2012 GOLF W/TECH PACKAGE: LED DRLs OR NO???

hayabusa4448 · Jul 12, 2011

Hi , i am really close in trading my 2011 jetta tdi/nav for a 2012 golf tdi w/tech package and i was really excited to read on the forums that they upgraded the 2012 Golfs with LED DRLs but today i called 2 dealers in chicago area and they both told me that this option will be available only on 2012 GTIs and Rs and that the tdi w/tech will keep the older version with only xenon hid projectors and no led drls .

Can someone confirm this ??

740GLE · Jul 13, 2011

what's wrong with your 2011 that you want to replace it?

btw the best place i've found to keep uptodate on new MY changes is

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/

he usually has a list of all these little changes in a nice format that's easy to sift through.

ToeBall · Jul 13, 2011

hayabusa4448 said:
Hi , i am really close in trading my 2011 jetta tdi/nav for a 2012 golf tdi w/tech package and i was really excited to read on the forums that they upgraded the 2012 Golfs with LED DRLs but today i called 2 dealers in chicago area and they both told me that this option will be available only on 2012 GTIs and Rs and that the tdi w/tech will keep the older version with only xenon hid projectors and no led drls .

Can someone confirm this ??

This is what my dealer told me as well. Of course you could make the housings a condition of sale so they can add them to the price of the car and finance them. It's pretty popular in Europe to do the swap. I payed around $1300 for mine, shipped from Germany. If you've got the regular HID's already, it's a straight swap, assuming the firmware in the CECM is new enough, which it should be on a 2012. I'm waiting for everything to work right before I sell my old halogen housings so I can't tell you how difficult it is or how much you'll get for them. Probably around $600 though.

hayabusa4448 · Jul 13, 2011

740GLE said:
what's wrong with your 2011 that you want to replace it?

This :

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=321947

Golf is what i originally wanted but i was lured into getting a Jetta because of kessy, push button start and leatherette ....not worth the trouble i went through

Indy rear suspension , pedal shifters, temp gauge , HIDs, Dynaudio , handles better , soft dash , and most importantly: MADE IN GERMANY!

hayabusa4448 · Jul 13, 2011

ToeBall said:
This is what my dealer told me as well. Of course you could make the housings a condition of sale so they can add them to the price of the car and finance them. It's pretty popular in Europe to do the swap. I payed around $1300 for mine, shipped from Germany. If you've got the regular HID's already, it's a straight swap, assuming the firmware in the CECM is new enough, which it should be on a 2012. I'm waiting for everything to work right before I sell my old halogen housings so I can't tell you how difficult it is or how much you'll get for them. Probably around $600 though.

So you think that it would be straight plug and play if i get the car equiped with last year's HIDs despite the fact that 2012 GTI headlight has incorporated leds?

motoblue · Jul 13, 2011

I'd think you'd need a different wiring harness and some VAG COM work. I think your best bet is to ask at the Vortex. They have salesmen regularly posting there.

hayabusa4448 · Jul 13, 2011

motoblue said:
I'd think you'd need a different wiring harness and some VAG COM work. I think your best bet is to ask at the Vortex. They have salesmen regularly posting there.

Does your car have an option of headlights being completely turned off or are the HIDs on all the time at low intesity as DRLs?

motoblue · Jul 13, 2011

They're on all the time, at regular intensity. The light is created by charging the xenon gas contained in the bulb, not by running current through a filament like a traditional halogen bulb.

You can turn off the DRLs altogether with VAG COM.

tdi90hp · Jul 13, 2011

buy the GOLF...you wont look back

zweeks · Jul 13, 2011

Who knows?

I don't think that anybody who doesn't work for VW really knows for sure. I've heard all sorts of rumors regarding the Tech Pkg:

LED DRL
Rear LEDs
Wheels
- Porto?
- Salamanca?
- Seattle?
RNS-315 NAV Radion
- HD Radio?
- HD Tagging?

Heck, I ordered a 4-dr, 6-spd, 2011 Golf TDI back in April, but along the way it was changed to a 2012 Golf TDI with Tech Pkg. It was supposed to be at the dealer on 11-July-2011, but they don't have it yet, and they don't have an ETA

maybe next week

I can't honestly commend the VW ordering process. Sure, I'll basically get the car that I really wanted that I couldn't find available on any lot, but I'm getting an abundance of mystery and ambiguity as an added 'benefit'.

If and when I ever receive the car, then I'll let you know what the Tech Pkg does and doesn't have. I'm tired of the speculation, rumors, and mystery.

ToeBall · Jul 14, 2011

hayabusa4448 said:
So you think that it would be straight plug and play if i get the car equiped with last year's HIDs despite the fact that 2012 GTI headlight has incorporated leds?

Worst case, your car's CECM needs to be updated, and you may need to configure it with VCDS. Other than that, yes, it should just plug and play.

motoblue said:
I'd think you'd need a different wiring harness and some VAG COM work. I think your best bet is to ask at the Vortex. They have salesmen regularly posting there.

Nope, same harness. The LED housing has no city lights. The sales people don't even know if you can get these lights, you think they'll know how the work?

motoblue · Jul 14, 2011

Sorry. I meant he should check with the salesmen at the Vortex to see if they know if the 2012s will come with the LED DRLs or not. I agree, they would be clueless about installing parts.

I see, the city light circuit would be used for the LEDs. I thought I read on KIX's bumper thread that he needed adapters for the new headlights, not a new harness, but I may have misread. He did need VAG-COM.

motoblue · Jul 14, 2011

OK, looked at the thread again and yeah, I misread. You need adapters (and a highline CECM) if you are upgrading from halogen.

I think there are plenty of people who would pay $ for the old xenon lights to offset the cost of new ones. I think you could do way better than $600.

2012 GOLF W/TECH PACKAGE: LED DRLs OR NO???

hayabusa4448

Active member

740GLE

Top Post Dawg

ToeBall

Veteran Member

hayabusa4448

Active member

hayabusa4448

Active member

motoblue

Veteran Member

hayabusa4448

Active member

motoblue

Veteran Member

tdi90hp

Veteran Member

zweeks

Member

ToeBall

Veteran Member

motoblue

Veteran Member

motoblue

Veteran Member