2015 - 12v outlet in trunk missing?

[santacll]

just sold my 2005 passat, and bought this 15jetta and can't find a 12v in the trunk. looks like they been deleted. can anyone confirm?


there are several reasons to want one; a) i use it to power the aircompresser, b) feed the trailer wiring converter for mandatory lighting, c) nice backup for the youngen in the backseat on trips...


looks like i have some form of stupid subwoofer hanging under the back deck., wondering how its got a decent power feed?


thanks

 

[dhuddleson]

Guess you have the high-end "Fender" radio system, with that additional speaker mounted to the underside of the rear window shelf. And yes, VW made the Jetta price-competitive by stripping out features you would expect by default, such as 12v power outlets.

 

[oilhammer]

The B5 Passat is several steps up the food chain from the NCS Jetta. There are LOTS of things that are decontented. The 12v outlet in the trunk is probably the least of them.

Base price for Passat in 2005: $23k (and that just got you a 1.8L gas engine with a manual gearbox, in GL trim).

Base price for the NCS Jetta in 2015: about $17k. Ten years, 6 grand cheaper. Yeah, lots of stuff is different.

 

[santacll]

i think probably the one thing that really shows the decontent, is the seats. leatherette vs the passat "leather". personally id be happy with the GTI type cloth seats...


gonna make a trip to the wrecker and look for the 12v outlet.

 

[oilhammer]

The NCS is about 650 pounds lighter, too. They are even lighter than an A4 Golf by about 100 pounds. I think the trunk lid is a pretty obvious place you see the general cheapening. They do not have the fancy hinges or shocks, just swing arms with springs, opening and closing the trunk is more like a Corolla or Altima.

But that said, the NCS did offer a much lower price point for more buyers and got more people in the showroom to look. When the NCS came out in 2011, you could for the first time in quite a while actually in the USA drive home a new Volkswagen for less than $15k... which was less than you could buy a Scion iQ for, and that was only half a car (literally). So for value, they were a great buy. The TDI option of course just placed a very expensive engine in a cheap car and only made it available in higher trim levels. Still a decent car though, and some of the cheap stuff actually went away again in 2014 (price went up a bit too, though).

 

[santacll]

still at least it is a diesel... probably the last one i'll get since our limited access in north america to a vw diesel engine

 

[dhuddleson]

One frustrating "decontent" at least for 2011/2012, is the Low Windshield Washer Fluid level sensor and warning light. It's like being back in a 70's Chevy again!!! In northern environments where lots of road salt is used in winter, it is good to know BEFORE you run out of washer fluid! Can it be retrofitted? Is wiring still there??

 

[oilhammer]

It probably isn't that simple, since the cluster may not even have the path for the input from the level sensor.

The NCS is not a case where they took an existing platform and just left features off. It is its own platform, and it simply never had many features to begin with. Even the most tarted up GLI models are much simpler under the skin than a "base" 2010 Jetta was, which was still a Golf with a trunk.

Even the "installed" list on VCDS shows just how few modules there are in the car (which is not really a bad thing, to be honest). Sometimes, simpler is better because it means less stuff to break.

 

[dhuddleson]

Thanks for the comments Oilhammer. Maybe I just need a "dipstick" for the washer tank!!! We just top it up more frequently to avoid "empty" situation.

 

[santacll]

so when i run a power wire from the back, can anyone tell me the pinout on the back of the fuse panel so i can hook this up properly?

 

[vwestlife]

I've never heard of a car with a 12V power outlet in the trunk. I thought that was just an SUV/minivan thing, for tailgating.

My 2018 Jetta has an indicator in the instrument cluster for low washer fluid level, but I don't know if it's functional, because I've never let the level get low enough for it to activate. My dad's 2002 Golf TDI did have the indicator, but I think only once in his 13 years of owning the car did it come on.