Hi all,

 

Hoping somebody might have some input here and be more helpful than the dealer has been...

 

On two separate occasions, I have experienced VERY harsh phantom braking in the Octavia.  This is not a collision avoidance brake as there are no vehicles in front, nor are there any of the usual alerts on the dash that indicate why the car has done this.  This is hard enough to trigger ABS, but lasts only for around a second.

 

On both occasions, immediately after, the auto shifter is very difficult to operate.  It still selects gears (though the DSG mode toggle doesn't always work) and otherwise drives normally.  Last time, the shifter loosened up over time, but the stiffness reoccurred immediately following the most recent phantom braking issue.

 

Frustratingly, the dealer doesn't have any idea short of replacing the shifter at the cost of over $3000.  While the two are definitely linked in some way, I would like some certainty that something in the shifter unit is causing the braking, rather than whatever is causing the braking is also messing with the shifter and hence treating a symptom and not a cause.  No fault codes are recorded, according to the dealer.

 

Hoping somebody here has experienced this issue - I'm surprised that Skoda doesn't have some sort of global knowledge base they can call upon as I'm certain I'm not the only person in the world that has this problem!

Does anything show up in a fault code scan?

12 hours ago, picklewizard said:

Frustratingly, the dealer doesn't have any idea short of replacing the shifter

Well, my idea is to change your mechanic to "not the Skoda main stealer".

 

Also, have you seen vehicles on roads joining at junctions, or parallel with lower speed limits, or rubbish like blowing crisp packets at these times?

Hey all, sorry for late replies.

 

@PetrolDaveNo codes, and @Paws4Thot I've had this car for a number of years and I'm quite used to when it thinks it needs to brake but doesn't (only so many times you get the crap scared out of you before you learn, lol) - nothing at all in both instances.

Maybe I am the only person in the world with this issue.

 

Does anybody know if the shifter has a mechanical linkage to the box?  I'm finding that in addition to the stiffness, it feels like it's slightly misaligned.  The detents don't seem to engage as firmly and a slight movement will knock it out of gear.

Making some assumptions here: This is probably a DQ250 6 speed DSG gearbox we are talking about.  Is the car 2 wheel or 4x4 variant?  What mileage is the car and when did you have a fluid and filter change done on the gearbox?

7 minutes ago, varaderoguy said:

Making some assumptions here: This is probably a DQ250 6 speed DSG gearbox we are talking about.  Is the car 2 wheel or 4x4 variant?  What mileage is the car and when did you have a fluid and filter change done on the gearbox?

VRS so FWD, has just over 150k on it.  DSG service was performed by the dealer at the specified interval (I'd say 100k?).  Car has all specified dealer maintenance for the milage.

The DQ250 gearbox should be serviced every 40,000 miles or 65,000 kms.

Does your car have collision avoidance / auto-braking and can it be turned off?

 

If it still does it with it turned off then it points the finger at the gearbox.

Just my two cents.

 

I would suggest that the radar issues are a job for the dealer. However, I would definitely suggest finding a good Indie that can look at the shifter. Only once I'd figured out what the issue is, would I go to the dealer for any radar work. It might just be a coincidence - as far as I know, there is absolutely zero connection between the brake assist system and the shifter knob (besides the obvious).

 

I would get down to an Indie (or up, as you're the wrong way up anyway) and get the gearbox/shifter issue sorted first. Just my thoughts having read what you've said too - might it not be impossible that something is seriously f***** up with the gearbox, causing the braking effect? I.E. if the assist braking system definitely isn't kicking in, are you 100% certain that it's the brakes and ABS system doing the stopping, rather than something else?

 

Phantom braking is quite rare, and only down to a fault with the brake booster (as it is the only part that can brake by itself). Definitely get yourself to an Indie ASAP, and get the brake booster checked out. If it's fine, and you don't get any assist warnings (unlikely, but it could still be kicking in, just not giving you the warning) then that's a bit of a problem.