Default driving mode change on MY19 [NOT solved]

[newbie69]

I had posted about the car reverting to Normal driving mode in the other thread of first impressions, but since it was early days with the car I wanted to experiment some more and set everything up properly. Now, after 3 weeks of playing with the settings but more importantly confirming this with other fresh owners of MY19 cars and the user manual itself I believe it is a given that MY19 cars or at least MY19 cars made after a certain date have this behaviour from factory.

So, I have set up 2 different profiles, assigned them to different keys, the car detects the key and greets the assigned user and remembers ALL settings that particular user has set, as it should be. There isn't any issue of profiles forgotten or of keys mis/non-assignment. The only thing which is not remembered is in which Driving mode the driver left the car in before turning off. Well, not exactly.

You see, in the 1st user profile, I have set the Individual mode to DCC Comfort and Drive to ECO. In the 2nd profile the DCC and Drive are set to Sport. Whenever I select one of the two user profiles, the actual Individual settings of each one are correctly stored and retrieved.  1st one will have an in Individual mode of Comfort + ECO, the 2nd an Individual mode of Sport + Sport. I don't need to re-register those. It's just that after turn on, Driving mode is ALWAYS set to Normal by default.

Is my car broken? Well, already another MY19 owner ( @Avskum) who picked up his car just last week (mine was built on the 17th of January so I assume everything after that date at least should be the same) confirmed the same reverting to Normal on his car and I would appreciate whoever reporting which behaviour their cars show on this, to supplement it with the build date. @SteHaworth  you should be picking up in the near future so would be good to know what's the case with yours too.

Furthermore, I found two pages of the user manual (finally) confirming this is normal:


Page 56 on the PDF, regarding options that Personalization remembers: "Driving mode - the last selected mode, mode setting Individual"     At first I thought it meant which mode you were last in, but actually I think it means not that, but which settings you selected in Individual mode, not which mode the car starts in, as happens in mine.

Page 244 on the PDF: "After switching the ignition off and on, the drive is set to Normal in the current driving mode. To change the drive setting, select the relevant driving mode again."
That is pretty clear I think. It would be interesting to compare the content of the same chapter/page of MY18 user manuals and see if that statement exists there.

Regardless, I am pretty sure this behaviour can be changed via VCDS. Browsing the 09 - Central Electrics module the other day, I found an adaptation called Personalization or similar and that seemed to hold several User profile parameters. If only it wasn't half in German half English...

PS. Re-reading the 2nd bit I quoted from the PDF it refers to the Drive aspect (the gearbox mode) and not the driving profile so not the confirmation I was after really. Still...

Edited 16 June, 2020 by newbie69

[SteHaworth]

I've just had confirmation that my car has landed at the dealership about an hour ago, and that I can have it any time after next week, I may have to wait until closer to the end of the month though, need to look at my money tonight, but I'll certainly be looking into this too, once it arrives

[Bap33]

@newbie69 I also noticed this issue on my MY2017 (12/2017).

I asked the dealer if it was normal during an overhaul appointment. This absolutely normal and designed on purpose for safety reasons. The dealer showed me an internal Skoda Note.

The DDC mode is partially saved. Actually, only the the gearbox is not saved, to avoid restarting in a mode, you don't have in mind anymore, when you take your car again on the next day (espacially in icy conditions). 

This being said, the selected mode is saved and keeps being displayed on the Colombus screen on the left upper corner, whearas the gearbox restarts in "Normal" mode (and DDC button is switched off) and the center screen (Maxi DOT) displays Dx gears...

This can be observed in particular with ECO mode and SPORT mode, which have different gearbox control laws. In COMFORT mode, the gearbox has same control laws as NOMAL mode. For INDIVIDUAL mode, it may be different, since you can chose the gearbox mode... I haven't tested.

Edited 8 March, 2019 by Bap33

[JR RS]

The gearbox always reverts to normal mode.

my individual mode, which I use 90% of the time, has the drive (gearbox) set to "normal", and suspension to "sport".

 

As already mentioned in various other discussions - Using Eco or Sport mode will not retain the drive (gearbox) in those modes.

Comfort mode does not have its own drive mode.

 

[newbie69]

13 hours ago, Bap33 said:

@newbie69 I also noticed this issue on my MY2017 (12/2017).

I asked the dealer if it was normal during an overhaul appointment. This absolutely normal and designed on purpose for safety reasons. The dealer showed me an internal Skoda Note.

The DDC mode is partially saved. Actually, only the the gearbox is not saved, to avoid restarting in a mode, you don't have in mind anymore, when you take your car again on the next day (espacially in icy conditions). 

This being said, the selected mode is saved and keeps being displayed on the Colombus screen on the left upper corner, whearas the gearbox restarts in "Normal" mode (and DDC button is switched off) and the center screen (Maxi DOT) displays Dx gears...

This can be observed in particular with ECO mode and SPORT mode, which have different gearbox control laws. In COMFORT mode, the gearbox has same control laws as NOMAL mode. For INDIVIDUAL mode, it may be different, since you can chose the gearbox mode... I haven't tested.

 

12 hours ago, JR RS said:

The gearbox always reverts to normal mode.

my individual mode, which I use 90% of the time, has the drive (gearbox) set to "normal", and suspension to "sport".

 

As already mentioned in various other discussions - Using Eco or Sport mode will not retain the drive (gearbox) in those modes.

Comfort mode does not have its own drive mode.

 

 

But you are referring to the Drive (gearbox) setting of whatever mode you're in, that's expected to go back to D (instead of S) at every start-up, happens in all cars and always has been like that.

What I am talking about is whether the entire Drive Profile (Comfort, Sport, Individual) is retained at start-up. According to reports, up to MY19 all cars can start at say Individual if left there before turning off, however on the latest MY19's this is not the case. So, not just the gearbox reverts to D (that's fine) but the entire car starts in "Normal" drive profile and to enter Individual you have to manually select it yourself every time.

[Bap33]

Oh, sorry, I didn't catch that. That's effectively awkward ... 

[JR RS]

Oh that's different.  I wonder why they would do that with MY19?

 

The MY17 certainly retains the last drive mode selected, in my case Individual mode.

It would also retain Eco, Comfort, Normal and Sport modes, minus the Drive (gearbox), after switch off and switch on.

[eddleetham]

I'm really annoyed this.  How can it be a safety issue?  If I set off driving and then remember that I need to change the drive mode, my attention is distracted from the road while I'm changing it.  Now that is a safety issue.

[siemi1]

in my MY19 driving DMS  retaqins last choice, same with my wife key.

[newbie69]

3 hours ago, siemi1 said:

in my MY19 driving DMS  retaqins last choice, same with my wife key.

Which build date is the car?

So, to be clear, the car can start in anything other than Normal?

[eddleetham]

I don't have the Personalisation of drive mode selection option, so maybe that's why your car remembers the previous mode, though I doubt it.  It's more likely because you're in Poland, maybe?  Which car do you have?

[newbie69]

30 minutes ago, eddleetham said:

I don't have the Personalisation of drive mode selection option, so maybe that's why your car remembers the previous mode, though I doubt it.  It's more likely because you're in Poland, maybe?  Which car do you have?

 

I am thinking along the same lines, ie. cars might be set up according to (latest?) country specific regulations. Both mine and the other MY19 car that do not retain the Drive Mode at startup are Swedish ones.

If that's the case, it most definitely is a VCDS setting that controls this.

[eddleetham]

In that case, let's hope someone comes up with a fix.

[SteHaworth]

My uk spec car always reverts to normal, I’ll be complaining to my dealership about this, maybe if enough people moan, Skoda will fix the issue

[newbie69]

13 minutes ago, SteHaworth said:

My uk spec car always reverts to normal, I’ll be complaining to my dealership about this, maybe if enough people moan, Skoda will fix the issue

Thanks for confirming earlier on FB   Given that yours is a UK one that was also made in 2019 we can now conclude it's not country-specific and there's probably some setting to all the latest cars coming out set to revert to Normal at every start-up.

I wouldn't get my hopes too high that Skoda would actually bother with this, more chance in getting some help from other coding enthusiasts and trying to locate which setting is the one that controls this.

@Gizmo  @JR RS   I know you guys are comfortable with VCDS and that your cars retain the drive mode. Any idea which values would be worthwile comparing to our MY19's to maybe locate what controls this?  The options are endless otherwise.  JR, I 'll be paying you back with the requested Autoscans for the SLA   I'm going back in just a couple of days

[Gizmo]

No doubt this will be a simple adaptation change... once someone finds out exactly where it is.

 

 

[JR RS]

4 hours ago, newbie69 said:

  @JR RS   I know you guys are comfortable with VCDS and that your cars retain the drive mode. Any idea which values would be worthwile comparing to our MY19's to maybe locate what controls this?  The options are endless otherwise.  JR, I 'll be paying you back with the requested Autoscans for the SLA   I'm going back in just a couple of days

 

i'll take a look at my settings, via VCDS, however i'm not sure where or how this would b configured.

 

and just to b clear - ur talking about retaining Driving Modes (eco, comfort, normal, sport and individual)?

 

cause as i explained earlier - mine will retain the last selected Driving Mode on startup, but NOT the Drive Mode.  This will ALWAYS start in Normal, no matter what the Driving mode was selected when the car was switched off before.

 

There are 5x Driving Modes - Eco, Comfort (cars equipped with DCC), Normal, Sport, Individual

There are 3x Drive Modes - Eco, Normal, Sport

 

 

 

Edited 17 March, 2019 by JR RS

[newbie69]

6 hours ago, JR RS said:

 

i'll take a look at my settings, via VCDS, however i'm not sure where or how this would b configured.

 

and just to b clear - ur talking about retaining Driving Modes (eco, comfort, normal, sport and individual)?

 

cause as i explained earlier - mine will retain the last selected Driving Mode on startup, but NOT the Drive Mode.  This will ALWAYS start in Normal, no matter what the Driving mode was selected when the car was switched off before.

 

There are 5x Driving Modes - Eco, Comfort (cars equipped with DCC), Normal, Sport, Individual

There are 3x Drive Modes - Eco, Normal, Sport

 

 

 

Exactly, the setting which retains "Driving mode" or better put to avoid misunderstandings: Drive profile (Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport, Individual). 

The Drive mode or Gearbox mode as I like to refer to it is something which always reverts to Normal (D) at every start-up on all the cars and not worth investigating any further.

But given that even some MY19's retain Driving modes at start-up I'm pretty sure it must be a fairly simple thing to change. Only problem is where we could start looking...

[Bud]

@newbie69

 

As you will recall we had some discussion about this before you got your car.  As I mentioned there my motor stays in the selected profile (Ind) even after restart.  As part of the Ind setting I have the Drive Mode set to E.  This does not change as I generally stay in Ind apart from when I want to accelerate, overtakes and slip roads, and then switch to Sport GBox and I achieve this via the stick.  I will take some pics of the screen and see if i when  i set the Ind drive mode to sport that it stays there.

[newbie69]

9 hours ago, Bud said:

@newbie69

 

As you will recall we had some discussion about this before you got your car.  As I mentioned there my motor stays in the selected profile (Ind) even after restart.  As part of the Ind setting I have the Drive Mode set to E.  This does not change as I generally stay in Ind apart from when I want to accelerate, overtakes and slip roads, and then switch to Sport GBox and I achieve this via the stick.  I will take some pics of the screen and see if i when  i set the Ind drive mode to sport that it stays there.

Yes I remember but that debate was about the gearbox mode. What we're after here is the Driving mode / Drive Profile that does revert to Normal at every start-up on the latest cars. Your car being built before 2019 behaves indeed like every other car of that period meaning it retains the last selected Profile, ie. if left in Comfort it will start again in Comfort, if left in Individual it will start in Individual etc. Checking what you wrote will not provide any extra information related to our question. Not saying this out of lack of interest of your experiences (not at all) but just in an effort to keep the thread to the topic, as there's been already some misunderstandings on whether this is about the Drive profile or the gearbox (and not just by yourself). I can understand the confusion as VAG uses almost identical terminology for different things (Drive mode / Driving mode)

Edited 17 March, 2019 by newbie69

[newbie69]

Ok! So a few posts back I had written that I thought I had found the solution by browsing the user manual. At the time I was doing so using the electronic version of the manual from MySkoda app. But when I tried to confirm it and paste here that excerpt from it from the PDF file I had downloaded on the PC as a proof, it seemed it did not say exactly what I remembered and that it referred to the Drive (gearbox) only, not the Drive profile. Well... It seems this happened because I had different User Manual versions on the PDF and the mobile app. That's because up to December or so, despite the mobile app showing the latest information, the only available option for manually downloading user manuals of MY19 cars was the "2018/07" option. Now the 2018/11 has been added too and in it lies the answer:

User manual for up to 2018/07 (the first MY19's made) :



the only mentioned change after turning off and on is the Drive (gearbox) going to Normal (by that it means D1, D2 etc. NOT Normal Drive profile), so retaining Driving Modes is to be expected (and confirmed by owners).



User manual  for cars  from 2018/11 onwards, the above excerpt has been replaced by this:



As is clear, after turning off and on, not only the Drive (gearbox) goes back to D1, D2 but the entire Driving Mode reverts to Normal. 3/3 cars made after 2018/11 have so far confirmed this in different countries so that's how our cars should be (and are) working and that I believe answers the question of the thread as to whether this change is normal and/or official. Turns out that's exactly how it should be. Owners of 2018/11+ cars can quickly verify this by looking up their printed manuals in Driving mode selection chapter (page 178 on the Swedish version).

Whether we like this change and what can we do to revert it back to pre 2018/11 behaviour is a different discussion.
 

Edited 17 March, 2019 by newbie69

[eddleetham]

Yes, we know that's how it works and is intended to work by Skoda.  However many owners are unhappy about that and want to find a way of changing it to the earlier behaviour of remaining in the previously selected drive mode.

Edited 17 March, 2019 by eddleetham

[newbie69]

32 minutes ago, eddleetham said:

Yes, we know that's how it works and is intended to work by Skoda.  However many owners are unhappy about that and want to find a way of changing it to the earlier behaviour of remaining in the previously drive mode.

Wow, easy! 

We didn't actually know any of that and so far no explanation had been provided about this by anyone in this thread (If I missed it you can point me in the right direction). My main interest was first to discover if this was a normal behaviour or a bug, then act accordingly. End result is the same in both cases but it's a different treatment. Besides, If you were aware of the cause of it all along why didn't you shout earlier?

To be more precise, we only knew how OUR cars behaved, but not why. We didn't know whether this was normal or whether there was an issue with them or some other setting that affected this behaviour, especially since all other owners of pre 2018/11 cars (some even MY19's which made it even more confusing) reported that their cars retained the profile selection. Even my dealer was puzzled about it and couldn't come up with an explanation and he used a pre 2018/11 car to show me it should be working on mine too! Go figure... He is clearly not aware of this change taking place after this particular production date, so maybe not as obvious as you think.

That it maybe does not make owners happy is another matter. I turn off and on several times a day and I am also not excited about having to select Individual mode every time, but now I know it's a VCDS setting I need to locate, not take it back to Skoda for warranty work.

 

Edited 17 March, 2019 by newbie69

[Zid2000]

My car is MY19 but produced before the change (10/2018) and it retains driving profile (not the gearbox though) so the change must be alligned with manual change, not the MY change.

[newbie69]

1 hour ago, Zid2000 said:

My car is MY19 but produced before the change (10/2018) and it retains driving profile (not the gearbox though) so the change must be alligned with manual change, not the MY change.

Exactly. At least we now know why and which models are affected. I am thinking of checking whether the same change has taken place on SEATs and VWs too, if so, we could have more luck of someone finding which setting affect this considering their numbers (esp. VW) across the globe.