Possible new message on dash of VAG vehicles.

Oct 8, 2006
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Intermittently over the last week or so I have been getting a 'new' message on the dash of my 2018 Passat Estate at switch on and I suspect it may be common across all VAG vehicles.

The message says "Manoeuvre braking not available." It means that if you are say trying to park and get too close to something in front or behind it will not be able to slam the brakes on - and anyone who has had that happen will well know what I mean!

The cause? Too many short trips (under lockdown) have depleted the battery and the system is worried that there may not be enough power available.

The solution? Charge the battery.

My battery was 12.45V when it last showed that message. Fortunately our caravan with mains EHU connected (in case of need for isolation) is right next to the car parking position so I was able to put my smart charger under the bonnet and leave it on all afternoon and overnight. Took it off charge mid morning, checked battery volts after lunch - 12.92V. Not had the message since.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Intermittently over the last week or so I have been getting a 'new' message on the dash of my 2018 Passat Estate at switch on and I suspect it may be common across all VAG vehicles.

The message says "Manoeuvre braking not available." It means that if you are say trying to park and get too close to something in front or behind it will not be able to slam the brakes on - and anyone who has had that happen will well know what I mean!

The cause? Too many short trips (under lockdown) have depleted the battery and the system is worried that there may not be enough power available.

The solution? Charge the battery.

My battery was 12.45V when it last showed that message. Fortunately our caravan with mains EHU connected (in case of need for isolation) is right next to the car parking position so I was able to put my smart charger under the bonnet and leave it on all afternoon and overnight. Took it off charge mid morning, checked battery volts after lunch - 12.92V. Not had the message since.

That’s an interesting observation and message. We’ve not been using the cars for short trips. They only go out every two weeks for a local 8-10 mile run. So far the batteries have been okay. But neither have auto manoeuvre. Two neighbours have had starting problems. One a police sergeant couldn’t start his car due to flat battery. He’d been home for a couple of weeks and hadn’t used the car. His trip back to duty in Essex was somewhat delayed.
 
Jan 3, 2012
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I have a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan the only thing that came up on my dash 23 days ago oil change needed but at present i luckly if i do 10 miles a week but nothing else since
 
Oct 8, 2006
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No, not auto parking. Indeed why would it need to slam the brakes on if it were in control of itself? This is just an 'aid' associated with the manual parking assist system but when it does happen (and a big red sign comes up in the middle of the dash) you sure know about it, not least if the car is manual as there is a good chance of it causing a stall.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Modern cars are more prone to flattening batteries when not used on a daily basis, due to all the bells whistles that continually draw a little power. Having retired my annual milage has dropped considerably, and most are shorter local low speed journeys which I find does not replenish the battery charge very well. Even with a relatively new battery, starting has been sluggish on occasions, and I have seen the low battery warnings, and dash lights dimming. It has failed start on a couple of occasions causing us to miss medical appointments.

I have now started to connect a smart charger every time I get home, and now I get a crisp first turn of the key start.

It's like I'm practicing for when I go fully electric!:)
 
Nov 11, 2009
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No, not auto parking. Indeed why would it need to slam the brakes on if it were in control of itself? This is just an 'aid' associated with the manual parking assist system but when it does happen (and a big red sign comes up in the middle of the dash) you sure know about it, not least if the car is manual as there is a good chance of it causing a stall.

Surely auto parking may need to use the brakes too. Not all roads are dead level.
On this parking assist system does it prevent very slow manoeuvring from say a parking bay where you have no alternative perhaps to going very very close to an adjacent vehicle in order to get out. Or does it sense a very slow speed (inching) and not activate?
 
Jan 31, 2018
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As Prof says modern cars have a heavy demand on batteries and this lockdown won't be doing them any favours. With modern intelligent electrics, Minis for eg warn you and can actually shut down some systems-eg the cabriolet won't operate the roof, and the auto stop start most definitely won't operate and then other things start to crop up. Pop the car on a smart charger-I now have two chargers and rotate between our cars, my daughters and the motorbikes! CTEK are great but expensive, I have an Optimate Optimiser 4 which is really for bikes but works on the cars just fine albeit a bit slowly. I've just bought a second-a Ring which seems to be working superbly. Can be left all year round to monitor the battery if you so wish.
 
Oct 12, 2016
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Another vote for the Ctek . If the power supply is interrupted with the ALDI/Lidl charger it will need resetting. The Ctek does not need resetting. I supply one with every car I build with a quick disconnect plug so no faffing about trying to get to the battery posts (which on a GT40 would take a good 10 minutes!) meaning the charger can be left connected permanently maintaining a fully charged battery.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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I purchased charger from Lidl about 18 months ago. It was rated at 5A rather than the previous 3.6A. Unlike most of the previous models if it experiences a power cut, it does automatically restart but only at trickle charge rating, rather than returning to the higher power settings. I use this on one vehicle which is in long term storage, and its doing a good job.
 
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Oct 12, 2016
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That’s an improvement on the earlier ones. For what they are they are a good bit of kit. Must say I do enjoy perusing the “aisle of delights” in Aldi and Lidl. I’ve bought some real bargains from there occasionally. A couple of weeks ago they had small Kärcher pressure washers for £75. Not the pro version but one that is perfectly adequate for a bit of car cleaning or doing the patio. Their trades workwear is good value too.
 
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May 7, 2012
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I got an e mail today from Mazda covering what to do in lockdown. It does suggest a weekly run of about 15 minutes if you can not only to charge the batteries but to stop the brake discs corroding and keep other things working.
I did one short trip last week to do this and turned off the engines auto stop just to save the car restarting if we stop. As we were in the car and did not stop anywhere, or get near anyone it seemed to me to be safe enough.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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I got an e mail today from Mazda covering what to do in lockdown. It does suggest a weekly run of about 15 minutes if you can not only to charge the batteries but to stop the brake discs corroding and keep other things working.
I did one short trip last week to do this and turned off the engines auto stop just to save the car restarting if we stop. As we were in the car and did not stop anywhere, or get near anyone it seemed to me to be safe enough.

It also keeps brake seals from sticking and keeps air con seals lubed. I don’t leave car with handbrake on either when it’s at home for lengthy spells not being driven. Subaru left in P and Kia left in first gear.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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Our vehicle starts to do all sorts of weird things when the battery gets low. A check showed our AGM battery was the original battery and at 8 years old was probably on its last legs. This was before the lockdown so no issues at present.
 
Jan 3, 2012
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I got an e mail today from Mazda covering what to do in lockdown. It does suggest a weekly run of about 15 minutes if you can not only to charge the batteries but to stop the brake discs corroding and keep other things working.
I did one short trip last week to do this and turned off the engines auto stop just to save the car restarting if we stop. As we were in the car and did not stop anywhere, or get near anyone it seemed to me to be safe enough.
Hi Ray what Mazda have you got ?
 
May 7, 2012
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The car is a Mazda 6 Sports Nav series 3. We took the higher spec car to get a higher spec engine. The newer model does look to have more power so should be a better bet though.
It is our third Mazda bought largely on the back of almost trouble free performance although it can get a bit breathless when the towing gets tough.
I did want a CX5 but was outvoted by SHMBO who wanted the saloon.
 

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