Golf GTE questions

[petr]

Hi,

I have recently purchased a mk8 GTE, manufactured in 02/2021.

All seems to be working well, I have a found a few odd things in the software:

- the car icon in the infotainment is not Mk8, it's either mk7 or 7. 5
- I do not have any keyless entry options under central locking and I cannot open the car by walking up to it and using the handle, my understanding is that all mk8s have this?
- nav does not show in the instrument cluster nor there is an option to enable it
- when I picked up the car, it was stationary for some time and I got the "engine needs to run for longer" popping up every few seconds for a day. I read that newer software versions show the message once (and keep it on) and do not distract you with it coming on and off all the time

The car is still under the original warranty, do you think the above could just be due to old software?  I am on 1788 software and I have applied all OTAs that were available. If so, shall I just book it into a dealership and get all software updates there are?

Also, is there any place where I can look up any recalls or recommended updates with my VIN?

[fredgroves]

You need a later software version...

In order to get VW to do it under warranty you need to have a fault that means the software gets updated.

Tell them you get bongs all the time, front assist and travel assist. They will upgrade the software as the first step...

[Exonian]

Hi Petr.
Have you correctly registered the car to yourself on the VW app and what level of security have you set the online service part to? We can’t see those icons on the screen in the photo.

Are you using keyless properly (touching the inside of the handle with fingertips), or maybe the previous owner disabled it? You can restore the car to factory settings then start again in one of the menus, but from your description it seems like the car thinks it’s a mk7…

As fredgroves suggests, get it booked into a dealer quoting bongs, travel assist and front assist errors and let them follow the recommended diagnostics and subsequent software updates.

[petr]

Thank you both for your help so far!

I think I was able to zero-in a the keyless entry "issue" - I have obtained list of options based off my VIN, and the relevant section reads:

Code: [Select]

Door and tailgate/trunk lid locking mechanism - 4I7 - Central locking system Keyless Go without SAFELOCK
It seems that I've only got the "Keyless Go", not the "Keyless Entry" option, I did not know it was even possible to have a half-way keyless entry setup where only the start is keyless but not the entry.

This may be a newbie questions, but are there any risks associated with having the updates installed? I remember from my PC days that if the BIOS is working, you do not update it 

Hi Petr.
Have you correctly registered the car to yourself on the VW app and what level of security have you set the online service part to? We can’t see those icons on the screen in the photo.

Yes, I am a primary user and I have the car in my app, I can turn on the AC, configure charging and all that good stuff. No privacy, location sharing enabled.

[Exonian]

From a security point of view your car is much safer than one with full keyless. Many owners disable full keyless to reduce the chances of theft.

As for the updates, yes, I agree with your view on “if it works, let it be” but these cars are designed to be updated regularly and we’ll just have to trust VW. However on that point, if your car has old hardware and the new software doesn’t work correctly with it you’ll get the aforementioned bongs. Whatever you do try and keep the car under a VW warranty.
I skim read an article a while ago stating that insurance policies may decline claims where a vehicle owner hasn’t updated the vehicle’s software. They’ll go from a safety aspect but it gives them an excuse not to pay up in the event of a claim. Thats the world we live in now unfortunately.
No wonder so many mk7 owners are reluctant to buy a newer Golf!

[petr]

From a security point of view your car is much safer than one with full keyless. Many owners disable full keyless to reduce the chances of theft.

I think I am ok with this aspect - I just wanted to be sure that nothing is seriously wrong if a feature was supposed to be there but is not.

As for the updates, yes, I agree with your view on “if it works, let it be” but these cars are designed to be updated regularly and we’ll just have to trust VW. However on that point, if your car has old hardware and the new software doesn’t work correctly with it you’ll get the aforementioned bongs. Whatever you do try and keep the car under a VW warranty.
I skim read an article a while ago stating that insurance policies may decline claims where a vehicle owner hasn’t updated the vehicle’s software. They’ll go from a safety aspect but it gives them an excuse not to pay up in the event of a claim. Thats the world we live in now unfortunately.

Yes, that's exactly my thinking, with the amount of reports of half-baked software it makes you wonder how they test it across all hardware variations. Really interesting point regarding the insurance, wouldn't the dealership be to blame though? The car I have have always been serviced by the dealer and all OTA updates have been applied (at least now), which would not upgrade the base software.

Would it be possible to downgrade if the updated software caused issues?

[Exonian]

I guess CrowdStrike has demonstrated the perils of software updates now!
Our computers at work are down and out aside from any laptops that were switched off at the time of the slight incident. Funnily enough a few older desktops seemed to have survived the BSOD.

I doubt there’s any option to reinstall older software in the mk8 once it’s had an update.

What was the attraction of the GTE as opposed to other models in the range petr?

[fredgroves]

On the id3 the early software updates actually bricked quite a few cars...

[petr]

I guess CrowdStrike has demonstrated the perils of software updates now!
Our computers at work are down and out aside from any laptops that were switched off at the time of the slight incident. Funnily enough a few older desktops seemed to have survived the BSOD.

I have heard! We are purely a Mac shop (with linux servers) so we were not affected so far.

I doubt there’s any option to reinstall older software in the mk8 once it’s had an update.

Hm, not even if I obtain the previous flash file, do you think it would block me from installing any version older than currently in place?

What was the attraction of the GTE as opposed to other models in the range petr?

Haha, good question! I found a decent (I think) deal for a low mileage one that still had almost 2 years of the original warranty (the original owner opted for 5), I was always curious about the hybrid drivetrain, it is not as lowered down as the GTI (which is important for my driveway) and many underground parkings in the city where I live (Barcelona) always have a lot of spaces for plug in hybrids free (and in a very good places).

[petr]

On the id3 the early software updates actually bricked quite a few cars...

That does not sound good! How bricked are we talking about?