ID.3 rear speakers (was about Kufatech, but moved on)

44904 Views 201 Replies 30 Participants Last post by Ivan Tenerife, Feb 3, 2022

loggamatt

Discussion Starter · Feb 8, 2021

I can't remember who, but someone linked to the Kufatech rear speakers on another thread and I was just wondering if anyone knows much about it? If it wasn't for the pandemic I'd be tempted to drive over to Germany to be the donor car, but as that's not possible I'm wondering how easy it's likely to be to get someone in the UK to fit these for me?

The page has this note,

"At the moment, the respective control unit must be unlocked for a limited time before using the dongle. This must be done by a workshop with valid GEKO access."

What does this mean? Does that mean only a VW dealer would be able to do it? Presumably they wouldn't do it though as they'd grumble about the warranty? I guess what I'm asking is, what are the chances of me finding someone who could fit these in the UK, and what sort of person should I be looking for? VW dealer? Car audio specialist? etc.

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loggamatt

Discussion Starter · #161 · Mar 16, 2021 (Edited)

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I honestly think I may just give up on the whole thing and live with it. The attitude from my dealer seemed to be words to the effect of "if we notice any new wiring or coding anywhere at all your warranty is toast"

Even if I just upgraded the front door speakers or centre speaker with higher quality equivalents, which as Kansalis says is the least 'detectable' option, I'm not sure that would give me what I'm looking for. My main issue isn't quality/volume, it's soundstage. I miss having the sound coming at me from the back and the front. Anything I did to fix that would probably be detectable wiring and/or detectable coding.

Not totally given up on my dealer yet though - that was just their first thoughts. Maybe they'll have better news for me about VW solutions when I pick my car up.

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ElliotViola

· #162 · Mar 16, 2021

Minor Update:

I've booked my audio guy to upgrade my front speakers and tweeters with JL Audio C5s in April. Will be leaving the back until a later date, hopefully VW sort that out themselves.

Reactions: 2

jeffUK

· #163 · Mar 16, 2021

Be interested to know how straight forward a swap it is @ElliotViola.

I’m presuming - if fitted - the rears are single coaxial speakers?

Is there any idea of sizes for front and rears?

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ElliotViola

· #164 · Mar 26, 2021

Hiya! Update again, I've had 2.1 now and had some answers from the tech guys at my dealership.

My audio upgrade is booked for April 5th, I'm doing front speakers only. VW technician confirmed it shouldn't void my warranty.

So the tech guy I spoke with said if the "5S unit" has a rear audio channel, if you plug rear speakers into it the car should recognise them? Can anyone dispute that here?

jeffUK said:
Be interested to know how straight forward a swap it is @ElliotViola.

I’m presuming - if fitted - the rears are single coaxial speakers?

Is there any idea of sizes for front and rears?

I believe it's 6.5in front speakers, though I may be wrong. My audio guy is replacing the tweeters and front door speakers with JL C5's.

Reactions: 1

6652

· #165 · Mar 26, 2021

ElliotViola said:
So the tech guy I spoke with said if the "5S unit" has a rear audio channel, if you plug rear speakers into it the car should recognise them? Can anyone dispute that here?

I did some fiddling with my 4.1 system in the 1st, and whilst there are terminals for rear speakers on the infotainment unit, they did nothing when I plugged speakers into them. I couldn’t detect any signs of life with a multimeter either, suggesting the rears have to be software activated in some way.

Be interesting to see what your upgrade turns out like anyway. 👍

Reactions: 1

loggamatt

Discussion Starter · #166 · Mar 27, 2021

ElliotViola said:
Hiya! Update again, I've had 2.1 now and had some answers from the tech guys at my dealership.

My audio upgrade is booked for April 5th, I'm doing front speakers only. VW technician confirmed it shouldn't void my warranty.

So the tech guy I spoke with said if the "5S unit" has a rear audio channel, if you plug rear speakers into it the car should recognise them? Can anyone dispute that here?

I believe it's 6.5in front speakers, though I may be wrong. My audio guy is replacing the tweeters and front door speakers with JL C5's.

Which dealership out of interest? My dealer's response is a slightly more customer-focused worded (but only slightly) version of "nope, no chance. If you wanted rear speakers, should have bought one with rear speakers. Anything you try to do to add them won't work, and even if it does will void your warranty and set your car on fire."

So if your dealer manage to figure it out, I might be willing to drive to wherever in the country that is to have them do it to my car too.

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stu-EVs

· #167 · Mar 27, 2021

I notice that Kufatech have updated their website and now seem to have found out the coding that’s required....they’re selling the speakers, plug n play wiring looms, and coding on a dongle for €299. The only downside is that they haven’t worked out a way through the module security yet - so effectively you’d have to get a dealer or big vag independent to open the module for you (probably charge you £50) then apply the dongle.

It’s a positive step....once the dongle gets out into the market I’m sure it won’t be long before the coding steps become listed somewhere!

ElliotViola

· #168 · Mar 27, 2021

loggamatt said:
Which dealership out of interest? My dealer's response is a slightly more customer-focused worded (but only slightly) version of "nope, no chance. If you wanted rear speakers, should have bought one with rear speakers. Anything you try to do to add them won't work, and even if it does will void your warranty and set your car on fire."

So if your dealer manage to figure it out, I might be willing to drive to wherever in the country that is to have them do it to my car too.

Oh god, that's frustrating. I'm being seen by Citygate Twickenham, it's a Seat dealership now but is a VW authorised repair shop. It used to be a VW dealership under inchcape but was bought out.

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loggamatt

Discussion Starter · #169 · Mar 27, 2021

stu-EVs said:
I notice that Kufatech have updated their website and now seem to have found out the coding that’s required....they’re selling the speakers, plug n play wiring looms, and coding on a dongle for €299. The only downside is that they haven’t worked out a way through the module security yet - so effectively you’d have to get a dealer or big vag independent to open the module for you (probably charge you £50) then apply the dongle.

It’s a positive step....once the dongle gets out into the market I’m sure it won’t be long before the coding steps become listed somewhere!

I had a quick look on a German forum the other day and people are saying that the software updates reverse the Kufatech coding for their reversing camera kit, so it all has to be recoded again each time. So speculation is that it would be the same for rear speakers

M C Williams

· #170 · Mar 27, 2021

Has anybody had a look at this make? Component kit 165 AS - Focal

I don't know if any of the kits fits the needs of improving the sound system.

loggamatt

Discussion Starter · #171 · Mar 27, 2021

M C Williams said:
Has anybody had a look at this make? Component kit 165 AS - Focal

I don't know if any of the kits fits the needs of improving the sound system.

If I do still get the audio upgraded, most likely way of doing it for me will be this amp/sub combination from Focal, running to new rear speakers.

I don't think I'd bother just upgrading the front speakers to better quality versions as the issue with the sound for me is the lack of a soundstage with it all coming at you from one direction. Just improving those existing front speakers wouldn't change that.

jeffUK

· #172 · Mar 27, 2021

@ElliotViola Would you mind saying which audio specialist you're dealing with, the prices you've been quoted for installing the C5s seem very good!

stu-EVs

· #173 · Mar 27, 2021

loggamatt said:
I had a quick look on a German forum the other day and people are saying that the software updates reverse the Kufatech coding for their reversing camera kit, so it all has to be recoded again each time. So speculation is that it would be the same for rear speakers

Ah, that’s interesting....

So, back to square one really then - reliant on VW themselves creating a retrofit code for ODIS so that it amends the vehicle configuration on VW servers. My guy at VW has said he’s going to keep his ear to the ground and will shout if/when he hears anything!

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No_Petrol_Now

· #174 · Mar 27, 2021

Not wishing to stoke the rear speaker quest and inflame it any further but see quote below that I lifted from FaceBook which amongst other the things, gives a view on the rear speakers coming from a MAX to a base model ID3 (Does not say which series model) as loan car:

Okay, a lot of me today, sorry people
So, the dealership is trying to unbrick my Max (cue Toni Braxton) and has given me a base model ID.3 as a courtesy car.
Which gave me a first chance to compare models within the range.
And I have to say I hadn't realized just how much better the max feels.
Big things so far (other than the darkness given no glass roof)...
The seats?
Manual adjustment, weirdly scratchy fabric, felt very much like a cost cutting option
No rear speakers?
Took me 5 mins to figure out why the sound was off, I thought that losing BEATS was bad, radio that sounds like it did in a 1983 Ford Cortina is actually properly poor.
No Traffic Assist?
The ACC / Lane Control system feels pretty primitive in comparison, I'd not really understood why so many people had complained out the system vs. others in the VW range. I do now.
HUD / AR
I just missed this, it's not essential but it's been the unique part of my ID.3 experience to date. The one thing that made the car special.
The Boot / Trunk
Without the false floor it feels bigger but also just unfinished... there's lots there that just seems a bit open and exposed and not quite carpeted.
Overall there's a feeling that rather than elevating the Max. VW started with what you might need, priced that crazily and then just slashed their way down the options list to get to a price - and that in some instances they ruined the feel and fun of the car. The Max has a little personality, what I have downstairs now is more of an appliance
In favour of the base model though is the fact that it's on 2.1, isn't bricked for the 2nd time and isn't sitting in a workshop over the weekend with its brains hanging out.
Anyone else been driving across the spec range? I'd be really interested to hear where you think they managed "lagom"

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No_Petrol_Now

· #175 · Mar 27, 2021

loggamatt said:
If I do still get the audio upgraded, most likely way of doing it for me will be this amp/sub combination from Focal, running to new rear speakers.

Outwith an approved VW upgrade, the addition of an after market 2.1 sound expansion will be a very neet solution of adding rear speakers and Sub. It will also be immune to any future VW software upgrades.

@loggamatt : The dimensions of the unit look slightly too big for the boot SW well though.-Have you landed on a physical location?

loggamatt

Discussion Starter · #176 · Mar 27, 2021

No_Petrol_Now said:
Outwith an approved VW upgrade, the addition of an after market 2.1 sound expansion will be a very neet solution of adding rear speakers and Sub. It will also be immune to any future VW software upgrades.

@loggamatt : The dimensions of the unit look slightly too big for the boot SW well though.-Have you landed on a physical location?

Well, if I do it (and more below on why I might not), I’m thinking of just having it under the false boot floor. I might ask the installers whether they can come up with some kind of quick disconnect mounting of it so that on the rare occasions I need the whole boot capacity, I can remove it myself relatively easily.

The reason I might not do it - other than cost - is that my dealer were really hard line “if 3rd parties do anything at all then wave goodbye to your warranty” about this stuff when I talked to them. They said that even just tapping into the analogue output from the factory head unit is a modification that might mean I’d void my warranty for all kinds of things.

Maybe they were just trying to scare me out of doing it, but if they were, then it kinda worked!

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Monkeyhanger

· #177 · Mar 27, 2021

loggamatt said:
Well, if I do it (and more below on why I might not), I’m thinking of just having it under the false boot floor. I might ask the installers whether they can come up with some kind of quick disconnect mounting of it so that on the rare occasions I need the whole boot capacity, I can remove it myself relatively easily.

The reason I might not do it - other than cost - is that my dealer were really hard line “if 3rd parties do anything at all then wave goodbye to your warranty” about this stuff when I talked to them. They said that even just tapping into the analogue output from the factory head unit is a modification that might mean I’d void my warranty for all kinds of things.

Maybe they were just trying to scare me out of doing it, but if they were, then it kinda worked!

I think adding rear speakers toasting your warranty is an extreme view from the dealership. They'd have to demonstrate that your addition had caused a fault that wouldn't have otherwise happened. Is anyone's warranty going to be toast after adding a dash cam? I doubt it. I've had dashcams in my last 5 cars without issue from VW or Audi dealerships. I doubt the dealership would even notice you now had working rear speakers next time you're in for warranty or servicing if you don't involve them in the installation process.

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6652

· #178 · Mar 27, 2021

Monkeyhanger said:
I think adding rear speakers toasting your warranty is an extreme view from the dealership. They'd have to demonstrate that your addition had caused a fault that wouldn't have otherwise happened. Is anyone's warranty going to be toast after adding a dash cam? I doubt it. I've had dashcams in my last 5 cars without issue from VW or Audi dealerships. I doubt the dealership would even notice you now had working rear speakers next time you're in for warranty or servicing if you don't involve them in the installation process.

I agree, it’s an extreme view.

I had an ABT remap on an old S3, Audi confirmed that the engine/turbo and drivetrain warranty would be toasted, and the ECU that was mapped of course, but if for example a headlight or other unrelated item failed then it would still be covered.

Ok, there wasn’t a lot left to cover, but the principal is well established I think.

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loggamatt

Discussion Starter · #179 · Mar 27, 2021

Yeah, but I guess the fact that they still can't figure out what exactly is wrong with my ID.3 nearly 2 weeks into the software update process means it isn't impossible that at some future date, if my ID.3 were to be bricked again, they might eventually use 3rd party modifications as a way to weasel out of figuring out the problem.

I might just wait to see how stable the software seems to be when (if??) they finally update it to 2.1. If it feels to me like it could be back at the dealer for software issues regularly over the next few years I'll probably avoid any 3rd party audio modifications just in case.

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6652

· #180 · Mar 27, 2021

loggamatt said:
Yeah, but I guess the fact that they still can't figure out what exactly is wrong with my ID.3 nearly 2 weeks into the software update process means it isn't impossible that at some future date, if my ID.3 were to be bricked again, they might eventually use 3rd party modifications as a way to weasel out of figuring out the problem.

I might just wait to see how stable the software seems to be when (if??) they finally update it to 2.1. If it feels to me like it could be back at the dealer for software issues regularly over the next few years I'll probably avoid any 3rd party audio modifications just in case.

Yes, I don’t blame you for being cautious, I would be as well.

I think you’ll find 2.1 restores your confidence, mine is still fine, and I’m almost at the point that the next time it warms me of an error, I’ll be inclined to believe it!

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