So the latest in a catalog of issues since i've had this Octavie PHEV estate is the following message in the centre console and where the speedo is :

 

"Engine needs to run for longer" along with a graphic of a car with an exclamation mark

 

The message pops up for around 6 or so seconds before it disappears for about 25 secs before it then returns, and so the pattern goes on and on and on.....etc

 

I've been on a 40 mile trip, vehicle left for 2.5 hours before a return 40 mile trip and the above error occurred on both journeys

 

Part of the outward trip was on electric but then the rest on petrol, but obviously alternating to electric when it could

 

I only had 35 miles left in the tank so have now filled up

 

Has anyone else experienced the above please and know what the issue and fix is ?

 

I'm really hoping that this is not ANOTHER trip to the garage.....they've had the car more days than i have and frankly, its becoming ridiculous !!!!!!!!

 

TIA

So what has been getting done by the dealership so far?   Your car might well be one needing a 12volt battery replaced if not already done, or software updates carried out.  The others that have been living with the PHEV,s will be along.  

There are some issues for some with the Gateway that needs replacing IIRC, as it allows more 12V charging.  It might be a software update also needed at the same time.

The message is caused AFAIK from the 12V battery being depleted, and not getting a charge for a while, so it demands the engine be run a bit more for charging the 12V battery.

 

The health of the 12V battery might be comprimised now, and needs replacing because of the terrible charging, see if you can check it with a proper load test somewhere.

thanks for the replies

so i received the fatal "double pop" 12 months ago which killed the sat nav and the SOS, and needed a new head unit once finally diagnosed (took 3 trips to the dealership to resolve)

it had the battery 93O5 which was completed in November last year after much wrangling

unfortunately whilst doing the 93O5, the dealership rendered my sat nav useless so another drop off was needed to resolve the config

during this latest visit (mid Jan 2023), the latest and greatest software updates were applied by the dealership

a couple of weeks ago, i recall seeing further over the air software updates and these were applied weeks ago

 

the error only happened yesterday and so was the first time i'd seen it

3 hours ago, varooom said:

There are some issues for some with the Gateway that needs replacing IIRC, as it allows more 12V charging.  It might be a software update also needed at the same time.

The message is caused AFAIK from the 12V battery being depleted, and not getting a charge for a while, so it demands the engine be run a bit more for charging the 12V battery.

 

The health of the 12V battery might be comprimised now, and needs replacing because of the terrible charging, see if you can check it with a proper load test somewhere.

Hi @varooom,

Do you know if a TPI has been created for this kind of issues?
I'm asking because this week my car went to dealer for the software updates (VC received ver5370 and MMI received ver1896), but they didn't want to upgrade the Gateway module (currently my car is running on software version 7099, and from what I can see in OBD11 the ver7300 seems to be available).

Even so, they changed the battery(prob due to my complains in regards to fast discarding in less then 3 days) , with the pretext it has been checked and a manufacture problem has been detected with it, but this not required software update.

Thank you

Edited 8 February, 20233 yr by djmartzian

Can you supply more details on your gateway HW/SW (full strings)

There is a TPI for MMI & Gateway updates for Kamiq & Scala, so they both need updates, but this might also exist in a document that I don't have.

 

 

Now for Octavia PHEV there exists... Service measure 27J6 TPI: 2065641

That does reference a change in hardware for the Gateway for draining the 12V battery and battery monitor

 

"For Octavia A8 PHEV vehicles from a certain production period, due to the safety of the 12V
battery, the battery monitoring control unit must be replaced and the gateway control unit updated."

 

"Update the gateway control device to SW 7310 via measure code (SVM) 3774."

7 minutes ago, varooom said:

Can you supply more details on your gateway HW/SW (full strings)

There is a TPI for MMI & Gateway updates for Kamiq & Scala, so they both need updates, but this might also exist in a document that I don't have.

 

 

Now for Octavia PHEV there exists... Service measure 27J6 TPI: 2065641

That does reference a change in hardware for the Gateway for draining the 12V battery and battery monitor

 

"For Octavia A8 PHEV vehicles from a certain production period, due to the safety of the 12V
battery, the battery monitoring control unit must be replaced and the gateway control unit updated."

 

"Update the gateway control device to SW 7310 via measure code (SVM) 3774."

 

@varooom - so do you think its the battery monitoring control unit that needs replacing then and the gateway control unit ?

 

If so, then my question is why all of a sudden this has happened ?

Could it be due to the cold weather over the last few days ? (-4 where i am) ?

 

If so, then not a great advert for a car that originates in the Czech Republic !

 

I fear that as soon as i get through to the service department, i'll be met with "Oooo, i've never heard of that fault before !" 😫

@varooom,

Here they are:
 

    Control unit: 19 Gateway
    System description: GW2020 High
    Software number: 5WA907530Q
    Software version: 7099
    Hardware number: 5WA907530G
    Hardware version: 756
    Serial number: 26016090202418131100
    ODX name: EV_GatewMQB2020
    ODX version: 005011

My car isn't PHEV, it's a Mild Hybrid type.

Br

1 hour ago, SeanyH said:

@varooom - so do you think its the battery monitoring control unit that needs replacing then and the gateway control unit ?

 

If so, then my question is why all of a sudden this has happened ?

Could it be due to the cold weather over the last few days ? (-4 where i am) ?

 

If so, then not a great advert for a car that originates in the Czech Republic !

 

I fear that as soon as i get through to the service department, i'll be met with "Oooo, i've never heard of that fault before !" 😫

Sadly I am not a mechanic, but I did make a read of the TPI documents I try and collect here and there.

The cold weather will indeed stress the battery, but also all of the bits that run in background take their toll.

 

All you can do with the service department is give them the symptoms and they should lookup TPI's and determine if they match what you are saying, and evidence is seen (in a poor battery)  The dealers hands are tied as they cannot do some repairs without authority from factory/importer.

 

For 7 Euro's you can lookup yourself on Skoda erWin and armed with your VIN in a text file ready to go, download workshop repair manuals/wiring diagrams and a PDF of all your build codes.  Then you can enter the section where you can lookup the TPI documents and download information as PDF's (you will need a PDF printer installed)  Do this yourself if you don't trust them to find the documents (experience in some dealers are poor)

1 hour ago, djmartzian said:

@varooom,

Here they are:
 

    Control unit: 19 Gateway
    System description: GW2020 High
    Software number: 5WA907530Q
    Software version: 7099
    Hardware number: 5WA907530G
    Hardware version: 756
    Serial number: 26016090202418131100
    ODX name: EV_GatewMQB2020
    ODX version: 005011

My car isn't PHEV, it's a Mild Hybrid type.

Br

 

Exists these firmwares

FL_5WA907530Q_7099__V001_E.frf
FL_5WA907530Q_7099__V001_S.frf
FL_5WA907530Q_7300__V001_E.frf
FL_5WA907530Q_7300__V001_S.frf

As above, you may need to look at erWin Skoda yourself and locate any TPI documents you can for your issues, should you wish.

 

 

You may have had the update applied already to your car, as this line exists in the TPI document also...

"Update the gateway control device to SW 7099 via measure code (SVM) 3774."

 

Which is a match for your gateway firmware.

For both of you, I can take a quick look with your VIN to maybe see if there has been any service measures applied to your car(s).

Feel free to PM your VIN if you like, no promises I can view, but happy to try.

I just noticed that OAA2 download was available so i'm installing that to see if it makes any difference

additionally, i've spoken to the dealer who is going to speak with their "master technician" to see if they are aware and then advise on the next steps

On 08/02/2023 at 16:48, SeanyH said:

additionally, i've spoken to the dealer who is going to speak with their "master technician" to see if they are aware and then advise on the next steps

Long time passed. Would you mind to update us on how the problem was resolved?

I just got new 12V battery on Friday, and on Sunday started having the same issue as you described. Engine starts every 20-30 seconds, runs only for 5-10 seconds, message appears that it needs to run longer.

In case if someone will be looking into such issue later, here's an update.

Had this behavior for 6 days straight, then 2 days nothing. Then one more day and again nothing for a week. Today technician in a workshop was scratching his head watching my video, saying he had never seen anything like that before. Car diagnostic showed, as he said, errors in 3 different gateways triggered by power imbalance, as well as error with Type 2 charging socket controller. He did some flash updates for these gateways and initiated recalibration of electric motor. So far so good, hopefully problem won't come back. But the real reason is still unknown and why it appeared after replacement of 12V battery is also unknown.

Hi,

 

I have came across this issue too yesterday. It was a scorching heat outside and I thought the AC needs to run the engine in addition.

I drove the car for 3 weeks only on electric now and when yesterday started the car in EV switched automatically to hybrid and started engine immediately than the notification appeared all the time the engine started than disappeared than reappeared and so on. Since the car has only 3 yrs the 12V battery should not have issues so I have googled it and found that the car definitely needs to run the CE from time to time for a good condition (corrosion, water condensation etc)

After a while, observed that even in parking position the CE idled. My petrol level was pretty low so went to a station and added some 10 liters.

After that, the notification did not reappear.

Today started in EV mode again and no message, no warning. Let's see for how long.

 

Edited 16 July, 20241 yr by axw

Over the past (almost) 9 months I've had the twin-brother PHEV, I found that after 10-14 days of EV drive exclusively, the car decides to start the ICE. Normally I drive in EV Monday-to-Friday and have some longer trips over the weekend in hybrid mode, such that over the entire next week I'm "safe" to run EV only.
However, I noticed that extreme temps (cold or hot) and the use of preconditioning (heating or cooling the car) sometimes makes the ICE start by itself even sooner than 10 days since it was last used.

yes that makes sense. I am using the same scheme as you mon-fri EV only and weekends shorter hybrid trips but first time 3 weeks now didn't use hybrid mode so I guess it was time to run it for a while

1 hour ago, axw said:

and found that the car definitely needs to run the CE from time to time for a good condition (corrosion, water condensation etc)

 

44 minutes ago, SkOmk4 said:

I found that after 10-14 days of EV drive exclusively, the car decides to start the ICE

What you guys are talking about is not the problem which was discussed here originally. That car sometimes wants to run ICE is ok, but this is different behavior - it starts engine right at first launch, engine runs continuously for some time and does not allow to switch back to e-mode, no errors on dash. What we had (or at least I had) is that error pops up on the dash, and engine goes on and off intermittently. It allows to put it back to e-mode, but just to jump back to hybrid in a few seconds. That is clearly not ok and I am glad it was fixed in my case. Technician told me there were different 12V readings on 3 different gateways and that probably triggered the system to launch ICE thinking that 12V does not provide enough power.

Mine behaves like yours it seems though, when I started went into hybrid mode and started engine right away and starts-stops engine just like when in hybrid mode just that more frequently together with the warning sign (I would say it is rather an info message).

When you first came across this warning do you remember whether you used a lot in EV mode only or prevailingly in EV mode? Did you try to obey and run it longer than refuel?

1 hour ago, axw said:

When you first came across this warning do you remember whether you used a lot in EV mode only or prevailingly in EV mode? Did you try to obey and run it longer than refuel?

As I wrote before, my issue appeared after changing 12V battery, on the third day after that. I always drive in e-mode, sometimes a month without starting ICE, but that is not relevant to the issue. After it was fixed I continue running e-mode only.