Travel assist and emergency assist errors

[Massimo 2323]

So in the last couple of months i have been having the following 2 errors appear on the Dashboard:
- Travel assist is currently unavailable
- Emergency assist is currently unavailable
Last month my car was in the workshop and to resolve these errors they needed to swap the steering wheel. But a week later VW technicians from Germany decided against it. They have reset some of the control units and swapped the infotainment unit to try and fix the reverse camera problem / vehicle lighting fault with left / right tail light errors and the driver seat setting not working.
The reverse camera still has problems and the driver seat setting still doesn’t work.
And still getting the T/A and E/A errors.
It seems to happen mostly when fully turning the steering wheel on either side.
These faults appear and then disappear seconds later, sometimes it happens continually and other times they stay on for a good while.
Also the sos light is always green snd the online connection globe id alwsys white…
I know another person with extactly the same problem and they changed his steering eherl and also swapped the sos unit but still continues having the T/A and E/A errors

Has anyone else had similar problems?

 

[Handydave]

We had this problem almost exactly as you describe it this time last year.

Travel Assist not available followed by Emergency Assist not available, both accompanied by dings. Sometimes appear and then disappear seconds later, sometimes continually, and other times the fault remains for a while. SOS light is always green snd the online connection globe id always white.

It seemed to happen more frequently on damp days, and was often triggered by a slight turn of the steering wheel (say at a roundabout) or when engaging reverse.

It was exceptionally annoying!

Dealer first updated software from 1664 to 1668 and, when that didn’t sort it, VW authorised a new steering wheel and associated wiring loom.

This completely solved the problem. My theory is that both Travel Assist and Emergency Assist need to sense the drivers hands on the steering wheel and the old steering wheel / loom was losing connection when the steering wheel was turned.

I say completely solved the problem….. We had a few recurrences earlier this month over a couple of days, but it rectified itself and is behaving perfectly.

Not sure how much a new steering wheel and loom cost - £200 to £300? - so it looks as if VW HQ are keeping that as a last resort. But it does seem to do the trick.

Best of luck getting it sorted.

 

[koolmacher]

All my travel assist problems stopped after the steering wheel was replaced, I've just got an infotainment system that likes to randomly reboot sometimes multiple times on the same journey hopefully the big software update from 1664 to 1810 early next year will fix this....

 

[LMWT]

Hello to all,

I recently posted that I had the car serviced recently - supposedly did software update and replaced the battery which may have been causing the multiple errror messages I was getting (maybe see my previous posts) Just as I was gaining long lost confidence in the car, this is the story now:

Straight away this appeared for several days "Traffic hazard warning is currently restricted" Thanks to Massimo 2323 for explaining that, it appears to have now stopped
Squeak / creak in the rear wasn't fixed
and now (Xmas Eve) these have reappeared:

How on earth is one suposed to deal with this?

Happy Holiday to all from a thoroughly fed up and wish I never heard of 2021 VW Golf MK8 owner

 

[Massimo 2323]

A fix seems to be coming with the 1810 software upgrade which also updates the parking sensors software as well as the Sos and reverse camera software.
A happy christmas to you all

 

[LMWT]

 

[Scal]

Sound like we should be paid for buying cars with major issues that VW should have known before they released the MK8 Golf.
My MK8 GTI is plagued with software and Info issues, still waiting for a report from the Australian dealer.
These issue s are dangerous and they shouldn't have released a car with so many issues.
What happens to our cars if they can't be fixed? Software can only fix some not all of the issue.

 

[LMWT]

The Golf MK8 launch was initially delayed for months due to software issues, they obviously couldnt fix it so decided to release the car anyway - just had to get it into the market! Sounds like Ford and British Leyland back in the day - released cars of crap design and the public were left with the cost of constant repair bills which kicked in just after the warranty ran out.
I would love to know if there is anybody out there who actually rejected their MK8 under consumer laws and went for a refund, compensation or maybe a replacement or some other agreement.

What happens to our cars if they can't be fixed?

A good question! what if the issues are not resolved and an owner wants to trade in / up to another make of vehicle.

 

[Scal]

The Golf MK8 launch was initially delayed for months due to software issues, they obviously couldnt fix it so decided to release the car anyway - just had to get it into the market! Sounds like Ford and British Leyland back in the day - released cars of crap design and the public were left with the cost of constant repair bills which kicked in just after the warranty ran out.
I would love to know if there is anybody out there who actually rejected their MK8 under consumer laws and went for a refund, compensation or maybe a replacement or some other agreement.

A good question! what if the issues are not resolved and an owner wants to trade in / up to another make of vehicle.

In Australia we don't have the option for a replacement or refund, we have to take VWGA to consumer affairs or VCAT if they can't or won't fix the issue/s. I am waiting for consumer affairs to contact VWGA about my issues before we take them to VCAT.
Any safety issues that don't work should be an automatic replacement or refund, that's why we pay top dollar for a car with these safety features.
The most advanced Golf? I don't think so! 4th VW that we have purchased and probably our last!

 

[SRGTD]

I would love to know if there is anybody out there who actually rejected their MK8 under consumer laws and went for a refund, compensation or maybe a replacement or some other agreement.

A good question! what if the issues are not resolved and an owner wants to trade in / up to another make of vehicle.

I’ve read on other forums of a few owners who have successfully rejected their mk8 Golfs. The worrying thing is that they probably just end up on a VW dealer’s forecourt for sale without being fixed for the next poor unsuspecting buyer to be saddled with multiple issues.

If software issues are unresolved, I dare say that with the impact of Covid and semiconductor supply shortages on new car production and the resultant acute shortage of vehicles (new or used) available for car dealers to sell, a dealer would willingly take a Golf as a trade in.

One cautionary note though; bear in mind that rejecting or selling a car back to VW just now could leave an owner car-less. A forum member on golfgtiforum.co.uk who was a sales manager at a large VW dealership and now works for a leasing company has said in the last week that there’s currently a 40-plus week lead time on any model of Golf. Those timescales are probably pretty representative for many other marques of vehicle too, so the issues associated with finding a replacement car in a market experiencing severe vehicle supply issues need to be carefully considered, especially if having a car is important or essential to an owner.

 

[Scal]

I’ve read on other forums of a few owners who have successfully rejected their mk8 Golfs. The worrying thing is that they probably just end up on a VW dealer’s forecourt for sale without being fixed for the next poor unsuspecting buyer to be saddled with multiple issues.

If software issues are unresolved, I dare say that with the impact of Covid and semiconductor supply shortages on new car production and the resultant acute shortage of vehicles (new or used) available for car dealers to sell, a dealer would willingly take a Golf as a trade in.

One cautionary note though; bear in mind that rejecting or selling a car back to VW just now could leave an owner car-less. A forum member on golfgtiforum.co.uk who was a sales manager at a large VW dealership and now works for a leasing company has said in the last week that there’s currently a 40-plus week lead time on any model of Golf. Those timescales are probably pretty representative for many other marques of vehicle too, so the issues associated with finding a replacement car in a market experiencing severe vehicle supply issues need to be carefully considered, especially if having a car is important or essential to an owner.

The dealers have no real idea of the faults, they just go back to VWGA and they tell them what to say and do.
Apart from the software/safety issue with this car and the info system issues, the AM radio doesn't work as stated in their specification brochure. This is a design fault that is across the entire MK8 range and they aren't doing anything about it, my other car a Mk7.5 info system, software issues and radio all work?
Tried contacting VW Germany head office and they just forward my complaint back to Australia and they don't care.
I personally won't have bought a MK8 Golf GTI if I was aware of all the faults that it currently has and more issues keep popping up.
If they were willing to rectify all the faults, we all make mistakes just own up to it, it wouldn't be an issue.
I am still waiting for a report on the software issue from the dealer, just not good enough customer service/support doesn't exist.
COVID & semiconductor shortage and a rush to get their new car out makes them look like fools.
What happens if someone is injured or killed due to the safety issue not working properly?
If the dealer on sold the car to an unsuspecting customer, they would be liable for any issues I would think?

 

[Wallop]

Hello to all,

I recently posted that I had the car serviced recently - supposedly did software update and replaced the battery which may have been causing the multiple errror messages I was getting (maybe see my previous posts) Just as I was gaining long lost confidence in the car, this is the story now:

Straight away this appeared for several days "Traffic hazard warning is currently restricted" Thanks to Massimo 2323 for explaining that, it appears to have now stopped
Squeak / creak in the rear wasn't fixed
and now (Xmas Eve) these have reappeared:

How on earth is one suposed to deal with this?

Happy Holiday to all from a thoroughly fed up and wish I never heard of 2021 VW Golf MK8 owner

Had you by any chance driven through a big puddle? I seem to get these kind of warnings usually on the way home from work after heavy rain on the way.

 

[SRGTD]

The dealers have no real idea of the faults, they just go back to VWGA and they tell them what to say and do.
Apart from the software/safety issue with this car and the info system issues, the AM radio doesn't work as stated in their specification brochure. This is a design fault that is across the entire MK8 range and they aren't doing anything about it, my other car a Mk7.5 info system, software issues and radio all work?
Tried contacting VW Germany head office and they just forward my complaint back to Australia and they don't care.
I personally won't have bought a MK8 Golf GTI if I was aware of all the faults that it currently has and more issues keep popping up.
If they were willing to rectify all the faults, we all make mistakes just own up to it, it wouldn't be an issue.
I am still waiting for a report on the software issue from the dealer, just not good enough customer service/support doesn't exist.
COVID & semiconductor shortage and a rush to get their new car out makes them look like fools.
What happens if someone is injured or killed due to the safety issue not working properly?
If the dealer on sold the car to an unsuspecting customer, they would be liable for any issues I would think?

Agree; everyone makes mistakes. It’s the way they’re acknowledged and rectified that’s important, and VW‘s handling of the situation from a customer perspective has been very poor. A good communication chain from VW -> dealers -> customers sadly seems to be very much lacking; openness and honesty from VW and keeping the customer informed is very important in situations such as this IMHO, but VW don‘t seem to be very good at communicating, and I get the impression that they don’t even keep the dealerships informed of what’s going on.

It goes wider than just VW - platform and component sharing across VAG brands mean that other vehicles built on the MQB platform use the same or similar software to VW. On seatcupra.net forum, there are many of the same software related issues being discussed that are affecting the mk4 Leon and Cupra Leon models. It must have been very damaging and costly to VAG in terms of brand reputation, customer dissatisfaction, negative publicity and lost sales. Thank goodness we don’t have autonomous (driverless) cars on the roads yet - an autonomous VW car with major software flaws doesn’t bear thinking about!

I’ve been a VW customer for nearly 20 years and I‘ve been very happy with the VW cars I’ve owned. My current car (2020 Polo GTI+) has been trouble free in the 15-16 months I’ve owned it, but then it doesn’t have the latest tech with the software gremlins that‘s in the mk8 Golf. Would my next car be another VW? Unlikely, if the issues that have affected the mk8 Golf is what customers can come to expect from VW / VAG products.

 

[LMWT]

Had you by any chance driven through a big puddle? I seem to get these kind of warnings usually on the way home from work after heavy rain on the way.

Hi,
No driving through any kind of water bar just wet roads, even if that was the case, driving through a puddle shouldn't cause any of these problems (New VW vehicle in 2021!!) I have experienced all of the problems (listed in a previous message) in all types of weather from warm sunny days to cold frosty ones!
With wishful thinking, maybe the promised software update will improve things for existing and the new hardware for 2022 buyers (if there are any) and that it applies to all software not just that for the infotainment system. I wouldn't be a new buyer if I had read these messages first.
Personally I am waiting to hear the latest response from the dealer after the holiday period is over when (I will have the car one year by then)

 

[LMWT]

I’ve read on other forums of a few owners who have successfully rejected their mk8 Golfs. The worrying thing is that they probably just end up on a VW dealer’s forecourt for sale without being fixed for the next poor unsuspecting buyer to be saddled with multiple issues.

If software issues are unresolved, I dare say that with the impact of Covid and semiconductor supply shortages on new car production and the resultant acute shortage of vehicles (new or used) available for car dealers to sell, a dealer would willingly take a Golf as a trade in.

One cautionary note though; bear in mind that rejecting or selling a car back to VW just now could leave an owner car-less. A forum member on golfgtiforum.co.uk who was a sales manager at a large VW dealership and now works for a leasing company has said in the last week that there’s currently a 40-plus week lead time on any model of Golf. Those timescales are probably pretty representative for many other marques of vehicle too, so the issues associated with finding a replacement car in a market experiencing severe vehicle supply issues need to be carefully considered, especially if having a car is important or essential to an owner.

Thanks for the reply,
I should have wrote for anyone who was in a position to reject the car - which a lot of people are not, including myself. I would love to be in a position that I could consider it and look at for example the new upcoming Opel / Vauxhall Astra or even the 2022 facelifted Ford Focus to mention just two.