Ok so let me start this off by making clear that this is just conjecture but it's backed up by some pretty solid circumstantial evidence.

I've had an ongoing problem with my adaptive cruise control intermittently failing (comes up with ACC / front assist not available. This has been going on since February. I'll spare you the whole story but it's involved no less that 8 trips into the shop, some of the most incompetent and downright lazy work from a dealer's service department and the problem still isn't sorted. I've finally gotten them to replace the radar unit at the front of my car but this took a tremendous amount of pressure from myself. The main reason the dealer didn't want to do this was that they didn't have the tools necessary to calibrate the radar again once it had been replaced.

The dealer at one point told me that we need to swap the radar but they couldn't calibrate it so they couldn't do anything more and I'd have to sort out a solution myself. Suffice it to say, that response resulted in a call to Skoda CS who coordinated a trip for the car from the repairing dealer to a VW dealer who had the equipment to calibrate the radar.

The dealer told me that the necessary equipment cost circa £15k and, as dealers, weren't required by Skoda UK to have this piece of equipment. Furthermore, there is a service where dealers can hire out equipment from Skoda that they may need occasionally but aren't required to buy and this calibration tool isn't offered on the hire scheme so they are completely incapable of calibrating or servicing anything to do with the adaptive cruise / front assist module.

What got me thinking was that in another thread involving windscreen replacement on this forum, I read that the poster had a world of trouble with their lane assist camera after the glass was replaced and that the dealer couldn't sort it themselves, requiring a trip to an Audi dealer to have it re calibrated.

My theory is that Skoda UK simply aren't geared up operationally to support these components when problems arise. The dealers aren't contractually obliged to own the tools to service them and, I imagine, telling them that they need to buy £15k of tools to support these functions went over like a lead balloon. I think that, instead of properly supporting the feature, they just don't offer it here in the uk anymore to avoid the issue.

I understand your pain, but if it is easily rectified by visiting a VW or Audi dealer, & Skoda are happy to pay them for the service then it's not that much of an issue

Sounds more like a downright lazy dealer to me. They had better get used to the new MQB platform as the Fabia III and Superb III are on the horizon which will utilise the same technology.

Given that a lot of dealers sell multiple brands it seems a little odd. My local Skoda dealer sells and services 7 different brands.

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It does seem this particular dealer at least, wasn't aware that there was a system in place where they could go to another VW groups dealer to make use of certain bits of expensive kit. I think its good practice to at least share expensive kit within the same group, after all, Audi,VW,Seat & Skoda all contain the same basic components. But this dealer SHOULD have known this, or enquired. It's called thinking, and they obviously didn't.

My local dealers service department swore blind that there was no issue with the mk60 teves esp unit and denied that VAG have a repair kit. Until the parts bloke showed them it on ETKA...

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I had the chance my Skoda dealer is also a VW dealer and had the equipment, here in Belgium the G7 has standard the ACC from the comfortline level, so the VW dealers need the radar calibrate equipment as many cars have this option. 

After having the headlight ECU replaced due to a now common fault, the technician managed to upset the setting on the lane assist camera. After 3 visits they finally gave in and took the car to the local Audi garage for calibration. Same story as the OP, that the garage didn't own the calibration board and had no intention of buying it.

Edited 31 August, 201411 yr by Symac

Sounds more like a downright lazy dealer to me. They had better get used to the new MQB platform as the Fabia III and Superb III are on the horizon which will utilise the same technology.

Off topic, but the new Fabia isn't based on the MQB platform according to most reports so far

No, it isn't based on the MQB but is borrowing technology from the MQB platform isn't it?

 I think that, instead of properly supporting the feature, they just don't offer it here in the uk anymore to avoid the issue.

But it is offered in the UK on the L&K as standard equipment.