[kvpaul]

Hi I haven't been on here for a few weeks and now noticed lots of replies to my initial comments so though I would bring up to speed on my situation.

1.5 golf 130 Dsg golf and been getting these error messages as well. Only 2 months old now but been happening since new a few times.

First time in garage they said "battery needed coding" which I assume was a software update. Second time said made "adaption" to aux battery but not sure what that means - This was after they spoke to VW technical.

Since then it's calmed down and only come on once more over a few weeks period.

Garage just looked at it again and said that vw technical have said that most cases the software reset and adaptions has fixed the problem. For others they are also now looking at replacing the li ion battery as next step. Although I don't think that will help I will let them do it in the hope this resolves it.

I also found out that it seems to happen more in auto mode when it rains. I thought it was a coincidence but glad others have mentioned this. I did mention this to the dealer.

Also thinking if doesn't resolve will look at rejecting car. I do wonder if as the bad weather starts to happen we will be getting more reports of this occurring.

I've just clicked notify of replies to this thread to keep updated and remember to keep you all updated.

I have visited 4 times to the Liverpool dealer and they couldn't fix the issue. I took it to another dealer and they have done some software update. Unfortunately I got the error back. As you said the error is popping up when the light is on (when driving into the tunnel) or wipers are on. But today I had the issue when I was driving with my usb drive connected. And also I didn't get any error while I was driving a week without anything connected to the USB. I am having a feeling that when eco coasting is happening, secondary battery is active and struggling to give power to USB, head lights or wipers.

 

[Vwvwvwvw99]

Thanks kvpaul.

I don't know why they can't just have the engine start in these scenarios rather than give an error message. It's never failed to restart the engine and if car is moving I may be wrong but I assumed it used cars motion to restart rather than battery anyway.

From these replies and from my dealer vw technical aware of all these issues. What I don't understand is that this model been available for a while but only recent complaints on this.

 

[Impala]

My 1.5 TSI DSG Golf slips into "2-cylinder mode" at every opportunity and 'eco' is displayed at the bottom of the rev counter whatever performance environment you're in (Drive, ECO, or Sport). Eco also displays when it is in coasting mode having turned the engine off. Turning off start/stop using the button by the gear selector only prevents the engine turning off when coming to a complete stop. It does not prevent it stopping whilst moving/coasting.

Update: no error warning at all today (6:00 - 15:00 driving south coast to London to various appointments in London and returning home). Probably because it hardly rained and the auto dipped beam only came on a few minutes at a time.

Aaaargh, does your car (Golf) also have a battery under the front passenger seat ?

 

[Impala]

Hi I haven't been on here for a few weeks and now noticed lots of replies to my initial comments so though I would bring up to speed on my situation.

1.5 golf 130 Dsg golf and been getting these error messages as well. Only 2 months old now but been happening since new a few times.

First time in garage they said "battery needed coding" which I assume was a software update. Second time said made "adaption" to aux battery but not sure what that means - This was after they spoke to VW technical.

Since then it's calmed down and only come on once more over a few weeks period.

Garage just looked at it again and said that vw technical have said that most cases the software reset and adaptions has fixed the problem. For others they are also now looking at replacing the li ion battery as next step. Although I don't think that will help I will let them do it in the hope this resolves it.

I also found out that it seems to happen more in auto mode when it rains. I thought it was a coincidence but glad others have mentioned this. I did mention this to the dealer.

Also thinking if doesn't resolve will look at rejecting car. I do wonder if as the bad weather starts to happen we will be getting more reports of this occurring.

I've just clicked notify of replies to this thread to keep updated and remember to keep you all updated.

Any chance you could post some pics of this aux battery ? Is there anything in the Owner's Manual about this battery ?

I'm really confused as to its purpose and there doesn't seem to be one on the T-Roc.

 

[Vwvwvwvw99]

It's a small black box under the passenger seat in the golf. I will try to post a photo tomorrow.

Quite annoying location to be honest and very noticeable.

As the car cuts the engine out and coasts if it has enough momentum, a secondary battery is needed to run power steering and brakes etc. I believe it allows things to run while engine is off and this leaves the main battery free to restart the engine if it needs. I am not 100 percent sure on all this. I have managed to coast for several hundred meters on a 30mph road with only a very small incline. At end of road was only doing say 10mph but the car managed to coast all that way without any fuel being used.

The idea behind this is very good. Just the application not quite sorted. There are times when coasting and come to a stop at lights it starts the engine just as the car stops and then it switches straight off due to the auto start stop function. Pointless engine coming on for half a second. Some of the programming logic in my mind could be better.

This coasting engine off I understand is only on the 130hp model. And you can't stop it happening unless in sport mode.

 

[Aaaargh]

Thanks Vwvwvwvw99 I'll continue to keep an eye on mine. I don't really want to do what the dealer suggests and leave it with them for a few days for one of their salesmen to drive home and back until it occurs whilst they have it. Luckily it seems to have no effect on the performance of the car, just annoying.

 

[retiredbri]

Impala

I'm intrigued by your references to a secondary battery ...

The error is caused when there is not enough power from the secondary battery to restart the engine

I know you have said this battery is under the front passenger seat, so I've just been out to my T-Roc and had a look under the seats and there is no such battery on my car, but then I also don't have this engine switch off issue so the T-Roc may be different.

I believe (but don't quote me) that the extra battery is only on the 1.5TSI EVO 130PS engine. I understand that this engine is no longer being made and is only available from stock. It cannot be ordered.
The secondary battery is used to keep steering, brakes and fault monitoring functions etc when the engine is stopped. T
I would surmise that it was a "design aberration" by over keen engineers.
Could someone with the 150PS engine please respond?

 

[Vwvwvwvw99]

You mention you think that the 130 Evo variant is no longer being made to order. Are you certain of this ? When did they stop as my car was delivered in May as wasn't from stock.

Surely this isn't so serious that they would stop production ?

I tried to recreate the error today but I couldn't. Car was coasting for a few hundred metres. I switched on lights, wipers, air con and blowers, rear window. It still kept coasting without error. When I then also opened windows the engine started up. And no error message. So I was unable to recreate the error. As I mentioned after the update and adaption (whatever they were) it has only happened the once. Where before it was quite frequent. I still seem to think it's mostly when in auto lights mode and in rain it's happened more often. I am having a new battery fitted apparently in a week or so when in stock. Maybe that will resolve the issue. Maybe not.

Frustrating to be happening. But Car always drives fine. And a quick ignition on / off resolves it. I have never had the issue of the car not restarting after coasting. So maybe I am worrying more than I should be.

 

[retiredbri]

You mention you think that the 130 Evo variant is no longer being made to order. Are you certain of this ? When did they stop as my car was delivered in May as wasn't from stock.

Sorry guys, I jumped the gun.
In the 2019 Golf brochure for 130PS DSG Golf Match, there is a symbol as below:
"† Please note these models may no longer be available to order, or only available from stock and not available to factory order."
I misunderstood this as meaning the engine was being phased out but in the 2020 Golf Catalogue, the 130PS is available but only with manual gearbox.
Again, very sorry for my error.
retiredbri

 

[Vwvwvwvw99]

Hi retiredbri, no need to apologise. And I think that is actually a good point you made. If only the manual is available then it is unlikely to have the coasting mode, as this is likely only on the DSG. So you are correct I think about the model with this coasting mode being discontinued.

 

[Vwvwvwvw99]

Old news story ....

https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-releases/fuel-efficient-micro-hybrid-for-the-golf-new-130-ps-petrol-engine-is-as-efficient-as-a-diesel-1997

 

[retiredbri]

Thanks kvpaul.

I don't know why they can't just have the engine start in these scenarios rather than give an error message. It's never failed to restart the engine and if car is moving I may be wrong but I assumed it used cars motion to restart rather than battery anyway.

From these replies and from my dealer vw technical aware of all these issues. What I don't understand is that this model been available for a while but only recent complaints on this.

After I wrote about the journey with 60 restarts in 60 miles, I found somewhere that when in motion, it uses the DSG clutches to restart (a sophisticated bump start). This makes sense because the car could be going at 60mph so would need the 7th gear clutch to turn the engine over.
regards retiredbri

 

[Vwvwvwvw99]

Yes i think that's what I understand. If has momentum then uses that to restart car. That's how it's supposed to work. Mine is continually cutting out in most parts of my journey. And I actually like it and try to coast as much as possible. For instance if on a 40 road and no traffic behind, I am travelling at 40 take foot off accelerator and just coast until the next junction, even if my speed drops to 20, provided no other traffic. Seems silly to accelerate to 40 and restart engine when I know will need to brake anyway shortly.

 

[kvpaul]

Is this issue only in 1.5 petrol models? Any one with diesel having this error? I am having a curiosity to know whether this error related to recent 1.5 engine issues (kangarooing)

And I am not convinced with the eco coasting feature as it used to restart at least 10-15 times while I am driving 10 miles. I was using Honda before and only took once to workshop during my 3 years lease. Now I took the new car 5 times within 8 weeks of delivery.

 

[Vwvwvwvw99]

Kvpaul sorry I can't confirm for certain but I think it was just the 1.5 130ps evo dsg bluemotion petrol variant that has the extra battery under the seat and has these issues.

I think the known kangaroo problems are a different issue.

 

[kvpaul]

So I think rejecting this car and getting a 150 model seems to be the right decision . VW may know about this issue and that is why they stopped 130 models.

 

[Vwvwvwvw99]

Kvpaul. I am not sure I am ready to reject mine yet. It's been a month since it last happened. And I enjoy seeing engine switch off when driving along. Just done a long drive along country roads and seemed like engine was off a long portion of this. There might be a few bugs but the technology is good.

I wouldn't of though Vw would of stopped this model just because of a few issues. It mostly works and with a fine tune of the software and the when and where the engine goes off etc I believe it can be fixed quite easily. Perhaps there is other reasons.

My dealer seems to suggest the small fix they do plus the software update resolves nearly all cars. Only a few continue to have errors. Mine falls into this last category and it's been a month since it last appeared. But for sake of good order they fitting a new secondary battery when next in.

I am sure Vw can fix this and would they really abandon all this good work just because of a few cases. There are not many cases at all on the internet, unlike other issues for other models. This leads me to believe they have fixed it for most and the issue is not as great as it seems for us. Especially when a quick reset makes it disappear.

I just wish they would do it so that the coasting mode only comes on in eco mode. Whereas at the moment it comes on in drive as well. I could switch to sport for when I don't want it on but I find that a bit jumpy.

 

[Impala]

Impala

I'm intrigued by your references to a secondary battery ...

The error is caused when there is not enough power from the secondary battery to restart the engine

I know you have said this battery is under the front passenger seat, so I've just been out to my T-Roc and had a look under the seats and there is no such battery on my car, but then I also don't have this engine switch off issue so the T-Roc may be different.

I believe (but don't quote me) that the extra battery is only on the 1.5TSI EVO 130PS engine. I understand that this engine is no longer being made and is only available from stock. It cannot be ordered.
The secondary battery is used to keep steering, brakes and fault monitoring functions etc when the engine is stopped. T
I would surmise that it was a "design aberration" by over keen engineers.
Could someone with the 150PS engine please respond?

Surely the length of time the engine is stopped for is very short, so there is no reason why the power can't be drawn from the main battery, unless they have reduced its size to be able to fit in the engine bay.

Is it not more likely that this is using KERS technology (kinetic energy recovery system) as developed for F1 cars and is something else to reduce fuel consumption and emissions ... another cheat device ?

 

[kvpaul]

Kvpaul. I am not sure I am ready to reject mine yet. It's been a month since it last happened. And I enjoy seeing engine switch off when driving along. Just done a long drive along country roads and seemed like engine was off a long portion of this. There might be a few bugs but the technology is good.

I wouldn't of though Vw would of stopped this model just because of a few issues. It mostly works and with a fine tune of the software and the when and where the engine goes off etc I believe it can be fixed quite easily. Perhaps there is other reasons.

My dealer seems to suggest the small fix they do plus the software update resolves nearly all cars. Only a few continue to have errors. Mine falls into this last category and it's been a month since it last appeared. But for sake of good order they fitting a new secondary battery when next in.

I am sure Vw can fix this and would they really abandon all this good work just because of a few cases. There are not many cases at all on the internet, unlike other issues for other models. This leads me to believe they have fixed it for most and the issue is not as great as it seems for us. Especially when a quick reset makes it disappear.

I just wish they would do it so that the coasting mode only comes on in eco mode. Whereas at the moment it comes on in drive as well. I could switch to sport for when I don't want it on but I find that a bit jumpy.

Yes, I agree with you on eco coasting option to be switched off in normal mode or some software option. The technician in the dealership told that VW removed eco coasting option in the new models, Don't know whether it is true. If there is no battery in 150 models, how did VW manage to do the same?

Eco coasting is useful when we go for a long drive. I am only doing city drive Mon to Fri, so I am annoyed with the feature. And when the error comes, eco coasting won't work at all.

I have booked for another appointment, let us see what is happening. After the last fix on last Wednesday, I got the error 2 times, once when I was driving with a USB drive connected. Second time when the light was on.

 

[retiredbri]

So I think rejecting this car and getting a 150 model seems to be the right decision . VW may know about this issue and that is why they stopped 130 models.

Hi
One week ago (10 Aug 2919) I tried to reject my 1.5TSI ECO 13OPS DSG Golf Match that was just 2 weeks old. I was told "It is not a fault, it is a design feature. You therefore cannot reject it"
Because of the life threatening experience on a 1 in 5 hill, my wife refused to drive the car. There was no way we could keep the car and any VW solution would be a long time in the future. I took the bold and, as it turns out not too costly move, to sell the Golf.
So, just four days later on the 14th August, we picked up a secondhand Skoda. It has the tried and tested 1.4TSI ACT 150PS engine. My wife is so happy and pleased that the horrors of the "Runaway Coast Mode" are fading link a bad nightmare.

My views about the 1.5TSI EVO 130PS engine and possible "Fixes" and armed with the Hindsight of the 2020 Golf Brochure are as follows:
Only offer the Coast Mode on the Manual with the 130PS engine
Only offer the 150PS engine for DSG
For current owners of 130PS DSG, come up with a "fix" so that "Coast Mode" is not in "Drive Mode" but only in "ECO Mode". Also, fix the "Engine Power fault".

For myself, I will use all the emails and statements from the dealer plus the data from the Forums to try and recover the £ loss I suffered on the Golf Experience.
Regards retiredbri