My SE 2023 car has white surrounds on the air vents. I think it's yellow/orange for the "Style" or whatever the lowest range model is in the destination country. FR has red surrounds, not sure what the XC or Excellence level has.

DSG or auto will always hesitate when taking off, my TC-SST box in my Mitsubishi Eco was the same, the hesitation as the clutch engages is kind of something you get used to, you learn to pre-empt the situation. Not sure if you have driving modes in the SE Tech but if you have you could play around with those, I found Sport mode to be the most responsive, also take advice from other DSG owners on here, their experiences are priceless.
Also your engine is new and tight, over the next 6000 miles it will loosen off and begin to respond much better. But remember, it's a 1.0 car, and until the turbo spools up (which it does pretty quickly), it's a naturally aspirated 1.0 car. Take the turbo off it's probably 55-60hp!

Stop/Start has lots of reasons for non-function. Battery low is one of them. If you do a quick search, I have regularly listed all the requirements for Stop/Start in other posts.

Good luck and enjoy the new car.

 

I didn't have an opportunity to use the car yesterday but I did connect my CTEK MXS 3.8 smart charger to the battery.


CTEK smart charging

Yesterday, voltage (everything turned off) was 12.1v before charging. CTEK pushed 3.8 Amps for 6 hours (22AH) to the battery (55AH capacity?). Charging current started to fall off and CTEK gave green light to indicate it had finished after a further 1.5 hours. I didn't use the car.

This morning, battery voltage was 12.75v (Everything off). Start/stop started working.

I did see a Bonnet Open warning message. I noticed if I pushed down on one corner of the bonnet, the warning went off.

RTFM - lift bonnet to 20cm and let it drop. It fixed it ! (Earlier, I had been holding bonnet at reasonable 10cm and letting it drop)


OBDeleven frustration

I found setting up the OBDeleven NextGen (not the latest v3) on android phone to be unnecessarily complicated and time consuming especially when the procedure frequently failed. It requires internet access to create an online account with two factor authentication requiring Google Authenticator app. A PIN must be programmed into the OBDeleven dongle. (It is not possible to erase the PIN after it is set.)

I finally got the 'OBDeleven for VAG' app working on my android phone. I couldn't find any GPF live data with their other preferred 'OBDeleven' app at first glance.

For my car, it found a number of passive (historical) fault codes. I tried to clear them but a couple remained. The dongle also reported communication problem with the 'Gateway'. As the new car seems to be working and the instrument cluster isn't lit up like a Christmas tree (ie. no Active fault codes), I can only assume the current software for the OBDeleven dongle is not fully compatible with some of the control units in my car. Update: OBD11 does not support 'Secure Factory Diagnostics 2' (SFD2) introduced in cars manufactured from 2024 by VAG.

After a 10 miles trip around town, here is live data with engine at idle when searching for 'particulate' in 'Engine' live data.
Odometer reading 25 miles btw.

Two days earlier, engine was cold. I recall seeing Exhaust Gas temp of around 250C and I think 'Particulate filter, soot load calculated' reported 0.8%.

I don't know if the 'OBDeleven for VAG' app is truly reporting valid figures. There are too many Zeroes in above screenshots. (The other OBDeleven app doesn't seem to have access to much live data)

The car will only be used mostly for 'short' journeys and I wanted a reliable method to monitor the GPF. I'm sure someone will say I should have bought a BEV and I will regret buying a petrol car with GPF. Sorry, I have zero interest in disposable electric cars.


DSG

With regards to my comparison of 2023 vs 2025 1.0 DSG car, I think there may have been something wrong with the 2023 car I test drove. The issue I had with the 2023 car, was when I started to pull away from standstill, the DSG engages clutch and car starts to move off but it was so sllllowwww to build up speed even for a 1.0 normally aspirated engine (Felt quicker to get out and push...). Eventually the turbo did kick in and I'd be pinned to the car seat because I applied too much throttle on one occasion.... I don't seem to have this issue with my new 2025 1.0 DSG from standstill, the speed builds up gradually once clutch is engaged and tyres start turning with light throttle.

 

I didn't have an opportunity to use the car yesterday but I did connect my CTEK MXS 3.8 smart charger to the battery.

Yesterday, voltage (everything turned off) was 12.1v before charging. CTEK pushed 3.8 Amps for 6 hours (22AH) to the battery (55AH capacity?). Charging current started to fall off and CTEK gave green light to indicate it had finished after a further 1.5 hours. I didn't use the car.

This morning, battery voltage was 12.75v (Everything off). Start/stop started working.

I did see a Bonnet Open warning message. I noticed if I pushed down on one corner of the bonnet, the warning went off.

RTFM - lift bonnet to 20cm and let it drop. It fixed it ! (Earlier, I had been holding bonnet at reasonable 10cm and letting it drop)

I finally got the OBDeleven for VAG app working on my android phone.
After a 10 miles trip around town:
Odometer reading 25 miles.
View attachment 2013

View attachment 2014

Last Thursday evening, engine was cold. I recall seeing Exhaust Gas temp of around 250C and I think 'Particulate filter, soot load calculated' reported 0.8%

I don't know if the 'OBDeleven for VAG' app is truly reporting valid numbers. There are too many Zeroes in above screenshots. (The other OBDeleven app doesn't seem to have access to much live data)

The car will only be used mostly for 'short' journeys and I wanted a reliable method to monitor the GPF. I'm sure someone will say I should have bought a BEV and I will regret buying a petrol car with GPF. Sorry, I have zero interest in electric cars.

With regards to my comparison of 2023 vs 2025 car, I think there may have been something wrong with the 2023 car I test drove. The issue I had with the 2023 car, was when I started to pull away from standstill, the car engages clutch and starts to move off but it was so sllllowwww to build up speed even for a 1.0 normally aspirated engine (Felt quicker to get out and push...). Eventually the turbo did kick in. I don't have this issue with my new 2025 1.0 from standstill, the speed builds up steadily once clutch is engaged and tyres start turning with light throttle.

Hi. What your describing here sounds familiar when I drive my 1.0 tsi 115 2018, 6 speed manual. The moving off from stand still means going to around 3000rpm before I move into 2nd at which point the rpms drops to around 1000 before it starts to slowly climb again when I give it more gas.

 

The exhaust line in a GPF petrol car heats up quicker than a DPF equipped diesel, which allows the pollution particles to be carbonised without the need for regeneration cycles, as petrol engines heat up more quickly than diesel engines. This allows the GPF to operate completely autonomously, without any maintenance or risk of clogging.

 

I've only been able to google one other reference to GPF for what was a 4 year old 2019 1.0TSi Polo
https://uk-polos.net/viewtopic.php?t=78353
https://forum.obdeleven.com/thread/19433/crossover-vw-model-plate-codes

posted April 2023:

Unclear what the garage did to the car to resolve the issue. Possibly 20 minutes Forced Regeneration by VW garage, but OP suspects a software update was applied.

"The Particulate Soot load calculated was 33% and was close to 1% after getting the car back "

posted July 2023:

From above two obdeleven forum images, the OP posted:

"still looking at other info but the thing that put me on alert was the high figures of 5600mg and 6400mg for soot."

"The thing though is that these figures are milligrams.. other sites are looking at regen at 27 grams.. my figures transalte only to 5.6 and 6.4 grams."


Looks like I need to search for 'partic' rather than 'particulate' to be able to see the additional parameters such as 'Particle Filter', omitted from images I uploaded two posts earlier.

 

I prefer the white to the orange, I must admit. It looks very smart.

Fascinating all the data you can obtain. Re the DSG, my wife’s 2019 1.0 SE Tech DSG has a couple of times become jerky from rest, and also when changing between D and R with a reluctance to pick up. The cure seems to be a ‘gearbox reset’ whatever that is. (A local garage did it for £48. Seat want £95 just to plug it in - what a scam!) I believe it’s meant to learn your typical style, but I thought that related to change up points, based on throttle opening.

FWIW I drive a BMW220i with the three-cylinder Mini engine, and the DSG equivalent on that also got a bit snatchy. At about 36,000 miles it was serviced and it was much smoother thereafter - not an oil change on the ‘box, so can only assume it was some type of reset of software update.

 

'Only other difference is how the engine/DSG behaves when pulling away from standstill. I test drove a used 2023 1.0 TSI SE Tech DSG (28k miles) provided by the dealer a fortnight ago. I found it was too slow to pick up the speed from standstill the first time I tried to join a busy roundabout - almost dangerous'

And you still went ahead and bought the car???

 

And you still went ahead and bought the car???

yep.

Quite frankly, there is simply not many options for affordable new small petrol-only automatic cars. I may be biased as I own a 2007 Mk1, but the 2018-2020 Honda Jazz CVT was probably the best small petrol auto imho. Ford and Stellantis suffer wet cam belt issues. Renault/Nissan group Jatco CVT JF015E notorious for short life.

A relative's Kia (hyundai) seems to go through DCT7 dry clutch packs very quickly (on 3rd and last one in under 60k miles replaced just before the excellent long warranty expired) I didn't want an i10 or Picanto with an automated single clutch manual shift gearbox.

That just leaves VAG with TSI engines and infamous DQ200 DSG gearbox.

My understanding is the DQ200 0CW revision announced in 2017 is 'better' than the 0AM version which first came out in 2008? TBF, the 0AM has received improvements until it was replaced by DQ200 0CW version.

I do know someone who's 2015 Golf 1.4 tsi suffered DQ200 failure recently - no drive from gearbox. Likely mechatronic failure? The car had done over 110k miles. They were quoted upto £4k to fix the problem. I guess this is likely the price for new mechatronic unit and to replace the dry clutch pack. They cut their losses and bought a new Audi A3 1.5 with DQ200 gearbox.

I believe all new VAG DSG cars below 2.0 litres use dry clutch DQ200. The wet clutch DQ381 is found on 2.0 litres or more. Clutch packs on DQ200 can wear out like clutches in manual gearboxes. I believe wet-clutch DSG require oil & filter change every 40k miles or 4 years.

 

Put Ito sport drive then you see a difference when taking off from standstill

 

Odometer: 46 miles.
Car only used around town, includes dual carriageways. Typical journey 5 miles between stops.

Using 'OBDeleven for VAG' app

Enter search filter 'partic' in Engine 'Live data' section.

fyi: 75,113 m = 46 miles.

Not yet noticed any obvious signs of regeneration such as high idle speeds (1400rpm?) for 'active' regen. Not driven on any motorways so 'passive' regen may be not possible? I always turn off Auto Start/Stop.


SEAT Connect and suspected parasitic battery drain

A new 'issue' I've discovered is parasitic battery drain. As I don't use the car much, it seems the 'Connected' functionality of the Arona is taking more of a toll on its battery, when compared to my mk1 Honda Jazz which is too old have have either eSIM or complexities of Canbus.

I noticed the battery voltage had dropped to 12.2v after a week since I last charged it. I connected up the CTEK smart charger, and the battery took constant 3.8 Amps for about 2.5 hours (9.5 AH) before the charging current started to drop off.

The battery in the Arona appears to be a EFB 027. Enhanced Flooded Battery typically rated at 55-60AH. 9.5AH of charge would represent about 15%.

Turning off the eSIM and/or premanently removing Seat ID from the car might lessen power drain when the car is parked up for several days at a time. As I understand it, Seat Connect is an 'Always On' service which uses 4G, so it can support features such as eCall, remote access to the car functions and information.



From owner's manual

..

 

Single journey of 24 miles. 18 miles outbound including 12 miles on motorway (55-65mph). 6 miles return including dual carriageways.

Odometer: 70 miles.

'OBDeleven for VAG' app
Enter search filter 'partic' in Engine 'Live data' section.

(Next time, I will try filtering on 'soot' and 'ash' to see if any more parameters are visible)

No increase in soot levels. Equally no evidence to 'reduce' some of the high reading parameters, such as:

'Particle Filter, maximum soot level reached = 11,376 mg'
'Particle Filter, high level of soot buildup = 8,351 mg'.

Given these values have not changed in 24 miles, could these parameters be for reporting the absolute maximum values seen in GPF's history, and perhaps do not reflect 'actual' levels? I don't know.....

With regards to:

'Particle filter, soot mass calculated' dropping from 2mg to 1mg, and
'Particulate Filter, soot load calculated' unchanged at 0%.

This may or may not suggest some sort of passive regeneration is taking place?




.

 

44 miles outbound, 44 miles return. 55-65mph. (40+40 miles on motorway)

Odometer: 158 miles.

'OBDeleven for VAG' app
Enter search filter 'partic' in Engine 'Live data' section.

I also tried filtering on 'ash'. However the 4 parameters returned are as shown in above images. When I tried to filter on 'soot', the app crashed - I will try again next time.


Battery voltage before above trip measured at 12.38v slowly rising to 12.42v after a minute, ignition Off. (Last charged using CTEK just 6 days ago). Equivalent to approx 80% charge ? (eSIM disabled 6 days ago). Possibly lost upto 20% of charge (<12AH) when car is parked unused except on one occasion last week for the 24 mile trip 4 days earlier.

I will check the voltage tomorrow morning, following today's 88 mile motorway run to see how much the voltage/charge has risen. Not optimistic that driving for 2 hours today will be enough to restore battery to 100%.

Update: Following morning: voltage was 12.48v slowly rising to 12.56v within a minute. (Allow 0.03v error for accuracy of my multimeter) Approx <95% charged?

Update 2: Four days later. Car not used for five days. 12.28v slowly rising to 12.38v within a minute. Approx <75% charged? Lost <20% charge just standing?


.

 

Personally I think you are worrying unnecessarily about many points.
Does it start? Does it run okay? Does it stop?
If yes to all three, all is good.

I use my car for very short journeys mainly (5km at the most) and the occasional longer journey (30km). I've had it since 8000km, I'm now at 19000km without a single problem. I've also just been away for almost three weeks without starting the car, its had a dash cam on bump-sensing mode all that time and it started on the button first time no struggles.
I recommend putting the diagnostic equipment away!!

 

Thanks for information. It looks like GPF is not an issue for your short journeys. That is reassuring.

I do less than 1,500 km per year and the car will often only be used once a week, so there is little opportunity for engine to keep on top of the parasitic battery drain when car is not used, based on my observations to date. If the car was used daily, I don't think battery drain would be an issue.

Considering idea of installing a MagCode Power Port socket, so I can trickle charge the battery without having to lift the bonnet. Not yet found a suitable 'water resistant' location for mounting the socket.

 

The car has many automated features to keep battery drain in check. My car turns electronics off when the battery gets to a certain voltage, this happened during my trip, I was unable to remotely check certain levels like fuel.
The car will also inform you if the battery voltage is low, on the dashboard when you turn the key.
No, it won't stop the battery draining completely, but I still think you are worrying unnecessarily. Probably the best thing you could do is take it for a run once a month rather than run a charger 24/7. I bought a Optimate charger last winter soon after the first low battery warning, but realised soon after it was largely unnecessary as I'd not seen the warning since, not even when starting it after my 3 week vacation.
If it ain't broke.......

 

hmm, I'd rather not waste my time taking it on unnecessary long runs just to add some charge to the battery. If the alternator say only delivers 6 Amp charging current, then to return 50% charge to the 60AH battery could take 5 hours of continuous driving....?

I'd rather not let the battery voltage drop too low as this will lead to suiphation issues if the low voltage condition is continuous. It is irreversible for lead acid batteries.

If only there was a setting to turn off all electronics.....

I tried disabling the eSIM but it hasn't made any difference imho. (It's not a known solution for reducing power drain)

I read an Ateca owner was recently suffering from heavy battery drain resulting in flat battery after a few days. New battery fitted by dealer couldn't help. He solved it by factory reset of the infotainment system which deletes his SEAT connect ID from the car. He also removed the app from his phone. I think I will try this in next few weeks, but not hopeful it will make any difference as I never use the app, so it shouldn't be continuously syncing with the car.

 

Too much knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Put your diagnostic kit away and enjoy driving your car…

 

Agreed. The car is clever enough to deal with the vast majority of problems, and if not, it can report problems through the dash or the app. I'm approaching 2 years ownership with only one reported low battery issue (ignoring the infotainment problem sorted in 20 minutes by the dealer), the Arona is the best car I've owned (so far) for lack of issues (touch wood).