No Dealer Vagcom?

[Palladin]

When I finally had enough of the honk on lock I asked the dealer to disable it for me when I took it in for the latest ECM update. They gave it back to me saying their equipment could not access that feature. When I said you have to use Vagcom they told me that's aftermarket equipment and they don't have it. I thought that was standard equipment at every dealer. How do they work on a car without it?

 

[Antsrcool]

They have it. They just don't know how to use it.

 

[FlyTDI Guy]

The VW dealers use a VERY expensive diagnostics tool that is difficult to use without proper training. In fact, VAG-Com was developed to give folks like us a tool that could do everything the dealer can at an affordable price. In fact, it's better than the dealer VAG tool in that it has label files to tell you right on the spot what it is you're accessing and what the values mean.

Dealers may or may not have VAG-Com (VCDS) dependent on how savvy the tech team is. I'm not sure how management would take a request for the purchase of VCDS when they have already invested ±$15k on an antiquated, yet necessary, diagnostics tool. I'd look up a Guru in your area or attend the next GTG you can find locally. VCDS will make short order of eliminating your 'beep on lock' issue.

 

[JSWTDI09]

I believe that most dealers only have the standard issue VAG scanners. These will do almost everything that Vag-COM (VCDS) will do, but they are not nearly as easy to use. Often the VW Tech Support guys will have VCDS, but dealer techs often do not. Plus (as stated above), even if they have VCDS they often do not know how to use it properly. The best advice I have ever gotten about dealer service departments is to avoid them like the plague. VW dealer techs are often very good at turning simple problems into expensive disasters (usually without really trying).

Have Fun!

Don

P.S. Find someone near you with VCDS and only use the dealer for warranty repairs. Once your warranty is over, a VW dealer is only useful as a parts supplier.

 

[roadlust]

I have Vagcom and I haven't found a way to delete the honk. I posted it up and had several suggestions but nothing has worked.

 

[Ol'Rattler]

Dealers usually don't have VCDS. Their diagnosis tool is called a VAS something and is several thousand $. As a plus, it is not as user friendly as VCDS.

IIRC, there is no long coding helper (check boxes) for disabling the honk. On my A5 anyway, specific bits had to be replaced and saved to make the programing take effect. YMMV as the newer cars may be different.........

 

[Ol'Rattler]

They have it. They just don't know how to use it.

No probably not. Some of the better techs may have a VCDS cable they purchased themselves. Do they know how to use it? Depends on how good a tech they are.

 

[Palladin]

That seems to be the issue in this case. The service advisor claimed that the tech spent 20 minutes trying to access the feature with their VAS equipment and couldn't. It looks like this thing will honk forever since I don't frequent the dealer and if it hadn't been for this current campaign it wouldn't have come up. I was just surprised that this dealer had such difficulty when the other two I have visited volunteered to disable it. As referenced by others, capabilities can vary from shop to shop.

 

[Buellboy]

Had a bad experience yesterday at Performance VW in Omaha where I purchased MY 14 JSW. I took my car in to have the latest recall pperformed and they would not touch my car since I had made VCDS tweaks, i.e.- windows down with remote, DLR lights off with turn signal, etc. They were going to charge me $250 to return the codes to stock before performing the update. Geez. Last time my car will be at this dealership. Beware VCDS users.

 

[JSWTDI09]

Had a bad experience yesterday at Performance VW in Omaha where I purchased MY 14 JSW. I took my car in to have the latest recall pperformed and they would not touch my car since I had made VCDS tweaks, i.e.- windows down with remote, DLR lights off with turn signal, etc. They were going to charge me $250 to return the codes to stock before performing the update. Geez. Last time my car will be at this dealership. Beware VCDS users.

Wow! I have never heard of a dealer refusing to work on a car just because you have modified it (in a harmless way). I agree, it would be the last time they got any of my business too.

Have Fun!

Don

 

[atsffan]

VW states in the new recall letter (updating ECM s/w) that if there's been any changes to the ECM (chipping, etc), they won't do the update.
Yep, first time I've seen that too - some have said that this is VW's way of gaining control over their software much like a traditional software company might do.

 

[kooyajerms]

Palladin, you must have a white dot MFA correct?

Go to the Convenience Menu and do you see ATA Confirm with a checkbox? Uncheck it. The horn will no longer honk when you use your lock button on the keyfob. And you just saved yourself a trip to the clueless dealer.

 

[> Luke <]

And of course, as most of you already know, the honking is the only
confirmation that the vehicle has been successfully locked. If any of the doors or hatchback is not property closed, the horn will not sound.
I actually rely on that confirming sound, for the lack of the sound, alerted me on three occasions, that the vehicle was not properly secured.

 

[kooyajerms]

I guess since the flashing indicators occur on lock or unlock it's not a good enough signal. Honks useful for finding a car in a sea of cars at disneyland though =)

I guess I do agree that I do like to hear that honk on some occassions... 1st first world problems.

 

[Palladin]

Palladin, you must have a white dot MFA correct?

Go to the Convenience Menu and do you see ATA Confirm with a checkbox? Uncheck it. The horn will no longer honk when you use your lock button on the keyfob. And you just saved yourself a trip to the clueless dealer.

I'm not sure what a "white dot MFA" is but I have been through the convenience menu countless times and I'm 99.9% sure it's not in there. That was the first thing the service adviser at the dealer checked for when I brought it in. NG. Some cars have it and some don't.

 

[radoroc]

You can hear the locking mechanism when it locks, its very apparent. I disabled the horn a long time ago.

 

[FlyTDI Guy]

Mixed reviews on the horn-on -lock anyways. A workmate of mine loudly proclaimed my horn was broken when he heard the little 'meep' I get when I lock mine. I had to explain how that 'meep' was a shout-out to the classic beetle horn of years past and there wasn't anything broken at all. I understand they have moved away from that on the newer models and now the regular horn sounds. Is that correct? If so, it's probably louder and more objectionable. Radoroc, how did you do it so folks like roadlust can do the same and pass the tribal knowledge?

 

[radoroc]

Check this thread:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=328569

 

[roadlust]

Thanks for the link, I will give it a go when I get time and report back.

 

[Ol'Rattler]

I guess since the flashing indicators occur on lock or unlock it's not a good enough signal. Honks useful for finding a car in a sea of cars at disneyland though =)

I guess I do agree that I do like to hear that honk on some occassions... 1st first world problems.

On my 2006, the light flash alone gives locked/armed confirmation. I turned off the horn honk and the unlock flash. I don't need unlock confirmation of any kind because my unlock confirmation is that the doors open.

If I do unlock accidentally, the car will automatically relock in about 30 seconds if a door is not opened.

I use the lock confirmation flash or the panic button to find the car if need be.

 

[roadlust]

Horn beep gone!!!

Thanks to the link radoroc offered the process was simple. Here you go - the VCDS procedure - All the usual VCDS disclaimers apply - Just figured this out this afternoon.

First select "09 Central Electronics" (you may need to have your car door's unlocked in order to be able to access this module).

Note choose "Coding 07" on the right hand side of the screen not "Fault Codes 02" highlighted below.

Choose "Long Code Helper" from the screen below. Note the Current coding shown below is the coding in place after I made this program change. Your coding will be different - Be sure to screen shot it before making any change.

On the screen below, you will need to click in Byte 5 on Line 3 below. It's the 5th pair of hex numbers from the left. This brings up the check boxes shown below in section 3. Un-check Bit 1 Locking Confirmation with Horn active. Then click Exit in the upper left corner.

When you click Exit it takes you back to the previous screen. The new Long Coding will be in the new coding box. Click "Do It!" You will be prompted with something that says words to the effect "Coding accepted".

I tested this program change using both car remote key fobs. It seems to work fine with no other ill effects so far. Of course anything you do with VCDS you are doing at your own risk.
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