Recent content by wmhjr

Actually these days, it isn't that simple. Happy employees can be subverted with empty promises. Remember - the union wants them for their membership (and dues). The union really has zero interest in "helping" those employees. They want to use the membership of those employees to either pad...

Is it possible to roll back the firmware? Though it's only SW, it's not uncommon for rollbacks to be impossible. We're talking about a $30K decision, so....

Totally agree. Unions deserve a great deal of credit for their contributions in the first half of the 20th century. Problem is, power corrupts and the world changed around them. Back then, labor was a contained market. Lack of technology allowed oceans and distances to put walls up so that...

I'm going to look at a 328D. Thinking about turning in my '13 Passat TDI SEL for some issues (only had it a couple months). Might be worth spending the money. I'm going to look at one in the next week.

Yup. My grandpap was in the steel industry (US Steel) and my dad retired from GM (UAW). My grandpap couldn't believe what the unions were doing in the 70s, but was about to retire so it didn't directly impact him. My dad cannot stand the unions. He gets the "Solidarity" UAW magazine because...

I agree with both comments, but seriously, 3 hours? Really? I know (as Loki mentioned elsewhere) that the data is compressed, but really? I mean REALLY?????? What are they using? Some sort of Compusere or Prodigy technology? Only somewhat jesting. For the unlock, I don't lock the car at...

I appreciate your response, LokiWolf. BTW, I am excruciatingly familiar with what a firmware update is as opposed to a map update. I started an IT career a long time ago, with my first network certs back in the days of ArcNet and Token Ring. Now I run a very very large enterprise. What I was...

You got that right - but it's not just the difference between us and german unions, it's the difference between us unions, and European unions, worker councils, and law. Probably like you, I have quite a bit if experience with dealing with European labor issues. I've had groups all over, and...

Here in PA, 2013 SEL Premium. Normal around town driving averages 32mpg. That has been about 1200 miles total. One highway trip of 800 miles round trip. Averaged 45mpg. Speeds were averaging 72-75mph. It wasn't mountain climbing most of the time, but far from flat.

OK, an update and a few corrections, or clarifications..... The V5.2M update I received directly from VW included a separate color printed 8.5x11 installation sheet. It did not have any indication of anticipated time length for the update, though it did indicate that if you shut the car down...

Fine. I actually posted here not about the poor behavior of the RNS510, but about the issues with the "improvement" DVD install process to begin with. That process (after 2 hours) did not successfully complete. I simply thought that was something that would be of interest to others experiencing...

I will tell you what it is later when I'm near the vehicle again. I'm dropping it off at the dealer (again) today. I have (since purchasing mine) tested a few other brand new vehicles and they have ALL performed miserably. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate such poor performance when purchasing...

I do not agree that there are firmware updates that fix these problems. There may be some that improve, but do not fix them to my knowledge.

IIRC, the "Unit" (hardware) is OEM manufactured by Continental for VW. NavTeq provides the mapping data. Continental is essentially a 3rd part manufacturer for VW, and VW is responsible for design requirements, quality, acceptance criteria, etc. If we're talking about the cost to "update" map...

FWIW: It's generally correct that "most" of the built-in OEM nav units aren't as user friendly nor as easy/inexpensive to update as their garmin, etc counterparts. That being said, they can bring other features and benefits, and as always, YMMV. I've owned a number of vehicles (back to...