I confess that all 5 of my previous Kodiaqs were AWD but I only realised recently that AWD is actually a bit of a misnomer. Drive to the rear axle is only engaged when the road surface requires it - mud, very wet road surface etc. The Haldex unit controls this engagement. In normal road conditions the car is driven by the front wheels only thus saving fuel.

I accept that I may be in the minority here so I'd love to hear from others who were similarly misguided.

Not misguided here... We've had an Octavia II 4x4 and now a Kodiaq 4x4 and always knew how it worked from day one... It's a great system.

However you are slightly incorrect as with the newer versions of Haldex in the Kodiaq and other vehicles there is always some engagement of power to the rear wheels, but at a low percentage. Also the drive to the rear on the newer versions is to some degree predictive and will engage based on a variety of factors such as throttle position and steering angle etc.

That's helpful - thank you.

I wouldn't say you were misguided but maybe you 'assumed' how haldex equipped vehicles worked. AWD (all wheel drive) is not the same as 4WD (four wheel drive), and moving on from there to the next step we're in diff lock territory where you can get front/centre/rear (or as a combination of all three) as well as electronic diff lock (EDF is not really diff lock in the true sense) and mechanical diff lock.

Also a lot of owners don't realise their haldex unit needs regular servicing to keep it working properly otherwise it's 2wd only!

Either way it's good you like your Skoda Kodiaq vehicles.

2 hours ago, skomaz said:

Not misguided here... We've had an Octavia II 4x4 and now a Kodiaq 4x4 and always knew how it worked from day one... It's a great system.

However you are slightly incorrect as with the newer versions of Haldex in the Kodiaq and other vehicles there is always some engagement of power to the rear wheels, but at a low percentage. Also the drive to the rear on the newer versions is to some degree predictive and will engage based on a variety of factors such as throttle position and steering angle etc.

This is not correct...I own an octavia l k as well from year 2002...by that time, a small percentage of power -usually about 5 to 10%- was delivered to the rear axle....but every model after 2010 and later, uses no power at the rear axle, unless it is needed....

So to answer the main question...it was a known characteristic from the beginning...not misguided as well...

5 minutes ago, cnc said:

I wouldn't say you were misguided but maybe you 'assumed' how haldex equipped vehicles worked. AWD (all wheel drive) is not the same as 4WD (four wheel drive), and moving on from there to the next step we're in diff lock territory where you can get front/centre/rear (or as a combination of all three) as well as electronic diff lock (EDF is not really diff lock in the true sense) and mechanical diff lock.

Also a lot of owners don't realise their haldex unit needs regular servicing to keep it working properly otherwise it's 2wd only!

Either way it's good you like your Skoda Kodiaq vehicles.

Of course service is needed...older models had to have fluid and specific filter changed every 30.000 to 60.000 kms...I am not sure about newer models intervals...

30,000 miles / 3 years or sooner. Some pumps / screens look terrible at 20,000 miles.

Drive to the rear wheels when needed, like pulling away hard from traffic lights! It just digs in and goes, no front wheel spin either. 😂