OCTAVIA III Owners discussion thread

[pjam73]

Fitted my dash mat & plugged in my OBD11 dongle & had a play around. Didn't code anything yet - need to earn enough free credits to use the apps.
Not keen on trying to long-code myself, but I'm going to have to do it at some point, because the window-close-on-rain-sensor and enable-live-traffic aren't available in pre-programmed apps.

My ODB11 with Pro code should arrive tomorrow. I will try long coding - I'm a programmer so hex, bytes, binary and bit-flipping don't scare me

Things I'd like to enable:

• auto tailgate closing with the interior button and keyfob. I've not seen any reports of people getting this to work on recent builds so I might not be able to get anywhere
• Dynamic/high intensity brake lights (where they flash under extreme braking). I've not heard of Australian Skodas with this enabled and I've not managed to engineer a situation where it can be verified
• Traffic updates. That hard-wired button that doesn't do anything annoys me...
• Speed sign recognition. More of a "let's see if it works" thing than something I really need.

[woofy]

The auto tail gate Hawk (Aaron) and I had no luck getting to work earlier in the year in my Jan MY16 build car but he had issues with his software so will organised a time to try again.

Re the coolant comment above, I saw this with my Mk2 around the same age, and others did too. Sometimes there is an airpocket that works its way through over time. Keep an eye on it. Usually you will see nothing else again.

[Lams]

Hi,

Had my first serious dash warning light yesterday (apart from low washer fluid), the Low Coolant light came on. This was at the start of my drive to work and I didn't have time to check the fluid, so I watched the temperature gauge closely. When I got to work, shut down the engine and started again, no warning light. When leaving for home, no warning light again. (Car wasn't level there so no point in checking reservoir). I checked at home this morning and the fluid was indeed well below the low level mark. I added 300 ml of deionized water to bring just above the low mark. My car is 7 mths old and has travelled 12,000 km. I've never had to top up the engine coolant on any car under 5 years old before. Do you guys think I should take it to the dealer right away or just wait for the 15,000km service which is only about 6 weeks away? I'll check the level again tomorrow when it's cold.

Cheers,
Karl

Hey Karl every VAG car I've had has done this at some point. The coolant gets colder and denser overnight just enough for it to dip below the minimum mark, triggering the fault - then you drive and the day warms up and it's no problem. Small amount of coolant will escape over time from the system, there's no way around that - so just topping up a bit of water now and then as you have done would be the way to go. It's such a common thing, and also with engine oil requiring to be topped up from our older 2.0TFSI cars, that even my wife knows what to do when the lights come on!

[Spinifex]

I assume you got the more expensive version Pro version? With that you can do the long coding, which doesn't require any credits.

Cheers,
Karl

Yep - got the pro version.

I had a poke around in the coding sections yesterday, but being a n00b, and only having JUST got the car back from warranty repair, I was reluctant to actually change anything.

My main issue is - even though the coding is the same basic process as VCDS, being a different program/app, I'm sometimes finding it difficult to find the exact setting to change, if I follow VCDS instructions that are freely available on the net - since the screenshots/descriptions are usually a little different to what the OBD11 app displays.

REALLY want to activate live-traffic, but that's not available in a pre-programmed app, so I'll have to do that the long-coding way.....

[Spinifex]

.............Things I'd like to enable:

• auto tailgate closing with the interior button and keyfob. I've not seen any reports of people getting this to work on recent builds so I might not be able to get anywhere
• Dynamic/high intensity brake lights (where they flash under extreme braking). I've not heard of Australian Skodas with this enabled and I've not managed to engineer a situation where it can be verified
• Traffic updates. That hard-wired button that doesn't do anything annoys me...
• Speed sign recognition. More of a "let's see if it works" thing than something I really need........

While I'm not a programmer, we seem to think the same!!!

These are exactly the same things I want to enable, as well as the rain-sensor close-windows thing.

Plus auto-lock the car when leaving..... frustrates me that this isn't on by default. It's very handy to just leave your keys in your pocket when approaching the car and pressing the little handle-button to open the door..... but seems pointless then having to manually press the keyfob to lock the car when you leave. Much rather leave the keys in the pocket!

[Jondalar]

Spinifex I understand, it's a bit nerve racking, specially as some of the terms used in the interface are slightly different to what you'll find for VW cars.

Re the coolant, thanks for the reassurances

Cheers,
Karl

[stu53]

While I'm not a programmer, we seem to think the same!!!

These are exactly the same things I want to enable, as well as the rain-sensor close-windows thing.

Plus auto-lock the car when leaving..... frustrates me that this isn't on by default. It's very handy to just leave your keys in your pocket when approaching the car and pressing the little handle-button to open the door..... but seems pointless then having to manually press the keyfob to lock the car when you leave. Much rather leave the keys in the pocket!

I have found if I brush the back of my hand along either of the front door handles it locks the car. When I return I place my fingers on the inside of the door handle and it unlocks the car. No keys have to be pressed!

[pjam73]

Plus auto-lock the car when leaving..... frustrates me that this isn't on by default. It's very handy to just leave your keys in your pocket when approaching the car and pressing the little handle-button to open the door..... but seems pointless then having to manually press the keyfob to lock the car when you leave. Much rather leave the keys in the pocket!

Our other car - a Clio IV - locks automatically when you walk away but not many other cars do. Given that the Skoda has the 'Safelock' feature where when locked the car cannot be opened from the inside at all, I imagine Skoda didn't think it was a great idea to be able to so easily potentially lock people inside.

That aside, your description of KESSY doesn't sound right. You unlock the doors by putting your hand inside/through the front doorhandles. The unlock sensor is on the inside. The triangle shape sensor button you can see from the outside is to *lock* the car. You do not need to use the keyfob at any stage. I may have used it once it the 10 days I've had my car.

[Mysticality]

but seems pointless then having to manually press the keyfob to lock the car when you leave

To Unlock:




To Lock:

How does the "window close on rain sensor" function work if one needs to open the drivers window when raining e.g. in order to buzz into a garage?

In my experience with my Mk2, it should close windows if the rain sensor is triggered whilst the car is locked.
Apparently a bunch of stuff is different in the MQB, though, so I don't know if this carries over.

Things I'd like to enable:

• Dynamic/high intensity brake lights (where they flash under extreme braking). I've not heard of Australian Skodas with this enabled and I've not managed to engineer a situation where it can be verified

Can confirm this works, but on Mk2.

[LunchboxVRS]

My ODB11 with Pro code should arrive tomorrow. I will try long coding - I'm a programmer so hex, bytes, binary and bit-flipping don't scare me

Things I'd like to enable:

• auto tailgate closing with the interior button and keyfob. I've not seen any reports of people getting this to work on recent builds so I might not be able to get anywhere
• Dynamic/high intensity brake lights (where they flash under extreme braking). I've not heard of Australian Skodas with this enabled and I've not managed to engineer a situation where it can be verified
• Traffic updates. That hard-wired button that doesn't do anything annoys me...
• Speed sign recognition. More of a "let's see if it works" thing than something I really need.

Definitely do able with VCDS as Iv done these. Not sure if the obd11 can.

[Spinifex]

I have found if I brush the back of my hand along either of the front door handles it locks the car. When I return I place my fingers on the inside of the door handle and it unlocks the car. No keys have to be pressed!

Really? Wow - I'll try that.

[woofy]

Yeah if you are touching the keys at all you are doing it wrong. You can use the back of your hand to just touch that outside square, and t open just grab the handle. I had an RS megane I hired in April and it did the autolock thing which I thought was useful, but it was a tad hit and miss.

[DETROITCANDY]

While I'm not a programmer, we seem to think the same!!!

These are exactly the same things I want to enable, as well as the rain-sensor close-windows thing.

Plus auto-lock the car when leaving..... frustrates me that this isn't on by default. It's very handy to just leave your keys in your pocket when approaching the car and pressing the little handle-button to open the door..... but seems pointless then having to manually press the keyfob to lock the car when you leave. Much rather leave the keys in the pocket!

I forgot that I turned this auto-lock feature on last week using OBD11 app, managed to set off the alarm at the carwash with my wife sitting in the car. Gave her a bit of a fright. It took me a couple of seconds to figure out what is going on. I can see this happening again if I park the car to run into the shops with the key in my pocket and my family in the car. Will have to remember to take the key out and leave it in the car which kinda defeats the purpose. I can definitely understand why it wouldn't be switched on from factory.

[pologti18t]

Just notiiced the RS230 is on the website

SKODA Octavia RS 230 - Å*KODA

Starts at 44.6K on road.

That approx 3.5K more than the regular RS but throws in 19 inch black pack, full leather, LSD, few other bits and pieces.
Comfort pack not available... heated seats separate option.

[Mysticality]

Just notiiced the RS230 is on the website

SKODA Octavia RS 230 - Å*KODA

Starts at 44.6K on road.

That approx 3.5K more than the regular RS but throws in 19 inch black pack, full leather, LSD, few other bits and pieces.
Comfort pack not available... heated seats separate option.

The wheels I believe will be black, not anthracite!