Obscure Features

[Hillbilly]

Another thing i have done is when I open the door my seat slides back to make it easier to get out and when I get in and put the key in it slides up to normal position. My indicators are set on 5 and would prefer iton 3 or 4 actually.

[3C4M Guy]

On the note of indicators, with the comfort indicating (Just tap it to make it flash three times) two cool things about that. One is if you want you can set it to be five times in VCDS if you have a cable, and two is if you comfort indicate again while it's doing it, it resets the timer for another three. So mid lane change you decide it's taking a bit long and you want to indicate more just tap it again. Not exciting but since it was brought up already, I figured I'd mention it.

That's interesting about being able to use VCDS to change the comfort setting from 3 to 5 flashes. Also good to know you can reactivate for another 3. Generally I like the feature but just occasionally when I activate accidentally, I wish I could stop the flashing before it gets to 3.

[Jakeys]

Another thing i have done is when I open the door my seat slides back to make it easier to get out and when I get in and put the key in it slides up to normal position. My indicators are set on 5 and would prefer iton 3 or 4 actually.

Yeah, VCDS you can set it to 3, or maybe even in the convenience menu in the MFD, double check there too. And the door seat slide thing I also have activated with VCDS, as well as my windows and sunroof closing when it detects rain. (Unbelievable that isn't stock, guess they weren't convinced they could always rely on it.)

[kleung]

I had the car years and was always frustrated that the Climatronic unit had to be switched on in order to get some fresh air flow. Some days you don't want heat or cooling - just nice filtered air from outside. I must have been bored enough to read the manual one day and discovered that pushing the lower right ECON button turns off the air con and allows fresh air from outside. A bit like a 60s car with a knob to pull called “VENT”!

With the MY09 update (two dial climatronic), they went back to the standard AC button - I know the MkV Golfs and the early B6 Passats had the 'Econ' button instead of an 'AC' button, where the operation was reversed - light on = AC off.

I usually just leave my climatronic on fan speed 1, AC off, temp set to 'low', recirc on auto, and air flow either to face or floor+windscreen.

What do you mean by self adjusting perpetually backlit instruments?

Not sure about the early B6es, but the instrument cluster fitted to MY09+ B6es (white MFD) have dials that have variable automatic backlighting that operates even with the headlights off. If you are driving into the sunset in the late afternoon for example, the backlighting cranks right up to improve the contrast of the dials.

It's most noticeable when you go from a brightly lit environment into somewhere dark, like an underground car park - you can see the backlight on the dials fading out.

From memory they also light up dimly when you first turn the ignition on - again you can see this if you go to start the car in a dark environment without the headlight switch in the 'off' position.

With the cruise control, initially I thought it sucked until I figured the 1km/h trick out.

The +/-10km/h function is clever - the first push up or down rounds up or down to the nearest 10km/h increment, which is very handy when you're out on the open road and have to slow down from highway speeds as you pass through towns.

You can also preset the speed while the cruise control disengaged, so when you pull the lever for 'resume', it goes to whatever your new set speed is.

On the note of indicators, with the comfort indicating (Just tap it to make it flash three times) two cool things about that.

The full flash thing I mentioned works even if comfort indicators are disabled.

One is if you want you can set it to be five times in VCDS if you have a cable

That's a little uncool actually - I'm somewhat disappointed that VW didn't make that a menu item - Holden have managed to do this in the VF Commodore, but in the VW it's either on or off.

Interesting. My MY10.5 doesn't work like this, if you just switch the whole system off with the OFF button, you still get air filtering in. I think you have to switch it off the face vents first before you turn the system off, but I could be wrong about that, it's been a while.

When you press the 'off' button on climate control systems, I typically find that it simply turns the fan and AC off, and leaves everything else where it was - heater mixer flap position, air direction, recirc setting etc. So if you were getting warm air out of the vents when you pressed 'off', you'd still continue to get warm air, just without fan boost.

More clever stuff:

I've noticed is that the auto headlights are smart enough to know the difference between passing under a bridge, and going into a tunnel. It's still responsive enough so that my HIDs are on and warmed up by the time it gets dark enough in a tunnel for the headlights to make a difference, but they don't switch on every time I go under a bridge on the freeway. Lexus/Toyota, I'm looking at you.

They're also smart enough to recalibrate themselves to come on in lighter conditions during wet weather - I don't know the exact criteria, but as I understand it, if the headlights are in auto mode, they will come on if the wipers operate more than 5 times a minute, or something along those lines.

An emergency lock barrel is hidden under a cover on the driver's door handle, and is operated using the removable emergency key in the key cartridge. The same removable emergency key can be used as a lever to open the fuse box cover.

The radio can be operated even without the ignition on.

When you have the back seat squabs folded forward, you can attach the retractable vertical cargo blind to it, and there are slots in the roof lining to which you can hook the blind.

In terms of build quality - the body is assembled with laser seam welding (vs spot welding commonly used by other manufacturers), and the door hinges are forged steel (as opposed to pressed steel hinges). The B6 and B7 wagon's tailgates use pressed steel hinges, but starting from the B8, even the tailgate hinges are forged steel.

[Jakeys]

I tried quoting inline to your post but there's so much detail, it became a mess so I'll just chuck all my replies in and hope it makes sense.

Climatronic notes: I don't think the upgraded climatronic came in until MY10 or MY10.5? But the behaviour you're describing is accurate.

Instrument lighting: Not sure this is accurate. I have an MY10.5 with white MFD and mine doesn't have this feature. If it is sunset and I have my headlight switch to off, the dials will become unreadable until I turn the parkers on, when it then goes to whatever brightness I set with the brightness dial. The needles are always lit but the dials are not lit until I turn the parkers on and then they're just lit to where I tell them to be.

Cruise stuff: Agreed with everything you said, it's a great system. Same with the indicators, and the auto headlights not turning on instantly for tunnels, I think that must just be a timed delay. Good to know they work in unison with the wipers. All this little engineering, signs of a well designed car. On not being able to change the comfort indicator numbers in the MFD menu, double check, I could be wrong. I haven't adjusted any of those settings since I bought the car and the VCDS cable. Although I did turn two stage locking (Driver's door unlocks on first press remaining doors on second press) off when I got a girlfriend, haha. Cause I kept having to press it twice for her door to unlock.

Emergency lock and radio when car off I knew, although with the radio, you must use the head unit, the steering wheel controls won't work until ignition is on. I didn't think to use the key as a lever for the fuse box but surely that's a coincidence? Remember the car also comes with a screwdriver in the back as well with the tyre jacking tools.

Knew about the blind being able to be attached with the seats forward, didn't know about the welding stuff, that's cool.

I'll add some more details after all that great stuff from kleung. Did you know:

1. When you turn the car off or on, the fuel and temperature gauges no matter where they are always hit zero or their marks at the same time? So if your temp is at 90 but your fuel is at 100% and thus fuel gauge has twice as far to travel, it will move twice as quickly so they both hit zero at the same time. Blew my mind when I noticed, such a tiny feature that would have to have been coded meticulously by a programmer for such minimal gain.

2. On some cars, with VCDS, you can enable "Needle staging" on startup. It doesn't seem to be related to model year as my MY10.5 can't do it but someone else's on here they were able to enable. It is tied to the instrument cluster so if you replace that part, the new one may support it. See a video here. Note also you can see my previous note about the needles working too, his fuel gauge moves way quicker so they both stop in unison.

3. If you have a trailer plugged in, auto tailgate disables itself and you have to manually lift the tailgate, so that it doesn't hit your trailer by accident!

I'm sure I can come up with more later!

[snerlo]

Just further to the self parking wipers, have you noticed that they sometimes flinch one you turn the car on? That's because they flip the wiper over so that the wipers when they are at rest, don't constantly have the wiper "folded" one way. It flips the blade over so that it is "folded" the other way. It prolongs the life of the blades unlike normal cars where your wiper blades might be folded one way for months before you have to use them and they sort of stay in that shape because they have been sitting out in the sun and get baked because they are rubber. Another great little feature.

[kleung]

I tried quoting inline to your post but there's so much detail, it became a mess so I'll just chuck all my replies in and hope it makes sense.

Yeah sorry, I tend to get carried away with the details.

Climatronic notes: I don't think the upgraded climatronic came in until MY10 or MY10.5? But the behaviour you're describing is accurate.

You could be right - there was an overlap where some white MFD-equipped Passats still got the older three-dial Climatronic panel.

Instrument lighting: Not sure this is accurate. I have an MY10.5 with white MFD and mine doesn't have this feature. If it is sunset and I have my headlight switch to off, the dials will become unreadable until I turn the parkers on, when it then goes to whatever brightness I set with the brightness dial. The needles are always lit but the dials are not lit until I turn the parkers on and then they're just lit to where I tell them to be.

I just went out to my car (MY10.5 like yours) and re-checked it for myself - have a go with your car. Dark environment, headlight switch at 'off' position. Insert key to 'on' position, without starting the engine - the instrument cluster should be dimly lit. It will fade to 'off' if you start the car. I think the idea is that the darkened dials with contrasting lit needles become a subtle hint to the driver that you should probably have your headlights on.

If you have a torch, shine it into the tacho - the backlighting should rise quickly to full brightness.

Remove the torch, and the backlight will slowly fade back to its previous brightness.

On not being able to change the comfort indicator numbers in the MFD menu, double check, I could be wrong. I haven't adjusted any of those settings since I bought the car and the VCDS cable.

I just did - the comfort indicators setting is either 'on' or 'off' on my car.

I didn't think to use the key as a lever for the fuse box but surely that's a coincidence? Remember the car also comes with a screwdriver in the back as well with the tyre jacking tools.

It's possible that it's a coincidence (correlation doesn't necessarily equal causation and all that) - but the lever hole for the fuse box is almost exactly the right size for the key blade.

Knew about the blind being able to be attached with the seats forward, didn't know about the welding stuff, that's cool.

VW get plenty of stuff wrong, but they get oh so much right as well. The combination of features, technology and attention to detail is something you'd expect from a much higher-priced car than the Passat. There are signs of cost-cutting, like the collapsing R36 seat bolsters and the hard plastics below elbow height, but things like alcantara/microfibre seat upholstery, inflatable seat bolsters, rear thorax airbags and rear seat heaters are not features you expect to see at this price point. In the B8, you even get tri-zone air conditioning.

1. When you turn the car off or on, the fuel and temperature gauges no matter where they are always hit zero or their marks at the same time? So if your temp is at 90 but your fuel is at 100% and thus fuel gauge has twice as far to travel, it will move twice as quickly so they both hit zero at the same time. Blew my mind when I noticed, such a tiny feature that would have to have been coded meticulously by a programmer for such minimal gain.

That's awesome. I'll have to keep an eye out for that the next time I'm out and about.

2. On some cars, with VCDS, you can enable "Needle staging" on startup. It doesn't seem to be related to model year as my MY10.5 can't do it but someone else's on here they were able to enable.

Most B7 Passats had this enabled by default I think. My sister's B7 118TSI does it.

I'm sure I can come up with more later!

I have a couple more, although some fall under the heading of 'clever' or 'unusual' rather than 'obscure':

• Inflatable front seat bolsters on the R36.
• Oil temperature readout in the trip computer - so you know when the engine is properly warmed up and you can start giving it the berries.
• The fan on the Climatronic does not come on until the engine is running.
• For HID-equipped B6es, the startup self-test 'dance' also doesn't happen until the engine is running.
• Remote open/close the windows - double-press and hold the lock or unlock buttons on the remote to raise or lower all four windows. I don't have a sunroof so I don't know if it also opens and closes with the remote.
• If you press the lock button on the key to lock the car, and then press it again within about 2 seconds, the deadlocks disengage - the doors remain locked, but can be opened from inside the vehicle normally by just pulling the door handles.
• The aircon compressor is a variable output type, which means that a) you don't get that variation in idle revs as the compressor cycles on and off, and b) you don't get the unpleasant temperature variation in vent air temperature as the compressor cycles on and off. This technology is fairly commonplace now, but back in 2006, it was really only available in high-end cars.
• The B8 Passat gets three sets of trip computer data readouts - per trip, per tank and long term. The per-trip readouts reset after the car sits idle for more than a couple of hours. The per-tank readouts reset when the fuel filler door is opened, and the long term readouts are manually reset.
• You can set a maximum starting volume on the stereo, so you if you were listening to loud music on the last trip, you don't get your eardrums blown out the next time you go to start your car.
• The factory fitted parking sensors beep at different pitches so you know just by listening when it's beeping for the front sensors or the rear sensors.
• If you're stationary and the sensors have been beeping continuously for more than about 30 seconds, the volume of the beeps is reduced automatically so they're less irritating.
• Radio text function - on the RCD510 or higher in radio mode, you can turn on a setting so that the bottom half of the display shows basic data being broadcast by the radio stations, like weather information or the currently playing song title. For the B6, this feature is off by default - on the B7 and later it's on.
• Low engine oil level warning - most people with even a passing interest know that when the red oil idiot light comes on, it's already too late - the Passat has a sensor for oil level as well as oil pressure, so you get a warning if the oil level gets a bit low (yellow idiot light plus yellow peril warning in MFD), well before there's any risk of damage occurring.

Strictly speaking, the remote windows and deadlock functions are hardly uncommon these days (hell, my 1996 Holden Berlina had a manual deadlock and the VT Commodores had a remote operated deadlock), but you'd be surprised at how many people don't know about them.

Just further to the self parking wipers, have you noticed that they sometimes flinch one you turn the car on?

On mine, if the wipers have been in use, the arms lift slightly when I turn the ignition off.

[Jakeys]

You might be right about the lights on the cluster dimming, I just thought it didn't because I know if my lights are off and it's dark I can't see the numbers but on thinking about it what you're describing it would do.

On the windows, yeah it will close the sunroof on hold of lock however it will not open the sunroof if you hold open. Dunno why but they do it that way on purpose. The deadlock thing you describe explains the funny double chirp I get sometimes, I must be triggering that. The rest I knew and appreciate.

I guess one small bonus thing is any part of the leather seats that would rub on plastics is actually not leather like you would think but cloth to avoid noises. I thought it was cost cutting at first but I realised it's by design. And the seatbelt clips are all felt lined for the same reason. Just more evidence of smart thinking and attention to detail by VW.

Also there is a screwdriver in with the wheel jack. It looks like it's just Phillips head but the blade pulls out of it and it's actually reversible and is a flathead too. Has come in handy in a pinch to adjust a clamp in the engine bay! And if you buy the VW branded roadside assistance kit like I have you will get a ton of handy other **** as well including a generic brand version of a Leatherman. It's not very good but along with the mechanic's gloves, safety triangle, bandaids, ponchos, battery cables and a host of other ****, it makes the roadside kit accessory pretty cool!

[kleung]

1. When you turn the car off or on, the fuel and temperature gauges no matter where they are always hit zero or their marks at the same time?

I just noticed today that they also do the same thing going the other way, when you turn the ignition on.

The deadlock thing you describe explains the funny double chirp I get sometimes, I must be triggering that.

Yeah, the first press gets you a nice solid 'thunk', but if you press the lock button again to disengage the deadlocks, you get more of a 'shick' sound. It's the same sound you get if you open the tailgate while the doors are locked, and then shut it again.

And the seatbelt clips are all felt lined for the same reason. Just more evidence of smart thinking and attention to detail by VW.

I just looked at that today - that is way cool.

[Jakeys]

Another tiny detail. If you have a warning chime play (Fuel, low tyre pressure, or in my case seatbelt warning due to some weight on the passenger seat) the indicators don't make noise in the cabin until the chime stops! As in the typical "click... click" doesn't happen, the light just flashes.