My dealer told me that the update - when it is eventually released - needs to be done in a Skoda garage, which makes sense given the obvious opportunity for calamity should the update go wrong.

I'm getting worried that when they say they're working on a fix they actually don't know what the root cause is. From what i see they're focused on their new models and since Aug 2024 till now there's no fix. When you need your car urgently you can never be sure it will start. So I believe every onwer experiencing this issue should request a fix in their local services.

Car went into the dealer yesterday. They reported that it needed a software update but Skoda were still working on it. They will call me when they can do it.

The good news is that it's a recognised problem. The bad news is that when booking in I asked them to confirm there was a solution but they told me they had to diagnose the problem first!

The other good news is that after 4 occurrences in a couple of weeks, it hasn't happened again in 6 weeks.

They tell me that there are separate updates for each car configuration. In other words the fact that a fix is available for an SE doesn't mean there's one for an SEL. Presumably that applies to a SEAT and Skoda.

Still no fix for me either, regularly in touch with Skoda but they can only tell me they don’t have a solution yet. Strangely I’ve had no issues since I took it back to dealer to have it checked in January. Still doesn’t get away from the fact that they are still selling cars with a known fault! Surprised they can get away with that without it getting known by the buying public!

Happened to me again today. Admittedly, I washed it last night and it worked perfectly this morning. Then my wife needed to be down the road in 15 minutes and it didn't start. Still didn't start after 10 minutes. She had to get someone to collect her - by which time it started.

This is seriously irritating. How does one get this escalated with Skoda? The garage just tell me to call Skoda Assist which is useless because the car starts before they'd arrive

Any urgent appointment, you have to start 10 minutes early because you can't trust it to start.

I have been dealing with Škoda Customer Support since January trying to get some help. They regularly contact my retailer who tells them that no update to fix the issue is available at the moment.

I have emailed the CEO of Skoda Uk and I am now dealing with their executive support team who seem to be taking the issue more seriously. I have told them I just want a car that works!

It still seems to be the retailer who has to sort the problem out but I think the blame lies with the manufacturer, Škoda, who are making and selling cars that don’t work properly! I’m expecting a result next week. Will keep posting!

My first start failure was when weather was cold. Then it happened a few times when it was warm. Then it happened when it was hot. Then, whilst driving slowly through shallow standing water, and without generating any significant bow wave, the car decided to come to a halt with a 48v system failure. I have concluded that the car doesn't like to be used in any atmospheric conditions.

We all deserve full refunds, plus generous compensation for the frustration and wasted time. And the buffoons who programmed the electronics deserve to be publicly flogged (or at the very least ritually humiliated) on a daily basis without appeal or scope for redemption.

Needless to say, Skoda has even risen to the challenge of making things even worse, rubbing a healthy dose of salt into the wound. The car was bought in Spain last year, with a theoretically Europe-wide assistance service. But when the car failed to start in the UK, Skoda's UK assistance number (which is subcontracted to the AA*) refused to attend the car because it had a Spanish plate.

(*) I have concluded that the AA must stand for Ar*ewholes Anonymous

Anybody had a solution to this? Just had the same issue today - the first wet day for months. The car was booked in for its first service today but they cancelled it because there weren't any courtesy cars available. It's now going in next week. When booking they told me the fix wasn't available yet. The last car I had that didn't start in the rain was my Hillman Imp - and at least I knew where to spray the WD40.

Edited 2 July, 20252 Jul by chrisclin
Punctuation

It seems to me that the weather conditions are irrelevant. I’m told it’s a software issue where some of the “modules” don’t shut down properly and so when you go to start the engine the “computer says no”! As with all IT issues, switch it off, lock it and start again!! They have no fix for it so basically they are selling brand new cars with a known issue without telling the customer. They are relying on customers just putting up with it as a minor irritation. If it happens when you really need a quick exit it really isn’t a minor irritation. I have been in discussion with Škoda Customer service and my dealer for the last 6 months and I’m now moving to a refusal of the car as it’s not fit for purpose. A great shame because apart from this issue I think the car’s great!

My Skoda dealer has updated me regularly. The fix that was promised to them by Skoda HQ for before the end of March has still not been released. The dealer has now run out of ways to apologise.

But I bet it hasn't stopped them selling new cars of the same model to hapless punters.

Fellow members of the Skoda m-HEV victim support group all still face the uncertainty of not knowing whether the brand new car that we rely on for transport will start when we need it to start.

This is beyond farce.

It happened to me again a couple of weeks back but resolved itself fairly quickly. However, the fact remains that this '24 plate car has failed to start more times in 4 months than all of my previous cars added together over the last 25 years or so. The retailer has not responded to me once in the almost 8 weeks since I reported that the problem had been identified by my local dealership. Skoda Customer Service have found it similarly impossible to get any sense out of them. The retailer has just come back with the same excuse they used to Skoda more than 6 weeks ago - that they're waiting for information which the other dealership located in 1 hour. They clearly have no interest in repairing or replacing the vehicle. My theory is the retailer is trying to run down the clock, knowing my statutory right reduced from 6 months of ownership onwards. Totally ignoring the Consumer Rights Act. For that reason alone, I'm taking it to the Motor Ombudsman. Not hopeful it will make any difference but it should at least force the seller to engage.

Any good news anyone?

I wanted to write earlier, but the car has been under repair/update for over three weeks.

Let me quickly update. In February, seven assistance systems turned off after seven kilometers of driving. Among them, the wipers, windshield washer fluid, and turn signals did not work. I wrote to the service center and they told me that there would be an update for our car in the second half of March. They didn't call me. I called them in April and found out that there was no update yet. At the end of June I wrote to them again that the car would soon be a year old and nothing had been done about the ignition problem. And with other problems such as the radio not working occasionally, the rear view camera not working, the speakers cracking, the assistance systems not working...

They told me to bring my car in for service in a week and they would update it within 4 days. I thought great, finally... and I got a replacement vehicle. After 4 days the car was not finished. They said they need another day or so. No problem, the car will finally work as it should. After a week it still wasn't finished. And I asked why. They told me the updates were messing up. That thay are not loading all the way. But that they would try to fix it. After another week I called again, it was not finished again and they told me that they were unable to do/upload the updates. The car is not drivable. And that they are waiting for an update from the factory specifically for my car.

I don't know what to think.

I'll leave the car at the service station for now, if that's the case. And since I still have a spare car.

But I just keep getting more questions in my head. When will the update come for my car, if it took a long time for the basic one. Will the car be fixed at all? Has anyone else had this problem? What can I do while it's still under warranty....

Anyone?

Well I’ve had the new car for nearly a year and I’m still getting the non starting issue. Anyone else still having trouble with this issue?

On 17/08/2025 at 17:31, andypollard said:

Well I’ve had the new car for nearly a year and I’m still getting the non starting issue. Anyone else still having trouble with this issue?

It's a strange one. After a cluster of failures to start across a couple of weeks, the car then behaved itself for a few months - although, it has to be said, I was using it a lot less than usual to keep the mileage down while I worked on a resolution with the dealership. They didn't respond to my complaint at all initially and repeatedly fobbed off Skoda customer services with delaying tactics. I set a deadline to refer the dealership to the Motor Ombudsman, which finally prompted some movement. Ultimately, Skoda agreed to reimburse the dealer and, I understand, cover depreciation costs until they come up with a fix. Consequently, I was able to return the car and receive a full refund.

I believe a lot of the same consumer rights apply, even after a year. The difference is that, beyond the first 6 months, the onus falls on the customer to prove the fault existed when the car was purchased. If the issue was diagnosed by a Skoda franchise and deemed unresolvable early in your ownership, perhaps you still might get somewhere. It would probably be a reduced refund adjusted for mileage with an older car, but that should still be substantially more than the sale/part exchange value.

It's quite a lot of hassle, frankly, but I didn't want to keep a car that might continue to let me down in the long term.

Edited 3 September, 20253 Sep by BadgerUK

On 03/01/2025 at 08:01, Bob_A said:

I bought this car new in Spain in September 2024 and use it to drive between our properties in Spain and the UK. I'm in the UK at the moment and on a couple of occasions the car has refused to start on cold-ish mornings (3-4 degrees).

 

Normally, I'd just depress the brake, press the starter and the car would start almost immediately. But on these two mornings, following this routine resulted in nothing. The engine isn't trying to churn, it simply sits there mutely and does nothing. 

 

After a few cycles of this behaviour, I leave the car and lock up. When I go back a few minutes later it typically starts. I'm going to drop it into the dealer in Spain when I get back there but wondered if anyone had any advice in the meantime.

Firstly - and thank goodness - the "computer say no" starting problem hasn't manifested itself for a few months now, although I still approach hitting the starter button (and driving in very wet weather) with a huge amount of trepidation.

To my enormous surprise, over the last few days, my Spanish Skoda dealer has informed me that Skoda have finally come up with an update which is alleged to solve the problem. I have booked the car in for the middle of the month.

However, if you hear a very loud explosion in the Valencia region on the 16th August, it will be because they have failed to resolve the issue and I have detonated a small thermonuclear device purchased from the local Chinese Bazaar at the dealership.

I obviously made a mistake starting a new topic with this.

Phoned last week by Skoda to be told that my car (one of the first of the update cars) has been recalled for a software update. She wouldn't tell me what it was meant to fix but it'll take at least 2 days and she booked me in for 3 'just to be sure'

By coincidence (???) the car played its 'start failure' trick yesterday, where it didn't start after being parked for a couple of hours but did 10 minutes later.

Any idea what this update is likely to be? Can i hope that it might resolve the problem - that incidentally happened again the day after posting the new topic!

These are the current system levels.

I have suffered the non starting issue with my October 2024 Škoda Octavia SE L mhev 1.5 for almost 12 months. For most of this time I have been dealing with Customer Support and today I picked up a brand new replacement vehicle from my dealer. I was not charged for use of the existing car which has done 8500 miles, nor did I have pay road tax. In the end I am happy with this, although I would have preferred not to have argued for so long to get this done. Just hope the new car doesn’t have the same issue!

Glad for you. It does sound as though they haven't got a fix. Be very interesting to hear if the problem is repeated with your new car.

So - I booked the car in to be upgraded yesterday and was told they wanted to keep the car in overnight.

This morning, I asked the Skoda dealer (Jose Jorro in Denia) how the car was doing and was told (and I quote) "The update is going according to plan, but it's true that this morning, when we logged into the brand's software program, which is supposed to complete the update, it was causing problems across Spain. We know they're working on it to resolve the situation."

I have no confidence in Skoda's ability to "resolve the situation".

You really couldn't make it up, could you? This car has the most disastrous electronics of any car I have ever owned (and I've owned a few duds in my time).

It will come as no surprise to any of you that when Jose Jorro Denia implemented the update, they managed to break the internet connectivity at the same time. The Skoda configuration wizard is of no help whatsoever, so I will no doubt have to drive all the way to Denia again to get them to fix it.

Regarding the update: the car started when I picked it up, but as Skoda drivers know only too well, one swallow does not make a summer, and this proves nothing.

Today's update: I drove all the way back to Denia for the second time in a week. Earlier, the latest upgrade had managed to leave me without any internet connectivity, despite having just paid for a year's cubic telecom contract.

This time, they managed to temporarily restore internet connectivity BUT only at the cost of disabling my user ID. When they managed to restore the user ID, it had destroyed the internet connectivity again.

So it appears that you can only have two out of the following three: latest upgrade and/or internet connectivity and/or your personalised user ID. Combining all 3 is apparently impossible.

I'm not sure I blame the technicians at the local dealership. They can only follow the instructions and use the tools that Skoda provides them with. Even they acknowledge that Skoda's software is crap.

But this whole debacle raises serious questions about the quality of Skoda's software development and pre-release testing. One of the bugs (the one that causes the car to stall without notice when driving slowly through relatively shallow standing water) could potentially result in a fatality. I wonder how many other potentially fatal flaws are lurking in Skoda's software code?