Adaptive cruise control failed

[bmoster]

Hi all

 

I am new here

 

I have a December 2016 Superb estate 2.0 TDI 150 DSG SE Technology

 

The ACC no longer works and an orange warning light is contantly displayed. I took it to the local dealer but they said that only a few dealers in the country have the equipment to look at it so was referred to Simpsons in Preston. They agreed to look at it but said that the repair would not be covered under warranty if the sensor had been damaged by an impact. Once they had looked at it they said they can't see any damage but it needed realligning or resetting and it wasn't covered under the warranty. They wanted about £450 to fix it.

 

The car is on a business lease (contract hire) with Skoda finance and they said if it is not repaired when the car is returned at the end of the lease they will charge me for it. I called Skoda customer services to complain but they werem't very helpful. I made the point that it is an expensive option on many cars and if it hadn't been standard there was no way I would have paid for it. I have hardly used it and am now facing a big bill to repair it.

 

My questions are as follows:

 

Does this system fail regularly or am I just unlucky. If the former then it is not fit for purpose.

Can anyone recommend an independent specialist that would fix it for a lower price.

Is there any way to disable the warning light/message

 

Many thanks

 

[Speedman]

The only time my system has failed is when there has been snow/ice on the cover in the front grille - I get a message saying that the system is unavailable.

 

I can't answer your questions, but if there is no damage I can't see how this isn't covered by a warranty. I would speak to the local trading standards and ask them to get involved.

[xman]

Autoglass may have calibration equipment for ACC. I read somewhere here in this forum that contract hire/business lease meant that it was their problem not yours.

 

Wanting realignment for no reason seems unlikely. Think you need another opinion. It might just be a connector or wiring problem

 

Agreed should be fixed under warranty.

Edited 14 June, 2018 by xman

[Defenderben]

If no damage to unit then surely it is warranty: no question.

 

Iwould also be asking what can cause it to become misaligned in the first place too?

[TerryMcK]

Mine has never failed but when I put the spare wheel on the ACC would not work. This was due to the slightly different rotational speed of the spare compared to the other 3.

When the original wheel was reinstated the ACC worked fine again.

[thinline1]

Hi

 

I had a sim issue, the ACC required re calibrating after a accident, which required a 4 wheel alignment and as part of that Skoda insisted the ACC was re-calibrated 

 

Skoda could not do it as they don't have the equipment (which is pretty poor IMO) and was sent to VW down the road and this was arranged by the Skoda garage. Turns out the equipment is expensive and my dealer does not want to pay for it. Which is a bit odd as I understand all cars with radar emergency braking need this equipment and most cars now have this tech, go figure?

 

The price was not that high for the re-calibration , and the price also included a x4 wheel alignment. Which I think was £250, approx £100 for the re-calibration 

 

The main problem was the wait, 2 to 3 weeks to get a slot from VW

 

My simple understanding was that Skoda should be able to tell you if its a warranty fix or not, then it was your choice to pay if it was deemed out of warranty, whilst you are in the warranty period.

 

How they work out if it is a warranty issue or not is not your problem and if they don't have the equipment that should not be on you

 

I would call Skoda UK as they were very helpful with me

 

 

[DaveLinton]

The ACC on my 2017 Superb decided to stop working for no apparent reason; no obvious damage, no collisions etc. 

 

My route to have it re-calibrated is the same, i.e. diagnostic check, advice that it needs re-calibration and no, we don't do it and it is not under Warranty. 

 

Further research shows the Warranty document does not specifically mention the ACC but has the 'catch all' clause to exclude it.  The ACC is therefore only covered for 6 months or 6,500miles which is pretty unfair and not widely broadcast bearing in mind how delicate this system appears to be.  The cost for re-calibration from a local garage is £200 but a main dealer could be £450.

 

Two calls to customer services has confirmed they will not repair it under Warranty so I have written to Skoda in Sheffield asking some basic questions about the design and suitability of this device.  For instance; 'why fit a sensor which is susceptible to minor damage to the front of a car which travels in excess of 100mph where road debris, birds and insects will strike it'?  When their reply is received I will let you know.

 

I may send my letter to Skoda in the Czech Republic to see what they say about a badly thought out design with major inherent risks.  If this became widely known how many more cars of this model would they sell?

 

Watch this space.

[310golfr]

I wonder if the sensor can be disconnected  or bypassed ie reverted  to standard cruise control.

Theres too much to go wrong in modern cars, dont think standard cruise control  fails that often. 

[DaveLinton]

Hi 

 

I will find out when they contact me.

 

If I will be responsible for the cost to re-calibrate it this time and all subsequent times, then I think I will be disconnected with or without cruise control.  I will ask them none the less.

 

What bothers me is the fact it is so susceptible and in a dubious position.  Reading this forum really makes me wonder if it is fit for purpose.  Ideally it should be more robust during the life of the car or have a secondary protective cover, but having said that even wheel alignment can throw the calibration out of kilter.

 

I think some re-thinking is required on the part of Skoda

[daveo138]

9 hours ago, 310golfr said:

I wonder if the sensor can be disconnected  or bypassed ie reverted  to standard cruise control.

Theres too much to go wrong in modern cars, dont think standard cruise control  fails that often. 

 

 

If only it was that simple. I absolutely hate ACC and would dearly love to have standard CC. 

[SurreyJohn]

There is no much you can do about it if you chose a car with it fitted and it went wrong, bit like getting a cracked windscreen, or cracked headlight.  Can be damaged by flying debris.

 

If it is a lease, ask the price to fix if returned faulty, politely explains your local Skoda dealer is unable to recalibrate it.    However it is not really acceptable for Skoda to franchise main dealers who can choose which parts of a car they are prepared to fix.

 

My latest car, has ACC, so far no problems, but only had it a year, so no idea on long term reliability.

 

Unfortunately you have just discovered another reason that leasing a modern car with so much so much to go wrong, is becoming unattractive, all this extra is very expensive to fix.  

Edited 11 August, 2019 by SurreyJohn

[Bud]

Had a mondeo with ACC but only a manual gears, had done 110 miles when sold after approx 9 years of trouble free use.  Do not know if the sensor was in a similar position but the system can be very reliable.

[Sagalout]

 

 

5 minutes ago, Bud said:

had done 110 miles when sold after approx 9 years of trouble free use

Well at only 12 miles a year it shouldn't go wrong. 

What a few noughts between friends. 

[Greezy56]

My ACC isn't working correctly either , sometimes in the outside lane of a 2 lane 70mph road it senses a truck in the inside lane and brakes heavily , sometimes it sees something that's not there and does the same.

 

Claim your insurance and say a small prang to the front broke the unit 

[Whenwillilearn]

If the ACC is calibrated initially (when manufactured) then ask for the original calibration certificate for your vehicles ACC. It should be available...

 

If the certificate is not available then request from your dealer to calibrate the system at their cost to the factory as built requirement and provide the certificate, stating that as the previous calibration certificate is not available you can confidently assume it was never calibrated at the point of manufacture. 

 

Someone is right about the 6 month warranty clause though, as this gets Skoda out of a lot of warranty claims and costs. It sort of advertises the fact that skoda cannot deal with ever more complex technology (or a lack of willingness to purchase suitable diagnostic equipment) and knowledge of poor assembly at the factory. 

 

I would hate to be a technician at a skoda dealer-never ending queue of warranty claims and poorly assembled cars requiring remedial work. 

 

It's for you to really argue your case - maybe request that skoda remove the ACC system at their cost? After all its not working as intended thus has some inherent quality failing which is affecting other cars.

 

 

[DaveLinton]

Some time ago I posted a note about the ACC on my Superb failing for no apparent reason.  Since then letters and telephone calls have been exchanged with Skoda about the integrity of the sensor on the front of my car.

 

I am pleased to report that Skoda have paid for the ACC to be re-calibrated, but to date have not replied to my letter questioning their design choices for the sensor and the warranty policy for it.

 

One thing which is irrelevant to my complaint with Skoda is one evening, having had a few glasses of Scottish falling down water, I bashed the sensor with my fist.  Having done that and sworn at it, as you do, the result was that when my wife turned on the ignition the failure light went off.  The ACC worked thereafter until the re-calibration exercise.  So, if you have a failure of your ACC in future, and before you spend anything up to £450, have a few glasses of good malt whisky bash the sensor and swear at it.  It worked for me.

 

Cheers

 

David Linton.

[Wob]

On 24/09/2019 at 11:15, DaveLinton said:

Some time ago I posted a note about the ACC on my Superb failing for no apparent reason.  Since then letters and telephone calls have been exchanged with Skoda about the integrity of the sensor on the front of my car.

 

I am pleased to report that Skoda have paid for the ACC to be re-calibrated, but to date have not replied to my letter questioning their design choices for the sensor and the warranty policy for it.

 

One thing which is irrelevant to my complaint with Skoda is one evening, having had a few glasses of Scottish falling down water, I bashed the sensor with my fist.  Having done that and sworn at it, as you do, the result was that when my wife turned on the ignition the failure light went off.  The ACC worked thereafter until the re-calibration exercise.  So, if you have a failure of your ACC in future, and before you spend anything up to £450, have a few glasses of good malt whisky bash the sensor and swear at it.  It worked for me.

 

Cheers

 

David Linton.

I’ll try this tonight.  I’ve booked our superb in at Skoda (sometime in May was their earliest free slot).