Infotainment Hardware and Software Updates

[cycler]

Bloody hell Cycler! That’s one long list of issues. Interestingly it doesn’t include the SOS not working and the annoying pinging and warning displays that I have.

Perhaps when I get my Golf back they will have added all the issues you have to my car .

Since my garage were asking VW for advice on a Friday afternoon I suspect my car will not be sorted by today.

Oh I forgot to add two more things LOL. The time/clock changed on its own 3 times. It keeps going back one hour. So I changed it back. And my seating position remained all the way back and didnt set itself to the memory distance 4 times so far. Ever since the first couple of issues began. I began jotting down what the issue is each time. If the same issue occurs I change it from 1 to 2 to 3 etc etc. The only good thing about all this is that I love how the car drives. Ive wanted this car since I was 19. Ive had Hondas, Ford Explorers, BMWs, Audis, Infinitis and Jaguars (my 2018 Jaguar was totaled Dec 3 2021 by a 90 year old school bus driver. She plowed through my fence , my bushes and slammed into my car so hard that the front wheels turned left past 90 degrees and managed to lift my car on top of my 2ft high flower beds). Another perk is that of the 9 VW dealerships here on Long Island and the 7 dealerships in the the 5 boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx), there were only 13 GTIs being sold and 7 Golf R's. Five of the 13 GTIs which included mine were in stock and sold between Nov and Jan 5th. I got the 5th one. Then 8 more GTIs arrived by the 2nd week of Jan. So there were 8 GTIs and 16 dealerships. And only 6 dealerships got them. Of the 16 dealerships only 5 got the Golf R's. A week before the news was announced that the ship carrying all those cars was in trouble. A post was made in another VW forum asking whether cars were available and how the prices were. Before those other 8 GTI arrived , the 5 that were around had been marked up $5k-$6k over sticker. I got mine for $1000 over sticker after negotiating. When the 8 arrived they were marked up also. However once dealers found out VWs were on their way, they lowered the prices for the GTIs and R's to $600-$800 over sticker. However in some parts of the US they were still being sold $3k-$6k over sticker for the GTIs and $9k for the R's. I gave links to all the dealerships here that had the GTIs and R's and let them know the prices. By the time the news came out that he ship sank. Five GTIs and 3 R's were bought by guys from other states that saw my post. The remaining were marked up again. I think there may be 2 GTIs left and I know there is 1 R thats marked up pretty high. So far Ive only seen one GTI Autobahn in Pomelo Yellow here on Long Island. I was driving to work going west bound and noticed the other GTI going east bound. That was some pure luck since because there are only 6 GTIs driving around on Long Island. Unless those other 2 were bought by Long Islanders. I havent seen any in the 5 boroughs. But Im usually only in Brooklyn and Queens. And go to Staten Island once a month.

Plus Ive done a few mods to the car so far that I like and have a bunch of parts Im going to have installed, once the software is updated and hopefully the Gremlins are kicked out LOL. So far Ive installed a short shift kit, a Sport Shifter weighted shift knob that weights 550 grams ( I actually ordered 2 from him), replaced my 19x8 wheels and summer tires with forged 18x8.5 inch wheels and 245/40/18 all season tires, converted from lug bolts to a stud kit with 5 locks per wheel, tow hook license plate bracket, rubber matts with the GTI logo in red on the drivers side and a rubber trunk liner. The parts listed below are what I have in my garage as well as what Im still waiting for

1) Wagner Tuning intercooler
2) Racingline intake (should arrive in 2 weeks)
3) Racingline cooling line underhose
4) Racingline lowering springs
5) Racingline Dogbone kit (includes the upper and lower pucks as well as pendulum). But Im only going to install the pucks for now
6) Racingline engine mount
7) Racingline transmission mount
8) Racingline silicone inlet hose
9) 034 Motorsports turbo inlet pipe
10) Milltek non resonated catback exhaust with black tips ( should arrive in 2 weeks)
11) H&R 26mm rear sway bar
12) Moog rear sway bar end links
13) Burger Tuning JB4
14) Clutch Masters FX350 clutch
15) Clutch Masters 23lb single mass flywheel
16) Clutch Masters hydraulic release bearing
17) Fluidampr
18) ECS Tuning 6spd billet clutch bleeder block (ordered it yesterday and should arrive this week)
19) Stoptech ST40 big brake kit which includes 2 piece slotted rotors, 4 piston calipers, stainless lines, mounting brackets and brake pads. Stoptech says they fit the 2015 MK7. But after doing research I know they will fit the MK8. And I send the brake system templates to the wheel vendor I ordered the wheels from. They said both the 4 and 6 piston will fit. The 6 piston will have the least amount of clearence though
20) Stoptech rear slotted rotors, brake pads and stainless steel lines

Im in the motorcycle field. We are a motorcycle performance and accessory specialty shop. Some of our orders come from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I wont get into why we get overseas orders. 80% of our business is working on Harleys, Ducati's, Aprilia's, BMW's KTM's and Triumphs. The remaining 20% are all the other Japanese bikes. We got into the auto parts business Dec 2021 after our customers asked for a year and a half for us to get into the auto parts business. I didnt write what field I am in along with what else we added to advertise my business. Meaning I didnt write this to try and sell parts on this forum. Please do not send pms in case anyone is in the market to buy parts. The reason I mentioned this was so guys that read this dont think. Oh look he is showing off. These parts along with an extensive list of parts my partner and 4 employees ordered will be installed on our cars. Which will then be used as demo/model cars to show what can be installed and how they look and feel. Our customers have ordered more than we thought they would. So thats a plus.

 

[Maturedriver]

Take care not to invalidate the VW warranty with inappropriate accessories. As we all know red gear lever knobs have a negative effect on the Travel Assist function

 

[dremavec]

The new hardware reviewed by autobild.de. Pasting auto translated text (I believe its clear enough), firstly about the versions and the dates:

VW divides the update into two stages. On the one hand there is the software update (as of 4.3.:1896) and on the other hand a new chipset for more performance (hardware version: H58). Existing customers whose Golf was manufactured before calendar week 48 in 2020 will only be equipped with new software. Golf models produced afterwards up to week 48/21 will receive an update later, as their software version is already somewhat newer. New Golf models since the turn of the year, on the other hand, already rely on the new Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm and a faster graphics unit.

They talk about why no OTA for the update to 1890:

Reason for the workshop visit: Unlike the ID family, the systems in the Golf are more decentralized and therefore more complex. Therefore, the interventions in the control electronics are greater than would be the case with other models, which excludes the possibility to load the update via the integrated SIM card.

Boot time and stabilty:

So far, it could take a while for the infotainment in the Golf to start working. With a system that includes not only media but also navigation or climate control, this is not tolerable in everyday life. Fortunately, this changes with the update. The infotainment boots up within a very short time after the ignition has been activated. Here, the mixture of streamlined software and the new chipsets results in a significantly better user experience. This is also reflected in the overall performance of the system. A jerk when changing the views in the display is much less noticeable, the operation is generally more fluid.

The conclusion:

VW is finally giving the Golf an appropriate user experience. Although the infotainment is still not at a premium level, it can now score powerfully for a volume manufacturer. The system is finally running stably, which pushes the not particularly intelligent voice control into the background.

 

[SRGTD]

VW is finally giving the Golf an appropriate user experience. Although the infotainment is still not at a premium level, it can now score powerfully for a volume manufacturer. The system is finally running stably, which pushes the not particularly intelligent voice control into the background.

So if VW‘s pre-launch testing of the mk8 Golf (and it’s other VAG brand ‘siblings’) had identified and corrected (most of) the software issues prior to launching the car onto the unsuspecting public, it would’ve been ready for launch around Q1 this year…….

I seem to recall reading that VW developed the software for the mk8 Golf (and other current generation MQB-based VAG cars?) in-house. I wonder if they regret the decision to do that rather than outsourcing the job to a specialist software development company, whereby the Golf would‘ve very likely had better, more robust, reliable software from day-one. I also wonder if the individual(s) within VAG responsible for making the call to develop the software in-house are still working within VAG? . Cost was no doubt a factor in deciding to go the in-house route, but with the cost of developing the many software patches / fixes that've been rolled out since the car’s launch, I suspect any potential cost savings were probably used up long ago.

 

[dremavec]

So if VW‘s pre-launch testing of the mk8 Golf (and it’s other VAG brand ‘siblings’) had identified and corrected (most of) the software issues prior to launching the car onto the unsuspecting public, it would’ve been ready for launch around Q1 this year…….

I seem to recall reading that VW developed the software for the mk8 Golf (and other current generation MQB-based VAG cars?) in-house. I wonder if they regret the decision to do that rather than outsourcing the job to a specialist software development company, whereby the Golf would‘ve very likely had better, more robust, reliable software from by day-one. I also wonder if the individual(s) within VAG responsible for making the call to develop the software in-house are still working within VAG? . Cost was no doubt a factor in deciding to go the in-house route, but with the cost of developing the many software patches / fixes that've been rolled out since the car’s launch, I suspect any potential cost savings were probably used up long ago.

It does appear that it took two extra years. If they actually learned something I don't believe they are sorry ... The capability of VW to develop their own software that will underpin all their products in the future is more important for them than screwing up short term (and it was always going to be extremelly difficult).

As VW CEO Diess said in a recent interview for The Verge:

Now, a Porsche can remain a Porsche, even better than today. An Audi can remain an Audi, and Volkswagen will offer a broad range of products, but the basic software stack can be very, very similar. Software is relatively expensive in automotive. Now it’s a one-time expenditure. … We think that we have a good chance to also become very competitive in software if we build a common basic software for all the brands. This is exactly why we founded CARIAD: to get from a world where we bought software with the embedded systems to our own software stack. The brands have all the tools and all the freedom to differentiate for sportiness, for comfort — for all sorts of different use cases. This is why we think we are well set up for this new world, where economies of scale will probably play a bigger role than in this old auto world. Differentiation will probably be more difficult, but through software, it will be very, very possible.

I don't think cost cutting has anything to do with it when you take the long term view.

No consolation to the customers though ... VW should swallow the cost and fix what they can.

 

[Philster]

Has anyone had an update from 1668 to 18xx in the UK yet?

Device number is 5H0035816B if that makes a difference.

Annoyingly dealer says they can’t tell if car is due an update unless it is in their workshop which I find hard to believe but hey-ho.
Thanks

 

[Mg81]

Has anyone had an update from 1668 to 18xx in the UK yet?

Device number is 5H0035816B if that makes a difference.

Annoyingly dealer says they can’t tell if car is due an update unless it is in their workshop which I find hard to believe but hey-ho.
Thanks

Just had mine updated from 1668 to 1896. Had to set everything up again however it seems far more responsive.

Interestingly, the device number has changed from a B to G at the end…

 

[Massimo 2323]

Yes the device number (i would call firmware number) of the infotainment and some other control units gets updated same as the software.
Did you get the software update because you had problems?

 

[Mg81]

Yes the device number (i would call firmware number) of the infotainment and some other control units gets updated same as the software.
Did you get the software update because you had problems?

Yes, random errors with front assist, cruise control speeds, radio popping. All the well documented errors.

 

[Maturedriver]

Sadly when my car went for new SOS button and to sort the pinging they did not upgrade my software to 1896. They just added another fault. ACC now deactivated.

 

[Mg81]

Sadly when my car went for new SOS button and to sort the pinging they did not upgrade my software to 1896. They just added another fault. ACC now deactivated.

Just keep booking it in and sending them a list of faults. Eventually they will give up and upgrade it….

 

[yaesuft950]

So if i got this correctly, the 1896 software update is for all Golf 8 making future software updates a lot easier, every future version will be compatible with every Golf 8 built so far.

Version 2xxx is in testing so i was told .. not sure what will come with this release.

So the updates go like this:

1. 166X - 1810 - 1896 (Here in UK and Ireland the 1810 TPI has not been released yet)

2. 178X - 180X - (1890) - 1896 (1890 has been replaced with 1896)

Also most device part numbers get updated with the 1896 software update.

Had my 2020 GTi done yesterday after i had left it in with a problem with my parking sensors. Car was with the dealer for 7 days and it has returned with the 1896 software. However....i am having big trouble getting my primary user status back. It shows a logo with a padlock and my nickname ok but each time i get into the car it defaults to GUEST user. The telecoms unit or whatever it is called had to be replaced in the roof up beside the rear antenna. Tried changing the primary user, deleting primary user all the obvious things but no joy. As for the infotainment system it seems quicker, its a male voice when you call 'hello volkswagen" whereas before it was female and there are a few other little changes too. Would like to get my primary user status back though...

 

[yaesuft950]

Just had mine updated from 1668 to 1896. Had to set everything up again however it seems far more responsive.

Interestingly, the device number has changed from a B to G at the end…

When you say you had to set everything up again did that include We Connect ? I have mine upgraded to 1896 and the car won't let me into my primary settings. The icon is greyed out with a padlock.

 

[Mg81]

When you say you had to set everything up again did that include We Connect ? I have mine upgraded to 1896 and the car won't let me into my primary settings. The icon is greyed out with a padlock.

For me it wasn’t a problem. It remembered the primary user and logged back into it fine. It has forgotten secondary user however…

 

[tos]

When I got 1890, I have to did factory reset.
Then repair 2 keys to get primary user work again.