1
Golf mk8 / Re: Mk8.5 gti key battery no warning!
« Last post by flipflops on 20 February 2026, 23:49 »I think you’re right, as I was typing it it didn’t make sense to me, I’ll go stand in the corner and think about what I’ve done 
Recent Posts
2
Golf mk8 / Re: Mk8.5 gti key battery no warning!
« Last post by Watts on 20 February 2026, 22:28 »The 8.5 should charge your key battery in the middle cup holder, there's a little symbol on the bottom, pop it in there and I'm sure it charges, could be wrong thoI think you must have dreamt that, that is purely a symbol to show us plebs where to place the key when we are driving in case we don't want to keep it on our person as it doesn't have an ignition slot. There is no way to charge a non rechargeable battery inside the key by placing it on that symbol on the mat.
Agreed it is not for charging but I think it's where you have to put the key when the battery has expired to start the car. It used to be on the steering column in the position where you would insert the key in a non keyless car.
3
Golf mk8 / Re: Mk8.5 gti key battery no warning!
« Last post by Dav3smith on 20 February 2026, 22:25 »The 8.5 should charge your key battery in the middle cup holder, there's a little symbol on the bottom, pop it in there and I'm sure it charges, could be wrong thoI think you must have dreamt that, that is purely a symbol to show us plebs where to place the key when we are driving in case we don't want to keep it on our person as it doesn't have an ignition slot. There is no way to charge a non rechargeable battery inside the key by placing it on that symbol on the mat.
4
Golf mk8 / Re: Mk8.5 gti key battery no warning!
« Last post by flipflops on 20 February 2026, 22:05 »The 8.5 should charge your key battery in the middle cup holder, there's a little symbol on the bottom, pop it in there and I'm sure it charges, could be wrong tho
5
Golf mk8 / Re: VW Software update notification email
« Last post by fredgroves on 20 February 2026, 21:46 »Thanks all. Heads up it's a bit of a PITA this one - the update logs you out, resets your sound equaliser personalisation, removes favourited phone contacts, resets your custom background lighting options/colours, and finally it removes any personalisation's you may have done to the vehicle settings (such as enabling dynamic cornering lights, etc)
Does this auto update as other oth or do you have to manually search for it?
Vw gift it to you on their whim... Doesn't go out to everyone at once.
Even after the question about downloading it, it asks again about installation.
Mine is downloaded but not installed yet.
6
Golf mk8 / Re: Manual vs DSG, do I go DSG?
« Last post by fredgroves on 20 February 2026, 21:44 »My mk8 is the first automatic I've ever had for more than a few days.
Scary at first but now I hate driving any of the other family cars lol
DSG is smooth, doesn't mind slow driving or towns or traffic jams... But what it disguises is that HMS Weasel is actually a Q ship... And can really, really hammer it. Not that I'd ever do that on public roads but on a closed private road it is ridiculously fun. Into flappy paddle mode and using the holding left paddle thing to smash it down the gears to fire it out of corners and feeling the lsd just hang on... Addictive.
Scary at first but now I hate driving any of the other family cars lol
DSG is smooth, doesn't mind slow driving or towns or traffic jams... But what it disguises is that HMS Weasel is actually a Q ship... And can really, really hammer it. Not that I'd ever do that on public roads but on a closed private road it is ridiculously fun. Into flappy paddle mode and using the holding left paddle thing to smash it down the gears to fire it out of corners and feeling the lsd just hang on... Addictive.
7
Golf mk8 / Re: Manual vs DSG, do I go DSG?
« Last post by Watts on 20 February 2026, 21:05 »I dreaded all the tech gremlins and bings and bongs but so far, it's been pretty good. The odd one now and then which even I can cope with. As long as you remember to switch the speed warning and lane departure off before each drive. DSG will always be annoying now and then but you sort of come to an understanding. When you pop it in sport and give it a good poke, it does change gear rather sharpish. And as you say, unfortunately you do have to move with the times. Overall I think it's a compromise worth making.
8
Golf mk8 / Re: Manual vs DSG, do I go DSG?
« Last post by Exonian on 20 February 2026, 20:53 »The DSG does take a bit of adapting to but it’s so well sorted on the mk8 and 8.5 now as others have said.
As for the bings and bongs, they’re less on an 8.5 than an 8 but some are unavoidable and will be common to most marques that have similar tech.
If the camera has any obscurities in cold weather etc you’ll get bongs. You get used to them and will know which ones are actually worth paying attention to after a short time. As soon as the car warms up most of them fall silent and the orange warnings go out.
As for the bings and bongs, they’re less on an 8.5 than an 8 but some are unavoidable and will be common to most marques that have similar tech.
If the camera has any obscurities in cold weather etc you’ll get bongs. You get used to them and will know which ones are actually worth paying attention to after a short time. As soon as the car warms up most of them fall silent and the orange warnings go out.
9
Golf mk8 / Re: Clubsport Alloys
« Last post by SRGTD on 20 February 2026, 20:28 »One thing to bear in mind is you’ll need aftermarket centre caps as the originals don’t fit.
And if you damage one beyond repair you can’t just buy a single replacement; you’d need to buy a set of four. However, relatively speaking a set of replica alloys aren’t that expensive and you’d probably get a complete set of four replicas for less than the price you’d pay for one genuine VW OEM alloy.
10
Golf mk8 / Re: Manual vs DSG, do I go DSG?
« Last post by flipflops on 20 February 2026, 19:38 »It is interesting and there's no real right or wrong answer, I really appreciate everyone's input.
I've owned so many golfs and had an 8.5 CS for a few weeks, couldn't get my head around the bings and bongs and DSG, maybe I should have given it more time.
I don't want to stay in the past and cling on to a manual till the end of days or I'll never benefit from the newer golfs which I do like, even the MK8 looks pretty nice, apart from the buttons which can be swapped.
I've owned so many golfs and had an 8.5 CS for a few weeks, couldn't get my head around the bings and bongs and DSG, maybe I should have given it more time.
I don't want to stay in the past and cling on to a manual till the end of days or I'll never benefit from the newer golfs which I do like, even the MK8 looks pretty nice, apart from the buttons which can be swapped.