"Book your complimentary battery change and ID. Software update today" - Anyone else had this?

9005 Views 63 Replies 25 Participants Last post by GarySt, 4 mo ago

WattCar?

Discussion Starter · 11 mo ago

Hi all,

Just had this email come through and was wondering if anyone else has also received it?:

"Please arrange a visit to change your current 12-volt battery and receive the latest software update

We would like to invite you to schedule an appointment with your local Volkswagen Retailer in order for your vehicle to receive a new and improved 12-volt battery. At the same time your retailer will update your ID. software to optimise battery efficiency at low outside temperatures and prepare your car for additional over-the-air updates.

This service appointment is expected to take one working day and will be complimentary. Please contact your local Retailer to book an appointment and to discuss any replacement car requirements."

I'm slightly dubious about this, car dealers never give anything out for free unless it's to cover their tracks. Is this another VW PR disaster waiting to happen I wonder..?

(Bearing in mind I've only had the car for 3 months as well!)

Save

1 - 7 of 64 Posts

6652

· #7 · 11 mo ago

WattCar? said:
Haha lazy post right here then boys and girls, my bad!

However I have to disagree with the recalls being a normal part of the development lifecycle. This will be costing VW a silly amount of money and changing batteries on cars less than 3 months old... Come on, they've messed up.

Would you rather they didn’t get them back in for an update and better 12v battery?

I‘m sure that VW wouldn’t want to be replacing batteries and have to pay dealers to perform software updates, but they are where they are.

Not all cars will need a 12v battery, more recent cars won’t need one as it will already have been fitted. There is one module that needs a hard connection and firmware update, one VW had decided would never need to be OTA capable, that now will need to accept OTA updates from v3.0 onwards and that’s the reason earlier cars are coming in.

Save

6652

· #12 · 11 mo ago

prabhu said:
Cars come with so many connected and standby features that are killing the 12V battery. At least my Tesla came with a li-ion battery that gets automatically topped up from the high voltage pack as and when needed.

ID model 12v batteries all get topped up from the high voltage pack as well, this isn’t some Tesla exclusive technology. 😂

I’ve had no 12v issues on the ID.3 or now the ID.4 GTX, although some people have, and I welcome VW fitting a more ‘robust’ 12v that should cover how everybody is using the vehicle.

I work in military aviation, fixing stuff is normal on complex kit, Tesla do it themselves when they rollout a botched OTA update, they just take a ‘fix it fast’ approach even if that means removing features whilst they work on it.

Save

Reactions: 2

6652

· #13 · 11 mo ago

WattCar? said:
On the contrary, this is obviously one of the main benefits to purchasing a new vehicle (warranty).

My point was in reference to this being 'perfectly normal'. Like I said, my ID4 is less than 3 months old and a recall at this stage is simply embarrassing for VW and a massive inconvenience to their customers. Who funny enough, were sold the line of less moving parts, less things to go wrong etc so yet more ammunition for ICE drivers to fire away with 🤷‍♂️

Clearly not the end of the world, just not a great look given the timeline that we've all had to wait to get to this stage.

The primary reason for the recall is the firmware update of a module/s that can’t be updated over the air, for whatever reason. The 12v battery won’t be required on every car.

Maybe it’s the field I work in, but I don’t see the revision of components or the rectification of known problems as a failure or embarrassing, in fact it’s the least I expect.

I was an early adopter of the i3, BMW recalled that a few times for me, and it was a better car when I sold it than it was when I purchased it. 👍

Save

Reactions: 2

6652

· #15 · 11 mo ago

WattCar? said:
That's a fair comment.

For greenhorns like myself, maybe this should be communicated by the dealerships perhaps? That the car could be out of action for 1/2 days at multiple points throughout the year for software updates? It may seem trivial to many, but for a single car households this isn't as straight forward as it may seem.

That’s also fair comment, but the update comes with a promise to provide a car to keep you mobile, so that hit should be sorted.

My Nov 2020 ID.3 had to go in for the 2.1 update, they had it 2 days and it was straightforward. I’ve only had the GTX just over 3 months and so a bit surprised that it needs to go in for 2.4 already, but as long as it comes out better than it went in I’ll be happy enough.

I’m told it should be done in a day, but I’ve got the option of picking it up after 2 as it suits me better. I hope to report a smooth process, mind is the first one they’ll have done apparently. 😳

Save

Reactions: 1

6652

· #18 · 11 mo ago

TomH said:
First one, eh?

The very best of luck! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

I’m formally accepting the role of SpeakEV ID Update canary, hopefully I won’t fall off the perch…

Save

Reactions: 3

6652

· #31 · 11 mo ago

d3rx said:
🙂 just picked up mine, new batteries (I’ve marked it before it went in) went in to the system information still shows 2.3.0 - 🤔

Thats correct, as long as it says ‘0912’ a line or two below it, then it’s 2.4.

The next updates will show the actual software at the top as well.

Save

6652

· #46 · 10 mo ago

hblast said:
Lookers of Guildford kindly did the 2.4 software update for me today. They wanted it in the night before so that the technician (who is an early riser) could start the update at 6:30am.
Thankfully it seems to have worked ok.
The system has now offered me a further new update over the air, but it seems to have got stuck about 2/3 of the way through.
It tells me that the update will pause if I leave the car … but run in the background when I’m in the car.
I thought that the idea of these updates was you could leave them running overnight when the car is empty?
View attachment 164864

I got that one pop up today, same as yours, didn’t seem to progress beyond 2/3 of the way.

I wouldn’t sweat it though, it will sort itself out, and install when ready. It downloads when you’re using the car, and will install/update when you exit the vehicle.

Save

1 - 7 of 64 Posts

Top Contributors this Month