Karoq software update. Progress report.

[Viffer800]

On 20/09/2019 at 13:11, Quickasaquickthing said:

Update. Yesterday, Tuesday, I took my April 2019 registered Karoq1.5 SE manual to the dealership for a short, pre planned ‘let’s have a look at what it’s doing now since the first update’ appointment arranged by Skoda UK with the dealership. When I got there I was told that the previous day Skoda UK had been in touch to say that the new/ second update was ready. 

 

The update was to preserve the good bits of the first update( getting rid of the second gear stall issue) and would deal with the kangarooing and the negative side effects of the first update. It was a comprehensive reset and would take about two hours. Would I like it done there and then? Yes please. 

 

All the courtesy cars were out. But the showroom manager lent me his personal daily drive to use while the fix was done. Nice touch. 

 

This morning, from cold , took off down the road without any bunny hopping. Seems to drive well and smoothly. Fantastic. I finally might now have the car I should have had on day 1.

 

This has been a pain in the proverbial from the start. Notwithstanding the issue of these cars being despatched from the manufacturer with the customer playing roulette on whether it was a good’un or a bad’un, I have to say, hand on heart, that my experience with Skoda UK and the dealership has been overwhelming positive. Paul from Skoda UK has kept in touch and let me know the progress of the fixes and checked with me afterwards and the dealership - and I’m happy to give them a name check in the circumstances - Willis Motor Company in South Ruislip have bent over backwards to put things right for me and send me on my way a happy customer. I know others have had different experiences but that is mine. Credit where it is due. 

 

Hopefully, that’s it all sorted for good. I hope other owners with similar issues have a successful outcome.

My local dealer is Willis and I have been waiting for the release of the Kamiq for a test drive.  Been (understandably) concerned about the 1.5 bunny hopping issue as that is the engine I was looking to get. 

 

Encouraged by the fact that a fix appears to be available for affected vehicles and also by the fact 'my' dealer doesn't try to pull the old "they all do that sir"

 

Been thinking about the 600 miles learning recommendation after the software update.  Could the fact the problem is only seen in some cars but across wider VW group vehicles be in some way tied to driving style.  i.e. During the break in period does babying it, driving like you stole it or something in between cause the ECU to act up.   Could be summink, could be nuffink 

[Apprentice]

For my Karoq the name/ref of the service campaign is 24EU 0099 001, obained from Skoda UK not the dealer/retailer.

[Goldtw74]

Our car booked in for the update on Thursday.  However was not contacted by Skoda it was just on the off change I checked the recalls, I am sure lots are driving around none the wiser.😕 

[Karr3]

Took my May '19 reg Karoq SEL 1.5tsi manual in to a different dealership to my own in order to be checked after the 24EV A-Engine control unit recall. Still experiencing a slight roo (better than it was) & not picking up in 2nd gear, (same as before).

They advised they have road tested & run diagnostics but have not found any faults and could not replicate the issues. (No surprise there!).

Have been given a June reg '19 Octavia SEL 1.5tsi manual as a loan car, same engine as Karoq. This drives totally different. No problem in 2nd. How do they explain that?

[JakeB1941]

Complete mystery and similar reports elsewhere. :-(O 

 

[Jezza4567]

It's been a month and a few thousand miles since I got the latest update for my manual 1.5 Tsi Karoq & all is still good. 

 

No kangarooing or powerloss issues (tested with starts down to 2 deg C). 

 

The car is fixed & thank you to Skoda UK for the good customer service. 

[Apprentice]

I've only driven around 300 miles since the 24EU recall update with recent morning temps at -1 deg C and not getting above 5 deg C in places out of the glow from the low Autumnal sun, as I said before the engine runs smoothly and pulls well at all revs in all gears, early days but yet the only negative point is that the mpg readings are a bit lower than before but then the air temp is wintry up here just now.

[JakeB1941]

Could be Winter Petrol now being dished out giving lower mpg plus all the other bits of the picture affected by cold temperatures. 

Nice to know you are having a much better experience.

 

[Karr3]

After picking up my May '19 reg Karoq SEL 1.5 manual & being told they found no fault & that they could not replicate the problems, I have again been told the reluctance of not picking up in second gear is a characteristic. Apparently I need to change my driving style (30 years +) in order to adapt to the car. I was told that travelling at 7/8mph I should be changing into 1st gear for the car to pick up. Does everyone else with a manual do this.?

[JakeB1941]

Utter nonsense! Speak to Skoda UK and get them to sort it out with your crap dealer. 

[Apprentice]

1 hour ago, Karr3 said:

After picking up my May '19 reg Karoq SEL 1.5 manual & being told they found no fault & that they could not replicate the problems, I have again been told the reluctance of not picking up in second gear is a characteristic. Apparently I need to change my driving style (30 years +) in order to adapt to the car. I was told that travelling at 7/8mph I should be changing into 1st gear for the car to pick up. Does everyone else with a manual do this.?

 

I'll give that a go tomorrow and see how my Karoq accelerates from 7 mph in second gear assuming it likes crawling along at that speed, I do use first gear when necessary

[driventodevon]

2 hours ago, Karr3 said:

After picking up my May '19 reg Karoq SEL 1.5 manual & being told they found no fault & that they could not replicate the problems, I have again been told the reluctance of not picking up in second gear is a characteristic. Apparently I need to change my driving style (30 years +) in order to adapt to the car. I was told that travelling at 7/8mph I should be changing into 1st gear for the car to pick up. Does everyone else with a manual do this.?

 

This is appalling!

 

Frankly, you should be able to drive a manual car off from stationary in second gear rather than use second only when you're travelling at over 10 mph. (Not necessarily recommended, though!)

 

To answer your question, I would not dream of changing down to first in any car at 7/8 mph.

 

To give you more reply than you asked for, bear in mind that you are (just) inside the six-month deadline before which rejection of the car under UK law is still an option worth looking at.

[Quickasaquickthing]

Karr3 - As JakeB1941 says , your dealers response is utter nonsense. This is an acknowledged issue and there is a fix that , in my case ( April 2019 registered 1.5) has worked perfectly. To reiterate the advice given here - get hold of Skoda UK. If you can get hold of Paul , he was brilliant in helping me out. He will liaise with the dealership and get you sorted. Then, if you can , my advice is to change your dealership. My dealership , again I’m happy to mention them by name, Willis Autos, were puzzled when I first brought up the issues (bunny hopping and that frightening second gear faulter) as they had not heard of it before. But they did not try to fob me off with this ‘characteristic ‘ nonsense. They worked closely with Skoda UK to send me on my way as a satisfied customer. And it worked. From what I have read through this thread and others I was , perhaps , lucky to have a dealership that believed in customer service. Clearly many, many, don’t. Good luck and I hope it works out as it has for me. Both issues appear to have been completely dealt with by the fix. 

. 

 

 

[Goldtw74]

Had fix today too early to say if it's stopped the issue. On a side note I believe the digital dash in my car has a few more screens and data added on a softwear update while it was in.

Edited 31 October, 2019 by Goldtw74

[Jim104]

What extra screens are you seeing  Goldtw74 ?

[Karr3]

Thank you for your replies JakeB1941, Apprentice, driventodevon and Quickasaquickthing.

 

This was the result at a different dealership to my own, after the 24EV A-Engine control unit recall/ workshop campaign. Still having problems, 2nd gear is not good.

The "characteristic" word first appeared in an email from Skoda UK addressed to my dealership but came to me. They said before I even wrote to reject my car at 5 weeks that they would not accept my rejection. Skoda UK have not really been much help in my opinion.

 

 

[Karr3]

13 hours ago, JakeB1941 said:

Utter nonsense! Speak to Skoda UK and get them to sort it out with your crap dealer. 

 

12 hours ago, Apprentice said:

 

I'll give that a go tomorrow and see how my Karoq accelerates from 7 mph in second gear assuming it likes crawling along at that speed, I do use first gear when necessary

 

12 hours ago, driventodevon said:

 

This is appalling!

 

Frankly, you should be able to drive a manual car off from stationary in second gear rather than use second only when you're travelling at over 10 mph. (Not necessarily recommended, though!)

 

To answer your question, I would not dream of changing down to first in any car at 7/8 mph.

 

To give you more reply than you asked for, bear in mind that you are (just) inside the six-month deadline before which rejection of the car under UK law is still an option worth looking at.

 

10 hours ago, Quickasaquickthing said:

Karr3 - As JakeB1941 says , your dealers response is utter nonsense. This is an acknowledged issue and there is a fix that , in my case ( April 2019 registered 1.5) has worked perfectly. To reiterate the advice given here - get hold of Skoda UK. If you can get hold of Paul , he was brilliant in helping me out. He will liaise with the dealership and get you sorted. Then, if you can , my advice is to change your dealership. My dealership , again I’m happy to mention them by name, Willis Autos, were puzzled when I first brought up the issues (bunny hopping and that frightening second gear faulter) as they had not heard of it before. But they did not try to fob me off with this ‘characteristic ‘ nonsense. They worked closely with Skoda UK to send me on my way as a satisfied customer. And it worked. From what I have read through this thread and others I was , perhaps , lucky to have a dealership that believed in customer service. Clearly many, many, don’t. Good luck and I hope it works out as it has for me. Both issues appear to have been completely dealt with by the fix. 

. 

 

 

 

[Goldtw74]

3 minutes ago, Jim104 said:

What extra screens are you seeing  Goldtw74 ?

Getting extra info on the screen that normally was only found in car screen on infotainment system, I'll have to have a closer look at weekend but lay out is a little different. No extra dials that I can see.

[Quickasaquickthing]

Karr3- I’m genuinely surprised that you got that reply from SkodaUK. It doesn’t fit with my experience and surely it’s just plain wrong. Skoda wouldn’t have spent so much time working on a fix if it was just a characteristic and not an issue needing correction. I read from your post that this was in an email to a dealership that somehow came to you. Have you spoken to Skoda UK personally? Maybe this email was a ‘holding the fort’ email giving dealerships a form of words to use while a fix was being developed. If you haven’t spoken directly to SkodaUK  I urge you to do so. It worked for me. If you have , I am astonished that they haven’t helped. 

[Ootohere]

So strange that if you check the DVSA Recall site it shows for Karoq, Octavia, Superb or Kodiaq that 1231 vehicles are part of the recall.

That is for 2018 & 19 when checking.

DVSA & Skoda might need to explain that one.

Is that the total number of 1.5 TSI engine Skoda across 4 models that might be affected?

Doubt it!

If Safety Critical and a recall then Letters should be out to Registrered Keepers, so have 1231 letters gone out?

Edited 1 November, 2019 by Roottootemoot

[dnzbdr]

Finally, after 2 years of waiting and struggling, my 2017 October sportback A3 1.5 tfsi s-tronic will have an update.

 

I was informed today that Audi AG confirmed the software update TPI. I dont know any other details and booked next tuesday for the update.

 

I cannot wait to see the results, but there is a feeling that it wont solve the jerkiness and powerloss. It seems like a customer satisfactory action, like a fake update just to postpone my complaints.

 

Regards,

Deniz

[Apprentice]

7 hours ago, Karr3 said:

Thank you for your replies JakeB1941, Apprentice, driventodevon and Quickasaquickthing.

 

This was the result at a different dealership to my own, after the 24EV A-Engine control unit recall/ workshop campaign. Still having problems, 2nd gear is not good.

The "characteristic" word first appeared in an email from Skoda UK addressed to my dealership but came to me. They said before I even wrote to reject my car at 5 weeks that they would not accept my rejection. Skoda UK have not really been much help in my opinion.

 

 

 

In relation to my Karoq the first time I came across the word "characteristic" was when I received an email in late April from the executive office Skoda UK, part of it read:-  " We are mindful there is a characteristic of the 1.5 engine when starting your vehicle from cold. Please be aware, this is the normal operational function of this vehicle engine derivative and can potentially be experienced until the coolant has reached a temperature of approximately 70°C." This was just prior to the Q2 update being released to my local dealership by Skoda UK as the dealeship were unaware of it a week or so before it was booked in to get that Q2 hessitation update.

 

Not frosty this morning but still cold and damp with plenty moisture in the air with a temp of around 4°C, the Karoq started fine and once the revs came down to a tickover of 750rpm I set off in 1st and changed up into 2nd gear and settled down to a speed of around 7/8/9 mph and then on applying some  throttle it moved off without any issues and once the turbo kicked in 1400/1500 rpm it sprinted off, I noticed a few minutes later when crawling along again at 7/8/9 mph with the revs at 750 rpm that coming on to a very very slight gradient in the road the revs increased automatically to 1000rpm to maintain that speed ..... maybe part of the anti-stall original software is still there ..... as the gradient became a little steeper it became obvious the car would eventually stall without any increase in revs via the throttle being applied.

 

Like others have said you should try contacting Skoda UK and then ask to speak to a manager in the executive office telling him/her of your experiences before and after the update/recall campaign, as said yours was 24EV but for my Karoq wth a build week of 50/2018 it was 24EU, the previous hessitation update was applied to the Karoq at the end of April 2019.

 

I hope you can get it sorted a bit quicker than the 9 months it has taken for my Karoq to be where it should have been in the first place!

 

The characteristic fable is just a load of old rollocks I'm afraid.

[clivecoo]

Received this letter from Skoda yesterday for my 1.5 SEL DSG
I’ll get it done with 1st oil change this month. 
is it the same letter others have received ?

[Karr3]

19 hours ago, Apprentice said:

 

In relation to my Karoq the first time I came across the word "characteristic" was when I received an email in late April from the executive office Skoda UK, part of it read:-  " We are mindful there is a characteristic of the 1.5 engine when starting your vehicle from cold. Please be aware, this is the normal operational function of this vehicle engine derivative and can potentially be experienced until the coolant has reached a temperature of approximately 70°C." This was just prior to the Q2 update being released to my local dealership by Skoda UK as the dealeship were unaware of it a week or so before it was booked in to get that Q2 hessitation update.

 

Not frosty this morning but still cold and damp with plenty moisture in the air with a temp of around 4°C, the Karoq started fine and once the revs came down to a tickover of 750rpm I set off in 1st and changed up into 2nd gear and settled down to a speed of around 7/8/9 mph and then on applying some  throttle it moved off without any issues and once the turbo kicked in 1400/1500 rpm it sprinted off, I noticed a few minutes later when crawling along again at 7/8/9 mph with the revs at 750 rpm that coming on to a very very slight gradient in the road the revs increased automatically to 1000rpm to maintain that speed ..... maybe part of the anti-stall original software is still there ..... as the gradient became a little steeper it became obvious the car would eventually stall without any increase in revs via the throttle being applied.

 

Like others have said you should try contacting Skoda UK and then ask to speak to a manager in the executive office telling him/her of your experiences before and after the update/recall campaign, as said yours was 24EV but for my Karoq wth a build week of 50/2018 it was 24EU, the previous hessitation update was applied to the Karoq at the end of April 2019.

 

I hope you can get it sorted a bit quicker than the 9 months it has taken for my Karoq to be where it should have been in the first place!

 

The characteristic fable is just a load of old rollocks I'm afraid.

Thank you for testing this out Apprentice. Looks as though I received the exact same email. The Manager at my own dealership were prepared to reject my rejection without even seeing my car in the first place.

So after testing this out, you found that your car had no problem what so ever pulling away when you applied the throttle in 2nd gear (apart from the steeper gradiant) while you were doing 7/8/9mph? Just as a matter of interest, does it make any difference if you have the start/stop on or off, or if you are using the hearing/air con?

 

[JakeB1941]

This is the letter which should have been sent out to the owners of every 1.5 tsi since it was first reported but very few have received them.  It acknowledges the fault as a safety recall which should have been the response from DVSA when it was  brought to their attention. God knows what rubbish VAG gave them and shame on them for not investigating it properly.

All who have received this letter should be very aware of driving before the fault is rectified as you are driving a vehicle declared unsafe. I would speak with my insurance provider first.