Looks like they are testing a mildly facelifted bear. Guess most the face lift will be on the inside?https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/news/168895/2020-skoda-kodiaq-spotted-testing

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/skoda-kodiaq-receive-styling-tweaks-and-new-tech-2020

"we think the tail-lights have been redesigned to incorporate more LEDs"

 

I doubt it, given that on all but the SE the rear lights are already full-LED.

From your link:

"Likely to be revealed at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, the facelifted Kodiaq will go on sale in late spring next year..."

 

So... this updates/facelift are comming in 2021 and not 2020?

35 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

"we think the tail-lights have been redesigned to incorporate more LEDs"

 

I doubt it, given that on all but the SE the rear lights are already full-LED.

Dynamic LED indicators. 

Looking at the pictures, the rear indicators appear unchanged.

 

For dynamic indicators you need a long string of LED's, on the current Kodiaq and the photographed mule they're clustered in a block.

32 minutes ago, EspenSolgaard said:

From your link:

"Likely to be revealed at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, the facelifted Kodiaq will go on sale in late spring next year..."

 

So... this updates/facelift are comming in 2021 and not 2020?

If launched in March 2020 at Geneva, likely to be on sale by mid-2020. However this may be the 2021 model year!

 

Chris

The Kodiaq is getting dynamic rear indicators and Matrix LED headlights. You can trust me on that. The test mule doesn’t have them of course. 

If they dont make any physical changes to the rear light unit it will be retrofit time

You'd imagine if they'd gone to the effort of disguising the front and rear ends of the test mule then they'd be attempting to hide the cosmetic changes.

 

If the rear light clusters are changing, then it would appear their external fit dimensions aren't changing, making the retrofitting of the newer version (if they're confirmed as happening) retrofittable.

1 hour ago, silver1011 said:

You'd imagine if they'd gone to the effort of disguising the front and rear ends of the test mule then they'd be attempting to hide the cosmetic changes.

 

If the rear light clusters are changing, then it would appear their external fit dimensions aren't changing, making the retrofitting of the newer version (if they're confirmed as happening) retrofittable.

Wiring harness will be 100% different and will need to be coded.

What makes you think the wiring will be different?

55 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

What makes you think the wiring will be different?

Dynamic indicators will be adding additional indicator LED's to the tailgate light unit. If you look at any similar change (e.g. Mk7 Golf), a different wiring harness is needed for a proper retrofit. 

 

Do you think VAG would have built the preexisting wiring with the future addition of dynamic LEDs? You should know that's an obvious no.

2 minutes ago, ZacDaMan72 said:

Dynamic indicators will be adding additional indicator LED's to the tailgate light unit. If you look at any similar change (e.g. Mk7 Golf), a different wiring harness is needed for a proper retrofit. 

 

Do you think VAG would have built the preexisting wiring with the future addition of dynamic LEDs? You should know that's an obvious no.

 

It might need a new harness but its not certain, it could be just coding.

 

And also, when making a firm statement please add source  

The Mk7 Golf link shows an adaptor needed to convert incandescent indicators to non-dynamic LED's. The adaptor is as much about cancelling the blown-bulb warnings as it is anything else.

 

I'd imagine the dynamic element of LED's is controlled by the CECM or CANBUS (so coding, or updated control module), rather than any specific hardware built into the rear light cluster.

 

If there are dynamic LED's that extend onto the inner rear light cluster on the boot lid, then that will likely result in a change to the wiring as there are only feeds for tail, reverse and fog light functions currently.

 

The Seat Tarraco has dynamic LED rear indicators, so the ability on the Kodiaq platform is already there, but as yet this is pure speculation for the facelifted Kodiaq...

 

 

 

Edited 20 June, 20197 yr by silver1011

7 minutes ago, BGB said:

 

It might need a new harness but its not certain, it could be just coding.

 

And also, when making a firm statement please add source  

How would you like your references - APA? 

 

@silver1011 a new wiring harness is required regardless of bulb type. The rear cluster does not have internal wiring for indicators - is this hard to understand? Why would they have internal wiring for hardware that doesn't exist yet???

 

A new harness was not required when I updated the rear light clusters on My Skoda Superb, incandescent to LED. Whilst the indicators remained incandescent, the tail and brake light functions changed to LED.

 

Coding was required, as was the addition of load resistors to cancel out the blown bulb warning, but the wiring harness and connectors were all backwards compatible. The rear light clusters were genuine OEM Skoda parts...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dynamic LEDs will need each  LED to be individually addressable, so they can be turned on and off in sequence, rather than just being able to switch power to the entire cluster of indicator LEDs. 

 

I would guess that that the current Kodiaq wiring doesn’t support this, as it’s an unnecessary level of complexity and cost. 

The harness just provides power and a signal. Its the canbus/bcm that controls the light.

 

I’m certain that if the tail-lights physically fit, all you need is an plug adaptor and coding. 

You obviously do not understand my point. On the current Kodiaq, as you know, the indicator is only in the outer rear lights. On the facelift, dynamic indicators will mean there will be indicator lighting on both inner and outer rear lights. There is no pre-existing wiring for any sort of indicator lighting in the inner rear lights. The wiring harness will be different, would be happy to bet a couple grand on it. Good to see that @MrTrilby actually gets me.

 

Skoda does have a modified Kodiaq rear light cluster with dynamic indicators, used on a mule for the Kamiq. I am not suggesting that these will be the final ones used in the facelift, however, I doubt there will be any drastic changes to the rear light cluster design i.e. no more C-shape taillights, a la Kamiq/Scala.

 

We do understand your point, the disagreement is coming from the ability to power the dynamic indicators, i.e. the wiring from the vehicles body to the rear of the light cluster.

 

Mr Trilby is no doubt correct, each individual LED needs to receive power in sequence, the point being made here is that the signal to the individual LED's is controlled by the cars CECM (Central Electronics Control Module), which is part of the vehicles CANBUS.

 

Power is already being fed to the rear clusters, both the inner and outer light units. The inner clusters already have a minimum of three feeds, the tail light, reverse light and fog light. It may just be that Skoda envisaged the addition of dynamic indicators on this later revision of the Kodiaq and the connectors between cluster and body are already configured to accept the fourth input.

 

Who knows, and quite frankly who cares. The video of the Kamiq certainly looks like it is modelling Kodiaq tail lights and its clear dynamic LED's are present. Only time will tell if the wiring is compatible for a retrofit.

 

Either way, even it is isn't, as stated earlier, if the the new rear lights are the same shape, then they'll be retrofittable.

@silver1011 is spot on.

I’m not sure it’d be worth the cost. Cosmetically it looks good at the moment but even delivery trucks are having it now so it won’t be something special in the near future.

 

Conversely you could argue that non dynamic indicators would look dated.

 

Main thing is LED lights so no bulbs to blow (just expensive units 😀) 

16 hours ago, ZacDaMan72 said:

The Kodiaq is getting dynamic rear indicators and Matrix LED headlights. You can trust me on that. The test mule doesn’t have them of course. 

In the 2020 edition?

No, not MY20, in the next facelift, which isn't likely to appear until after the factory summer shutdown next year, so MY21.

Don’t think you realised when I say the wiring harness will be different I’m including the physical plug. There’s no doubt that power will be able to go to an internal indicator. I am however still correct that a wiring harness change will happen for the facelift...don’t know why you’re still debating that.