New 2018 e-golf Owner here!

[tetrahydro]

Hey All!

I was able to buy a brand new 2018 e-Golf in the great falls green metallic coloration. I am one of roughly 10 people in all of California to have one that's new and in this color. It's an honor. It had 11 miles on it when I bought it because someone test drove it, then they went home to think about it, and I came by and snapped it up! The dealer said that this was the last batch (2 e-Golfs came to the dealership) to make it to my part of California, and that there will be no further deliveries of the e-Golf. The I.D. variety is next, according to the rep. Starting 2021 in select states.

Anyway, driving it home today was incredible. Really sensitive steering and breaks; the regeneration modes are definitely something to experience and utilize as part of a new driving style. Popping it into neutral, or just keeping it in drive without regen, is really fun too. The car just keeps rolling!

Now, my version has the analogue instrument cluster, and none of the fancy radar/premium stuff. However, it's a really energy efficient setup, and the cruise control and all the other in-car stuff seems just fine. I'm coming from a 1997 honda, so everything seems fancy and premium anyway!

Couple of bad things I noticed though: The air-buffeting when the back windows are rolled down is pretty bad. Any way to mitigate that? Hurts my ears a little bit. Are there some kind of window attachments to make the airflow better?

At any rate, just thought I'd come in and say hello in the general thread. I'm excited beyond words.

 

[RonDawg]

Congratulations. BTW 11 miles doesn’t mean someone test drove it; that’s a typical mileage for a car that just rolled off the delivery truck. The car undergoes a shakedown test, both simulated (rollers) and on a test track, before being signed off, as part of quality control. Then there’s moving the car around from the storage area to the train/truck, then to another storage area, then to the ship, etc.

My last 3 new car purchases all had around 10 or so miles on the odometer when I got them.

The buffeting issue has been mentioned here before. Unfortunately the only thing you can do is keep the windows rolled up. It’s a consequence of aerodynamic design. VW does sell little plastic things that cover a small amount of window left open, but I think that’s more to keep the rain out.

No need to shift between N and D, D without any brake or accelerator application coasts without any application of regen.

 

[tetrahydro]

Thanks RonDawg!

Yeah, you're probably right about the mileage and the shakedown test. Although my e-Golf was parked out by the street, whereas the second one was nicely lined up on the lot, so I still think someone from the public checked it out before me.

Sad to hear about the buffeting issues. I might study the car a little bit and fabricate something to change how the air flows around the windows. There's gotta be something maybe magnetic that'll attach and disrupt the flow enough to change the high/low pressure differential that causes buffeting in the first place. We'll see.

I'll post about my buffeting experiments and solutions in the technical discussion forum once I stop admiring the car and being in shock that I own a VW e-Golf. Can't freaking believe it.

 

[ckdavis]

Rolling down one of the front windows can help with the wind issue, I believe. Unless I am misunderstanding what you are meaning.

 

[tetrahydro]

Thanks ckdavis,

Yes, I noticed that the open diagonal window configuration works well enough. I am still going to work on engineering something that can mount magnetically, so as to be removable. It'd be designed so that a person in the back seat can roll their window down all the way, even at highway speeds, without forcing everyone else in the car to endure their own individual window being cracked.

I can make something out of wood and magnets for a few bucks, rather than spending a ton of money on those window deflectors!

Having such a rare vehicle necessitates having awesome hand-made accessories!

 

[Amadeus]

Couple of bad things I noticed though: The air-buffeting when the back windows are rolled down is pretty bad. Any way to mitigate that? Hurts my ears a little bit. Are there some kind of window attachments to make the airflow better?

I have the same problem. Have not been able to find a combination of window heights that make it completely go away at around town speeds. Very annoying.

 

[SocaleGolf]

Tetrahydro, does your 2018 climate control reset to a default temp at startup? It was considered a feature on my 2017, but I and several others here have had the dealer change the software so that the climate control remembers the last user setting.

 

[Sparklebeard]

Thanks ckdavis,

Yes, I noticed that the open diagonal window configuration works well enough. I am still going to work on engineering something that can mount magnetically, so as to be removable. It'd be designed so that a person in the back seat can roll their window down all the way, even at highway speeds, without forcing everyone else in the car to endure their own individual window being cracked.

I can make something out of wood and magnets for a few bucks, rather than spending a ton of money on those window deflectors!

Having such a rare vehicle necessitates having awesome hand-made accessories!

Anything to fit a mark 7 Golf should be fine. e-Golves may not be common, but the Golf in general is!

 

[tetrahydro]

Tetrahydro, does your 2018 climate control reset to a default temp at startup? It was considered a feature on my 2017, but I and several others here have had the dealer change the software so that the climate control remembers the last user setting.

When I put my car on the charger for a while, then unplug, the climate control resets to default 72f with the fan on. I do find that very annoying.

However, during vehicle startup and shutdown throughout daily use without charging, the climate control seems to remember the last used setting between on/off states.

I find myself wanting the car to always default to a state of "climate control off, and recirculate cabin air activated." Do you know what I should tell the dealership to trigger them to change the software for me?

 

[JoulesThief]

Tetrahydro, does your 2018 climate control reset to a default temp at startup? It was considered a feature on my 2017, but I and several others here have had the dealer change the software so that the climate control remembers the last user setting.

When I put my car on the charger for a while, then unplug, the climate control resets to default 72f with the fan on. I do find that very annoying.

However, during vehicle startup and shutdown throughout daily use without charging, the climate control seems to remember the last used setting between on/off states.

I find myself wanting the car to always default to a state of "climate control off, and recirculate cabin air activated." Do you know what I should tell the dealership to trigger them to change the software for me?

It's operating as designed... however you can reset the default values. Do a google search.

 

[tetrahydro]

It's operating as designed... however you can reset the default values. Do a google search.

Hi Joules, thanks for confirming that it's operating as designed. I've done a lot of google searching about how to change the default values myself, but they all revolve around buying VCDS and messing with adaptations. I suppose I could save up and buy a Hex-net or something. Or go and bother my dealership service dept until they do it for me. But, do you know of a way to change the default behavior without doing the two aforementioned things?

 

[JoulesThief]

It's operating as designed... however you can reset the default values. Do a google search.

Hi Joules, thanks for confirming that it's operating as designed. I've done a lot of google searching about how to change the default values myself, but they all revolve around buying VCDS and messing with adaptations. I suppose I could save up and buy a Hex-net or something. Or go and bother my dealership service dept until they do it for me. But, do you know of a way to change the default behavior without doing the two aforementioned things?

There might be an app that is capable of doing the same thing, from your smart phone. I don't recall the name of it, though. I did start a thread on how to approach the dealership on how to get it performed. It does involve some key words, check the technical section here, to find it, and what you need to say, to the service advisor. They do need to go into OTIS to get it done, I believe, changing a value, or doing an adaptation.

http://www.myvwegolf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=607

 

[DepletedZPM]

To get smooth ventilation using window positioning, I lower the front and rear windows on the passenger side by about the same amount, 1 to 3 inches. The air flows in a roughly semicircular pattern and doesn't feel too drafty at the driver's seat. I don't really notice buffeting with the cabin fan off and the window heights trimmed this way.

 

[Sparklebeard]

You should also experiment with toggling air recirculation on and off with windows at various positions. Even with the blower off, opening or closing that vent can make a serious difference to how air travels through the vehicle at highway speeds.