Does anyone have any idea what might be the cause of these failures - Light Assist doesn't work, and I get a "Light Assist Fault" message when I try to turn it on; and my rear view mirror, which is supposed to be auto-dipping, is also defunct; no green light comes on when I press the ON button, and the mirror is patently NOT dipping, so I am dazzled by all the headlights behind me.  As both systems presumably rely on light sensors, I wonder if the two faults are related.  My local Skoda dealer wants £100 an hour just to look at the problem - and I can't say their technical expertise is very impressive to start with.  Anyone had these issues, and found an affordable solution?

First thing would be to scan the car for errors with something like VCDS, OBD eleven or other OBD reader. That would give you pointers where to start looking.

Thanks for that.  But where do I start to get my car scanned?  I used to do my own work on cars many years ago, before they went all electronic and computerized; now I am clueless.  Is it a case of finding an independent garage equipped to do the scanning?  I really don't have a clue where to start with this.

Any decent mechanic will have a scanning tool. They may want you to pay to do scan your car, Skoda will charge £70 or more, a friendly independent may do it for free, it only takes a few minutes. If you go down this route, get a printout, or take photos or write down the fault codes and other data. Skoda won't be very cooperative here because they will want to screw you further for work.

 

Alternatively you can buy a scanner, a basic reader can cost about £20, but your fault may require a more capable device. VCDS is a professional bells and whistles system but is expensive starting around £230 iirc. Many people are using OBD eleven and several alternatives which are much cheaper.

 

Lastly, there are members who are willing to come round and scan your car for a few cans of beer, if they are local to you.

 

 

Here is a forum which you may want to look at.

 

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/23-diagnostics-amp-vcds/

 

It's common for the sensor in the light assist to go, mine has failed twice now. Had replaced once under warranty and again now outside warranty and I can't be asked to get it replaced as it's so expensive - whole new mirror unit which houses the sensor for light assist at the back.

 

The fact that you get no green light on the front of the mirror makes me wonder if there is a power or fuse issue for the mirror unit. After all the light assist sensor is part of the mirror.

Thanks, RB79 - that's an interesting thought - fuses.  Why do Skoda fit sensors that routinely fail (as you suggest)?  And do they really expect customers to shell out the thick end of £600 for a whole new mirror assembly - plus extortionate labour charges of £100 an hour to fit the thing and set it up?  Expletives deleted.  The whole thing is maddening and depressing in equal parts.  I'm happy - for that kind of money - to dip my own headlights manually, but I'll struggle to live with a rear view mirror that can't be dipped.  What was wrong with the old-fashioned finger tab on the bottom edge, like all cars used to have?  It was simple, it worked, and there were no crap sensors or electronics to go wrong.  A classic example of smart-arse technology that only makes life worse ....

 

I've looked in my (comprehensive) owner manual, and they do give details of the fuses - tables listing which ones do what.  But while I can find mention of the rear view mirror, I can't find any reference to the Light Assist function in the tables.  So I don't know where to go from here; but your suggestion sounded promising!

Find out if a manual dipping mirror can be fitted.