Hi All,

I had a 2015 Skoda Octavia Scout and decided at the 10 year mark it was time for an upgrade. I purchased a 2025 Skoda Kodiaq Sportline 2.0 TDI three weeks ago and after having ten years of trouble free motoring with the Octavia I’m seriously concerned about my new Skoda!

After collection I was driving on the motorway. Absolutely clear road, nothing at all ahead of me and all of a sudden the car is braking, the dash is beeping and it thinks it’s preventing a collision. Safe to say it was a close call for my underpants and although nothing in front of me there were cars travelling behind that weren’t best pleased.

The dealership said the systems were very responsive so I just thought maybe something flew across the front of the car which caused it. However over the next week it happened a few more times.

Coming back through Calais and a border officer asked how we were getting on with the Škoda and did it randomly start braking! He lived near me and said Škoda was aware and it will be fixed in the near future with a software update!

Every so often the car throws up whilst driving “12v battery restricted please drive more carefully…” not sure what was going on as it’s being driven normally and not using any of the battery draining features like heated seats etc. would come on for a while and then disappear randomly.

Into week two and all of a sudden the car is struggling to start as if there isn’t enough power in the battery. Charged the battery overnight and in the morning exactly the same thing.

Called Škoda assist and a patrol comes out. Confirms battery voltage is too low, jumps car and advises that this is an issue with either the battery being defective (but his tester didn’t show this) or the software remaining active and draining the battery (just to confirm nothing added to the car such as dashcam etc!)

Advises to book in with Škoda Dealer and in the mean time carry a jump pack in the boot in case I need it. Called straight away and next appointment the following week…

Turns out I needed the jump start every day to start the car. When it starts it seems that all of the safety/protection systems are having a wobble. Side impact, rear impact, passenger restraint and even on one occasion the brake servo showing as fault. These faults are staying on when driving.

Needless to say I couldn’t really use the car and waited for the Škoda appointment to hopefully get it resolved.

I was a little disappointed that when I booked in with Škoda that a courtesy car was available but there was a £20 charge for the insurance… but I needed a courtesy car.

Škoda Stourbridge had the car for the day, fully aware of the issues I was having to start the car and called me in the afternoon to tell me I could Collect the car. I asked if the fault was repaired and they said no, the issue is software related and they are waiting for an update from Škoda UK. They didn’t have a timeframe for this but as soon as it was released I could return for the update.

A little confused I asked was the car fit for purpose if I’m having to use a jump pack to start the car each day. A little back tracking and they are going back to Škoda UK to ask for more advice. (I’m a little confused with the workshop. I thought they would conduct a battery health test and a parasitic drain test/profile drain test at minimum but I’m guessing they already know it’s a software issue).

A little disappointed I called Skoda customer service and they told me the likely update will be provided to service workshops in October 2025.

Having read the forum it seems there is a theme around software updates…

The car is still with the workshop and I’m really disappointed with the service. I felt they were t trying to return the car hoping I would accept it.

Question is I’m within the 30 days where I can return it under the Consumer Rights Act. Im so disappointed with Škoda and the lack of any meaningful assistance with this and waiting months for an update and having to jump start a brand new car on a daily basis doesn’t sit right with me.

Is there many other Mk2 owners who have had similar issues and had them resolved or are they ongoing?

Thanks, I’ve replied on a few of the other threads about the same or similar issues.

It appears Reddit also has a number of examples of the same and even Parkers cover it several times in the long term test reviews!

Long Term Kodiaq Review

Clearly a known software issue with Škoda which needs vehicles to be returned for an update via Škoda workshops.

Question is should this be a safety critical recall due to the potential seriousness of the problem?

Knowingly driving a car that has software issues that means it could heavily apply the brakes at any moment… is the vehicle in a dangerous condition due to this?

Having safety systems such as passenger restraint showing as a fault - would that be a fail if presented for a MOT?

My insurance I’m guessing reflects that the car is operating as designed and the safety systems to prevent collisions is active. If driving knowing these are not working or faulty - will this invalidate my insurance in the event of an accident?

Really disappointed with Škoda around this. Seems like they have a major issue but not really solving it quickly.

Update:

Had to chase the service department who have said they’re going to replace the battery under warranty as they believe that’s the problem.

As I purchased it from another dealer it was clearly their fault they’ve not done the PDI correctly and the vehicle must have been sat for a long time which has caused the battery to fail etc etc…

Explained I was confused as Škoda Assist said the battery health was good and yesterday the workshop thought the battery was fine and it was the software issues draining the battery causing low voltage.

Apparently they're confident the software isn’t a problem and there will be an over the air update which will resolve the issues with the automated emergency braking issues and other safety system warnings.

I’ve spoken to the dealer I purchased from who have advised me to accept it back and I can deal

with them to resolve.

Throughout this Škoda UK customer service have been awful. Not one apology or recognition that a new car shouldn’t have these issues, alongside constant mixed messages and misinformation!

I’ll see how the new battery works but I’m not confident at all 😬

The software update is already out. Many owners of the MK2 have already had the update or have booked the car in for one.

There is no over the air update for the safety system issues. It must go into the dealer for the update.

There is a menu on the main screen called “service campaigns”. Press on it and see if it says you have a recall due.

I have a MK2 PHEV which needs to go into the dealer for the update.

My car (PHEV) is working fine, but I have had a couple of incidents of the “Proactive Occupant Protection system” not working.

Do we know what the latest version is?

@AshScout ... Sorry to hear of the issues you've been having. Frankly, I'd reject the car as soon as possible if I had similar issues. My car is perfect (for now), but I dread the emergency stop when I, or the driver behind, least expect it.

I doubt it'll be something like a dashcam eating power as the USB-C port is turned off as soon as the car is. My previous car (2019 new shape RAV4 hybrid) was a nightmare as that weedy tiny 12v battery would be flat within 4 days of a long journey. Toyota couldn't find the fault even after replacing the 12v battery several times due to dying cells. This is why I went with the 2.0 TSI Kodiaq and not another hybrid.