Several times now my Columbus head unit does not respond to any buttons I press. The physical side buttons (Nav, Traffic, Media etc all work) and it hasn't frozen as the Navigation is correctly moving with the position of the car as I drive. It's as if the screen does not allow any finger touches to register. I've heard about it happening to some people when the weather is cold and many times is has been cold-ish when it doesn't work, but it happened tonight at 8 degrees outside and still would not work after 15 min drive home with heaters on high. 

 

Does anyone know any fix? Someone said to wipe the screen with methylated spirits but I'm not sure if this will damage it? 

I have a Octavia VRS mk3 reg in 2014 if it helps? I'm doing a 6 hour drive down south in a week and i'll be setting of early in the morning. At this rate I'll be driving in total silence and not being able to program my sat nav 

A software update might cure the problem.

23 minutes ago, Jon TDI said:

A software update might cure the problem.

 

As is taking it to Skoda to upgrade the firmware? A few others have done this and hasn't worked for them :( 

Have you tried a reset? Press and hold the power button until the unit shuts down and then restarts, it will take about 10-15 seconds.

Meths worked fine on my screen. Just put a few drops on a piece of kitchen roll, wipe the screen, then wipe it off with a dry piece of kitchen roll. You'll probably need to repeat this a few times to get the screen completely clean.

Didn't damage my screen at all, but it did completely stop the problems I was getting, with the screen having a mind of it's own.

Mike

Incidentally, my screen played up when it was cold and/or damp. It would change radio channels at random, not respond to screen presses etc. Whilst cleaning it, I realised here was a film of grease across the entire screen, but you don't really notice it until you give it a good clean.

2 hours ago, Brinky said:

Meths worked fine on my screen. Just put a few drops on a piece of kitchen roll, wipe the screen, then wipe it off with a dry piece of kitchen roll. You'll probably need to repeat this a few times to get the screen completely clean.

Didn't damage my screen at all, but it did completely stop the problems I was getting, with the screen having a mind of it's own.

Mike

 

That's brilliant Mike, I'll try this as soon as I can!

 

I'll post back if it sorts it

I think the solution for most people with this problem was a replacement screen for the headunit.

If the problem persists I'd mention it to the dealer before you warrenty ends so that at leasts its on the service history in case it gets worse later.

My Bolero has issues with the cold, unresponsive and 'ghost' presses / scrolling, as mentioned above a regular clean does seem to help matters.

On 26 February 2017 at 22:36, Brinky said:

Meths worked fine on my screen. Just put a few drops on a piece of kitchen roll, wipe the screen, then wipe it off with a dry piece of kitchen roll. You'll probably need to repeat this a few times to get the screen completely clean.

Didn't damage my screen at all, but it did completely stop the problems I was getting, with the screen having a mind of it's own.

Mike

 

I'm gonna give this a try.

Mine has the occasional ghost changes like switching tracks or muting sound.

My Bolero seems to hate the cold, was unresponsive when I started it this morning - which was annoying as it went straight onto a Classic FM travel news. No offence to anyone but the traffic in SouthEast England might as well be the other side of the world (and I'm sure that Surrey members don't give two hoots that the Westlink and Sydenham Bypass are perpetually busy), the strange thing was that not only would the touchscreen not allow me to cancel, but the maxidot control on the wiper stalk didn't have any affect either!

Like the whole interrupt/event system in the software was on pause until it warmed up. Strange.

If it acts up like that something is wrong. 

Never had issues with the screen when cold. Not even when the temperature creeps down towards -20 C.

 

And guess I have more moisture in my car then most of you because of my dog. 40kg dog with snow in the fur creates quite a bit moisture.

 

Looking back at my old posts, It's roughly a year ago since I cleaned my screen with meths and it hasn't played up since. I try and remember to clean it every few months.