Software issues

[fredgroves]

Not wanting to promote another forum but...

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php/472-Golf-MK8-2019

Holy mother of God.... what have I ordered?

[fredgroves]

Tricky,

One of the things I'm seeing a lot all over is this:

They've now confirmed it's a problem with the capacitive sensor on the steering wheel. This makes sense, since Emergency Assist relies on the steering wheel capacitive sensor to detect that the driver is still alert, Travel Assist does the same to ensure the car is not being driven hands-free, plus the fact that the notifications were often triggered by a movement of the steering wheel at roundabouts etc.

VW HQ seemingly are aware of it as they’ve given the dealer the part number for a revised steering wheel and associated loom that has to be fitted. That’s on back order and may take a while to arrive.

So, it's a hardware problem and not software.

An awful lot of the systems seem to have a core dependency on the driver being in control.... if it can't detect you gripping the steering wheel they will shut down or alarm.

"capacitive sensor"

That doesn't bode well.... wonder where in the manual it tells you that you can't use gloves. Because you can't use gloves with a capacitive sensor.

Maybe this is why they come with a steering wheel heater....

[Powerman80]

Tricky,

One of the things I'm seeing a lot all over is this:

They've now confirmed it's a problem with the capacitive sensor on the steering wheel. This makes sense, since Emergency Assist relies on the steering wheel capacitive sensor to detect that the driver is still alert, Travel Assist does the same to ensure the car is not being driven hands-free, plus the fact that the notifications were often triggered by a movement of the steering wheel at roundabouts etc.

VW HQ seemingly are aware of it as they’ve given the dealer the part number for a revised steering wheel and associated loom that has to be fitted. That’s on back order and may take a while to arrive.

So, it's a hardware problem and not software.

An awful lot of the systems seem to have a core dependency on the driver being in control.... if it can't detect you gripping the steering wheel they will shut down or alarm.

"capacitive sensor"

That doesn't bode well.... wonder where in the manual it tells you that you can't use gloves. Because you can't use gloves with a capacitive sensor.

Maybe this is why they come with a steering wheel heater....

Fun fact: even racing gloves now come with patches to use capacitive displays. But mainly so the drivers can be social media addicted even on the freaking grid 

[Sootchucker]

I know the MK7 had a few glitches when it was first launched (I had an early 2013 model GTD), but nothing like the sorts of software issues people are describing here ? Suppose we will have have to get used to this as cars from all manufacturers rely more and more on software in the cars, and car manufacturers aren't exactly know for being in the cutting edge of software programming or development ?

[fredgroves]

I think its a shift change in the way software is developed.

In the past you tested and tested and tested and only released really solid versions of things.

Now its all about "agile" and "minimum viable product" - with a continuous upgrade cycle.

This is why your brand new Xbox game needs a 100gb "patch" the day that you buy it, its why some days your Facebook or Gmail app stops working etc etc

Also, IMHO VW have not yet shown any capability in software development.... combine that and...

Scary when its about a 1.5 tonne lump of metal with squishy content moving at high speeds amongst other squishies.

They aren't any good at keeping their digital services online either - I read their We Connect servers were offline for 5 days recently - FIVE DAYS - can you imagine if your company's online shop was offline for 1 day let alone 5!

[Powerman80]

I think its a shift change in the way software is developed.

In the past you tested and tested and tested and only released really solid versions of things.

Now its all about "agile" and "minimum viable product" - with a continuous upgrade cycle.

This is why your brand new Xbox game needs a 100gb "patch" the day that you buy it, its why some days your Facebook or Gmail app stops working etc etc

Also, IMHO VW have not yet shown any capability in software development.... combine that and...

Scary when its about a 1.5 tonne lump of metal with squishy content moving at high speeds amongst other squishies.

They aren't any good at keeping their digital services online either - I read their We Connect servers were offline for 5 days recently - FIVE DAYS - can you imagine if your company's online shop was offline for 1 day let alone 5!

I think they also massively underestimated the task.

They just said "If Tesla does it, we can do it". But Tesla was phenomenal in doing that, Herbert Deiss (VW boss) publicly acknowledged that they have a massive deficit. So everyone is trying to catch but they don't have the right know-how.

[fredgroves]

https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/2019/11/volkswagen-strengthens-new-software-organization.html#

If you read that they are both massively outsourcing and trying to build something massive very quickly. Neither aspect of that is very good based on my business experience.

Glad i paid to beta test it...

[fredgroves]

I've been eyeing up that other forum, reading the posts.

It does seem like maybe some of the gremlins seem to be finally getting resolved.

Just over one month to go for me, maybe I'll get lucky and only need a new steering wheel....(My car was built in the first batch of UK GTI's)

Really going to squeeze the dealership in the coming weeks to ensure all of the software upgrades are done - 1668 sounds like the latest as of the other day, but wouldn't be surprised to see that move on a bit.

Annoying that for a permanently connected vehicle these updates can't be pushed OTA, but I guess the risk is too high.

[Splashalot]

Is it too late to cancel your order, Fred?  Or will you go with the flow as a beta tester?

[fredgroves]

I'm going with it, I'm sure by the time I really need the car again it will be fixed but I do hope the dealerships themselves are getting their heads around being IT support as much as mechanics...