many thanks,

Rob

The Columbus in my Car is the only thing I have a gripe with. My car is a 2013 greenline. If I had paid extra for it I would be complaining and trying to get my money back.

Just by way of `balance`, I have had mine for more than 10 months now (also a 2013 MY) and have had no problems with it at all.

Back to the OP's question: they were upgraded in about 2009/10 to have LED as opposed to LCD screens.

AFAIK that's the only big difference.

There have been changes in manufacturer along the way, but there don't appear to have been any significant problems associated with any in particular.

There are very early 1Z0 ones (for Octavia) which were superseded by 3T0 ones (for Superb). Would probably leave the 1Z0 ones alone in your situation.

My 3T0 was broken when I bought the car (10 plate), but I bought a replacement for £400 and sold the old one for £150, so it's wasn't that big a deal. (In hindsight, I think I could have spent less by getting the old one repaired, but it depends how badly bricked it is, of course. Mine just wouldn't get past the splash screen, which seems to be a common, and fixable, problem.) I'd regard it as a small annoyance in a great car.

Once I`d worked it out and found my way around everything it can do over and above my Honda Accord satnav I`ve had no problems with it and love it. Mines in a 2010 Elegance

Thanks for all the replies lads ...

Just in relation to Devon Wanderer's note that he paid £400 for a replacement unit, that seems a lot less than I've been seeing around the net, i.e: £2,500 from Skoda. Is £400 for a used unit?

Thanks to all,

Rob

Thanks for all the replies lads ...

Just in relation to Devon Wanderer's note that he paid £400 for a replacement unit, that seems a lot less than I've been seeing around the net, i.e: £2,500 from Skoda. Is £400 for a used unit?

Plenty around that figure on eBay. You takes your chances there, of course, but you can buy quite a few before you get to Skoda's price! I believe there are alternative models too. But forums are like the news: informative, though you tend to hear more about the bad stuff. Columbus units are clearly prone to problems, but I wonder just what percentage of owners experience them.

Thanks Devon Wanderer,

I have seen them on Ebay etc for around the £400 mark alright but as you say you take your chances. I'm also wondering how many owners have had problems with them. There does seem to be a common enough issue with Firmware and the upgrade available from Skoda is a cure. Others seem to have more 'fatal' hard drive issues, thats the real worry in my book.

Thanks again,

Rob

My was from eBay 3 years ago. Absolutely no problems with it.

It's not perfect, but neither are Tom Tom's, etc. IMO.

Hard drives can be replaced / upgraded by anyone with basic skills with a screwdriver, a careful and logical attitude and a but if time. There is a photo tutorial in the net about upgrading an RNS-510 (VW version if same thing) to an SSD.

Thanks KBPhoto,

It's good to know you have a working unit from Ebay. An SDD upgrade would make sense too, much faster, low heat / noise etc ...

Thanks for the info,

Rob

Mine 3T0035680C has 40Gb HDD, not 30. Unfortunately, firmware of my "C" version (now 4024) can not be upgraded to current 5238 (should be "K" or "L"; I may be wrong though). Current maps are v9 (7918 West Europe, 7919 East Europe).

Does any body have a clue what difference ("what's new") is between 3T0035686K and 3T0035686C? VW seem to keep secret when upgrading hardware.

And one more thing: internal HDD, according to Hitachi's specs, has -30C to +85C operating temperature (http://www.hgst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/32D4D06707C79C608625758A002AFD9A/$file/Endurastar_J4K100_N4K100.pdf) - one'd better choose match when replacing it with SSD.

Ste2000,

What year is your Superb?

My Superb is just over 1 year old and the Columbus has stopped working twice for no reason. I hope that it is going to be more reliable than the unit in my wife's Octy (3rd replacement ) and my previous Superb which was on its second unit. I reckon that Skoda should issue a recall on the Columbus since it is a great unit to use (nice and simple) but reliability is rubbish!!

Ste2000, What year is your Superb?

Robbo Cop, my Superb (2010, 2011MY) came with Bolero, not Columbus. Just made an upgrade a month ago.

Looks like I was wrong: 3T0035680C is delivery part number meaning (as I now presume after consulting multiple i-net sources) SW+HW combination. Hope this gives a chance to upgrade firmware: if one is lucky enough, some localized (non-English) route guidance might become more human speech .