Superb hatch, 2.0 TDI (190KS), 4x4, DSG, 12000km

 

Driving mode & DCC– annoying – Forget about a quick change to the mode you need. Let’s say you are in Sport and want to go back to Normal. First look down by the gearshift to find the Mode button, press it to get the display up, then either press the Mode button five times or find Normal mode on the display and press on it. Very distracting. There should be a quick way to go back to Normal mode like hold down the Mode button for a couple seconds.

 

If it's anything like the O3 you can just pull down on the DSG lever when in D and that switches between Sport and Drive gearbox modes.

I am totally confused by Front Assist.

If I have ACC on then the car automatically slows down or brakes as required.

If I have ACC off but Front Assist on then I get the maxidot display showing the car in front but there is never any sign of braking if I get dangerously close and although I have in the past seen a symbol showing 2 cars about to bump I no longer seem to get this.

I'm not sure whether I am misinterpreting what Front Assist does or there is something wrong with my particular car.

ACC and Front Assist should be regarded as two different systems, despite the fact they use the same radar. 

 

Front Assist is a safety system that is constantly on unless physically deactivated via the car's settings. The radar in the grille is constantly scanning ahead for obstacles in readiness to take action through audible and/or haptic warnings (a jolt of the brakes) or actual braking to mitigate or prevent a frontal collision. 

 

If you approach a car in front (on the motorway for example) and the system deems it to be too close, the 2 car warning appears at the bottom of the display. Basically, you need to be VERY close for Front Assist to take action. There are also other factors such as your speed and the relative speed of the vehicle in front that are taken into account.

 

ACC and Front Assist should be regarded as two different systems, despite the fact they use the same radar. 

 

Front Assist is a safety system that is constantly on unless physically deactivated via the car's settings. The radar in the grille is constantly scanning ahead for obstacles in readiness to take action through audible and/or haptic warnings (a jolt of the brakes) or actual braking to mitigate or prevent a frontal collision. 

 

If you approach a car in front (on the motorway for example) and the system deems it to be too close, the 2 car warning appears at the bottom of the display. Basically, you need to be VERY close for Front Assist to take action. There are also other factors such as your speed and the relative speed of the vehicle in front that are taken into account.

 

Thanks for that. Maybe it isn't something one should try out by getting so close that the brakes are applied.

Yes it would... However the virtual pedal is removed on factory fitted towbars, so if it's that which is at fault... Problem solved.

Is it?

I have factory fitted towbar and virtual pedal.

Edit: Sorry, didn't realise I wasn't at the end of thread. Don't know how to delete comment.

Edited 21 March, 201610 yr by laaban

Thanks for that. Maybe it isn't something one should try out by getting so close that the brakes are applied.

Indeed. I think it's more of a last ditch sort of thing. Even Audi drivers don't get that close......or do they? 

 

IIRC you can turn off the nagging 2 car warning you get from being apparently too close to the car in front. 

 

The boot – intermittent – With hands full, Kessy in pocket, wave the foot under the boot, lid does not open.

When you say wave your foot are you going from side to side? it should be a kicking action (front to rear)

 

 

The boot – constant – The boot switch by the gearshift lever opens the lid but does not close the lid. Taxi drivers must love that. It can be reset through VCDS but my dealer says it can’t be done.

VCDS cannot (yet?) close the tailgate from the inside button

 

Start/Stop – I wish I could turn if off permanently.

You can with VCDS

 

Cruise control – annoying – The on/off/reset button is tough to operate. To deactivate CCS (provided you don’t want to use the brake) you have to reach for the turn signal stalk, locate the tiny button at the top and push it lightly to the right. If you don’t support the stalk from the bottom with your thumb you will turn on the left turn signal. If you press the button just a little too hard you’ll turn off the system completely and have to set it up again.

I assume you do not have ACC? as that is on a separate stalk below the indicator stalk

 

Radio – annoying – When you are in Navigation mode (or any other mode other than Radio) and when changing stations through steering wheel buttons, there is no indication what station you’ve changed to. The new station should flash up on the screen for a few seconds to see if that’s the one you want.

You can have the radio info on the screen with the map showing, look in the handbook

 

On the boot opening, yes I wave my foot back to front and most of the time it works fine but somehow it seems to know when I am carrying something heavy and then it fails to open.

 

On closing the boot from the inside, I saw these instructions for VCDS, maybe someone could verify if they really work: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/270136-superb-combi-electric-rear-door-closing-from-inside-the-cabin/

 

On cruise control, you are correct I don't have ACC.

 

On the radio, I took a quick look in the manual and didn't see anything, I'll have to spend more time on it, Thanks.

You can control the start/stop by the amount of pressure you apply to the pedal, if you only lightly press it will not cut in, this works when you are slowly moving in traffic and you do not want it to keep cutting in and out, a harder press will turn it on when you want.

 

I have noticed that my rear discs are also starting to groove at only 2500 miles, the fronts are ok.

 

Washers are useless.

Had my first service yesterday and brought the brakes to their attention. As I suspected, they said that six months have passed and they are not covered by warranty but that they are within the wear limits. So I said to the mechanic that if all four disks were scored I could be blamed because of my driving style, but you can see your face in the front disks and the backs are all scored, there must be something wrong back there. He just shrugged his shoulders. I guess that's today's mechanics, they have no problem charging you 180 Euros for 5 liters of oil and an oil filter but when it comes to diagnosing something, you can forget about it.

 

So I did some tests of my own, digital thermometer in hand I went out on the auto-route. I tried this several times, after driving a while, without using brakes, I slowed down by downshifting, stopped and quickly measured the disk temps; fronts read between 18-22 C and the backs were between 65-72 C. So it is clear to me that the back gizmos that work the rear brakes are not completely releasing the calipers. I would be interested in your experience going forth.

Those VCDS codes are for the MK2 Superb, currently there is no such coding for the MK3.

I would redo your tests (include cold temperatures) and video it all for Škoda to view, if needs be repeating it with one of their master techs in the car.

Just had another look at my rear discs and they do have a blue tinge to them as if they have overheated, as you say the fronts look like new.

Those VCDS codes are for the MK2 Superb, currently there is no such coding for the MK3.

I would redo your tests (include cold temperatures) and video it all for Škoda to view, if needs be repeating it with one of their master techs in the car.

Thanks for the VCDS info.

 

I could redo the brake tests as you say but it would be to no avail. You see, things work differently here in Croatia. There is a single VW dealer in my city, the next closest one is 180 km away in the capital. This is the case where the dealer is always right and they can do whatever they want because they know that I have no alternative. I had multiple issues (A/C rear cools front not, front assist inoperative, passenger belt no warning, bi-Xenon left beam, rear brakes wear, boot opening for no reason) and to this date they have not repaired one. Oh yes, they did change the oil and filter for 180 Euros. They did have the car for a week but each day I drove by there I could see it parked outside in the same place. As you can see my hands are tied and I am left to my own devices. Thankfully I was a mechanic for many years so I'll have to start getting my hands dirty.

IIRC you can turn off the nagging 2 car warning you get from being apparently too close to the car in front. 

 

I found somewhere in the labyrinth of settings where you can change the distance the system warns you at, or turn it off completely if you want.  I've left mine at 'medium' which seems to correspond to the '2 second rule' in terms of distance.

all most interesting. My first 5000 mild generally  positive, and  car over all (my 3rd had Mk1 and Mk2 also)  very good indeed, quicker, more economical, more improved exterior design, and Canton sounds system worth the money stunning sound.

However...

1. Road  noise odd on 17" Continentals , dealer has driven it and says normal, however much nosier than previous car - this one on on Contis? anyone else find this issue ? Drove an ambition on Hankook much quieter.

 

2. Front assist occasionally  jams on when not expected , yesterday driving slowly  over a ramp  brakes locked on, and released immediately , and last week , car braked heavily on motorway, with no car close in front on mine, thankfully no one immediately  behind either..., again 'split second' and released  - going to have that checked out ! 

 

3. Must check handbook, but can see no light showing the  lights are on on dash ? 

 

4. unusual vibration from dash under acceleration. 

 

Happy driving to all. 

There is no indication on the dash for lights on. If you have your lights set to auto then the small 'sidelight' light next to 'auto' is also on when your lights are on.

all most interesting. My first 5000 miles generally  positive, and  car overall (my 3rd had Mk1 and Mk2 also)  very good indeed, quicker, more economical, much  improved exterior design, and Canton sound system worth the money stunning sound.

However...

1. Road  noise odd on 17" Continentals , dealer has driven it and says normal, however much nosier than previous car anyone else find this issue ? Drove an ambition on Hankook much quieter.

 

2. Front assist occasionally  jams on when not expected , yesterday driving slowly  over a ramp  brakes locked on, and released immediately , and last week , car braked heavily on motorway, with no car close in front on mine, thankfully no one immediately  behind either..., again 'split second' and released  - going to have that checked out ! 

 

3. Must check handbook, but can see no light showing the  lights are on on dash ? 

 

4. unusual vibration from dash under acceleration. 

 

Happy driving to all. 

Superb hatch, 2.0 TDI (190KS), 4x4, DSG, 12000km

 

 

Now for the niggly bits, happening from day one:

Adaptive Bi-Xenon lights – constant – At city speed 10-50 kph, the left beam shoots max left into the bushes and stays there as if the steering wheel is at a hard left. It comes back to straight ahead position when the car is stopped. Dealer had the car for a week, says “It’s supposed to be that way”.

 

Front Assist – constant – In the beginning it showed the warning of two cars about to bump but never applied the brakes not even at 1 meter distance to the preceding car. Dealer had the car for a week, said they found a problem, now I don’t even get the warning symbol and they say “The other Superbs have the same problem we can’t do anything about it”. All the front assist settings are turned on but no action.

 

Air conditioning – intermittent – The rear zone cools OK but the front zone does not. If I stop the engine and restart it then the front works again.

 

 

Start/Stop – annoying – It cuts in immediately after the car stops. It should wait a few seconds before shut down. When at crossroad you stop for the oncoming car, it shuts down, you ease up on the brake to prepare to go it starts up, you see another car coming, press the brake it shuts down again, and so on. I wish I could turn if off permanently

 

DSG – annoying – In all fairness the box is great and works as advertised. The shifts between gears are quick and smooth. But jumping into traffic at a crossroad is dodgy because the clutch take up from standstill is slow.  However the biggest problem is gear mapping for various modes. The Normal (Dx) mode is a disaster, entirely too conservative and obviously geared for maximum economy. It keeps the revs between 1000 and 1500, never letting it use that wonderful torque at 1700. Driving around town that poor box is constantly shifting between 2^nd and 5^th gears, just a slightest touch on the gas pedal provokes a down shift. This thing will wear itself out in no time and I’ll bet that the repair price will be salty. The Sport mode (Sx) is spot on for the mountainous twisty bits. It keeps the engine in the torque/power band, anticipates shifts and holds the lower gear when descending. However, you’ll never see 6^th gear unless you are flying over 120 kph. Ideally, the Normal should be Eco, new Normal should be a cross between Normal and Sport and in Sport mode they should lower the activation of 6^th gear.

 

I can confirm my frustrations with start/stop and dsg shifts on Octavia 3 vRS. AFAIK there is some trick with vcds for start/stop permanent disable, but it is a hack with temperature sensor, which might change some other things...

dsg behaviour is exactly same in my car, and i have found that it is best to be in sport mode and use manual shifts to go to higher speed when needed. It is frustrating, I am considering TSI Superb as my next purchase as it seems DSG in Skoda is much better tweaked for TSi then for TDI....

Btw, if you want another "bad news", try to enable oil temp sensor and drive constantly at least 10 mins with 160 km/h on highway and let me know your temperature. On my car it is over 115C when outside temp is over 15C, and manual states it should be below 110C and that you should lower your speed.