[Fravia]

Originally Posted by hieronymous

This was PPS Skoda Rajajinagar, they are right beside the Mahalaxmi Metro. They let me do a thorough PDI, just told me not to drive the car. No one was there beside us while we did the PDI so we were able to plug an OBD to check the engine but the car was in transit mode so it wasn't of much use. They behaved like they had nothing to hide which is how it should be. Their stockyard was in Yelahanka, quite far from where I live.

Let me know if you need the contact of the manager at PPS Skoda Rajajinagar. He's a family friend, I took delivery of my car within 2 weeks of booking it. I get no commission etc, just doing it because he was really prompt with scheduling TDs and my purchase experience was good.

Hey, thanks for the reply. Glad you had a nice experience and nice of you to offer reliable contacts. I actually booked the car during their flash sale and the dealer I chose is PPS new airport road which is ironically rather close to Yelahanka and my SA said that no one is allowed inside the yard and he will have to get the car to the showroom if I have to do the PDI. Sounds like a cooked up story which I fell for. Anyway, I will get the delivery this week, and I'll know one way or the other .

[supernova105]

Originally Posted by Fravia

I actually booked the car during their flash sale.

Hi, are those sales still happening on the 24th every month, and are the discounts good enough?

I had read in the forum that those cars booked online are dispatched from Skoda itself, and not dealer stock.

[Fravia]

Originally Posted by supernova105

Hi, are those sales still happening on the 24th every month, and are the discounts good enough?

I had read in the forum that those cars booked online are dispatched from Skoda itself, and not dealer stock.

Well I'm afraid it didn't happen in September at least, perhaps due to the introduction of sportline. But prior to that, yes, it did for quite a few months. At least in August, you could get a 1.5 mid spec AT at 15L ex-showroom or a 1.0 top spec at 15.5L ex showroom. The 1.5 came with a caveat that it was 2 airbags only, there weren't any such caveats with the 1.0 top spec though.

Yes, it is dispatched directly from Skoda and not the dealer stock. Also they could be manufactured anytime in 2024 and not necessarily freshly baked.

Btw, I think sportline is bang for the buck. And you could at least in theory get at least 30-50k off which I think makes it very attractive.

[audioholic]

Installed OEM footwell lighting(not accessory):

I did this mod only because this would work in the way it should and came to me at a dirt cheap price(15$) otherwise I could not find any huge use for footwell lights. The Skoda accessory was stupid as usual and would be powered via the fuse box. This one is powered by the BCM and is completely integrated and controllable with the cars electricals and appears in the infotainment menu as a different ambient light. A very simple mod but requires access to the BCM and removal of a connector of the BCM to insert an extra pin.

This is the kit, comes with four LED footwell lamps, a wiring harness which has ready made terminals that go into the BCM pin and ground:


This Pin goes to the BCM:


The front ambient lights have slots in the underside of the dashboard. The rear ones dont have unfortunately and need to be installed somewhere or with an extra mount.


The BCM is located near the drivers footwell behind the cabin fuse box. Removal of the BCM is not necessary however, removing the side plastic trim of the dashboard gives us access to the three connectors of the BCM - A73, B46 and C73 from bottom to top as its mounted.


The C73 connector has to be removed and when the connector housing is in an accessible position, the terminal pin of the footwell light harness should be inserted to the slot C72 as shown in the below image:



The earthing point can be chosen as convenient and that completes the electrical integration and the lights can be wired through the dashboard, center console and to the rear seats.

That does not make them functional yet. The BCM must be configured to enable this pin C72 as ambient lighting pin. Once it is done so, the lights will work in the following manner:

• Turns on and off using the rotary lighting switch like every other light
• Soft fade in and fade out with the rest of the lights
• Intensity of the footwell lights can be adjusted via the infotainment as a separate channel or can be individually turned off
• The footwell lights brighten up as the doors are opened which actually makes sense that they light up when we need to look for something fallen on the floor.

Compared to stock view there is an additional slider in the Ambient lighting menu:

Here is a video summarising the behaviour:

https://youtu.be/-ItRD0Q4D1g?feature=shared

[promit]

A very close friend took delivery of a 1.0 Sportline AT a few days ago. The final purchase decision was between a Slavia and Virtus. I think Virtus was working out a bit cheaper, but he preferred the Slavia interiors. He was zeroing in on the fully loaded Prestige variant until this VFM Sportline model was announced.

Skoda makes good cars. However, the purchase experience left a lot to be desired. I believe most potential Skoda owners are folks who have probably had a Hyundai / Maruti in the past and are willing to look beyond feature set and fuel efficiency, and now value - build, safety and driving pleasure. Skoda needs to give them a befitting buying experience.

The car was booked online on 4th September. Now I am not sure what transpired, the dealership said Skoda had alotted a Lava Blue with White roof car instead of a black roof and some unnecessary back and forth transpired over VIN number, pressure to make payment. Actual story we may never know. We reached to PDI, but the car in our choice of colour was not there. Also found out, that not all special edition Skoda's have black painted roofs. Some have black wrapped roofs as well. Quite strange.

Coming to the car itself - engaging and fun to drive, good feedback and the doors feel like a tank. AC continues to be a bit of a let down. I am not a big fan of 3 cylinder engines, some thrum and vibration reminds you what's under the hood. The creep of the 1.0 is noticeably aggressive. Lastly, this variant is priced very well. With some discounts and 3 year service plan thrown in, it cost 16.6L on road Gurgaon.

[hieronymous]

So my Slavia’s battery was drained after the dashcam installation. I had to jump start it.

I had connected the dashcam to the 12V socket and not hardwired it. I did it last week on 2nd October, and didn’t start the car for 7 days until just a few hours ago. The car wouldn’t start as the battery was clearly dead. After the jump start, I was able to start the car without any issues.

My question is, how should I operate the dashcam,

1. Should I disconnect the 12V charging socket every time I switch off the engine and reconnect it every time I switch it on ? This is what the Skoda Service manager suggested but wouldn’t it eventually loosen and get damaged over the long term ?

2. Should I simply disconnect the dashcam wire but keep the charging socket attached even after the engine is OFF ?

Any tips on how to maintain my Slavia’s battery well for a long and healthy life ?

[saket77]

Originally Posted by hieronymous

So my Slavia’s battery was drained after the dashcam installation. I had to jump start it.

1. Should I disconnect the 12V charging socket every time I switch off the engine and reconnect it every time I switch it on ? This is what the Skoda Service manager suggested but wouldn’t it eventually loosen and get damaged over the long term ?

2. Should I simply disconnect the dashcam wire but keep the charging socket attached even after the engine is OFF ?

Any tips on how to maintain my Slavia’s battery well for a long and healthy life ?

How old is the car? Under warranty?

In most cars, the USB power & especially the 12V socket power supply gets cut-off when ignition is turned off or after 15-20 seconds. Please check the behavior of your car. In the rare case that you have got a 'always powered on' port, then I am afraid that until you make some changes in the port wiring (if the car is out of warranty), you will have to plug/ unplug the dashcam cable everytime you park your car- which is a chore in itself. If the car is out of warranty then making a slight change in the power wire of the socket should be the way to go.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by hieronymous

So my Slavia’s battery was drained after the dashcam installation. I had to jump start it.

As per a dashcam vendor I had a chat, the 12V socked in VW/Skoda remains powered even after turning the ignition off. So there are USB chargers available where you can set them to turn off when the battery power drops to certain level to protect the battery.

Although I am driving VW since 13 years but never had a chance to leave anything plugged in the charging socket so I am not sure about the claim.

[hieronymous]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

As per a dashcam vendor I had a chat, the 12V socked in VW/Skoda remains powered even after turning the ignition off. So there are USB chargers available where you can set them to turn off when the battery power drops to certain level to protect the battery.

Although I am driving VW since 13 years but never had a chance to leave anything plugged in the charging socket so I am not sure about the claim.

Do you leave the charging socket as is after you switch the engine OFF and ensure there are no devices plugged ? Or do you also remove the charging socket ?

Originally Posted by saket77

How old is the car? Under warranty?

In most cars, the USB power & especially the 12V socket power supply gets cut-off when ignition is turned off or after 15-20 seconds. Please check the behavior of your car. In the rare case that you have got a 'always powered on' port, then I am afraid that until you make some changes in the port wiring (if the car is out of warranty), you will have to plug/ unplug the dashcam cable everytime you park your car- which is a chore in itself. If the car is out of warranty then making a slight change in the power wire of the socket should be the way to go.

Its a brand new car which I bought last month which is still under a 5-year extended warranty. Car was manufactured in March 24. I thought the power supply was OFF too because when I switched the engine OFF, the dashcam was turned off. How do I check the 12V charging socket is still getting power supply even after the engine is OFF ?

Again, can I at-least keep the 12V charging socket attached (without any devices plugged in) or do I need to remove it and reattach every time I switch the engine OFF ? Also, even if I am switching the engine off only for a few minutes or few hours, do I need to ensure the dashcam cable is unplugged ?

This whole battery draining episode left me confused and also ₹600 rupees poorer.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by hieronymous

Do you leave the charging socket as is after you switch the engine OFF and ensure there are no devices plugged ? Or do you also remove the charging socket ?

No, its not my experience which I clarified in my previous reply, please read again, this info was shared by a dashcam vendor.

This whole battery draining episode left me confused and also ₹600 rupees poorer.

600 for what? jump start? If you are bit more attentive, you wouldn't have to pay a penny for jump start, tyre replacement or towing service. Your car came with Road Side Assistance (RSA) facility where you can call them for this type of facilities. If the service expires then make sure to renew it.

The story does not stop here.

When your car will be ineligible for the warranty or RSA from the company after few years, then again you have second cover which is provided by the insurance company, which is also active now. Always avail this RSA rider during your future insurance renewals.

Just recently I utilized the insurance RSA for my 13 year old car which is out of warranty when it got submerged under water upto running board and started floating after I parked it somewhere during rainy season. I did not want to take any chance by starting the engine inside water logged area so I called the insurance who sent a towing vehicle without any charge.

When my car was out of the water logged area, me and the towing guy checked the key parts for water damage and decided to start the car when found it safe to start. If there was any sign of risk, they would have towed my car to the service station without any charges.

Once I called them to replace my car's tyre which got burst on highway, though I had to cancel that call since one of my relative reached before them with help.

Again, can I at-least keep the 12V charging socket attached (without any devices plugged in) or do I need to remove it and reattach every time I switch the engine OFF ? Also, even if I am switching the engine off only for a few minutes or few hours, do I need to ensure the dashcam cable is unplugged ?

No need for all the hassle, I posted about the solution as well in my previous reply. If you missed then let me put the device link:

https://aatusa.in/product/rhundo-rv-...-auto-cut-off/

You can set a battery voltage threshold where this charging device will automatically cut off the power supply to the dashcam.

I am not affiliated with them, neither I used this product. This is from the info provided by the dashcam vendor I had chat with.

He also suggested another solution to ask the ASC if there is workaround using some fuse or by changing some connection or by using some OBD computer functionality to disable the always-on functionality of the 12v socked. But usually ASCs don't entertain such queries unless you have friendly relations with the service guys.

Hope you have read upto here this time and got the solution.

[hieronymous]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

No, its not my experience which I clarified in my previous reply, please read again, this info was shared by a dashcam vendor.
600 for what? jump start? If you are bit more attentive, you wouldn't have to pay a penny for jump start, tyre replacement or towing service. Your car came with Road Side Assistance (RSA) facility where you can call them for this type of facilities. If the service expires then make sure to renew it.

The story does not stop here.

When your car will be ineligible for the warranty or RSA from the company after few years, then again you have second cover which is provided by the insurance company, which is also active now. Always avail this RSA rider during your future insurance renewals.

Just recently I utilized the insurance RSA for my 13 year old car which is out of warranty when it got submerged under water upto running board and started floating after I parked it somewhere during rainy season. I did not want to take any chance by starting the engine inside water logged area so I called the insurance who sent a towing vehicle without any charge.

When my car was out of the water logged area, me and the towing guy checked the key parts for water damage and decided to start the car when found it safe to start. If there was any sign of risk, they would have towed my car to the service station without any charges.

Once I called them to replace my car's tyre which got burst on highway, though I had to cancel that call since one of my relative reached before them with help.

No need for all the hassle, I posted about the solution as well in my previous reply. If you missed then let me put the device link:

https://aatusa.in/product/rhundo-rv-...-auto-cut-off/

You can set a battery voltage threshold where this charging device will automatically cut off the power supply to the dashcam.

I am not affiliated with them, neither I used this product. This is from the info provided by the dashcam vendor I had chat with.

He also suggested another solution to ask the ASC if there is workaround using some fuse or by changing some connection or by using some OBD computer functionality to disable the always-on functionality of the 12v socked. But usually ASCs don't entertain such queries unless you have friendly relations with the service guys.

Hope you have read upto here this time and got the solution.

Due to a mixture of personal and professional reasons I wasn't attentive. I knew that even my insurance provides RSA. The main reason for my inattention was that I freaked out a bit when my brand new car didn't start, this is my very first car. I also have a long trip tomorrow, my first one and hence wanted to get it fixed ASAP. The guy who jump started the battery also advised me the same. The toll free number that the Skoda guy provided wasn't of much use, I was directed to a WA chat and kept entering my car's details but got a response that my car wasn't registered. Anyway, the learning here was to not freak out. In the end it was just a dead battery but definitely would keep in mind the next time.

I would actually like a device that someone has used in the Slavia or Kushaq and that hasn't caused any issues. I will definitely try this one out. A car is like a money pit, I have spent so much on accessories like dash cam and now I have to get a specialised 12V charging socket for ₹2.5K

[vaibhavyagnik]

Originally Posted by hieronymous

1. Should I disconnect the 12V charging socket every time I switch off the engine and reconnect it every time I switch it on ? This is what the Skoda Service manager suggested but wouldn’t it eventually loosen and get damaged over the long term ?

If you are not getting the dashcam hardwired, you do need to disconnect the USB cable from the charger atleast.

Originally Posted by hieronymous

2. Should I simply disconnect the dashcam wire but keep the charging socket attached even after the engine is OFF ?

This also works. However I tend to believe it will have a miniscule power draw compared to nothing attached to the socket. But it will definetly be less than dashcam attached.

Originally Posted by hieronymous

Any tips on how to maintain my Slavia’s battery well for a long and healthy life ?

Check water and specific gravity every 1 year. Don't let the car sit idle for more than a month

Originally Posted by hieronymous

I would actually like a device that someone has used in the Slavia or Kushaq and that hasn't caused any issues. I will definitely try this one out. A car is like a money pit, I have spent so much on accessories like dash cam and now I have to get a specialised 12V charging socket for ₹2.5K

I hardwired my 70mai A510s dashcam using 70mai hardwire kit in my Octavia. You should too. Spend those 2.5K on the hardwire kit rather than a special socket. You will be able to get hardwire kits on nexdigitron website

[Grease_Monkey]

Originally Posted by hieronymous

My question is, how should I operate the dashcam

Do connect your dashcam via the USB-C ports, the front ones are powered alongwith the infotainment system and turn off when car is locked while the rear ones turn off with ignition. You may require a USB to USB-C adapter. I have been using the front ports for mine and the dashcam starts as soon as I open the door after unlocking (for safety reasons, as it will start recording and continue so till I’m in the car).
The 12v port however doesn’t turn off, so ensure to remove anything before locking the car

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Installed OEM footwell lighting(not accessory):

It's time that Skoda A.S.S. should take lessons from you on accessories fitment, like the front parking sensors, now this footwell lighting. You are doing things better than the OEM itself. Kudos to your patience & ability to work on your car, your posts remind me of BHPian Fluidicjoy and his Polo.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by sachin_cs

It's time that Skoda A.S.S. should take lessons from you on accessories fitment, like the front parking sensors, now this footwell lighting. You are doing things better than the OEM itself. Kudos to your patience & ability to work on your car, your posts remind me of BHPian Fluidicjoy and his Polo.

You cant actually blame the ASC for this, they are just puppets in the hands of the company and will not be authorised to do this. The company is then the puppet of the parent company who has to also authorise stuff. In this huge hierarchy, the product gets mangled and the scope to add such things which is theoretically possible by the ASC is never done. Hence they stick to aftermarket add ons, stickers and covers to sell as accessories. To be able to change coding on ECUs, the ASC wont have the interface that we have. They have to use guided functions for everything and every coding action has to come from a remote server. The remote server must be configured with a separate variant name that will have the accessory installed and that means someone in headquarters has to approve the fitment of a footwell light.

Hence they take this shortcut of using substandard accessories which wont integrate well with the vehicle to avoid all this mess.