Originally Posted by
cogdoc
Having had a go with this site, here's a few tips to make the most of your time there.
First, read the FAQ section. Main point is you need to run Windows 2000 or XP only. Doesn't work with Vista.
Second you need to use Explorer, Acrobat and download an "unsealer" plugin found in the FAQ section. Had me confused for a while.
Sign up and pay your Euro's.
You can do a " vehicle identification" search on your actual VIN, and get a list of all the things it has. Makes sense of the option codes on your VIN sticker in the Service section of your manual. This you can save as a normal PDF.
The rest of the documents you can save, but they are an encrypted version, so once your time runs out, that's it. Printing stuff out is the only real option.
Have your VIN sticker and or car details handy, as everything is organised by codes. The MKV Golf for example is the 1K1 code etc.
The site is rather slow, and drops out a bit, so make sure you allow some decent time if you want to make the most of your money. Have a laser printer and a good 500 plus pack of paper handy. Recycled of course. "Engine" is about 250 pages long iteslf, and covers a few similar varients. I printed these out as 4 to a page, and went through and printed the main pictures and interesting parts full size.
The first step is to "search" your cars type by year. As an example all the MKV Golf's are grouped together as "golf / golf plus / golf varient..."
From there you can select subsections such as Engine, Electrics, Body etc.
From here it starts getting a bit tricky. Taking "Engine" as an example, you are presented with a list, and there are several similar "looking" diesels as an example. Look for your cars code and move the mouse over the "type key" column to show the car it relates to. For a golf you want "2004-2007 golf". The "golf plus" is a similar but differently styled car. "Golf varient" can be you also...it gets tricky like I said. I actually printed the engine section for the "golf plus" but it seems identical to the standard golf. Be aware.
The first column with the "i" in a circle pops up a index summary of the article. Useful about 50% of the time. Make sure your pop up blocker is off!
The article itself is the third column, and the last column, the " MKB / GKB" column again needs the mouse moved over it to display the hidden codes. I had trouble at first finding the code for the GT diesel engine "BMN", but moving the mouse solved that. Problem is "BMN" as an example shows up in a few cars, but on inspection is all the same. Try and use just the docs that relate to your car, such as "1K1" for the MK5 Golf.
The "unsealer" slowly loads the document, and this can take a while, especially for the 2000 plus page electrical documents!
Once I got the hang of it, it's pretty quick to use. A major plus is the self learning section, where you can download the "self study programs" the service mechanics would go through. I printed a lot of stuff out, but there's one specifically on the DPF, the 125 kw TDI, DSG, anything you would want. Will solve a lot of stuff we speculate about on the forums!
Awesome stuff, I've a lot of reading!
The Repair and Maintainence sections pertain the service lists and how to charge for them, so pretty much a waste of time. I spent my time downloading engine, trans, body and some electrical stuff - the sort of thing you are more likely to need.
In all use your browser buttons if it drops out, or tells you it's too busy, or gives you an error screen at the final document stage. I found it sorts itself out pretty quickly on a second attempt if this happens.
So in all, one day is enough to get a ton of info, but go in ready, and be prepared to spend a lot of time in front of the computer!
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