What did you do to your MK7 today?

[Cuzoe]

@mayday_soc Very nice! My only "critique" Is that what you were calling the BCM is the ABS module. BCM is the body control module, it's in the cabin just outboard of your left foot, has three plugs on it.

 

[mayday_soc]

@Cuzoe I actually did not know that. In that case I skipped the BCM and went directly to pin 4 on the ABS module. I always appreciate constructive criticism. This forum continues to be an invaluable resource to me. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Cuzoe]

Your wiring, so far as I can tell , is 100%correct, nothing for this switch gets wired to the BCM.

 

[codyayrton]

I installed a port plug to power the FrostHeater and battery trickle charger/maintainer. I debated on location but opted for underside of bumper to avoid having to cut a hole in the visible part of the VW's exterior. I removed the screws of the rear part of the black piece on the underside of the car. I did not completely remove the black piece. It was a bit of a PIA to reach inside the bumper in order to hold the screws to keep from turning while tightening the nylon nuts underneath. I wire-nutted the wires, mashed silicone into the wire nuts, taped them with electrical tape, then zip-tied them in the up position. The rubber plug cover is so far staying put and providing a good seal while driving the vehicle. I did not shorten the screws yet as I may make a ring held in place with wing nuts that will ensure the the plug cover does not fall out.

 

[Catarinoforlife]

Installed a GTI steering wheel and an Aliexpress shifter over the last week or so. Before putting on the steering wheel, I stitched on a new cover and put on some eBay paddle shifters. I even put on a little GTD badge in place of the GTI. Installed battery blanket for the larger battery size.

 

[Nuje]

Whoa - back up my friend.
I need the story on those custom shifter-surround buttons. Aliexpress, I assume (?). Got a link?
Are they hooked up to anything? I recognize the bottom two (turtle and banana peel, I think(?)), but what's the top one?

 

[Catarinoforlife]

Whoa - back up my friend.
I need the story on those custom shifter-surround buttons. Aliexpress, I assume (?). Got a link?
Are they hooked up to anything? I recognize the bottom two (turtle and banana peel, I think(?)), but what's the top one?

They’re just vinyl stickers I found on Etsy. The top one is Bullet Bill. All Mario Kart items for fun. I tried looking for the shop for a link, but they’re not on there anymore. Lots of other options. Unfortunately buttons are still blanks.

This is similar: https://www.etsy.com/listing/115117...allery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&frs=1&bes=1

 

[Trfytoy]

Installed GTI coils and Bilstein B4's. Got a few hundred miles on them so the settling should be done. I'm really enjoying the stiffer ride and feels more glued to the road.

https://flic.kr/p/2oKZ5Kw

 

[740GLE]

nice tire profile, those 18"s?

 

[Trfytoy]

nice tire profile, those 18"s?

Yep, 18"s. Although, thinking about going to 17's for more sidewall.

 

[Cuzoe]

Yessss... 17s are the bee's knees, as they say.

 

[Nuje]

I installed a port plug to power the FrostHeater and battery trickle charger/maintainer. I debated on location but opted for underside of bumper to avoid having to cut a hole in the visible part of the VW's exterior. I removed the screws of the rear part of the black piece on the underside of the car. I did not completely remove the black piece. It was a bit of a PIA to reach inside the bumper in order to hold the screws to keep from turning while tightening the nylon nuts underneath. I wire-nutted the wires, mashed silicone into the wire nuts, taped them with electrical tape, then zip-tied them in the up position. The rubber plug cover is so far staying put and providing a good seal while driving the vehicle. I did not shorten the screws yet as I may make a ring held in place with wing nuts that will ensure the the plug cover does not fall out.

Too late for you/this now, I realize, but as an FYI, Canadian cars came with a block heater outlet - looks similar size to what you have installed there. One could possibly use that plastic trim of the block heater to contain that outlet for a full-on "factory-installed" look. (?).

 

[Nuje]

A couple of my parking sensors were sitting a little askew, so I figured their holding brackets had probably come loose. VW has a bespoke tool for clamping these down while the epoxy sets (part of the VAS 6614 set of tools).

#6 is the plastic bumper cover; "a" is parking sensor bracket on the inside of the bumper cover that has to be epoxied to the inner bumper cover (epoxy is #7).

I called my guys at the local VW dealership here to see if they had one I could borrow, but they did not.

So, time to get creative: Being Canadian and as required by law, I had a few hockey pucks kicking around the garage. So, I figured a way to re-purpose a hockey puck along with some Goop™ to craft my own version of a VAS6614. Did the trick very nicely.

And on the outside of the bumper cover, some rubber and a couple heavy washers.

 

[Nuje]

Well, not exactly on my Mk7, but it's a MQB car (and I need a place to rant), so here we go.

My wife's A3 e-tron started making some kind of droning noise - stayed the same pitch, didn't seem to be related to tires (stayed the same regardless of brand new or old degraded pavement). Checked wheel bearings - near silent. Axles seem fine - car only has 65K km on it.

As much as I wanted to think it wasn't the case, it sure sounded to me like the electric drivetrain was making some noise....but that's impossible, right?

A quick digression: Car was bought with AudiCare, and the last of those services (at ~45K km back in 2020) included a DSG service. So, why not - it's like 25K km early, but saves me having to do it in a couple years.

So - changing the oil the other day, I noticed a little wetness around one of the DSG's drain plugs. Wiped it off, let the car sit overnight with the belly pan off and sure enough - nice little oil spot on the driveway. Pull out the Snap-on digital torque wrench and set it to the 45Nm spec for that plug - easily get another 30° or so before it beeps/buzzes.

So now, I'm realizing how long this thing has probably been slow-leaking (never left spots on our driveway, but the belly pan did have some dampness) and thinking....this can't be good.

Pull out the DSG fill equipment and figure I'll pump in 1L and see how much drains back out. If it's close to that same 1.0L, non-issue.
Start the car, open the fill plug....nothing comes out. Usually there's a little residual stuff in the fill pipe, but this was literally a few drops around the sealing edge of the plug.

Pump this in.

Let it spin for a bit. Then this much comes out.

(Had the wrong scale facing the camera there, but it's looking across to the other side of the container, you can see it's a little under 300mL)

So, in a car where the DSG fluid level is so finicky that not only does the car have to be perfectly level, but has to be within a 20°C temperature range (between 20-40°C...mine was right at 30°C), I was down over 700mL.

Now here's the kicker: Not only is the DSG the transmission on this car, but that 0DD transmission also houses the hybrid drive system for the car (which I take to mean, that's where the electric motor resides).

Just on a hunch, when I tightened that drain plug, I initially set my torque wrench at 30Nm (which is the oil drain plug spec), then tightened it to the spec 45Nm and sure enough - that felt identical to what my initial check of the tightness of that plug was. So, not too difficult to figure out how and what the mistake was.

A message containing much of the info in this post was sent to the dealership that did the DSG service; they've received it and are "reviewing".

So yeah - that's what happened with my car today.

 

[Cuzoe]

@Nuje Any news yet? This should be rather quick "review" as it's quite clear what happened.

 

[Nuje]

Nothing today. Will give 'em a call tomorrow if I don't hear anything.

 

[Nuje]

Friend drops by with his Mk7 wagon, complaining of noise, some kind of wobble from the front left.

Just about to get it into the air to take a look, but .....only TWO LUG BOLTS holding that wheel on!!??

I do the tire changes, so I know they were torqued properly, and even though I mentioned re-torquing them, meh - who needs that, right?

Went around the rest of the car, and out of the 15 other bolts, exactly ONE was at spec'd torque. Everything else had probably 5-10° of rotation to it before it got to spec.

RE-TORQUE YOUR LUG BOLTS, KIDS!

 

[pedroYUL]

Just dropped off my 2015 GSW with a super clear leaky DEF injector (dried urea collecting on top). We'll see how it goes with my local dealership. This should be covered by dieselgate, but this dealer is not the most supportive.

EDIT: Yes! No struggle at all with the dealer/VW covering the DEF injector...but of course they don't have the parts, and usually running 2 months out on appointments, but that's okay, the car runs

 

[740GLE]

Well, not exactly on my Mk7, but it's a MQB car (and I need a place to rant), so here we go.

My wife's A3 e-tron started making some kind of droning noise - stayed the same pitch, didn't seem to be related to tires (stayed the same regardless of brand new or old degraded pavement). Checked wheel bearings - near silent. Axles seem fine - car only has 65K km on it.

As much as I wanted to think it wasn't the case, it sure sounded to me like the electric drivetrain was making some noise....but that's impossible, right?

A quick digression: Car was bought with AudiCare, and the last of those services (at ~45K km back in 2020) included a DSG service. So, why not - it's like 25K km early, but saves me having to do it in a couple years.

So - changing the oil the other day, I noticed a little wetness around one of the DSG's drain plugs. Wiped it off, let the car sit overnight with the belly pan off and sure enough - nice little oil spot on the driveway. Pull out the Snap-on digital torque wrench and set it to the 45Nm spec for that plug - easily get another 30° or so before it beeps/buzzes.

So now, I'm realizing how long this thing has probably been slow-leaking (never left spots on our driveway, but the belly pan did have some dampness) and thinking....this can't be good.

Pull out the DSG fill equipment and figure I'll pump in 1L and see how much drains back out. If it's close to that same 1.0L, non-issue.
Start the car, open the fill plug....nothing comes out. Usually there's a little residual stuff in the fill pipe, but this was literally a few drops around the sealing edge of the plug.

Pump this in.

Let it spin for a bit. Then this much comes out.

(Had the wrong scale facing the camera there, but it's looking across to the other side of the container, you can see it's a little under 300mL)

So, in a car where the DSG fluid level is so finicky that not only does the car have to be perfectly level, but has to be within a 20°C temperature range (between 20-40°C...mine was right at 30°C), I was down over 700mL.

Now here's the kicker: Not only is the DSG the transmission on this car, but that 0DD transmission also houses the hybrid drive system for the car (which I take to mean, that's where the electric motor resides).

Just on a hunch, when I tightened that drain plug, I initially set my torque wrench at 30Nm (which is the oil drain plug spec), then tightened it to the spec 45Nm and sure enough - that felt identical to what my initial check of the tightness of that plug was. So, not too difficult to figure out how and what the mistake was.

A message containing much of the info in this post was sent to the dealership that did the DSG service; they've received it and are "reviewing".

So yeah - that's what happened with my car today.

So the dealer did work, you found out their issues and fixed their issues, then pointed out their issues to them?

While that works for you (not dropping the car off and waiting), what do you expect a dealer to do? Tell you thanks for fixing our issue?

 

[Cuzoe]

So the dealer did work, you found out their issues and fixed their issues, then pointed out their issues to them?

While that works for you (not dropping the car off and waiting), what do you expect a dealer to do? Tell you thanks for fixing our issue?

I don't think that's the intent at all. DSG is making a droning noise. Having identified the issue (improper servicing by the dealer) there is now precedent for going back to them should proper servicing not resolve the noise, or longer term damage appear with the DSG.

Could even have them, or at least argue for, a thorough check of the DSG currently and/or acknowledgement of their error for future considerations (with some limit obviously).

 

[Nuje]

Exactly.
I've found an issue (noise) that while not impacting drivability right now, very well could in the not-too-distant future.

So - I figured out what the issue is, what led to the issue (their work) and made them aware of those findings by email (paper trail) so that they can (hopefully) be proactive about assessing any damage and addressing that damage.

The other option was to stop at "well, look at what those doofuses did", then 6-10-15mos. down the road if/when the DSG gives up, eat the cost of a replacement, or then go to complain to them looking/hoping for redress with "well, way back in July 2023 I noticed that you didn't fill up the DSG"?

I figure my chances of getting some assistance from them is better letting them know as soon as I found out and still have a functional car.

 

[740GLE]

I don't think that's the intent at all. DSG is making a droning noise. Having identified the issue (improper servicing by the dealer) there is now precedent for going back to them should proper servicing not resolve the noise, or longer term damage appear with the DSG.

Could even have them, or at least argue for, a thorough check of the DSG currently and/or acknowledgement of their error for future considerations (with some limit obviously).

Right but having Nuje touch the DSG wipes the dealers hands of any wrong doing, if things do go south on the DSG, it'd be best to have the dealer track their own faulty work. But I know its easy to lead a horse to water than it is to drink it.

Per Nuje, sounds like it was more a heads up, in hope of paying it forward, than asking for restitution.

I guess I did something similar when a shop left the rear belly pan bolts on finger tight (one fell off in the garage shocked i caught that one), i gave them a friendly heads up.

 

[Cuzoe]

Right but having Nuje touch the DSG wipes the dealers hands of any wrong doing, if things do go south on the DSG, it'd be best to have the dealer track their own faulty work. But I know its easy to lead a horse to water than it is to drink it.

Per Nuje, sounds like it was more a heads up, in hope of paying it forward, than asking for restitution.

I guess I did something similar when a shop left the rear belly pan bolts on finger tight (one fell off in the garage shocked i caught that one), i gave them a friendly heads up.

He's already touched the DSG so that's a moot point. It remains to be seen if they tell Nuje to kick rocks. But they've already done wrong, haha. That isn't really in question. I suppose they could offer a complimentary DSG service... although there's good reason to decline that offer . The service was also done 20k and years ago so dealer may have told him to kick rocks even if he brought it in for the noise instead of checking servicing at home.

I made no mention of restitution and I don't see any mention of it from Nuje either. I just responded to your questions/comment with what I believed was Nuje's line of thought. Not asking the dealer for anything at this time besides acknowledging a fault with the last maintenance they performed. And then (depending on their posture) how that may impact future problems if Nuje's luck wavers. ***knock on wood***

 

[Nuje]

Had a lengthy conversation with the service manager at the Audi dealership the other day. He started by asking how I'd filled the DSG (which was how I've done every other one), and he pointed out that that wasn't right - there's a whole "Guided Function" that involves de-pressurizing the mechatronics unit and other stuff. At which point I read chapter and verse from the 0DD service manual that indicated that yes - that's true for doing a full fluid flush, but the step-by-step for "check and top-up" was exactly what I did.

So, we were off to a great start. 🫤

Their position (not surprisingly) is that they did nothing wrong - they haven't serviced the car in three years, don't know what I've done to it in those three years, etc. How do they know I didn't mess with the DSG plug? And sure - fair enough.

But my main point: Why would I ever touch the DSG drain plug knowing it's been serviced?

In the end, they agreed to check the DSG fluid level for me; and while in the past, I've just dropped off the car (dealership is 100km away) and gone to do other things, I'll probably hang around and just watch exactly what they do - just for my own piece of mind if nothing else.

I kept the fluid I drained out after overfilling - anyone know if Blackstone tests DSG fluid?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Changed the oil in my GSW for the second time. It's only ben 7,500 miles on this fill, but I honestly can't recall when I last changed it, so I decided to just to put my mind at ease. Clearly it's not as easy as in a MKIV or MKV/VI. But not terrible.

 

[codyayrton]

This morning I discovered a leak from under the fuel tank while investigating a strange smell in my garage. A quick finger dip and sniff determined that it was not DEF or diesel. WTH? The smell did seem organic so maybe should not have been surprised, but did something crawl up there and pee or what? Opened the tailgate to reveal the source, a jug of milk forgotten for 2-3 days after the last grocery run. The milk started to expand and the container failed and spilled the clear part of the milk onto my VW CarGo mat. Fortunately, the solids stayed inside the jug so maybe less stinky. I removed everything that was removeable from the car that was wet or stinky which included the deck over the spare tire, the rear seat, and everything in the spare tire well including the liner. The CarGo mat actually did a pretty good job since the deck over the spare tire was dry except on its outer edges. I noted two holes in the rubber underneath the mat which leads me to believe that the mat would have contained the entire gallon had those holes not been there. Might be time for a new one. I sprayed, scrubbed with Dawn, and/or wiped everything with bleach water twice but the smell is still there. Much improved at least.

 

[pedroYUL]

Just changed the right side license plate light.

Dealer flagged to me, and honestly I was a bit surprised this light doesn't show up in the dash or a VCDS scan. These are LED, perhaps that is why they don't generate an error when they go. In any case, dealer wanted $80 for the part and some more for labor to a total of $110...I fixed it with a $13 part of ebay and about 5min of my time.

 

[Cuzoe]

The left and right license plate are both tied to a single output from the BCM, Plug A pin 79 59 (this is a 73 pin plug). If both lights go you should see the fault. Of course, fault monitoring for that channel (or any light channel for that matter) can be disabled in the adaptations. But if you are the original owner you would know if that adaptation was modified.

 

[pedroYUL]

Only the right side was out, but thanks for the education Cuzoe!

 

[Cuzoe]

Only the right side was out, but thanks for the education Cuzoe!

If you really wanted to go silly you could wire an unused light channel back there and separate the bulbs. Then you would get a warning if either went out. But that would be a lot of work for... nothing, haha. Way too many other neat things you can do with a spare light channel.