Memory seat rhyme and reason

Locoelectrician

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2015 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Golf SEL Sportwagen, 2005 Jetta TDI, John Deere 355D
So while this never happened once in 90k miles of ownership of my 13 SEL, at least three times now in my 15 SEL, with about 3k miles, when I unlock the door, the seat will move to memory position 3, which is my oldest sons. It’s typically after the third or fourth unlocking of the day while running around to different places so it’s not “bmw” style where it is remembering the setting of who last locked the door with which remote. I can be out half the day, with the same key, and all of the sudden when I unlock it the car will choose memory 3. Is there witchery afoot? Do I need a priest? Or can someone explain the way that system is supposed to work? Other than this strange issue, the car is flawless other than the leather on the drivers seat already starting to wrinkle and crease.
 

tadawson

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IIRC, on my 2013 at least, the manual hada procedure to pair seat memory to a specific FOB (also pairs mirror settings) . . . And it's not the FOB who locked it, it's which one unlocked it, and I have had cases where my wife was standing next to the car on the passenger side, and I pulled the drivers handle, and it read her fob and my door, and I got her seat positions. Got odd when she lost a FOB under the seat tracks as well, but otherwise, I have never had it fail to get the correct settings . . . but then again, I read the manual, cover to cover on day one, and set everything up right off the bat . . .
 
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VeeDubTDI

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It's strange that it would do it randomly. If you had paired the seat settings to a key accidentally, I would expect it to happen every time.
 

New Mickey

The user formerly known as mickey
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Utah
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2015 Passat
I don't recall seeing anything in my '15 manual about matching settings to a key fob.

-mickey

p.s. I still say computers and cars do not mix. I miss Katy the Mercedes.
 

Rico567

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Central IL
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2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium (Turned in 7/7/18)
It's strange that it would do it randomly. If you had paired the seat settings to a key accidentally, I would expect it to happen every time.
Most of the time, our '13 SEL works the way it's supposed to (the seat adjusting to my setting when I get into the car, and the same when my wife does). A few times it's gotten confused, but that's been when we both get in, each carrying our fob, and it gets the seat adjustment backwards for who's driving. But so what, push the button and adjust it.....
 

Locoelectrician

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Mine for sure happens when there is only one key anywhere near the car, and is very unrepeatable. I don’t necessarily think anything is “broken”, but was curious if I was the only one experiencing it. Thanks for the input.
 

VeeDubTDI

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I don't recall seeing anything in my '15 manual about matching settings to a key fob.

-mickey

p.s. I still say computers and cars do not mix. I miss Katy the Mercedes.
Is yours an SEL Premium? Is SEL Premium even a thing on 2015s? I don't know.
 

tadawson

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Yes it is . . . and other than the engine change and the car new stuff in the 2015 overhead, they appear identical to prior years. For that reason, I have not dug into the 2015 manual yet, but might one of these days, just in case I missed something.
 

VeeDubTDI

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Yes it is . . . and other than the engine change and the car new stuff in the 2015 overhead, they appear identical to prior years. For that reason, I have not dug into the 2015 manual yet, but might one of these days, just in case I missed something.
OK. You can probably pair the remotes to the memory seats in that case. I forget the procedure, unfortunately.
 

New Mickey

The user formerly known as mickey
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Utah
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2015 Passat
Update: Went for a drive with my wife this evening, and she was the last person to drive the car. As soon as I unlocked the door, with my own fob in my pocket, the seat and mirrors immediately returned to my preset positions. So apparently it IS based on the specific key fob.

Apparently it defaults to position 1 in the event of a conflict, though, because I set up her preset using my fob. I'll have to reprogram hers using her fob and see if the car gets it right both ways.

-mickey
 

New Mickey

The user formerly known as mickey
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Utah
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2015 Passat
Is yours an SEL Premium? Is SEL Premium even a thing on 2015s? I don't know.
I don't know if it's a "premium" or not. I can't imagine any more gadgets that it could have, so I'm assuming it is. My daughter's 2017 TSI 1.8T has the "radar brakes" and the blind spot warning, and a couple of other electronic stuff that mine doesn't have, but I assume those just weren't available in 2015. (The radar brakes already saved her bacon at least once.)

-mickey
 

VeeDubTDI

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Update: Went for a drive with my wife this evening, and she was the last person to drive the car. As soon as I unlocked the door, with my own fob in my pocket, the seat and mirrors immediately returned to my preset positions. So apparently it IS based on the specific key fob.

Apparently it defaults to position 1 in the event of a conflict, though, because I set up her preset using my fob. I'll have to reprogram hers using her fob and see if the car gets it right both ways.

-mickey
To record settings to a particular FOB, that FOB has to unlock the vehicle. That has thrown a couple of people for a loop in the past.
 

251

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May 11, 2002
Location
NW IN
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2015 Passat TDI SEL
IIRC, on my 2013 at least, the manual had a procedure to pair seat memory to a specific FOB (also pairs mirror settings) . . . And it's not the FOB who locked it, it's which one unlocked it, and I have had cases where my wife was standing next to the car on the passenger side, and I pulled the drivers handle, and it read her fob and my door, and I got her seat positions. Got odd when she lost a FOB under the seat tracks as well, but otherwise, I have never had it fail to get the correct settings . . . but then again, I read the manual, cover to cover on day one, and set everything up right off the bat . . .
I am not sure if the fobs "duel" with each other in this scenario. (I'm the only one who drives my Passat SEL and am only one with a fob so... :rolleyes:)

Anyway, fob range seems limited. Once I had it parked with the driver's window down and wanted to lower the passenger front door window which was closed so I leaned thru the open window to press the 'Start' button to activate the 'accessory' position. I immediately got a message on the MFA display that my key was not in range. Once I got in and sat in the driver's seat then the fob enabled the 'accessory' position so the range seems tailored to a seated driver in this case.

Now I know my fob will also lock/unlock the car from the front passenger door. Unknown to me is how a person by each front door both with a fob programmed to that car is which fob it goes off of? I suspect whoever's fob is in range first and unlocks the door gets the nod so seats/mirrors will change to match that fob's settings. Perhaps that's what happened here?
 

New Mickey

The user formerly known as mickey
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Utah
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2015 Passat
I've confirmed that the seat will immediately go to the preset associated with the fob used to unlock the car. Don't know what happens if there is a conflict.

VeeDubTDI is right: To associate a fob with a seat preset you must UNLOCK the car with that fob before you go through the seat setup procedure.

And remember that in order for the system to memorize outside mirror positions the car must be started and the transmission put in neutral before you do the setup.

-mickey
 

tadawson

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Lewisville, TX
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2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Passat TDI SEL
First one read wins . . . If my wife gets to the car first, and even if I put my hand on the door handle to open it before her, I get her settings . . . If both are carrying a fob, you need to get into the habit of the driver stepping up first . . . .

And all the procedures for remembering mirror settings, etc. are in the manual . . . and, iirc, that interrelates to the seat memory - that might be where settings for the mirrors are kept, dunno . ..
 

compu_85

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La Conner, WA
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... None :S
You can memorize the mirror and seat positions to one of the memory buttons, and you can connect a remote to one of the memory buttons. If you change the settings stored "in" that button, it will still be connected to the remote.

I recall seeing a method to un-pair a remote from a memory button in our Touareg's manual. I can look it up if needed.

-J
 

VeeDubTDI

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I am not sure if the fobs "duel" with each other in this scenario. (I'm the only one who drives my Passat SEL and am only one with a fob so... :rolleyes:)

Anyway, fob range seems limited. Once I had it parked with the driver's window down and wanted to lower the passenger front door window which was closed so I leaned thru the open window to press the 'Start' button to activate the 'accessory' position. I immediately got a message on the MFA display that my key was not in range. Once I got in and sat in the driver's seat then the fob enabled the 'accessory' position so the range seems tailored to a seated driver in this case.

Now I know my fob will also lock/unlock the car from the front passenger door. Unknown to me is how a person by each front door both with a fob programmed to that car is which fob it goes off of? I suspect whoever's fob is in range first and unlocks the door gets the nod so seats/mirrors will change to match that fob's settings. Perhaps that's what happened here?
The fob needs to be inside of the car to activate the ignition. If it's outside of the car (you leaning in the window with the fob in your pocket), it won't work. That isn't a range issue, but rather how it is designed.

And yes, if person A is on the driver's side and person B is on the passenger's side, both with their respective fobs in their pockets, if person B touches the door handle first, the car will recall B's settings. All setting recalls are done based on which key unlocks the car. If the passenger gets antsy and unlocks the car first, the car recalls the passenger's settings. (This explains tdiatlast's earlier posts, but does not explain the OP's problem, which I believe to be some sort of bug).
 
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dbias

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2015 Passat SE w sunroof buyback 3/18/17
My 2017 A4, the replacement for my 2015 passat tdihas had one glitch with the fob memory settings. After about a month when I would open the door it would go to my wife's settings, her being no where around, and I would push the 1 button for my settings and my seat and mirrors would go to my presets AND the drivers side rear window would roll down one inch. After about a week of this I got both fobs and started over from scratch and no problems since.
I also have to take my fob out of my pocket and put it in the house to wash the car as it will lock/unlock every time I wash one of the door handles or spray water on one if the fob is in my pocket
 

tadawson

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The fob needs to be inside of the car to activate the ignition. If it's outside of the car (you leaning in the window with the fob in your pocket), it won't work. That isn't a range issue, but rather how it is designed.

And yes, if person A is on the driver's side and person B is on the passenger's side, both with their respective fobs in their pockets, if person B touches the door handle first, the car will recall B's settings. All setting recalls are done based on which key unlocks the car. If the passenger gets antsy and unlocks the car first, the car recalls the passenger's settings. (This explains tdiatlast's earlier posts, but does not explain the OP's problem, which I believe to be some sort of bug).
I find that to be incorrect on our 2013 Passat SEL. If my wife gets to the car first (but does not touch) and I touch the drivers door handle to unlock, I watch the seat promptly move to her settings. If she lets me get there first, I get mine . . .
 

tadawson

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Nope - I didn't say got in first. First to stand next to (but not touch) the door handle. I touch the drivers handle, but since her FOB was the first read, my unlock gets her settings (note, this is Kessy . . . so no buttons on any FOB pushed). To me, the unlock event is pulling the handle, and the point is, it doesn't necessarily use the FOB on the same side as the unlock to authorize . . .
 

tadawson

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Ah got it. The car can tell which key is next to which handle, that sounds like a software bug to me :(

-J
I think that should be "can't", no? I have not got bored enough to test to see if it's the same on the 2015 . . .
 

Locoelectrician

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My 2017 A4, the replacement for my 2015 passat tdihas had one glitch with the fob memory settings. After about a month when I would open the door it would go to my wife's settings, her being no where around, and I would push the 1 button for my settings and my seat and mirrors would go to my presets AND the drivers side rear window would roll down one inch. After about a week of this I got both fobs and started over from scratch and no problems since.
I also have to take my fob out of my pocket and put it in the house to wash the car as it will lock/unlock every time I wash one of the door handles or spray water on one if the fob is in my pocket
Just leave the key in the car. Had the same issue with me Passat. Doors will not lock with keys in car.
 

VeeDubTDI

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That is interesting, Tim. The car definitely knows where the fob is, so I'm very surprised that it goes to her setting when you touch your door handle. Lax programming from the software engineers.
 

tadawson

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Yeah, and it's not just occasionally - it's 100% reproduceable - the wife was screwing with me with it for a while, since she knew it pissed me off. If I lock/unlock on my side right afternit goes wrong, it goes to my setting, so it's def able to read both fobs . . .

I have not tried this, but I suspect that if only one fob is in play, that grabbing the handle on the opposite side may also allow unlock . . . made it more 'convienient', but induced this? (Possibly limited by unlock settings?) In any case, we have been used to it for years, so never tested . . . and thus never encountered in on the '15, since the habit is now solidly embedded . . .
 
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fredthe

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Back to the OP, yes my seat will sometimes move to a different position, and sometimes seems to re-program itself. Seems to happen more often when there are multiple keys around (we have 4) but I've had it happen when I'm solo, also.
 

Locoelectrician

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Back to the OP, yes my seat will sometimes move to a different position, and sometimes seems to re-program itself. Seems to happen more often when there are multiple keys around (we have 4) but I've had it happen when I'm solo, also.
Good to know I’m not alone, and that it’s most likely not something defective. I’ve never had more than one key near the car.
 
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