vcds mods

Past_VNE

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'01 Jetta GLS 5-spd, '12 JSW 6M
Thanks, geodug! I'll be curious to see the replies.

As a side note, I'm downright shocked that it happened to me, as it's a mistake I've feared as long as I've driven manuals...since I was 15. So, I always double check. But, this time, an irritating 6 yr old and a meddling 2 yr old and my friend and HER 2 year old all stole my attentions. *sigh*
 

canux

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Location
Toronto
TDI
2013 Beetle TDI
yeah, but if you don't want the song to cut out for 3 seconds, you've gotta leave the engine running until it ends.
even more annoying when you're trying to listen to a radio interview/news story and you don't want to miss something crucial... not very "green" of VW! ;)
I discovered today that if you set your country code to Germany in Instruments the radio stays on after you've turned the car off until you pull the key out. This is great for me in Canada but may have metric-related consequences for people in the US.
 

jagster936

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Location
Texas
TDI
2002 Beetle TDI Manual
That's awesome! My 97 jetta does that so annoying how radio cuts off when key is still in. Have to continue to run engine or get interrupted and turn back on. What metric consequences and can they be reversed back to US standard?
 

St.Hubbins

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2010
Location
Nashville
TDI
'10 Golf, DSG / '11 A3, DSG (both went buyback) - '15 GSW SE
I discovered today that if you set your country code to Germany in Instruments the radio stays on after you've turned the car off until you pull the key out. This is great for me in Canada but may have metric-related consequences for people in the US.
are you sure? my wife actually changed the MFD to German as a joke some time ago, and the cut-out still exists on ours... i'll mess with it further and see if i can get the desired result. i'm still annoyed by this "glitch" on a daily basis!
 

canux

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Location
Toronto
TDI
2013 Beetle TDI
are you sure? my wife actually changed the MFD to German as a joke some time ago, and the cut-out still exists on ours... i'll mess with it further and see if i can get the desired result. i'm still annoyed by this "glitch" on a daily basis!
Pretty sure. :) Note that this is with VCDS in the instruments coding, not with the MFD.

The only other thing I changed was to set the speed sensor to 8 from 7 to see if I could correct the overly optimistic speedo. Sadly it is still about 5km/h fast at 100. Oh, I also enabled TPMS, but I suspect you already have that on.

I have to say it is really nice not to have the radio cut out when you shut the car down.
 

Rob_MacCara

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2004
Location
Halifax, NS
TDI
Audi Q3 gasser
At the same moment you turn the key off, push the power button on your radio and it should come right back on for about an hours time.
 

jagster936

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Location
Texas
TDI
2002 Beetle TDI Manual
That's annoying then have to turn off again when you leave car. Too much hassle
 

RNDDUDE

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2011
Location
Valencia Ca.
TDI
2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDI
I had done some inquiry with Ross-Tech and they indicated that the newer (mkVI) cars had "dumbed down" many of the control modules such that what used to be able to be changed, now can't. So....my question is what sort of interesting things CAN/CANNOT be easily changed on the new cars? I would love it if 2011+ owners could list what they have been able to change via VCDS. Then we could contact them via PM for specifics...
 

specsalot

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2011
Location
Florida
TDI
Currently none
I haven't done much with mine. VW doesn't want you to disable the annoying horn honk when you lock the car with the key fob. VCDS does it via long code helper. I posted a how to in someone's thread last summer. Originally this could be done (earlier years) on the MF display. Now those menu choices are gone.
 

sgoldste01

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2010
Location
Webster, NY
TDI
None; Replaced 2010 Golf TDI with 2012 Subaru Impreza 5-door with manual tranny
I haven't done much with mine. VW doesn't want you to disable the annoying horn honk when you lock the car with the key fob. VCDS does it via long code helper. I posted a how to in someone's thread last summer. Originally this could be done (earlier years) on the MF display. Now those menu choices are gone.
It's interesting how some people hate the horn honk on lock, and others like it. I like it. I can be walking away from my car, realize that I forgot to lock the car, and hear the confirmation without even turning around to look at the car.

Also, there have been times that I've had trouble finding my car in a parking lot, and have used the lock button on my keyfob to audibly locate the car.

To each his/her own, I guess....
 

MonsterTDI09

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2009
Location
NoVa/NJ
TDI
2010 Jetta DSG/ up keep on 2009 Jetta DSG 2006 Jetta Pag 2 in North SEA Green
I rented a 2012 Jetta 2.5 it had 50 miles on the clock.The honk lock sound was loud,compared to my 10.The 2.5 is a dog:(
 

specsalot

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2011
Location
Florida
TDI
Currently none
It's interesting how some people hate the horn honk on lock, and others like it. I like it. I can be walking away from my car, realize that I forgot to lock the car, and hear the confirmation without even turning around to look at the car.
Also, there have been times that I've had trouble finding my car in a parking lot, and have used the lock button on my keyfob to audibly locate the car.
To each his/her own, I guess....
I actually like the idea, but I work different hours than most. On the days I work I'm either leaving the house at 5:15 AM or coming home at 5:45 AM depending on the shift I'm working. My neighbors haven't complained, but I'd rather not disturb them any more than I do with my comings and goings. Seems like my car chooses to lock it's self after about 2 minutes alone. That is a bit inconvenient, but not enough to make me over ride that feature.
 

Rob_MacCara

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2004
Location
Halifax, NS
TDI
Audi Q3 gasser
I have my car flash the lights instead of a honk. That way I have a visual still to let me know the car's locked/unlocked and it doesn't bother anyone.
 

Vidgamer

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2011
Location
Atlanta, Ga
TDI
2011 Golf TDI (turned in)
The honk is annoying to me. I'd prefer an alarm beep, but I assume that isn't an option. If there is a light flash to confirm that might be good enough. Still would prefer a beep. Oh well.
 

Tweak3D

Veteran Member
Joined
May 19, 2010
Location
Graham, WA
TDI
2010 JSW

Darth_Furious

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2005
TDI
2015 GSW, DSG
Have to replace the horn with the siren to get this. I did it as it annoyed me so much. Fairly easy install with a DIY that can be found here:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5044263-DIY-Alarm-Siren-Install
Me too. I used the DEI 514n siren for $12. Seemed complicated at first. What I did was unscrew the passenger wheel well (the back side, towards trunk) pull the well out and then saw the siren. Lock the car to hear and confirm the horn. I snipped the wires and left the horn intact. I took the wire and pulled it up to the engine bay. I removed the rain tray by the passenger windshield and pulled up that wire. I crimped the wire to the siren (Black/yellow stripe is [+]) and screwed the horn to an existing screw in the engine bay where I found room. Done. LOVE the mod.
 

Tweak3D

Veteran Member
Joined
May 19, 2010
Location
Graham, WA
TDI
2010 JSW
Me too. I used the DEI 514n siren for $12. Seemed complicated at first. What I did was unscrew the passenger wheel well (the back side, towards trunk) pull the well out and then saw the siren. Lock the car to hear and confirm the horn. I snipped the wires and left the horn intact. I took the wire and pulled it up to the engine bay. I removed the rain tray by the passenger windshield and pulled up that wire. I crimped the wire to the siren (Black/yellow stripe is [+]) and screwed the horn to an existing screw in the engine bay where I found room. Done. LOVE the mod.
This will work fine. Just for clarification, the OEM siren has a battery backup built in and communicates directly with the CECM and allows for other alram goodies to be added. If all you want is the noise, then by all means do just the siren, much cheaper :) Just wanted to clarify
 

Vidgamer

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2011
Location
Atlanta, Ga
TDI
2011 Golf TDI (turned in)
Interesting. So, you can just swap out the horn for a siren? Yeah, I saw the other pages recently on adding the siren, and it seemed fairly involved; I've done work like that before, but I can't say I'm too excited about it. I'll probably just turn off the honk for now, but I might like more information on just simply replacing the siren. Why not replace it at the same spot as the original horn?
 

Darth_Furious

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2005
TDI
2015 GSW, DSG
Interesting. So, you can just swap out the horn for a siren? Yeah, I saw the other pages recently on adding the siren, and it seemed fairly involved; I've done work like that before, but I can't say I'm too excited about it. I'll probably just turn off the honk for now, but I might like more information on just simply replacing the siren. Why not replace it at the same spot as the original horn?
1st... There are 2 "horns"
[#1] is triggered by the steering wheel
[#2] is the lock/unlock confirmation/alarm

[1] is under the rain panel by the windshield.
[2] is bolted to the fender behind the right wheel well.

I replaced #2. I didn't want to remove the wheel well. I just pryed it open enough to snip the wire and stick my hand to push the wires up to the top opening. Much easier. Took under an hour. You can drill off the original horn and replace it in the same spot...more work
 

Biggu

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2012
Location
Columbus OH
TDI
2012 JSW PANA/ NAV
Curious, how did you get the roof to slide back with the comfort options? I must have missed it in the programming.
 

dubidoobs

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2010
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2010 "Facelifted" JSW 6MT | 04/2010 Build Date
I haven't done much with mine. VW doesn't want you to disable the annoying horn honk when you lock the car with the key fob. VCDS does it via long code helper. I posted a how to in someone's thread last summer. Originally this could be done (earlier years) on the MF display. Now those menu choices are gone.
I was able to turn off the lock audible confirmation thru the MFD...it was one of the first things I ran into before I got a VCDS...is there something special with mt 2010MY?

IIRC it was under the convenience option(?)
 

t_b

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2012
Location
Hanover, NH
TDI
2013 TDI
Does anyone know if there is a way, via VCDS, to turn off the "DRL" notification on the speedo without disabling the DRLs themselves?
 

cd_booth

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Location
Brighton, Michigan
TDI
2010 Jetta TDI DSG
I have a good one. I was not able to find an answer by searching...

Is it possible to disable the safety feature that only allows access to the MFD setup menu when the vehicle is stationary?
 

Rob_MacCara

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2004
Location
Halifax, NS
TDI
Audi Q3 gasser
No. You have a touchscreen radio, don't you? Same thing if not worse.
I'm not the one wondering how to use it while driving...
My passenger typically does the channel surfing & nav entries on the touch screen. It would be pretty hard for a passenger to operate the MFD screen while you're driving - they'd probably end up in your lap trying to see. :eek:
 

cd_booth

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Location
Brighton, Michigan
TDI
2010 Jetta TDI DSG
I'm not the one wondering how to use it while driving...
My passenger typically does the channel surfing & nav entries on the touch screen. It would be pretty hard for a passenger to operate the MFD screen while you're driving - they'd probably end up in your lap trying to see. :eek:
I don't think that's very realistic. What if you don't have a passenger? I'm not really arguing against the fact that's it probably not the best idea but if manufacturers believe touchscreen radios are safe to use while driving then what's wrong with allowing the driver to navigate the MFD setup menu when it's directly in their field of view?

I think the MFD is in a safer spot compared to the touchscreen radio and you don't have to remove your hands from the steering wheel to navigate it.

I've searched before and I've never seen a way to allow it via VCDS. Anyone?
 

mcracer516

Veteran Member
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Aurora, CO
TDI
2004 Jetta Gold (totaled in pileup on I-25 3/1/2014), 2013 JSW Blue, 2005 Subaru Outback 2.5XT Blue 17mpg city :(
I did a couple of these mods on my 2013 JSW. Everything I did works fine, but now if I try to go back into central electronics I get communication errors. I can get into anything else no problems, but even when I scanned for codes I got the following

Address 09: Cent. Elect. Labels: None
VCID: 55AA463BBC9BAFB0223

No Faults Found
or DTCs not supported by controller
or a communication error occurred

Address 46: Central Conv.
Cannot be reached


Anyone know what I need to do to get this so that I can get back into it?:confused:

I found it Address 09 - Central Electronics:
If this module does not communicate, unlock all vehicle doors and try again.
 
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