SOS - See workshop resolved

[Sim667]

That could be the case and might not be a fob off.

Not all vans suffer (my '21 hasn't, but I keep it on a maintenance charger), and while the OBD11/VCDS backup battery counter reset works on many its not a universal fix. Some do indeed simply get upset because the vehicle system voltage is insufficient over a period of time.

But yes, they've left you dangling unnecessarily. They could have done this in March.

They rang me when i was on my way to collect in march, and said I could either wait until it was resolved (months likely) or just bring it back when they were ready to sort.

I’ve also not been able to link the van to my account, initially I couldn’t change the privacy, and then I could, but it hasn’t liked linking via the VIN since….. so when I go to collect I want them to get that working too.

One of the wing mirrors isn’t heating up, and needs to be replaced - again, warranty, but apparently VW won’t cover it, so they’re currently phoning between the dealer who’s servicing it and the dealer I bought it from (same company, different locations) to discuss money.

After the faff I had with my wheels my patience is waning.

 

[doncarlyon]

Mine went in for a warranty repair for this today and they’ve just called me that they’ve charged the engine battery and it’s resolved it, so they’re not going to replace the SOS battery. I feel a bit fobbed off because I’ve been waiting for them to sort this out since collecting the van back in march. They’ve basically said I’m not driving the vehicle enough to keep the engine battery high enough to top up the SOS battery.

This is rubbish, in the other post you say you do 20miles a day. That is more than enough to keep the starter battery topped up.

 

[Absolut5]

They rang me when i was on my way to collect in march, and said I could either wait until it was resolved (months likely) or just bring it back when they were ready to sort.

I’ve also not been able to link the van to my account, initially I couldn’t change the privacy, and then I could, but it hasn’t liked linking via the VIN since….. so when I go to collect I want them to get that working too.

One of the wing mirrors isn’t heating up, and needs to be replaced - again, warranty, but apparently VW won’t cover it, so they’re currently phoning between the dealer who’s servicing it and the dealer I bought it from (same company, different locations) to discuss money.

After the faff I had with my wheels my patience is waning.

Have they checked the sos battery health ? Most of them we see are 94% , had one in the other day and it was 99% and that had the sos fault, reset the battery , and all is good , seeing them weekly like the common heater arm issue, repairing them all the time

 

[Sim667]

Have they checked the sos battery health ? Most of them we see are 94% , had one in the other day and it was 99% and that had the sos fault, reset the battery , and all is good , seeing them weekly like the common heater arm issue, repairing them all the time

I’ll asked them. Is it via VCDS you check?

 

[Sim667]

This is rubbish, in the other post you say you do 20miles a day. That is more than enough to keep the starter battery topped up.

Well I did notice I left it for 3 days recently and I had a battery warning when I used it. I wonder whether it’s getting to the point of needing a new engine battery.

I’ll get my local garage to code it in for me and swap it over myself if so, the main dealer I’m sure would quote a price that comes unlubed.

 

[Absolut5]

I’ll asked them. Is it via VCDS you check?

Yes

 

[Sim667]

Well green light is on, fault is cleared and we connect app is now working. So maybe they were right.

They seemed to have broken my needle sweep I set up using carista, and it won’t work despite me resetting it through the app, but oh well.

 

[Sasquatch]

Apparently the icarsoft V4.0 can also reset the back up battery:

Service > battery management service > service resets > replace battery/TCU backup battery test.

Theyre a bit spendy at £210, but free software updates for life, no expensive subscriptions, and you get the option to download two other car manufacturers for free, so I could add Volvo to one and cover my entire fleet with a single device.

VCDS is the varsity, but for someone with no computer skills the V4.0 is ideal, and it takes up little space in van.

Reading around, this is far from a problem unique to VW. Owners of ,any brands, Jaguar in particular it would seem, are suffering this issue once theyve a few years under their belt.

 

[IguanaMAM]

Afternoon all!

It seems that VW have inadvertently created a cash injection for the business with the battery issue for the SOS system.

I have a 2021 T6.1 and got the SOS message (along with other errors around emergency manoeuvre braking and park distance control). I spoke with VW to be told I'd need to wait until August for diagnostics due to lack of availability and likely would need work doing.

Fortunately I have a colleague who has a VCDS system. It was a simple fix. When checked, my battery had 88% life left in it so the counter was reset, all other errors removed and hey presto - all working again.

This should be something that VW are fixing as a recall - I'm more annoyed in that my van was serviced and had a software update 10 days ago by VW Commercial!!!

 

[Sasquatch]

I was chatting to a mobile mechanic the other day and he reckons its not just VW - its all makes suffering this once vehicles start to hit the half decade mark - its gone beyond the scope of anyone doing a recall, because it's not a software issue and (usually) not a hardware issue. He reckoned Jag were the worst for it.

We chatted OBD tools and he recommended one that easily clears these telematic battery counter issues.

The software update you received has no bearing on this, and to be fair to VW dealers, as much as it pains me to do so, its a) not their fault they're busy because there are less and less of them due to a borked economy and people holding onto cars for longer, and b) they have to assume the worst case scenario time-wise for the job (a few have genuinely needed new batteries, not a 5 minute job) or else customers will be complaining about that instead.

The issue is a fundamental one arising from half-baked legislation mandating systems with a particular defined function and operational spec with no thought for the practicalities. Talk of recalls, complaints about a local franchise being busy, its all fluff from angry consumers trying to apportion blame, nothing more. Sheet happens, and for a change its not specifically VW's fault.