Hello, I recently bought an "approved used" 70 plate Karoq through a local Skoda dealer. I've noticed that it's missing a few features present on every other 70 plate I've looked at online - USB-C connectivity, wireless car play, and the updated steering wheel with Chrome scrollers. My car has wired carplay through the old fashioned USB-A socket, and the previous steering wheel.

 

None of these things are massive deal breakers but I'm just wondering why they're missing on my car, and if it's something I should query with the dealer, and whether there's anything they could even do about it.

 

TIA!

Check the VIn for year and place of manufacture.

 

BTW does anyone have a way of decoding the last 6 digits?  eg 112453

 

Edited 26 January, 20251 yr by chills

6 minutes ago, chills said:

Check the VIn for year and place of manufacture.

 

BTW does anyone have a way of decoding the last 6 digits?  eg 112453

 

 

The VIN is 'L20' and date of registration is September 2020. So I believe it should have the newer features... but for some reason it doesn't.

Welcome.

 

This will be an issue for many buying cars from the Covid-19 years and theMicro-chip sgortage years. 

Stuff that was not fitted to vehicles. 

9 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

Welcome.

 

This will be an issue for many buying cars from the Covid-19 years and theMicro-chip sgortage years. 

Stuff that was not fitted to vehicles. 

 

The problems with the silicon were not due to COVID but climate change. Several fabs were flooded, at around the same time,in "freak"  storms and floods.   COVID exacerbated the problems as it started as the MCU problem declined.
The thing is it takes 3 years to build and start a Fab. Which is longer than it took to clear up the flooded Fabs, but not by much.   As the "freak" weather is becoming more common place, there are steps being taken to mitigate the problems. Yes, Climate change is real, or these silicon manufacturing capitalists would not be spending billions to mitigate the problems caused by it.

 

For about 2 years due to problems with chip supply cars were partially built, sub assemblies made etc and stocked to some extent.  Then manufacturing completed as the parts arrived, so old stock would have to be used up first. Meaning, some cars with older spec's had a later Mfr date.  This may also depend on the plant the car was built in.  Shortages and backlogs were not the same in all of them as the car companies, globally, reorganized to try and keep some plants as close to normal production at the expense of others.in the group. 

 

@chillsI never said that the chip shortage was due to Covid-19,  but as it is that is the issue, pretty much the same years. 

Stuff not fitted to cars.  Plus cars sat longer than usual at distribution areas, and not only across on Mainland Europe during the Covid-19 years.

 

Edited 26 January, 20251 yr by Ootohere

Could you kindly explain what FAB and MCU is supposed to mean please?

 

I can probably guess the last 2 letters of the latter one.

45 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Could you kindly explain what FAB and MCU is supposed to mean please?

 

I can probably guess the last 2 letters of the latter one.

FAB Fabrication plant.  These are enormous clean room plants for growing the silicon wafers.  (Start video at 8:50)

 

 

They produce "chips" in particular MCU or Micro Controller Units. Which are not quite the same as a CPU or Central Processing Unit on a PC
Technically the processors on the M1 Mac are MCUs not CPUs   The other one is GPU or Graphics Processing Unit which is a specialist MCU/CPU similar to a DSP (Digital Signal Processing Unit)
 

The shortage was due to flooding in several major fabs in Asia, far bigger than the one in the video, due to freak weather.  It took a couple of years to rectify. Then you had the backlog of supply to get through.  This was just getting back online when COVID hit. As you will see in the video, they are huge clean rooms where the few people wear full suite, masks, hair covers, eye protection as normal working procedures. These places have filtered forced air and are cleaner than any hospital operating theatre.   Also, as staff don't tend to work closely with other people, they were not really affected by COVID. When COVID hit, I think they kept shifts in isolated dorms rather than going home.

 

 The electronics production for PCBs (the circuit boards)  is 99% automated, once the chips came back online there was little problem with production during COVID.  Vehicle production was affected. Whist much is automated final assembly does require people in close proximity, The problem was the chip shortage and COVID overlapped a bit. So you had cars held up with the chip shortages, though some of the problems were due to politics (commercial, not government) in the industry. Then COVID. 

At the time, I was a member of this https://aesin.org.uk/  as I did embedded critical systems.  So I saw it from the inside, talking to the Tier 1's and the supply chain.   
I retired in 2023 closing the company

Edited 26 January, 20251 yr by chills

Thanks, its an acronym that is not really decipherable.

24 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Thanks, its an acronym that is not really decipherable.

The problem with TLA's is that it depends on context.  The same three letters can mean very different things, depending on the field or industry.  Sometimes within different parts of the same industry. 
I have seen this cause confusion. Also Fab is an abbreviation not a TLA   and anyway TLA has multiple definitions. In this case, Three Letter Acronym. 
It doesn't help that I am dyslexic and spill chuckers can give the wrong answers.

Edited 26 January, 20251 yr by chills

I reckon its more likely your car was made just before spec changes took effect (and/or registered late)  

Okay, interesting... What are the chances they would retrospectively fit the new components under the "approved used" scheme?

Edited 26 January, 20251 yr by Light_Chaser

5 minutes ago, Light_Chaser said:

Okay, interesting... What are the chances they would retrospectively fit the new components under the "approved used" scheme?

Let’s have a think……….nil.

33 minutes ago, Light_Chaser said:

Okay, interesting... What are the chances they would retrospectively fit the new components under the "approved used" scheme?

Personally, I would say no chance!

1 hour ago, Light_Chaser said:

What are the chances they would retrospectively fit the new components under the "approved used" scheme?

None at all but ask anyway as you have nothing to loose.
On a roll of the dice you may get an acceptable deal.
 

On 26/01/2025 at 09:11, Light_Chaser said:

Hello, I recently bought an "approved used" 70 plate Karoq through a local Skoda dealer. I've noticed that it's missing a few features present on every other 70 plate I've looked at online - USB-C connectivity, wireless car play, and the updated steering wheel with Chrome scrollers. My car has wired carplay through the old fashioned USB-A socket, and the previous steering wheel.

 

None of these things are massive deal breakers but I'm just wondering why they're missing on my car, and if it's something I should query with the dealer, and whether there's anything they could even do about it.

 

TIA!

The items you mention, (USB-C etc.) are Model Year 2021 specs, which were introduced for new orders registered from late 2020 (70 plates onward). However there would still be Model Year 2020 build cars that didn't get first registered until late 2020 on 70 plates. Your car will be one of those i.e. MY20 spec, so would not have the items you quote - the ones you have seen online have been MY21 cars.