A lot of Skoda owners in Australia are having an issue with random "Travel Assist Unavailable" alarms coming up. Myself and others have had their steering wheels replaced under warranty. This rectifies the issue for a period of time, but it eventually reoccurs. Skoda Australia seem to be at a lose as to how to fix it. Just wondering is Skoda owners in other countries are having the same issue.

Thanks

The steering wheel is the home for the electronic control unit for the Travel Assist system, and I found that replacing this cured my problems with it. I also had a software update but I think this was connected with the loss of the SOS system rather than the Travel Assist. 

 

A dirty sensor on the windscreen or front grill can also stop the Travel Assist working, so are your faults connected with dusty conditions down under??

 

Chris

 

Skoda knows very well about this problem  and apparently they are unable to solve it as it is more serious than one would expect.

This is a brief translation of post published on czech Karoq forum this week:

quote

I had my Karoq in service for 2 year guarantee check. In connection with TA malfunction I was offered the following "solution":

The agreement will be signed between SA and customer, stating that customer accepts that "visual and acustic sign" are not a failure/fault of system, and, in fact they are clear signs of systems perfect functionality.

In other words, system is working as it is supposed to do.

If, despite of this, customer still considers this behaviour of TA as fault, the manufacturer offers to deactivate TA completely. As a consequence, Emergency Assist will be deactivated as well.

I asked, which other assistants will be disabled and I was told that list of these assistants is available from manufacturer but it is for internal use of SA network only.

They also informed me, that SA is working on software solution which will enable user to activate and deastivate TA himself, most probably throught infotainment. Which means that the initial problem of TA

will not be solved.

This software "solution" should be available during first half of 2023.

There is also very strict legal part of "Agreement" stating that by signing it customer looses his rights for damages, etc. Customer also declares, that in case of sale of vehicle, new owner will be informed 

and the "Agreement" will be a part of sale contract. 

As a compensation, Skoda offered one year membership in Skoda Connest and Care Connect.

 

• 
   

This should be the TPI where this wonderful "solution" exists

 

Car used as a dummy, this should apply to Octavia/Karoq that share the technology

2062172.13 Travel Assist sporadically unavailable.pdf

Thank you, varoom, 

it´s really nice of them to admit that they are helpless. I hope they do not have the same approach to problems with engine, brakes or gearbox.

19 hours ago, KaroqCZ said:

The agreement will be signed between SA and customer, stating that customer accepts that "visual and acustic sign" are not a failure/fault of system, and, in fact they are clear signs of systems perfect functionality.

 

As a compensation, Skoda offered one year membership in Skoda Connest and Care Connect.

 

• 
   

 

They wouldn't get away with that in this country. Wonder how many businesses compensate their customers for a system that functions perfectly.  

I had a warning on my car yesterday, which disappeared again after 10 minutes or so with no action by myself. As I had the steering wheel replaced last year to 'cure' this problem, I was interested to read in the Australian media than Skoda are now looking at a software update to solve this annoying problem. (It of course affects a wide range of Skoda and VW cars.) 

 

As I never use the Travel Assist feature, I'd be happy if they just deleted it!

 

Chris

Last weekend I made abt 500 miles, mostly on highways with ACC on and I had this warning maybe 200 times. Switching ACC off did not help at all. Since then I had two or three beeps although

I use the car daily. Every time I start the engine I am affraid of what may happen. 

I would not miss travel assist at all, too but only if other assistants remain usable. Problem is that nobody knows what will happen when TA is deleted from system completely., 

On 02/12/2022 at 19:13, KaroqCZ said:

Last weekend I made abt 500 miles, mostly on highways with ACC on and I had this warning maybe 200 times. Switching ACC off did not help at all. Since then I had two or three beeps although

I use the car daily. Every time I start the engine I am affraid of what may happen. 

I would not miss travel assist at all, too but only if other assistants remain usable. Problem is that nobody knows what will happen when TA is deleted from system completely., 

Deleting Travel Assist also seems to remove the Emergency Assist feature - which was an option when I bought my Karoq, and one I had added for its safety implications. Over the last two days, the Travel Assist not currently available warning has re-occurred repeatedly, usually disappearing again after a few miles. This fault is being reported over a wide variety of Skoda, VW and SEAT models, so I am disgusted that VAG have sold such an unreliable feature to so many owners, and can't work out what's wrong with it. 

I had this yesterday. Slightly annoying as I regularly use the ACC on motorway driving, in fact it's one of the best features for me. Then after about 20 mins of driving it came back by itself. I've already had my steering wheel replaced for the Travel Assist Unavailable bong.

Daft question from someone with a humble low spec SE but what is this Travel Assist you speak of?

3 hours ago, DSL said:

Daft question from someone with a humble low spec SE but what is this Travel Assist you speak of?

It was an option on my car, which seems to turn on the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Assist. I often use Lane Assist but prefer to use the Speed Limiter function instead of Cruise Control for most journeys. The Travel Assist also seems to use the capacitive sensors in the steering wheel to detect if you have removed your hands from the wheel - and I now suspect that if these sensors are playing up, you get the 'Travel Assist Not Currently Available' warning. It is more prevalent in cold weather I find, but is not linked to whether I have turned on the heated steering wheel or not. 

 

Chris 

Cheers. 👍 

I am on the latest firmware upgrade (1896), and the problem is getting worse by the day. In addition, the instrument panel indicators for fuel and coolant temp are occasionally flashing.

Update for those who want to start new beeps-free life:

I had TA deactivated today.

In my specification TA consisted of the following components:

Predictable ACC

Traffic signs recognition

line assist

line change assist

automatic parking

traffic jam assistant

emergency assistant

 

After deactivation I found that:

Line assist - originally this assistent used to keep the vehicle in the middle of traffic line all the time. Now, vehicle has to come very close to line to recognize it and react.

Emergency assistant - it is disabled now.

All other assistants work properly.

I had to sign the Agreement as posted here earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, KaroqCZ said:

Update for those who want to start new beeps-free life:

I had TA deactivated today.

In my specification TA consisted of the following components:

Predictable ACC

Traffic signs recognition

line assist

line change assist

automatic parking

traffic jam assistant

emergency assistant

 

After deactivation I found that:

Line assist - originally this assistent used to keep the vehicle in the middle of traffic line all the time. Now, vehicle has to come very close to line to recognize it and react.

Emergency assistant - it is disabled now.

All other assistants work properly.

I had to sign the Agreement as posted here earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the info. 

 

My car had been silent for the last few weeks, until I used the heated steering wheel this week. It was OK when first switched on, but the TA warning came up shortly after turning it off. Now one of the sensors required by the TA is the capacitive sensor in the steering wheel that ensures you have your hands on the wheel. I now believe that using the heated steering wheel affects this sensor (through expansion?) as when not using it, I do not get the TA warning. So perhaps the other solution is to get my driving gloves out again rather than lose the Emergency Assist function??

 

Chris

I am affraid that driving gloves will not solve the problem. While booking my Karoq for TA removal I was lucky to meet a guy from factory whose specialization is to deal with software problems. He says at this moment there is no idea whatsoever what triggers malfunction warnings. He admitted that the problem is not solely caused by faulty sensors in steering wheel but by interaction between sensors and other TA components, even if sensors are working properly. That is why the problem was rarely solved by changing of steering wheel. In view of all this, I am affraid that disabling emergency assist is for time being the only way how to get rid of disturbing beeps. All we can do is to hope that SA will find a working software solution.

Edited 20 January, 20233 yr by KaroqCZ
Misprint

Agreed KaroqCZ. This is a long-standing design fault that has been affecting many VAG cars and not just Skodas. 

 

My previous Golf Sportsvan sounded an alarm when it thought I wasn't turning the steering wheel often enough - and so gave false alarms on long straight motorways. So I'd hoped the capacitive sensors might be an improvement. But now it's looking like we were all mis-sold a feature that hadn't been designed properly. Perhaps we are due a refund of the money we paid for this option??

 

Chris

I have got a generous compensation of one year extention of Skoda Connect ...  😀

Edited 21 January, 20233 yr by KaroqCZ

On 01/12/2022 at 10:36, kodiaqsportline said:

 

They wouldn't get away with that in this country. Wonder how many businesses compensate their customers for a system that functions perfectly.  

 

It's interesting that my 2022 Kodiaq (bought new in May) has started to show the exact same issues - "travel assist currently unavailable" with loud audible 'dong' alarm. The dealer has offered the same remedy of disabling travel assist/emergency braking withy the unfairly drafted disclaimer agreement having to be signed in advance. I did of course refuse to sign and am escalating issue with dealer/Skoda UK. We'll see how far it gets!

Any other suggestions of how best to tackle this would be welcome.

Hi @SBe, I have just booked my 2021 in with dealer (Marshall) to look at this exact issues. 2 months before I can get a slot for diagnosis - is that normal!? 

I'm very interested to know what the dealer (who is it for you?) and Skoda UK say\offer. Do keep us posted, and I'll report in once I've had the diagnosis done on mine. 

 

 

My car is booked in to get this fault rectified again, after having had one new steering wheel fitted 18 months ago. 

 

But I have just discovered this Skoda Australia website VIN Checker | ŠKODA Australia (skoda.com.au) that will tell you if your car has any recalls or service campaign request due. 

 

To my surprise when I entered my UK car's VIN it told me there was a service campaign / recall number 48S5 overdue! This was issued on 05/04/2023 (not clear whether this was the 5th of April or 4th of May) and concerns the S-Assistance Systems camera control unit. (I will be mentioning this to my dealer when I take my car in to make sure they are aware of it.)

 

As this is one of the sensors that can trigger the Travel Assist fault, perhaps they are now patching the software rather than replacing steering wheels?

 

Chris

 

There seems to be a software solution available now. After I had TA deactivated in January i had it re-activated last week in accordance with procedure provided in recall no. 48S5 and entire system seems to work properly now as per factory settings when the car was new. It took 4 hours and as I was told, AD had to ask the manufacturer for special authorization code to proceed with re-activation. 

As a bonus a got a voucher for one year extention of Skoda Connect. I hope that problem is over now.

I seriously doubt issue will be resolved as its most likely caused by related electronics overheating and going haywire (same reason why infotainment in new octavias keeps resetting).. what a ****show by VW