We bought our first fully-electric car five years ago – a Skoda Enyaq. We’ve been very pleased with it. Amongst its many bells and whistles is the ability to contact an Emergency Call Centre in the event of an accident. If an airbag inflates or a seat belt tensioner is activated, then a call will be made automatically and information such as the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), the location and severity of the accident is also transmitted.
It is also possible to place a call manually by opening the cap that covers the SOS button in the unit situated overhead.
At the beginning of this year, the latch that holds the cap closed failed, and the cap was permanently in the open position. It didn’t worry us, because the SOS button itself is in a recess and unlikely to be pressed accidentally.
However, a couple of months later the car started reporting a problem with the unit and advised a visit to the garage. The car went in on the 9th April for inspection. The result was that a small 12v battery supplying power to the unit needed to be replaced but the battery was currently on backorder. The work could not be done until a replacement battery was available.
When I collected the car, I noticed that the cap was now closed, so I assumed that the garage had at least repaired the latch.
Yesterday, the car was back in the garage to have the battery replaced. After collecting the car, I thought I would try opening the cap, but it wouldn’t budge. I asked the service person at the garage to take a look and he came back a few minutes later to tell me that it had been glued shut. Consternation!
Why on earth someone in the garage had glued it shut in April, I really have no idea – it defeats the purpose of pushing the button if needed.
When I got home, I used a couple of small screwdrivers to prise open the cap and yes, it had indeed been glued shut.
The garage rang me this morning to apologise – they will replace the whole unit – and I’ve made an appointment for the work to be done.
Geoff Coupe's Blog 