UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

On the subject of bits missing, my wife's SA built Polo, had the "manual locking" access hole covers missing from the rear doors, also no covers on the battery terminals and snap fastener left undone on the thermal blanket that is meant to protect the Air Conditioning pipes that run behind the turbo charger, and some more that I've forgotten, I just got them ordered in and fitted them to save me wasting any more of my time.

When my wife was sent the survey after she had the car for a few weeks, she got me to fill it in on her behalf, and in the field about "what made you chose to buy a VW?" she (I) answered, "because my husband owns VCDS scan tool!" - which was probably a bit snide, but very true, this is not me knocking VW Group specifically, but my knowledge gained from owning some newer cars means that something will be wrong sooner than later and lots of small issues can be resolved in minutes at home without needing to book the car in and pay £100 for someone to run/clear the fault code and tell you it is okay - and you have just had to hand over a day of your annual leave from work!

Edit:- I think that as "thread owner or OP to this thread" you might have privileges that allow to change the thread "Subject" - if that helps, I've never tried that thought - just a thought!

Mine's a 5-dr. I don't recall there being manual locks on my rear doors, just the front doors.

Re bits missing, my battery terminals have plastic covers but, owing to their shape and poor fit, they're obviously meant for a different battery. They do the job (just about) but look quite odd.

I've what I think VW refer to as a 'clamping washer' in those etka drawings (in actuality, a deformable, star-shaped, press-on circular metal clip) missing from the rear of the engine compartment. It, along with others, press on to exposed threads, and hold in place the sound-absorbing blanket at the back. I've been wondering if, along with the circular plastic blanking grommet missing from the box section underneath the car, Halfords might stock something like that. Otherwise, like you, I'll have to order from the VW dealer.

If truth be told, there are what looks like dozens and dozens of plastic or rubber grommets and various strategic metal clips on this VW model, so goodness knows how many are missing, as most of the grommets are well under the carpet and so most owners wouldn't be aware of any that are missing. Mainly, the grommets keep the weather and roadnoise out, whilst those 'clamping washers' (star-clips, as I call them) are designed to hold down bits of carpet and other flappable materials.

So, you've got a VCDS tool, then? I've been thinking of getting one but the economics don't stack up, as I'm no longer a Windows PC user and I sure ain't gonna buy a new Microsoft PC or tablet just to make use of the Ross-Tek package. Had you lived closer to me, I'd be calling on you, as I'd like to see exactly how the ParkPilot has been set up on my Polo. The on/off function for ParkPilot in the Infotainment display simply doesn't work, and the continual bleeping's driving me nuts. Also, I think it's the case that a fair number of pseudo-faults flagged up on the dash (such as can result from disconnecting the battery) can be cleared down by merely driving the car at around 10 mph in a straight line over a short distance. Haven't put that to the test quite yet. Of course, there are some other, more-integrated diagnostics readers around now from the likes of Foxwell and Autel. They're based on tablet technology. With them, you don't need a separate Windows machine of some sort. Though they can be used to alter some ECU settings, the impression I get is that they can't deal with all of them. For that, you need to spend big bucks on a much more sophisticated reader.

I'm using VCDS on a Macbook with the free Oracle Virtualbox software. Works like a charm.

I think that you will find that some of the ribbed studs that appear "empty" through the sound proofing are okay as the sound proofing is stiff enough to stay in place without some of them being used to clamp it in place, what the reason for these being "empty" or unused is that some car and/or engine options do not have anything that needs to be supported or hung from them - that is my take on that issue.

Any bungs/grommets missing that allow road noise and/or water in is not on though.

All the doors, except the driver's door do have a "manual locking" facility, it is required is the car's central locking system fails or the battery fails - there should be a soft rubber cover with a slot moulded into it, if you remove them you should find a white nylon slotted part inside the door skin, you insert a key and turn it about 30>45 degrees and that operates that door lock so that when you close it it is now locked. It was both of these soft rubber covers that were missing on the rear doors of my wife's Polo made in SA.

Edit:- the battery terminal covers that I bought for that car sound the same as the ones fitted to your car, ie not really meant for that car/battery - but better than nothing so far!

Another Edit:- I forgot, Park Pilot, yes a bit annoying at first, though I think that these second or third generation of parking systems are powered up 100% of the time instead of just when reverse is selected or you start the car in a "tight" position. My 2011 Audi S4 came with just rear parking sensors fitted, I ungraded it to include front sensors and to enable OPS, the other day I was parking up close to a metal fence with heavy metal pillars, the system did not warn me that I was getting close, which surprised me, so I played safe and stopped before touching the fence pillars - so what happened? Well at least on the Audis with full OPS, you get a switch on the centre console, I thought that that switch was only used to switch the system off to stop it annoying me in tricky situations, and I've used it for that - but no, once the road speed gets above maybe 10 or 15 MPG the system is switched off - as is the system in the Polo, but on the Audi at least the front area remains off until either you switch it on or you park in a tricky position at which point on retarting the car it will get switched on. So currently I prefer the way the Polo system works!

iichel,

But I don't own any portable devices. My Mac's an iMac.

Maybe look at Carista, it uses either an Android or iPhone, though it is really well dumbed down for dummies to use, so nothing like as exciting to use as VCDS - but easier/quicker to do basic tasks, VCDS has changed its costing structure which is a nuisance as if I stay with VW Group, I will need to upgraded from my current VCDS HEX USB to the next generation of VCDS, which will cost a bit, I've been an owner of VAG COM > VCDS since maybe 2002.

iichel wrote: ↑Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:17 pm I'm using VCDS on a Macbook with the free Oracle Virtualbox software. Works like a charm.

great!!!
17.0.3 version?
vag-com recommends using physical machine or so. so working through virtualbox is good news.
may be i can give a try with virtualbox on ubuntu 16.04.

ag69 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:53 am

iichel wrote: ↑Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:17 pm I'm using VCDS on a Macbook with the free Oracle Virtualbox software. Works like a charm.

great!!!
17.0.3 version?
vag-com recommends using physical machine or so. so working through virtualbox is good news.
may be i can give a try with virtualbox on ubuntu 16.04.

Anything from 15.x up to 17.8

hey iichel,

tried oracle virtualbox 5.1.28 on my ubuntu 16.04 as host machine and windows 7 32 bit as guest machine.
USB pen drive is detected confirming USB is enabled and working and configured.
but no success with obd2/vcds.
lsusb lists details of the interface.

original vcds cable/software?

Yes iichel. Original cable and software.
Genuine windows 7 too.

iichel,

spent couple of hours uninstalling and reinstalling few packages and software and bang.
VCDS 17.8.0 is working in Ubuntu (16.04) Host and Windows 7 (32 bit) as guest.

Here are details:

• Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (on hp g5 245 laptop)

• VirtualBox Graphical User Interface Version 5.1.28 r117968 (Qt5.5.1)

• Install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.1.28-117968.vbox-extpack

• Install Guest OS Windows 7

• Install Insert Guest Additional CD Image (in Guest OS)

• Install VCDS (17.8.0)

• Assign permission to user and group in Host machine.

• Restart both machines.

• Connect VCDS cable

• Select USB (from list of devices) at bottom view bar in Guest OS.

• Select Program Option in VCDS to configure USB

• Use VCDS to code

Could not record or grab screen shots but have some print screen to confirm it is working.
Will try to upload above details in text file and upload to dropbox