VCDS Warranty Effect

**Kesh** · 09-06-2014, 09:18 PM

Hey guys,

Apologies if this has been discussed before, I did a search on the forums as well as google before I posted this and couldn't find any information (Australia Specific).

My parents helped me buy a Mk7 Golf recently, and I heard about being able to make little changes to the car via VCDS. I asked my local dealer (Moorabbin Barloworld) about making changes and I got the obvious answer of "it will void your warranty".

When they say that it voids the warranty, I'm assuming it's going to be anything "electrical" related, but even still, I find it odd that they can void my warranty, albeit just electrical, if I'm essentially enabling features that a higher end model has, like the dipping mirrors.

I've also heard that if the warranty claim is rejected because of a "modification" that has been made, it is up to the DEALER to prove that the modification was actually at fault. If this is true, who mediates this? and is there any written evidence of this law/rule? (ACCC website or something?)

I just cannot see how a basic VCDS modification, can cause problems to a point where it can cause issues to which you need to take the car in for repairs.

Basically I'm asking this because, in essence, it's my parents car I want to make these changes to, and I do not want this to cause any trouble in the future, should something go wrong with the car. I just want to know how safe I am if I make changes such as; Dipping mirrors on reverse, needle sweeping, 4-5 clicks on indicating lane change...

Thank you guys in advance for your replies!

**brad** · 10-06-2014, 08:43 AM

It won't void warranty. You aren't modifying, you are enabling switched off factory features. It's actually less invasive than if you paid the dealership to fit an OEM accessory

Keep in mind that dealers generally don't know what VCDS is & won't / can't use the VW scan tool to enable other features.

I doubt you'll get mirror dipping to work unless you have electric seats.

Comfort indicator # of clicks is avilable via the MFD on that model isn't it?

The best advice I can give is to take backups of your config, make one change at a time & make sure it works without any side effects before making another change.

Also, don't tell the dealer that you've made any changes. As far as your concerned it came from VW like that.

**Kesh** · 10-06-2014, 11:22 AM

Alright that's pleasing to hear. That's what I thought initially as well.

Mirror dipping is a feature on the model above mine, which I don't believe has electric seats. Furthermore, there are people who have the base model like myself who have had it done, so I think it's definitely possible.

I'm not aware of the ability to view, let alone change the amount of clicks actually, maybe I missed it in the manual. I'll give it a quick google too and see what comes up, I'm not too sure I can though.

If I ever do any of these modifications, it'll be through someone else I think, so I'll make sure they perform a backup. Do specialist VW garages generally do these sorts of modifications?

**Snail Style** · 10-06-2014, 05:47 PM

Mate, dealer won't notice anything. Worst case scenario it will throw an incorrect coding error which will still not void your warranty.

I'm located over in Sunshine, work for a dealer and also do some work from home. So far I have been able to enable the full brake lights(outer+inner), traffic reports, carbon background and a few other bits on the MK7, if you need anything enabled just drop me a PM.