GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Error Messages When Starting Vehicle

MrGolf112

Passed Driver's Ed
Hi

When starting up my car sometimes every error message under the sun pops up bogging away on the dash and then leaves a little yellow warning exclamation mark on at the side of the dashboard.

It's really annoying sometimes will start up fine no errors but most of the time it will be just binging away at me first thing in the morning.

Does anyone know of an update which will fix this?
 

keith1200rs

Passed Driver's Ed
Low battery? Vehicles with lots of electronics seem to throw up lots of spurious errors if the battery is low when they start.
 

PanEuropean

Ready to race!
I agree with Keith (post #2), first thing you should look at is the state of your battery charge.

Let us know what the error messages are (the car spells them out very clearly). Without knowing what the messages are, there's not much we can do to help.

Michael
 

MrGolf112

Passed Driver's Ed
I have managed to get screenshots of the errors which appear when I start the car.

I will get the battery looked at thanks for the advice wasn't sure if was software related due to the relentless issues with software problems on the MK8.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20240114-201648.png
    Screenshot_20240114-201648.png
    1.5 MB · Views: 548
  • Screenshot_20240114-201620.png
    Screenshot_20240114-201620.png
    1.4 MB · Views: 520

s3bax

Go Kart Newbie
Yeah. It looks like the battery is low. I have a dashcam installed that works when parked too and everyday when it's cold I get all kind of warnings when I start the car.
 

LMWT

Go Kart Newbie
Witho
Hi

When starting up my car sometimes every error message under the sun pops up bogging away on the dash and then leaves a little yellow warning exclamation mark on at the side of the dashboard.

It's really annoying sometimes will start up fine no errors but most of the time it will be just binging away at me first thing in the morning.

Does anyone know of an update which will fix this?
Without repeating all the errors I experienced during the first year (2021) those errors you describe were among them. The 1896 software update in 2022 resulted in the only period of carefree driving I experienced, then came along the 1899 and 1941 updates which seemed to undo some of the fixes the 189
IMG_20210728_122447_503.jpg
IMG_20210728_122449_990.jpg
IMG_20210728_122649_518.jpg
IMG_20210728_122723_437.jpg
6 solved. Then I had failing front parking sensor, oil level indicator and currently waiting to get the failed front parking sensors repaired and a replacement steering wheel.
BTW during the first year dealer replaced the battery which did nothing to solve the numerous errors.
 

MrGolf112

Passed Driver's Ed
These are the exactly the same errors which pop up but not on every start.

I will still get the battery checked just in case but looks like it's software related can't say I am surprised.
 

PanEuropean

Ready to race!
It's really annoying sometimes will start up fine no errors but most of the time it will be just binging away at me first thing in the morning.
I'm pretty sure that your error messages are caused by low battery charge, in other words, the voltage on the main battery dropping below approximately 12.2 or 12.1 volts overnight. The evidence that supports this hypothesis is that you have the problems first thing in the morning.

Do you have anything plugged into the convenience outlets (12 volt outlets) or wired into the car that might be creating a parasitic draw on the battery when the car is parked overnight? Examples could include a dashcam that has been wired to terminal 30 (battery) power rather than terminal 15 (ignition switched) power, or perhaps a phone charger that is plugged into a convenience outlet? Sometimes those chargers can draw power even if they are not connected to a phone or other load.

Automobile batteries usually last about 5 to 7 years. If your car is a Golf 8, the original battery should not be at end of life yet, but it is not unheard of for a battery to fail. I had the battery on my Golf 7 replaced (under warranty) when the car was only 3 years old. I don't know how warranties work in your country, but often the battery and the tires are covered by separate warranties provided by their manufacturer.

I suggest you approach troubleshooting this way:
  1. Do a really careful inspection to make sure nothing is plugged into the convenience or USB outlets overnight, and to confirm that no aftermarket accessories have been installed that draw terminal 30 (battery) power.

  2. Take the car to your VW dealer and ask them to check the battery. They will have a special tool (a Midtronics battery analyzer) that when connected runs a series of tests on the battery and prints out a report (pass/fail). It provides an objective, not subjective, assessment of the battery.

  3. Have your dealer (or perhaps a friend who has a VCDS or OBDeleven scan tool run a complete scan on the car. IF you see a lot of faults that contain the word 'communication' or 'databus', that suggests (but does not prove) a low voltage condition is the cause. If you see any faults that contain the words 'low voltage', that proves that low battery voltage is the cause of your problems.
Here's a link to a video that explains how to check for parasitic current draw. Depending on your level of interest and your technical ability, you might want to consider carrying out this test yourself to determine if there is something that is running your battery down overnight. The Best Way To Perform a Parasitic Draw Test

Michael
 
Last edited:

MrGolf112

Passed Driver's Ed
Thanks so much no I have nothing plugged into the ports.

I will get the battery tested to see if it's working as it should the car is only 3 years old so it should be replaced under warranty if that's the cause.

Cheers
 

MrGolf112

Passed Driver's Ed
The garage said the charge was low on the battery because I do a lot of short journeys but the overall health of the battery was good. So I think it's just because I am not doing long enough journeys the battery is not getting a full charge so it didn't need replacing. Not seen any error messages over the summer with it being warmer. We have had cooler nights over the past few days and the error messages have returned when starting the car in the mornings 🤦🏼‍♂️
 

BenHoward96

New member
The garage said the charge was low on the battery because I do a lot of short journeys but the overall health of the battery was good. So I think it's just because I am not doing long enough journeys the battery is not getting a full charge so it didn't need replacing. Not seen any error messages over the summer with it being warmer. We have had cooler nights over the past few days and the error messages have returned when starting the car in the mornings 🤦🏼‍♂️
As an update, after replacing the the infotainment system, control module and many many software updates which didnt (stop the errors!), my VW garage found the issue was that the battery wasn't holding its charge properly and therefore when the car was started, there wasn't enough voltage for the parking sensors to power up properly (even though when the battery was tested, it was fine).

My battery was replaced 3 weeks ago and I've not had this issue since !

I'd get yours replaced ASAP, it will stop any "Park distance control" errors from popping up every morning.
 

MrGolf112

Passed Driver's Ed
Ah right thanks for that.
Yea he did say it was not holding charge but it was functioning ok. I will look at getting the battery changed if it's solved your issues. Thanks for the update. Car is only 4 years old with 10,000 miles on the clock seems the battery not holding charge has failed quickly but then again this could be normal I know very little about cars 😂
 

BenHoward96

New member
Ah right thanks for that.
Yea he did say it was not holding charge but it was functioning ok. I will look at getting the battery changed if it's solved your issues. Thanks for the update. Car is only 4 years old with 10,000 miles on the clock seems the battery not holding charge has failed quickly but then again this could be normal I know very little about cars 😂
Mines only 3 years old with 23,000! My guess is the previous owner did alot of small journeys with the start stop engaging all the time, which wrecks the battery life. I think the usual life span for start/stop batteries is 4-5 years but it's not unheard of for them to fail after around 3 years.
 
Last edited:

AL2024

Passed Driver's Ed
It isn't the low voltage of the battery causing the errors, its the higher voltage of a good battery that is masking a problem! If the battery is good enough to throw out a 100 amps or so to start the engine, then there is nothing wrong with the battery, and it should be able to power simple electronics without issue. None of the electronics in the car need 12 volts, they will be using 5 volts or 3.3 volts or even lower, and the 12 volts is converted down, so even if it was as low as 9 volts whilst the engine is cranking, the electronics still should have no issue, and indeed they don't on other cars.

What this appears to be is poor decoupling or EMI/RFI interference with one or more electronic systems, so when the voltage is low and ripples start to get introduced by various pumps and solenoids that start ramping up on ignition on, the electronics are not decoupled enough from that and the resulting noise is introduced into one or more circuits causing errors. It is probably cost cutting, specifying a lower value capacitor somewhere because it saves 15p and so it works okay at 12.2 volt, but at a lower voltage the capacitors 'capacity' to decouple is lost and errors happen. A lead acid battery can get as low as 10 volts or lower under high load, and their nominal voltage is 12 volts, the car should not have problems with the voltage dropping to 12 volts or less.

VW engineers must know what the problem is and where the fix is needed. In the case of EMI/RFI interference being an issue, they may know the cause but the fix could involve a whole new wiring loom (to separate out troublesome cables that are causing interference running along side signal cables, or add screened signal cables), which they may not want to admit to due to the cost of stripping down a car and replacing a load of wiring, so would rather blame the car battery, and after warranty just have the owners forking out for a new car battery every couple of years.
 
Last edited:
Top