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One month in.

41K views 85 replies 18 participants last post by  Aaaargh 
#1 ·
Thought I'd give a quick, & hopefully brief roundup on how my first month of T-Roc ownership has gone & with nigh on 1000 miles on the clock.

What I love:- smoothness, gadgets, looks (really does turn heads) reversing camera, talking text messages!

Anything broke? Well, I've had 2 'front sensor unavailable' (Or something similar) messages, cleared both times after a couple of minutes, both times was heavy rain. The near side mirrors has failed to reset after dipping for reversing a couple of times & finally the 'mode' button I noticed this morning was sticking in a bit.

Anything I don't like? Still haven't worked out if you can turn off the radio whilst leaving info screen on?? But main thing I dislike, and I know it's not unique in modern cars - why, oh why is there no green 'dipped beam on' light on the dash?? That really bugs me & I just can't bring myself to trust the auto lights in, for example, fog.

Mpg is about the same as my old Alfa (1.4) Giulietta at 38.5 ish.

Mooing rear brakes - no
Kangaroo - no, but you can almost, extremely faintly, feel the car wanting to when cold very occasionally. It just wouldn't have registered at all had I not been super sensitive to watching for the phenomenon every time I get in it because of this forum.

Well, that's about it. Car is back with my dealer tomorrow morning for it's one month check up. I'll mention the items I've listed above and let you all know what they say.

Overall verdict - one of the best cars I've owned, love it.
 
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#2 ·
Hi,
I got delivered a Golf 1.5 Match Petrol DSG on last Friday. On the first day I got a warning, Error: vehicle power system. Please visit workshop. So the car was in the VW dealer after 3 days of delivery. They told battery was not having enough charge, charged overnight and told fault was fixed. After driving 2 miles from the workshop, error popped up again. Re-visited and was told they forgot to reset the fault. Today morning, the same error popped up and it is going back to workshop next Tuesday. So with in a week, my car was in the workshop twice.

Don't know whether they can fix it, otherwise I need to reject.

Car Land vehicle Vehicle Tire Motor vehicle
 

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#3 ·
Noticed that with the radio, you have to turn the volume down, I suppose you could hit media or something else but not ideal.
I've never looked into it myself, could be something there? 👌

Someone will be a long to tell us shortly :lol:
 
#4 ·
Great stuff Manxman.

Pity about the minor niggles, but you could go through a lot of makes and cars before finding one that is 100% perfect. Although I've been criticising the lack of displaying the time on the main instrument cluster except after switching the engine off and the vanishing the Sat Nav speed limit display, on the whole I love the car and have no regrets whatsoever. Like you, I have no Roos and no Moos after three and a half weeks, but only 400 miles.

Perhaps I can help with a couple of the points you raised;

Radio - Sadly, I don't think there is any way to switch off the radio or media while having the Sat Nav on. This was the same on my Golf, so I'm used to it by now. The best/only ways I've found are either turn the volume fully down (there is no dedicated Mute function that I can find) or select Media and Pause/Stop playback then switch to the Sat Nav screen.

Dipped lights - I tend to drive with the light switch in the Off position and move it to Auto when I want/need the lights. However, when the switch is in the Auto postion, the symbol in the switch will be lit Orange if the lights are off and will change to Green when the lights come on automatically. I know that is not in the main instrument display, but it is better than nothing once you are aware of it. That said, the manual advises not to rely on auto lights in fog and says to turn the light switch to the dipped beam position instead. I guess that would apply to any car with auto lights.

Apologies if you already know about the above.

There you go vernerbongo2 ... :lol:
 
#7 ·
If you're not sure wheter the dipped beam is on in auto mode just have a look at the light switch. If the side light symbol is green then the dipped beam is 100% on.
Vehicle Automotive design Car Personal luxury car Gadget

Auto glowing and side light glowing = dipped beam (main light) is on.
 

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#8 ·
Levy said:
If you're not sure wheter the dipped beam is on in auto mode just have a look at the light switch. If the side light symbol is green then the dipped beam is 100% on.
IMG_20190615_195105.jpg
Auto glowing and side light glowing = dipped beam (main light) is on.
Thank you to Levy & Impala. I had no idea, but obvious once you know, and makes me happy, whether the light is there, or on the dash at least I'll know in future.
 
#9 ·
kvpaul said:
Hi,
I got delivered a Golf 1.5 Match Petrol DSG on last Friday. On the first day I got a warning, Error: vehicle power system. Please visit workshop. So the car was in the VW dealer after 3 days of delivery. They told battery was not having enough charge, charged overnight and told fault was fixed. After driving 2 miles from the workshop, error popped up again. Re-visited and was told they forgot to reset the fault. Today morning, the same error popped up and it is going back to workshop next Tuesday. So with in a week, my car was in the workshop twice.

Don't know whether they can fix it, otherwise I need to reject.

IMG_20190614_220342.jpg
Hi did you get this sorted. Mine doing the same.
 
#10 ·
@Vwvwvwvw99 - not yet.
The car went 3 times to the workshop within 3 weeks. They told that VW engineer told 3 fixes, first one and still the same error. Now they are trying 2 and 3.
I am thinking it is related to eco coasting as I am getting the error while taking off the gas while driving.

Driving the courtesy car now,
 
#11 ·
Update : As mentioned above My 130 dsg (collected end of may) now been back twice with "vehicle power" error. First time they said battery needed coding. Second time said made "adaption" to aux battery but not sure what that means - This was after they spoke to VW technical.

it has been 2 weeks now and no error so maybe fixed although doubtful. I suspect we need to wait for software update according to another site I've seen, as they have family who work for VW that have told them this. And that can take some time.

I haven't experienced anything dangerous. Just the vehicle error which disappears if ignition turned off and on.
 
#13 ·
I've had my car just less than a month and the same problem began a couple of weeks ago. I figured out by trial and error that it only happens when the headlights are set to auto, and then only after about 30-60 mins driving. It doesn't affect anything else as far as I can tell and once the ignition is turned off and on again the fault message completely clears and doesn't happen again until the next day.
I have it booked in next Thursday, for what I don't know.
 
#14 ·
With regards to the sensors, apparently this is "normal" as it only happens in heavy rain. I was told this when mine went back for mooing brakes before Xmas.

Well done on having such few faults!!
 
#15 ·
Hi all, I'm new to this forum.
I have just bought a new Golf (sorry not a Troc) but have experienced the same ""Error: vehicle power system. Please visit workshop" fault. My dealer had seen the fault recorded twice in the car memory so if I may take some of your time, I'd like to share my findings with you. It's a long report but could help us get the problem solved with VW. Here goes:

Incident 1: 27 July 2019 about 10:40.
I was on my return journey home from picking up my brand new GOLF 5 DOOR HATCH 1.5 TSI EVO 130PS DSG.
About 20 mins after leaving dealer (up-hill and down dale), there was drizzle, it was getting overcast and muggy. The wipers were on intermittent, the blower on low and the lights on Auto. It was not dark enough for the headlights to be on. There were about 30 miles on the clock.
I was climbing as gentle hill and went over the top and started to descend. I took my foot off the accelerator
The car started to COAST and the rev counter went to zero. My previous car was a Skoda 1.4tsi with DSG and in that car, it would coast but the rev counter would go to 600rpm. Being new to the Golf, I can only assume the engine actually stopped!
After about 200yds, the drizzle became heavy, the hill went into a dark wood. The headlights came on
The wipers went to fast wipe and because the screen misted over, I may have moved the control to Demist. The blower went to Full and the aircon may have come on. The screen cleared very quickly.
Hey Presto: A message "Error: vehicle power system. Please visit workshop" came up".
I stopped as soon as I could and turned off the ignition. The message disappeared when engine turned off.
We called the Dealer and he said "It's a new car and probably a glitch".

Incident 2: 31 Jul 2019 about 19:25 with 115 miles on the clock.
After driving 4 miles from start, it got very dark under trees so I switched the headlights on (3 o'clock position of switch). I was coasting down a slight hill, the car went to COAST. The rev counter went to zero, the engine stopped. After about 100yds, the message "Error: vehicle power system. Please visit workshop" appeared. I stopped but left the engine running so that I could photograph the display. It was the same as one posted earlier.The message disappeared when the engine was turned off.

Visit to the Dealer 1 Aug 2019.
I gave the service manager a copy of what I had written and also some prints from screen shot of the Trocforum topic that showed it was happening to others. It was like going to the Doctors with a Google diagnosis of a health problem! After about 30 mins, he came back and was complimentary that I had taken the time to describe the fault. The technicians had been able to recover the fault log for both times and it correlated with my description. It was under "ECO COAST MODE" errors. I appeared that in the Eco Coast mode, things were not happening as expected hence the fault. He didn't have a fix so submitted a "Technical assistance Query" back to VW.

My theory
I was an engineer before retiring and tried to understand the sequence of events. My theory is as follows (using Incident 1):
Going up the hill the accelerator position was a "Demand" sent to the EMU (Engine Management Unit). The EMU then set the Fuel input to the injectors for tractive power for gradient along with the DSG gear needed. It also noted the Electrical Power needed for wipers (intermittent), the blower (low) but none needed for the headlight (on Auto). Power was not needed for the Aircon.
Then, going over the top, with my foot off the accelerator, the need for tractive power went to zero. The electrical need was still low so could come from the battery. When this all went into the EMU, the EMU decided that all the parameters for "ECO COAST" were satisfied. The DSG disengaged both clutches and the fuel was cut to zero, The Engine stopped.
After about 200yds, there was a massive and quick change to electrical power demand: Wipers full and On, Headlights on, Blower on Full. The battery would have to supply ALL this power. (Also, if the aircon came on then it needed the engine to be rotating).
The EMU was hit with all these demands at once. It needed to start the engine with even more drain on the battery. The system probably didn't react and produce enough power quickly enough and flagged up a "vehicle power system" error.

Conclusion:
With all the "ECO" demands placed on car makers and VW in particular, the Engine Mapping Software could be "too keen" to go into ECO mode. The solution could be to "slug" the fault indicator so it accepted the temporary overload condition until (say) a few seconds to allow the power generation system to be up to full. A simple timer could be set so that if the if temporary overload condition lasted (say) more 5 seconds, then, and only then, would it raise the flag "vehicle power system" error.
In the olden days, it would have been shown by the "Red dynamo" light on the panel blinking on and then going out!

Perhaps, could others experiencing the problem could note down the conditions when it happens to them and then compare notes.
Well that's my three-pence worth!
Regards Retiredbri
 
#16 ·
retiredbri said:
Hi all, I'm new to this forum.
I have just bought a new Golf (sorry not a Troc) but have experienced the same ""Error: vehicle power system. Please visit workshop" fault. My dealer had seen the fault recorded twice in the car memory so if I may take some of your time, I'd like to share my findings with you. It's a long report but could help us get the problem solved with VW. Here goes:

Incident 1: 27 July 2019 about 10:40.
I was on my return journey home from picking up my brand new GOLF 5 DOOR HATCH 1.5 TSI EVO 130PS DSG.
About 20 mins after leaving dealer (up-hill and down dale), there was drizzle, it was getting overcast and muggy. The wipers were on intermittent, the blower on low and the lights on Auto. It was not dark enough for the headlights to be on. There were about 30 miles on the clock.
I was climbing as gentle hill and went over the top and started to descend. I took my foot off the accelerator
The car started to COAST and the rev counter went to zero. My previous car was a Skoda 1.4tsi with DSG and in that car, it would coast but the rev counter would go to 600rpm. Being new to the Golf, I can only assume the engine actually stopped!
After about 200yds, the drizzle became heavy, the hill went into a dark wood. The headlights came on
The wipers went to fast wipe and because the screen misted over, I may have moved the control to Demist. The blower went to Full and the aircon may have come on. The screen cleared very quickly.
Hey Presto: A message "Error: vehicle power system. Please visit workshop" came up".
I stopped as soon as I could and turned off the ignition. The message disappeared when engine turned off.
We called the Dealer and he said "It's a new car and probably a glitch".

Incident 2: 31 Jul 2019 about 19:25 with 115 miles on the clock.
After driving 4 miles from start, it got very dark under trees so I switched the headlights on (3 o'clock position of switch). I was coasting down a slight hill, the car went to COAST. The rev counter went to zero, the engine stopped. After about 100yds, the message "Error: vehicle power system. Please visit workshop" appeared. I stopped but left the engine running so that I could photograph the display. It was the same as one posted earlier.The message disappeared when the engine was turned off.

Visit to the Dealer 1 Aug 2019.
I gave the service manager a copy of what I had written and also some prints from screen shot of the Trocforum topic that showed it was happening to others. It was like going to the Doctors with a Google diagnosis of a health problem! After about 30 mins, he came back and was complimentary that I had taken the time to describe the fault. The technicians had been able to recover the fault log for both times and it correlated with my description. It was under "ECO COAST MODE" errors. I appeared that in the Eco Coast mode, things were not happening as expected hence the fault. He didn't have a fix so submitted a "Technical assistance Query" back to VW.

My theory
I was an engineer before retiring and tried to understand the sequence of events. My theory is as follows (using Incident 1):
Going up the hill the accelerator position was a "Demand" sent to the EMU (Engine Management Unit). The EMU then set the Fuel input to the injectors for tractive power for gradient along with the DSG gear needed. It also noted the Electrical Power needed for wipers (intermittent), the blower (low) but none needed for the headlight (on Auto). Power was not needed for the Aircon.
Then, going over the top, with my foot off the accelerator, the need for tractive power went to zero. The electrical need was still low so could come from the battery. When this all went into the EMU, the EMU decided that all the parameters for "ECO COAST" were satisfied. The DSG disengaged both clutches and the fuel was cut to zero, The Engine stopped.
After about 200yds, there was a massive and quick change to electrical power demand: Wipers full and On, Headlights on, Blower on Full. The battery would have to supply ALL this power. (Also, if the aircon came on then it needed the engine to be rotating).
The EMU was hit with all these demands at once. It needed to start the engine with even more drain on the battery. The system probably didn't react and produce enough power quickly enough and flagged up a "vehicle power system" error.

Conclusion:
With all the "ECO" demands placed on car makers and VW in particular, the Engine Mapping Software could be "too keen" to go into ECO mode. The solution could be to "slug" the fault indicator so it accepted the temporary overload condition until (say) a few seconds to allow the power generation system to be up to full. A simple timer could be set so that if the if temporary overload condition lasted (say) more 5 seconds, then, and only then, would it raise the flag "vehicle power system" error.
In the olden days, it would have been shown by the "Red dynamo" light on the panel blinking on and then going out!

Perhaps, could others experiencing the problem could note down the conditions when it happens to them and then compare notes.
Well that's my three-pence worth!
Regards Retiredbri
If your theory is correct (and it certainly sounds feasible), shouldn't the engine be automatically restarted to cover the required power draw being demanded? That would seem logical. The engine - being the most important thing to work in a car - should be the first thing to given power, specially considering it assists in the battery regeneration!!
 
#17 ·
Despite VAG being under pressure to ensure maximum efficiency, and take all possible avenues to ensure their commitment to the environment, I find it incredible that your engine actually "switches off" in ECO mode and when coasting! Surely in the interests of safety the engine should just go down to tick-over - as it does on the T-Roc? For the engine to actually stop (as indicated by the rev counter going to zero) means that you lose your power steering and, initially, your brakes? Okay, so tapping on the brakes should re-engage your DSG but your engine has to restart as well? What happens if it doesn't (start) and you're going downhill, going faster and faster? Surely this can't be? Economy over safety? Or am I missing something?
 
#18 ·
Hi, I was surprised too. Firstly, the power steering uses an electric pump. Don't know about the servo for the Brakes. BUT it definitely stops. Page 132 of Golf handbook and section under "Driving under DSG ........" and sub-section "Vehicles with ECO coasting function" says "take your foot off the accelerator slowly. The engine can be disengaged and switched off automatically"
It's frightening if it happens just when you didn't want it.
I now won't use ECO mode until I can "calibrate my brain" to the design idiosyncrasies.
retiredbri

Barnaclebob said:
Despite VAG being under pressure to ensure maximum efficiency, and take all possible avenues to ensure their commitment to the environment, I find it incredible that your engine actually "switches off" in ECO mode and when coasting! Surely in the interests of safety the engine should just go down to tick-over - as it does on the T-Roc? For the engine to actually stop (as indicated by the rev counter going to zero) means that you lose your power steering and, initially, your brakes? Okay, so tapping on the brakes should re-engage your DSG but your engine has to restart as well? What happens if it doesn't (start) and you're going downhill, going faster and faster? Surely this can't be? Economy over safety? Or am I missing something?
 
#19 ·
I have noticed a separate Lithium Ion battery under the passenger seat. I suspect this is dedicated to the critical system circuits. Also, Just got a response from the Dealer. The need the car back in for a "re-adaption of the system" which should cure fault. It will take half a day. Could be software and/or hardware. It will be done 14th August. I will let you know
retiredbri
 
#20 ·
My Golf 1.5 TSI EVO was in the dealers yesterday to investigate exactly the same fault. They found nothing and no record in the history.
I found that if I drive with the lights set to off instead of auto the message did not occur. Of all the times it did occur my lights were on; no wipers, air-con etc. Strangely I have driven for just under five hours today with lights on auto, so they were switching on and off variously as necessary, and no error message! Prior to the garage investigation it never failed to appear if the headlights were on, usually between 20 - 60 minutes into a journey. Perhaps their investigations inadvertently tweaked something to correct it?
At least I got a free wash and vacuum out of the visit.
 
#21 ·
Aaaargh said:
My Golf 1.5 TSI EVO was in the dealers yesterday to investigate exactly the same fault. They found nothing and no record in the history.
I found that if I drive with the lights set to off instead of auto the message did not occur. Of all the times it did occur my lights were on; no wipers, air-con etc. Strangely I have driven for just under five hours today with lights on auto, so they were switching on and off variously as necessary, and no error message! Prior to the garage investigation it never failed to appear if the headlights were on, usually between 20 - 60 minutes into a journey. Perhaps their investigations inadvertently tweaked something to correct it?
At least I got a free wash and vacuum out of the visit.
Or they're not being honest with you...?
 
#23 ·
Hi, I can reproduce the fault only if the car is coasting. Get yourself on a longish hill and when the car is coasting (the engine will stop), turn the lights on and the blower on full and the wipers and maybe the air con and then apply the brakes to force the car out of coast (or press the accelerator). With me, the engine that had stopped tried to start, failed at 500rpm then started. Theis caused the fail message to appear.
Regards retiredbri
 
#24 ·
retiredbri said:
Hi, I can reproduce the fault only if the car is coasting. Get yourself on a longish hill and when the car is coasting (the engine will stop), turn the lights on and the blower on full and the wipers and maybe the air con and then apply the brakes to force the car out of coast (or press the accelerator). With me, the engine that had stopped tried to start, failed at 500rpm then started. Theis caused the fail message to appear.
Regards retiredbri
A couple of things Retiredbri.

I previously had a 2014 Golf Mk7 DSG and now have a T-Roc DSG. On both of these cars, coasting was/is enabled by selecting Economy (ECO) driving mode and when activated by taking my foot of the throttle, the enginge revs dropped to idling speed (~ 600rpm).

I found two relevant statements in the T-Roc manual.

The first is a general description of Coasting with DSG ...

Font Number Screenshot Document Circle


The second, even more relevant, is about troubleshooting the Start/Stop system ...

Rectangle Font Number Circle Paper product


What I believe is happening is that Coasting initially disengages the engine and drops the revs to idle speed, at which point the Start/Stop system kicks in and stops the engine just as it would do if you pulled up at traffic lights for example.

Now, you switch on various 'consumers' as VW calls them, such as turn the lights on and the blower on full and the wipers and maybe the air con. Next, you wish to end coasting by applying the brakes (you could also apply some throttle), so the engine starts but at the same time the Start/Stop system has sensed the additional load and normally by itself this also would start the engine. So the two systems - Coasting and Start/Stop - are both trying to start the engine at the same time but for different reasons and this generates the error message.

The troubleshooting statements above must surely mean the VW know this Vehicle Power System error can occur under these conditions (ie coasting with Start/Stop enabled), and they even say take the car to the workshop.

I must admit that I don't use ECO driving mode very often, either now with the T-Roc or previously with the Golf, but it does sound like the T-Roc and new Golf engine may stop when coasting, and this may be different from the older Golf Mk7. This is another example of how agressive the current Start/Stop system is, stopping the engine for any excuse and it is known this happens while 'coasting' to a stop at traffic lights etc.

Clearly something is not right if the engine isn't restarting and/or you get the error message, so it will be interesting to hear what the workshop finds.
 

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#25 ·
The most terrifying thing happened today. I was Not in Eco mode but in D mode. I approached a 1 in 5 hill to go down. The engine changes down for engine braking but when I apply he brakes to slow the car down more, it resumes engine braking and then resumes Coast mode. Apply brakes again and the cycle repeats. There is no way I can keep it in engine braking mode. goes into Coast mode. Apply brakes again and I have engine braking back. Apply brakes again and back into Coast mode!. THe car is now in runaway mode. The only thing I could do is shift into Manual. Engine braking now under my control. Stop at bottom (half mile long hill). Fierce heat from the brakes and change of trousers for me.
VW in trying to save every drop of fuel have made the car undriveable. I've told the dealer I will be in on Saturday to reject a 13 day old car.
Regards retiredbri.
 
#26 ·
retiredbri said:
The most terrifying thing happened today. I was Not in Eco mode but in D mode. I approached a 1 in 5 hill to go down. The engine changes down for engine braking but when I apply he brakes to slow the car down more, it resumes engine braking and then resumes Coast mode. Apply brakes again and the cycle repeats. There is no way I can keep it in engine braking mode. goes into Coast mode. Apply brakes again and I have engine braking back. Apply brakes again and back into Coast mode!. THe car is now in runaway mode. The only thing I could do is shift into Manual. Engine braking now under my control. Stop at bottom (half mile long hill). Fierce heat from the brakes and change of trousers for me.
VW in trying to save every drop of fuel have made the car undriveable. I've told the dealer I will be in on Saturday to reject a 13 day old car.
Regards retiredbri.
Awful experience; glad you're ok retiredbri. :)
 
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