I'm currently thinking of buying an almost new Octavia RS 4x4 TDI (registered March 2023). It has all the bells and whistles, lane assist, ACC, DCC, pano roof,... But reading all the posts about the software being very buggy, I'm kind of put off. I did read the thread about the infotainment restarting, and as far as I could tell, the recent 1940 update fixed it? I'm not sure what to think.

 

Do current owners have many issues with the cars (infotainment, safety systems not working, etc.)?

 

I know most people only post on forums when they have a problem, so probably not really indicative of the real situation, but I really don't want to spend that much money for a car that will drive me nuts every minute I spend in it.

 

 

The 1941 software seems to have resolved 99.9% of the issues that owners were having. With very few exceptions, those seem to be with the older hardware, which needs upgrading.

 

With a car that's registered in 2023, that's not going to be an issue.

 

I had 1900 software on my car when it arrived, it then received an OTA update and the reboot and restart problem arose, but I was kindly given the update to 1941 and received a couple of further updates and all is still good and no problems.

29 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

The 1941 software seems to have resolved 99.9% of the issues that owners were having. With very few exceptions, those seem to be with the older hardware, which needs upgrading.

 

With a car that's registered in 2023, that's not going to be an issue.

 

I had 1900 software on my car when it arrived, it then received an OTA update and the reboot and restart problem arose, but I was kindly given the update to 1941 and received a couple of further updates and all is still good and no problems.

That sounds good, maybe it's not that bad. I mean, the dealer didn't mention any problems (to be fair, he probably wouldn't), and I didn't notice anything in my short test drive, but it would have to be really bad for me to experience anything in those 15 minutes.

I was worried about a few ACC problems I read about on here, but seems that some were fixed by the update, and some were just rodents.

 

If it's a 2023 car it'll have a warranty on it, my last Octavia was a nightmare and loads of work was done under warranty including £1400 worth of headlights. 

 

So that car will have a warranty and have a look at your consumer rights when it comes to cars. 

 

But there really shouldn't be any issues or problems with it and if you want the car, then as part of deal say I would like you to install the latest firmware on the infotainment system which they should know all about. 

1 hour ago, bricker_152 said:

I was worried about a few ACC problems I read about on here, but seems that some were fixed by the update, and some were just rodents.

A while back ACC was a nightmare, it was fixed through various updates by the dealer under warranty but then an OTA update caused the infotainment system to repeatedly restart. In my car that was the start of another round of ACC misbehaviour; almost as though the reboots caused the car to default back to driving on the right. 
Since the dealer updated it to v.1941 ACC has been perfect.

Mine is a 2020 model which I’ve had for two and a half years - plenty of issues early on but I [just about] hung on till the fixes were developed and applied - so pleased I did! These are great cars, look good, comfortable, economical, spacious, and the 1.5tsi plenty quick enough for me. I guess the VRS would be pretty lively.

It’s worth noting that s/ware issues are not unique to Škoda/VAG cars, I know people with Range Rovers, Volvos, BMWs and Mercs each with issues. So if the RS you’re looking at ticks all the other boxes then I’d suggest you go for it.

7 minutes ago, SteveTheElder said:

A while back ACC was a nightmare, it was fixed through various updates by the dealer under warranty but then an OTA update caused the infotainment system to repeatedly restart. In my car that was the start of another round of ACC misbehaviour; almost as though the reboots caused the car to default back to driving on the right. 
Since the dealer updated it to v.1941 ACC has been perfect.

Mine is a 2020 model which I’ve had for two and a half years - plenty of issues early on but I [just about] hung on till the fixes were developed and applied - so pleased I did! These are great cars, look good, comfortable, economical, spacious, and the 1.5tsi plenty quick enough for me. I guess the VRS would be pretty lively.

It’s worth noting that s/ware issues are not unique to Škoda/VAG cars, I know people with Range Rovers, Volvos, BMWs and Mercs each with issues. So if the RS you’re looking at ticks all the other boxes then I’d suggest you go for it.

That's good to hear. I'm currently driving a 2014 Greenline and have been eyeing the RS for a while now. Just done the service at 225k km, got a good deal to trade it for the RS.

I guess with cars becoming more and more complicated computer wise, they are bound to have a few bugs and glitches, but the launch of mk4 seemed to be worse than normal. Glad they fixed most of the big problems.

My 2021 car has had all of the issues mentioned above. They have gradually been solved. Two months ago the climate SYNC issue was fixed, and it's in today having the 1941 infotainment upgrade applied.

 

I've had a 2023 Octavia as a loan vehicle several times this year. In some cases I had the car for a few weeks at a time and it had no issues at all. I have even used it as an example to the dealer, as it had no issues with the climate sync, infotainment restarting, etc. I said to the dealer "whatever software is running on the loan car, can you please install on mine".

 

So I would say you would be fine in a 2023 car.

Yea on my 3rd Octavia: 2013, 2018 & now a mk4 delivered March 2023. 

No warranty issues with all 3 so far, although occasional warnings which go away on restarting. 

 

They always said if Microsoft made cars.......so now they do alt/ctrl/delete.

Went to the dealer today regarding some functionality with My Skoda app and the technical support guy said that my car was due an upgrade to 1941 firmware, I told him that it was already on it and that of got the firmware off the web, he went mad.

 

He said that it won't work without it being linked to the Skoda servers via ODIS or something, and I said it's been on there a few weeks had at least 2 separate updates since and has performed perfectly ever since. I think that he knew where it came from when I said the web and that I still had it on a usb stick.

 

I don't think he was that impressed somehow, I guess it's the loss of money, but that update would've been done under warranty anyway.

10 hours ago, TheWanderer said:

He said that it won't work without it being linked to the Skoda servers via ODIS or something

Blah blah waffle - typical dealer nonsense!

10 hours ago, TheWanderer said:

Went to the dealer today regarding some functionality with My Skoda app and the technical support guy said that my car was due an upgrade to 1941 firmware, I told him that it was already on it and that of got the firmware off the web, he went mad.

 

He said that it won't work without it being linked to the Skoda servers via ODIS or something, and I said it's been on there a few weeks had at least 2 separate updates since and has performed perfectly ever since. I think that he knew where it came from when I said the web and that I still had it on a usb stick.

 

I don't think he was that impressed somehow, I guess it's the loss of money, but that update would've been done under warranty anyway.

My dealer is also aware of this. When I took my car in they asked if I had updated or tried to update to 1941 myself, as they are aware of some users doing this. Apparently when you do it yourself it generates fault codes, which need to be cleared. They went on to say if your car goes back to a dealer for subsequent work it will show up that an update has been applied in a "non-standard" way. 

 

If Skoda want to stop this happening, then push 1941 OTA to all vehicles so users don't get so fed up with their infotainment constantly restarting that they resort to taking the risk of doing it themselves.

34 minutes ago, JamesK said:

 

If Skoda want to stop this happening, then push 1941 OTA to all vehicles so users don't get so fed up with their infotainment constantly restarting that they resort to taking the risk of doing it themselves.

Alternatively, just take the car to the dealers to get the faults fixed, especially if it’s under warranty.

On 15/08/2023 at 11:35, TheWanderer said:

The 1941 software seems to have resolved 99.9% of the issues that owners were having. With very few exceptions, those seem to be with the older hardware, which needs upgrading.

 

With a car that's registered in 2023, that's not going to be an issue.

 

I had 1900 software on my car when it arrived, it then received an OTA update and the reboot and restart problem arose, but I was kindly given the update to 1941 and received a couple of further updates and all is still good and no problems.

A big OTA (SW 1441?) update reported by Skoda Service and by my Service Partner is currently rolling out and due for completion by the end of this year. 

 

Since my warranty expires soon, In your opinion is it likely that my Service Partner would, on my request,  perform the big (SW 1441?) update in their service department?

26 minutes ago, PoloPaul said:

A big OTA (SW 1441?) update reported by Skoda Service and by my Service Partner is currently rolling out and due for completion by the end of this year. 

 

Since my warranty expires soon, In your opinion is it likely that my Service Partner would, on my request,  perform the big (SW 1441?) update in their service department?

 

There is a TPI that applies to the Mk4 and it should be applied to your car and then should apply software revision 1941, that should sort out any issues with the infotainment system on your car for the foreseeable 

10 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

 

There is a TPI that applies to the Mk4 and it should be applied to your car and then should apply software revision 1941, that should sort out any issues with the infotainment system on your car for the foreseeable 

Thanks Wanderer

 

Will that happen OTA or must this be done by the Service partner. 
 

Thanks

If you have a service booked and it doesn't arrive over the air beforehand then get the dealer to apply the 1941 firmware, otherwise it will do itself, but as previously mentioned the really big updates are usually left for dealerships or service partners to do 

I am on two year servicing not due until next year. Would you advise bringing it forward to this year so I get the ‘big’ update prior to warranty expiring?

41 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

 

There is a TPI that applies to the Mk4 and it should be applied to your car and then should apply software revision 1941, that should sort out any issues with the infotainment system on your car for the foreseeable 

 

The dealer commented to me yesterday that there is now more than 1 TPI out which mandates upgrading the infotainment to 1941. He said the list of published bugs for 1896 is pretty extensive (which most of us know).

So can this be accomplished OTA or should/can I press for my service partner to do this prior to warranty expiration?

Get it done via dealer as looking back I don't think it will come over the air it's a near 9Gb file, it will take even a good 5G signal about ½hr to download it. 

Will do Wanderer

 

Any idea if I can insist it’s done at the dealership rather than OTA. 

40 minutes ago, PoloPaul said:

So can this be accomplished OTA or should/can I press for my service partner to do this prior to warranty expiration?

Yes, get your dealer to do it under the warranty. I called mine and said I had a bunch of issues, including the reboots and consequent ACC issues. Was told 'you're not the only one' and they were happy to update to 1941 and provide a loan car. No charge.

Cheers SteveTheElder

 

I tried to book mine in a month ago and the Service Manager said a big update is due OTA before October. So definitely not wanting to book in. Any idea if I can insist or if its at the manager’s discretion?

@PoloPaul not sure if you can insist or not, sorry. I had prep'd a few [hyped up] arguments ahead of calling but didn't need them. Basically just told them I had the reboots up to four times and ACC issues - but I was ready with, for example, that the loss of satnav functionality in unfamiliar big city rush hour traffic was stressful/confusing/dangerous; after months of ACC working perfectly for it to suddenly and intermittently screw up again was dangerous.

Pick a few errors from the list in the TPI and big 'em up if need be (see page 12 of the Infotainment continually restarting threat).

Phoned up and asked. They said that the updates are applied by chassis number so only Skoda know when it is due. They said if later in the year the OTA hasn’t happened they’ll check to see if it is overdue and if so will apply it in the workshop. 
 

They assure me that the OTA updates are proceeding well.