Hi everyone.  New owner of a 2014 Octavia estate 1.6 TDI here.  I'm enjoying the car so far but have a question - I did search for this but haven't found a definitive answer.

 

This is my first diesel with keytless locking and ignition.  Since you can't partially turn the key to warm the glow plugs, what is the recommended procedure when starting?  Does giving the start button a single push without a foot on the clutch warm the glow plugs, or are the warmed automatically when entering the driver's door?  Or should I just depress the clutch and press the ignition button and let the car take care of it?

 

I'm asking because when starting the car "from cold" (not that it's too cold yet), the engine will struggle to start for 2-5 seconds but always does start.  This is regardless of whether I give the ignition button a single click, wait, then press again with the clutch pedal depressed, or just get in and press the button with the clutch engaged.  Starting the engine again later in the day it'll start right away, whether it has been resting for 10 hours at work or just for a few minutes in a car park.  I do ocassionally see the glow plug light flash very briefly but seems pretty random.  Knowing the recommended start procedure will be good to know before investigating further.

 

Thanks a lot. 

Mine is a 2.0 TDi VRS and I just push the button and let the ecu decide what to do. Normally when it is really cold outside the engine doesnt start to crank until the glow plug light goes out.