Some questions about the MY12 GTI (aka - things I dislike about my GTI)

[starionx]

Had the car for 2 weeks and generally, I'm happy with it.

Questions about the MFD display.

1) The gear selector display seems pointless when it constantly tells you what gear it wants you to be in, rather than the gear you are in. Is there a way to change this?

2) The odometer display is replaced by a symbol that looks like a 'tacho' any time the car is in motion. Keeping in mind that I'm not using cruise control (which is the only symbol I can find in the manual that looks like it). Can anyone tell me what it means (or guide me to the page in the manual)?

3) The average fuel consumption (AFC) seems to reset itself everytime you start the car. Every other car I've driven, the AFC only resets if you do it manually. Again, this seems to be a pointless display. I mean who keeps track of what your fuel consumption is from drive to drive?! Anyway of changing it so that it is a static figure?

Questions in general

4) The other night it was raining so I couldn't open the windows. The windscreen completely fogged up. I tried all different A/C settings (high/low, cold/hot, blowing on the window/other directions) but nothing worked. Are there any secrets I should know about? I've never had this problem in other cars.

5) Is the GTI symbol on the back of the car glued on, or is it screwed in? I'd like to remove it. Can the symbol on the front grill be removed easily?

6) The clutch is so soft (I could probably press it with a finger). Is this normal?

[jords]

1. Nothing can be done AFAIK. It supposedly tells you what gear to be for the best economy. I just ignore it.
2. This is because you have the Cruise Control on. Flick the switch to the right, and this symbol goes away and replaced by the Odometer.
3. No. Just displays either your current fuel consumption (real time) or the average for the current trip.
4. Make sure the recycle air button is not set to manual. Never had this issue, but I have mine set to Auto.
5. Not sure. Guessing it's stuck on.
6. I guess it depends what you are comparing it too. Mine was light compared the previous car (Mini Cooper S), but now feels normal. Something you get used to. They are hydraulic, so compared to a cable clutch, it will be lighter.

Hope this helps clear up some of your questions about the MFD. The manual also explains the above MFD questions

[RyanoAU]

I'm sure there will be other suggestions, but my 2c for things that may not have been touched on by Jords:

3. Press enter (centre of the right-hand d-pad) on your steering wheel when looking at consumption. Alternates between a consumption that's per trip (automatically reset), and one that's reset by you (is a more traditional counter). Reset it by choosing your mode (1=Daily, 2=keeps going until you reset), and holding the enter button down.

4. Button to the far left of the AC unit, demister.

6. Maybe you're just a nuggetron, and have insanely powerful legs?

7. Probs worth reading the manual for these things...

[Brian]

RTFM? :wink

[Mi16 Man]

rtfm? :wink

rtfm ftw!

[starionx]

RTFM?

Pffft. I did. The manual is the same for 1000 different models in 100 different countries. This means that the car you have may, or may not have the feature they are talking about.

3. Press enter (centre of the right-hand d-pad) on your steering wheel when looking at consumption. Alternates between a consumption that's per trip (automatically reset), and one that's reset by you (is a more traditional counter). Reset it by choosing your mode (1=Daily, 2=keeps going until you reset), and holding the enter button down.

Thank you very much.
Too bad the manual doesn't mention being able to switch between the 2.

2. This is because you have the Cruise Control on. Flick the switch to the right, and this symbol goes away and replaced by the Odometer.

Ok. You got me there. Somehow I managed to switch the Cruise control on. Of course, I was expecting to find a black and white image in the manual (like the one on my MFD) not a green image. Silly me.

I guess when you have so many options available to change, there is bound to be something you miss when you first start out.

I'll try some of the other suggestions as well. Thanks.

[Ryan_R]

My manual discussed point 3. iirc #1 is for the current trip only, however if you only stop for a few minutes (say to fill up with petrol) and then continue it counts both journeys as one trip. Only if you've stopped for 20mins+ do the #1 statistics reset. As mentioned the #2 stats are an average for all your trips unless you hold down the OK button to reset them all, or disconnect the battery. In the MFD Settings you can turn on/off various stats depending on how useful they are to you.

[Lucas_R]

I agree that the owners manual is largely useless for these little things as it covers all 400 Golf variants in 37,000,000 countries and doesn't give you all the details.

The GTI badge on the rear is stuck on with double sided foam tape. If you want to remove it, the easiest way is to use some fishing line and "cut" through the double sided tape by using a sawing action. Then you can remove the excess tape with a bit of turps / goo remover and a hairdryer to warm the glue up. In my opinion, the Golf's are sedate enough without removing the teeny little badges so id leave it on. Im not positive about the front badge on the GTI, but on the R its held on with a screw and you need to take the grill off to get to it.

The gear selector is useless - i just ignore it. I agree it would be better if it told you what gear you ARE in rather than what gear its wants you to be in. I mean, who drives in 6th gear at 65kph.....talk about labouring the engine....

As for your odometer readout being replaced by the little guage logo on the MFD, as someone else mentioned above, turn the cruise control off on the left hand stalk and it will go away. The little logo is just telling you that the cruise control is enabled and ready for use.

And regarding the light clutch pedal. Yes mine is light as well but it has good feel.

[Ryan_R]

I'm glad I've got the MY10 Golf then, as mine shows me what gear I'm in and I use that feature quite a bit since I like to drive in manual mode.

[jords]

I'm glad I've got the MY10 Golf then, as mine shows me what gear I'm in and I use that feature quite a bit since I like to drive in manual mode.

I think the DSG is different. The manual has a suggested gear, whereas the DSG will change the gear itself when it's thinks it suitable.

[Ryan_R]

Shouldn't you know what gear you're in if you've got MT then? I guess seeing a gear number might subconsciously be confusing. My parent Nissan Xtrail just had an up arrow that showed up to tell them the same thing.

One thing I observed with the MY10 today is that the MFD doesn't give a descriptive Bulb Out warning telling me which one is broken; I only get the warning light on the tacho, so I had to check them when I got home. Inside-right tail-light on the hatch is out.

[starionx]

Shouldn't you know what gear you're in if you've got MT then? I guess seeing a gear number might subconsciously be confusing.

This!

I know what gear I'm in, but quickly glancing at the display and seeing a different number, you kind of get that WTF moment.

Seems that this forum is currently taking forever to bring up pages.

[mfl]

This!

I know what gear I'm in, but quickly glancing at the display and seeing a different number, you kind of get that WTF moment.

actually my WTF moment is when the indicator recommends using 6th gear as soon as the speedo shows 60km/h. - no thanks

[hooba]

My manual discussed point 3. iirc #1 is for the current trip only, however if you only stop for a few minutes (say to fill up with petrol) and then continue it counts both journeys as one trip. Only if you've stopped for 20mins+ do the #1 statistics reset.

They automatically reset when the car is switched off continuously for a 2 hour period.

[Davel]

Not the most comprehensive manual ever

I'll give them a B+