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

8977 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!)

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WattCar?

Discussion Starter · #5 · 11 mo ago

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.

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WattCar?

Discussion Starter · #10 · 11 mo ago

Tooks said:
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.

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.

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WattCar?

Discussion Starter · #14 · 11 mo ago

Tooks said:
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. 👍

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.

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WattCar?

Discussion Starter · #21 · 11 mo ago

Briggo said:
Is this your first new car?

Happy clappers out in force this morning

I've been on the VW band wagon with new cars for over a decade, first EV though.

I've clearly been very lucky to have never had multiple call backs going off this thread 👀 For what it's worth, I'm in love with my ID4 aha. Just never expected to be sending her back so often!

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