[Saggy]

...... If this section was just called Technical

I'm hoping there won't be "faults"

:lol: :shock:

 

[Dunn VAG Happy]

Give it 5 years and strange lights on the dash and people looking for the best code readers to do it themselves trust me.

 

[Saggy]

Oh Lord, does that mean I need to stick around here just incase ;-)

I'm the kind of person who was at the garage trying to work out psi in some new fangled language so I could pump my tyres up because I thought one was low as a warning came on ....,...,, so I did them (quite proud of myself) but the light stayed on - typically on the day I was taking a long drive!!
So I went down the A17 to Norfolk convinced any minute something could go wrong but on a Sunday I was stuck ..... Took a nephew at the other end to tell me is an advisory reminder to check them and you "just press that button there" to reset it

I will try to not ask too many questions here but please bear with me lol

 

[Tell]

I had / have a heavy duty AC blade fuse on the Altea that heats up and bends under very load which renders the AC dead on very hot days or very cold. You turn the ignition off, pull the fuse out, push it in, it resets the AC and you are off again. The plastic in the fuse distorts, the problem happens alot. You replace the fuse with a new one and all is fine. Done this twice now in 12 years. Once the problem made the lights come on without switching them on. Changed said fuse and lights fixed themselves in 24 hours, Another occasion the car immobilised itself for 24 hours. Think that was dampness. We have the dodgy cruise control switch. The ABS unit and the engine management unit that had to be changed.

My slight concern with all the electronics is there will be more of the same, although my Seat has settled down now touchwood. I can handle replacing the AC fuse myself, which I discovered myself, although not good to randomly pull fuses under the hood. The user fuses under the steering wheel don't leave you with warning lights that need to be cleared as I discovered after the car demobilised itself once for no reason and I started to check the main ones.

 

[Ghiggz]

Best fault I ever had was a dodgy stop & tail bulb once years back, the elements were touching in the bulb, causing a short between the side lights circuit on perm live, and brake circuit on second ignition click.
If I held my foot on the brake, I could turn off the ignition and remove the keys altogether, and the engine would carry on running!!!

 

[Saggy]

Lol weird and wonderful issues you two

Is all I can do to find where to fill my washer bottle.

I do actually think I'll be asking some pretty dumb questions ...,

I do already have one before the car even gets here

A lot of features are same as various cars I've driven but not the electric handbrake .... Especially as it has another button behind it

What's all that about?

Do I treat the elcetric handbrake just like I would a normal one but if I press the button behind it all becomes automatic on and off? Obviously I've not got the car so can't experiment but is something I've noticed on pics and vids

Please be gentle lol

 

[Kindness71]

I had a really annoying problem with a drivers side main beam bulb going out every month on a Renault Megane. After replacing it with a new one about 4 times I discovered it was simply working loose and just needed a wiggle to fix. What was worse was the hole they provided in the front wheel arch was just small enough for a 10 year old child to squeeze their hand into. It always took me about 20 minutes to perform the bulb wiggle by twisting my arm through this hole like some kind of Rod Hull, Emu impression, coming out covered in scratches. Think the french must all have skinny arms any enjoy a bit of self abuse :roll:

 

[Tell]

Do I treat the elcetric handbrake just like I would a normal one but if I press the button behind it all becomes automatic on and off? Obviously I've not got the car so can't experiment but is something I've noticed on pics and vids

Please be gentle lol

Bearing in mind I haven't driven the car but I've had it explained and read the manuals.... on automatic which is what the back button is you never need to touch it to put it on and off. It will do it, itself.

Now the favourite presenter of the board, that's video #1 of the guy's (two 60 minute ones by the German guy) says that in a parking garage you would want to put the handbrake off automatic and park on manual, I think that may be because the car is jumpy perhaps on manual so you get better control but another dealer I was talking to didn't know what I was talking about. Unless the guy meant when parking up you would let off the handbrake....

Video:

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/parking-and-manoeuvring/electronic-parking-brake

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/parking-and-manoeuvring/auto-hold

That's the auto hold button. I'm planning to keep mine on auto hold and never touch it unless I've got the wrong end of the stick.

 

[Saggy]

thanks Tell

I've driven vehicles before with hill hold/auto hold but never noticed a button at all

Same as had a car with park assist before but never used it except on demo ~ I just like having sensors front and back ~ so will need to get the dealership to remind me of how that works or look for a vid. must admit happy parking without really and just using the sensors but only purchase option to get front sensors was park assist or the top view camera and use that.

I've got plenty of time though to read up ;-)

should there have been 3 links there as I can only see two?

 

[Tell]

No over the links I was being lazy hand waving are these, the two favourite detailed one of the board (Kindness and me at least) are these:

Then at the initial launch:

.....

There is no forward or backward looking sensor for the parking brake BTW. The cameras useful for protecting the alloys - least I reckon. The 360 is suppose to be for 4 wheel drive but comes in handy at getting close to the kerb so you don't get side swiped.

 

[Ghiggz]

My wife is mega panicking over the electric handbrake. Worried she'll somehow forget. Reassuring to know there is an auto function as a backup lol.
Guy in my dealer said if you get out with nothing on at all, all Hell breaks loose by way of alarms, and it's pretty hard to leave the handbrake off and not realise.

 

[Saggy]

thanks Tell

I've seen the one in the rain before and will watch the other two later

I like this particular report

with regards to sensors ~ I was on an aside then and not in relation to parking brake
was talking about park assist
I did like the idea of the camera but had a set budget so had to stop spending lol

 

[Saggy]

Guy in my dealer said if you get out with nothing on at all, all Hell breaks loose by way of alarms.

and the neighbours would be pretty shocked

 

[Ghiggz]

Well she's got history see.
Twice in the past I've had the door knocked, some irate guy stopped in the street, as our car is sat sideways in the middle of the road, after rolling off the drive.

Luckily both times the brake had bitten enough for it to have just slowly edged it's way down without hitting anything, anyone, or causing any damage, and come to rest in the middle of the road.

 

[Dunn VAG Happy]

I alway leave a car in gear, never trust a handbrake!

 

[Magpie86]

From my understanding the auto hold button (the buttton at the back) you leave on unless you want to use the parking button (the switch at the front) as if it was a normal handbrake. Which I guess you would if you didn't trust auto hold or just preferred doing it manually. Interestingly it appeared the reviewer from the car obsession videos linked in another thread seemed to be using it like this, flicking the button every red traffic light.

On the other hand, if auto hold is on the car will automatically apply the handbrake when you brake to a standstill and then come off the brake, without needing you to manually activate the front switch. Only time you use that is when you stop for parking just to be safe before you step out the car! My only thought is whether autohold works if you have your foot on the clutch in first gear at lights ready to go, usually your foot would be on the brake in this situation so I guess it's not needed, but im presuming it wouldn't work. A green P acts as a visual clue in the dash when autohold is activated anyway and will disappear as you bring clutch up to pull away/touch the accelerator in an automatic. I think it's a red P when you pull the parking brake button yourself.

Also hill hold is a different function, my old car had that which didn't have an electronic brake. Basically if it detects you are starting to roll backwards it will apply the brake for a few seconds to let you sort yourself out and pull away smoothly! I believe the Ateca with its more advanced system will hold you indefinitely. Very useful 99% of the time, but once in my old car I found myself behind a learner driver on a hill, they tried to pull away but alarmingly started going backwards. I put my foot on clutch expecting my car to roll back to miss him and nothing happened, hill start had engaged and stopped me rolling back! Meanwhile learner driver was still rolling towards me. Luckily the instructor got on his dual controls and stopped their car. Heart in mouth moment though and one instance I wish I had full control!

 

[Saggy]

Well she's got history see.

History of getting out the car with nothing on? :lol: cold in winter

sorry ~ just my warped sense of humour

 

[Saggy]

ex was in the trade so I drove a few diff things at various times Magpie so get a bit confused what was what

my old yeti had hill hold and something else (golf maybe) was auto brake

I know at first I was sure it wouldn't work and used to worry at junctions and slowly slowly take my foot off the brake pedal

just all seemed so alien after years of old baggy manuals when I ended up in newer cars with bells and whistles and sometimes dsg

I am having a DSG box but test drove a manual (first time in a manual in a year) and it was soooo smooth I nearly ticked manual on my order ....... then I remembered how lazy I am :lol:

 

[Saggy]

I alway leave a car in gear, never trust a handbrake!

many many years ago when I first passed my test I got in a car at my boyfriends house to move it

I'd always been taught to leave things in neutral

I started said car up ~ had been left in gear by boyfriends dad ~ it kangarooed into car in front which nudged car in front of it into house wall

luckily only minor marks and his dad was a panel beater by trade

highly embarrassing though

since then I would check and check again and again just incase someone has left it in gear .......... only time I would is on a hill but on flat never

 

[Tell]

Old school leaving it in gear. Useful on a hill and it's a manual. That's why when you are taught to drive when they might have taught you correctly on a manual you check that it's out of gear by wiggling it with clutch in, although I've forgotten what clutches are. I had a mini panic when the dealer said start the manual up given I have controlled a manual for 12 years. Had a weapon of destruction if I moved something incorrectly.

Magpie, yes that's how I understand the automatic break button. I'm surprised you didn't get picked up on having your foot on the break at traffic lights and not the handbrake on. Us lazy automatic drivers can do that although we aren't suppose to due to dazzling the driver behind, but given 99.99999% of driver round here don't indicate when turning the niceties of not dazzling the guy behind I guess isn't practised these days. I only move over to the handbrake if the stop is long.

I guess in a DSG if you take your foot off the brake with the automatic parking brake set, the parking brake will still be on, in a normal manual it isn't since you never apply it (we are lazy), foot off causes a slow motion forward if in drive and power speeds you up. I got a suspicion that rolling starts without the foot on the accelerator with the auto handbrake are over. In that case I might just not use the auto handbrake. We will see.