A setting of 22 degrees in the Kushaq even now is only as good as a 26 in our Corolla Altis.
BHPian Coolfire recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
For everyone concerned about the AC issues and power window problems, here is an important update. I did the latest software update last week and both the issues seems to have gone away for now.
I own a Kushaq 1.0 AT Stile variant (Oct 2021 make bought in Jan 2022). Like many Kushaq owners, I too had some issues right from the beginning. The major ones and how these were solved is as follows. Luckily the ECU issue, fuel pump problems and door or dash squeaks were not present in my car.
AC issue.
This was the biggest one. On medium hot days (that is only what we have in Kerala) the blow from AC felt more like a room cooler. The first year service, which I did in January made it a little better. The latest update done last week seems to have made it a lot better. The cooling is now effective enough that I have to reduce cooling by a degree or two sometimes which never happened earlier. The blow speed is actually lesser, but the air feels much cooler now.
Still, it is no match for a Tata or Toyota AC – just good enough for my needs. A setting of 22 degrees in Kushaq even now is only as good as a 26 in our Corolla Altis.
Power window problem
The driver side power window kept going back halfway and sometimes took 2-3 attempts to close. The service engineer (at EVM Kochi) had told me during the first year service that changing the switch or motor is still not effective and asked me to wait for the next update. This time (last week) they called me offering update on AC, but I insisted on the power window solution also. The service gal told me that the power window motor’s chip needed to be rewritten along with ECU update for this to work. I told them I am willing to leave the car for the day and should get it done. They did it and it is working fine now. Fingers crossed as I have heard it has come back for many owners, but my feeling is that the process this time may have done the trick.
Screeching noise from brakes
This was a big irritant in the initial months, but luckily went away by itself once the car crossed around 4K kms. The failure with Skoda on this is on two counts – the issue should not been there in the first place and even when people complained they did not know or could assure that it will go away afterwards!! Anyway thankful that it is gone.
Too much power when launching from standstill
This too felt odd in the initial period. I haven’t felt like it in any of my earlier cars, but here you had to be very careful with a foot on the brake when launching the vehicle everytime. This was especially bad when you had to reverse in tight spaces. This too Skoda didn’t knew much about and the service guys even told me it was the nature of the gear ratio and you have to live with it. Surprisingly the issue kept receding and I think the launch power became quite normal around 5k kms.
Periodic beeps while playing music
This was felt in the first few days and this very TeamBHP thread told me that it was caused by the native music app. I immediately removed both the maps and music apps I had downloaded earlier and the issue never resurfaced. I hadn’t tried those apps ever since.
AC controls going berserk
I felt several times that the AC controls by themselves were going into a different mode – like when in auto mode it will change to manual etc. Soon realised that it was not a bug, but a nature of the very sensitive touch controls. Just being careful not to touch the controls by accident solves this one. Still I miss those blessed rotary controls for AC settings. Also, I dread of a future where a single screen controls everything like many cars these days. Apart from the weak engines, this is one reason I am telling myself for not going for the new Bimmer X1
Whistiling noise from AC when vent is closed
This is a very minor thing, but still unsolved. The vents on both ends, when fully closed makes a small whistling sound. I never read about this anywhere , but is still present for me. Not much of an issue because in my car those are seldom closed.
All said, today I am a very happy owner. Enjoying the fine ride characteristics and confident in our crazy roads about the top safety ratings this one has got. Also, being 6’2″ tall, there are not many cars in this class in which I can sit really comfortably in both front and rear seats. The longer wheelbase is really useful in this aspect. Meanwhile, the smaller outer dimensions make my usage in all the congested roads and parking spaces in my home town a breeze. In fact, it somehow feels much easier to drive around and park than both the Corolla and even the shorter Ecosport which we have.
I hope this account will help the owners who are still trying to figure out how to solve these issues and also those looking to buy any of the Skoda/VW 2.0 cars.
Keyword: Skoda Kushaq: My experience having the AC & power window issues fixed