eGolf Stereo Upgrades

[mfennell]

Thanks so much for doing the legwork on this. I've decided to buy my '15 - hopefully I can find one with Android Auto.

EDIT: It looks like I need to get the part number 6RF 035 187E to get Android Auto without doing my own firmware updates.

 

[rd7575]

Thanks so much for doing the legwork on this. I've decided to buy my '15 - hopefully I can find one with Android Auto.

EDIT: It looks like I need to get the part number 6RF 035 187E to get Android Auto without doing my own firmware updates.

Careful there.... 6RF 035 187E looks like a PQ (Passat B6, CC, MK6 Jetta, Golf 6) part. The MQB part doesn't have a full faceplate but includes snaps for the dash surround to clip into. The MQB part also supports many vehicle settings in the menu, the display of efficiency & trip data (the screens where the car slowly makes its way across the screen), and climate control settings. (Essential for the heated windshield.) The part that I used may support Android Auto, but I don't have a device to test with and there are no references to AA before a device is connected as there are with CarPlay, MirrorLink, and Baidu CarLife (A Chinese or Asian market standard - I coded it off on mine)

 

[mfennell]

Wow. Thanks for saving me from myself.

 

[rd7575]

Twice since I installed the RCD330, my car has lost connectivity to the mother ship. (No green light by the "i" button, no Car-net status updates or remote control functions)

The first time, I thought it was something I had done with VCDS and hooked-up the MIB1 unit for troubleshooting. Now that it's happened a second time, I'm theorizing that the Car-net back-end flags vehicles as offline without a periodic GPS fix supplied from the stock nav unit. (Might make sense if the back-end got its start in corporate fleet monitoring.)

Whatever the reason, not having the stock nav / sound system in-place might be contributing to a loss of Car-net connectivity every 60 days or so. Thus, swapping may not be as attractive an option as it first appeared to be, at least for those wanting to maintain Car-net service.

 

[pgeller]

I've gotta agree, the RCD330 is a nice product. I just did the upgrade in my '15 SEL. The CarPlay works flawlessly and is very fast. Screen quality/resolution/brightness is miles above the MIB1 display. Fonts are sharp and fully formed, colors nice and solid. The amplifier seems fine, particularly after tweaking the many volume settings in the unit. Construction quality is factory equivalent. Navigation using Google Maps, Waze and even Apple Maps is miles ahead of the VW crap, and costs nothing for up-to-date maps and instant traffic. Spotify, podcasts, etc all add to the fun.

The "eSound" (the noise from the front bumper that warns yakking nuns that they are about to be steamrolled) control module needs to be relocated for the single-din radio portion to fit. I managed to squeeze it in behind the A/C controls, although its a tight fit. If you leave it disconnected, it throws an error on the dash.

You absolutely want to pull out the glove box assembly (with it's attached dash pieces) so you can snake the wiring harness into the console area. It seems complicated, but the second time through it can be done in a few minute without breaking anything. Taking apart the quad-lock into it's constituent connectors/cables makes that task of routing the cables a lot easier; the path is not obvious.

Other notes:

Disconnecting the "Passenger Seat Air Bag" warning will throw a code that you'll need to clear.

I have a constant error from the "e_sound" function, and have not figured out how to clear it yet. It's all plugged in.

Some improvements that might be nice:

Electric car awareness, as RD7575 mentioned.

Info in the center display for audio, etc.

Some process for firmware updates. Like all clones, factory support is challenging.

pg

 

[rd7575]

Twice since I installed the RCD330, my car has lost connectivity to the mother ship. (No green light by the "i" button, no Car-net status updates or remote control functions)

I had my carnet module replaced under CPO warranty and it's behaved correctly ever since. I did use VCDS to code-off all of the carnet functions that cannot work with the RCD330. I now wonder whether some subset of 2015 models had wonky modules that were prone to go offline or de-sync with the servers. Even as compared to the old module when it worked, the new one responds to commands and status requests much more consistently. With the old one, about 1 in 5 commands failed after a long wait. Now, it's more like 1 in a 100. It's still slow by design (up to 2 minutes), but it's at least reliable.

 

[rd7575]

An additional note: I recently added the "OEM aftermarket" Helix subwoofer as sold by some dealers and it works fine with the RCD330. I'm not really an audiophile, but it adds some needed bass (not thump) and an across-the-range power output bump.

 

[pgeller]

All good info. Next time you drop by here, if you could put up some info on VCDS coding for this setup, I would really appreciate it. Or PM me and we can talk. I've never had any of the e-Golf screens (electric defroster, drive modes, charging setup, car-net) since installing the RCD330, and I've not been able to see anything related in VCDS, so I could use any help you can offer.

I wonder; did you remove the Infotainment unit from the glove box (I did)? Maybe that has to stay connected for the electric stuff to work? All very vexxing, but then, I'm easily vexxed.

pg

Twice since I installed the RCD330, my car has lost connectivity to the mother ship. (No green light by the "i" button, no Car-net status updates or remote control functions)

I had my carnet module replaced under CPO warranty and it's behaved correctly ever since. I did use VCDS to code-off all of the carnet functions that cannot work with the RCD330. I now wonder whether some subset of 2015 models had wonky modules that were prone to go offline or de-sync with the servers. Even as compared to the old module when it worked, the new one responds to commands and status requests much more consistently. With the old one, about 1 in 5 commands failed after a long wait. Now, it's more like 1 in a 100. It's still slow by design (up to 2 minutes), but it's at least reliable.