Joined the R36 club....

[Felixrising]

Well, after a lot of back and forth, I finally drove home my "new" MY10.5 R36 Wagon in Biscay Blue.

She has the RNS 510 SatNav, Sunroof, and the original owner had aftermarket Bluetooth and Paddle shifters fitted (bigger than originals), but best of all adaptive chassis control!!! .

As you do (when you work in IT), I upgraded the stereo and maps on the way home and started copying over music... well, easy stuff done.

For the slightly above average kms on the clock (just over 90k) and age it is in pretty good condition, with exception of the drivers seat which has the collapsing bolster and the adjustable lumbar and side bolsters aren't adjusting (no sound of motors or anything). I'm wide open to suggestion on how to fix or whether I should try VW for statutory warranty (fit for purpose, fit for use)... I could try and fix it myself if VW laughs at me... any one had this problem with the adjustable bolsters not adjusting? I also had the RACV comprehensive check done and for some reason they didn't pick this up in the report - might be an avenue to claim against them? might fall outside of the warranty terms, but worth a try?

Some others on here have done the Dynaudio speaker/amp upgrade.. something I'm considering doing, it doesn't look too hard, just fiddly. Anyone who has done it, is this worth doing? I do like good sound and love my music.

Any other suggestions for must do stuff? Retrofit power tailgate? Adaptive cruise? VCDS hacks or other cheaper stuff?

[snerlo]

Welcome to the R36 club mate. Not sure you will have any luck with the seats issue. I don't think that they go that in depth as to adjusting the seats. I don't think you will have any luck with the collapsing side bolster but by all means, go for it. With regards to the retrofit for the power tailgate, I'm sure that is gonna be a pain, but I'm sure there will be threads on this very issue somewhere in the world so have a google around and see. It is something I would love to do also!!
The only other little mods you may want to do is some of the things that I have started threads on so have a look in this B4 section for the threads I have commenced and eat your heart out. Good luck. The next on my list is the full interior LED upgrade but I am sitting on this for the time being until I get some time to sit down and research it a little more. I don't want the LED's to be so blindingly bright.

[Jakeys]

Well, after a lot of back and forth, I finally drove home my "new" MY10.5 R36 Wagon in Biscay Blue.

She has the RNS 510 SatNav, Sunroof, Adaptive Bi-Xenons and the original owner had aftermarket Bluetooth and Paddle shifters fitted (bigger than originals), but best of all adaptive chassis control!!! .

As you do (when you work in IT), I upgraded the stereo and maps on the way home and started copying over music... well, easy stuff done.

For the slightly above average kms on the clock (just over 90k) and age it is in pretty good condition, with exception of the drivers seat which has the collapsing bolster and the adjustable lumbar and side bolsters aren't adjusting (no sound of motors or anything). I'm wide open to suggestion on how to fix or whether I should try VW for statutory warranty (fit for purpose, fit for use)... I could try and fix it myself if VW laughs at me... any one had this problem with the adjustable bolsters not adjusting? I also had the RACV comprehensive check done and for some reason they didn't pick this up in the report - might be an avenue to claim against them? might fall outside of the warranty terms, but worth a try?

Some others on here have done the Dynaudio speaker/amp upgrade.. something I'm considering doing, it doesn't look too hard, just fiddly. Anyone who has done it, is this worth doing? I do like good sound and love my music.

Any other suggestions for must do stuff? Retrofit power tailgate? Adaptive cruise? VCDS hacks or other cheaper stuff?

Congratulations, I too have just a month ago bought an MY10.5 but in Candy White. Welcome to the club!

Adaptive bixenons were standard as far as I know. ACC is pretty interesting, how do you find it? That was I think the only option I wasn't interested in, just cause coming from a car with coilovers I wanted less of a performance drop and to get the R36 specific spring/shock combo rather than ACC.

So for collapsing bolster you are unlikely to have any luck out of warranty although it's worth a shot, so that may end up being roughly a few hundred to get the dealer to do it. They will replace the entire bottom section foam support, it is one moulded piece of foam for the bottom of the seat, not one piece per bolster.

For the adjustable bolsters, I couldn't comment as mine work fine. For the adjustable lumbar, I too have the same issue, no motor noise or movement whatsoever. You saw in my thread about the manufacturer for the gear set sending out replacements, perhaps try that avenue for yours? I have the gear set but no idea how to access inside the seat so I can't give much advice on that yet.

For the Dynaudio upgrade, I spoke to Marty at FHRX Studios (No affiliation, just heard tons of good feedback and was a customer for my old car) and he advised not to go with the Dynaudio upgrade and instead to actually get an off the shelf Dynaudio setup or similar installed. To do the retrofit you need all the second hand components, amp, wiring, plus coding for the RNS510 with VCDS and additionally, the speaker grilles. It's not impossible to source everything second hand, but it's not possible to do it new, so you'd be financially and aurally better off going a proper aftermarket setup.

I have power tailgate, and I love it but I'm not sure how you'd go retrofitting it. You can't retrofit adaptive cruise. There are VCDS hacks, check their website for that.

[Felixrising]

Hi Jakeys!

Derp .. I didn't realise the bi-xenons were standard... =D

The ACC is noticeable, it changes the steering feel (not sure if that is just the suspension change or actual change to the power steering directly) and the the car stiffens up a lot in sports mode.. especially compared to the comfort settings which is pretty relaxed and no road feel at all, whereas you feel the small bumps in sports mode.

I wonder why the seat motors don't make any noise, whether its a control/ or simple fuse issue or if the motor burns out.. those other threads about it mostly mention broken gears... is the seat manufacturer the same as that golf gti thread??? I'm a bit unclear about that. Apparently in the golf, the rear of the seat just unclips and comes off..

The Dynaudio upgrade thread didn't make mention of wiring.. It sounded like it's a speaker/amp swap out, I skimmed it so maybe missed that bit... assuming the plugs are compatible - that must have been a rude surprise seeing different amp connectors :s There are some dynaud speaker set for around a grand on ebay (amp + speakers)... what would the aftermarket option cost? I'm quite comfortable with a screwdriver, no vcds system yet, but would give it a go retrofitting.

I saw a wrecked R36 on ebay (in Sydney), sounded like he sold that for about $750 per motor!!! ($850 new per motor)... if that is correct, seems like an expensive way to open and close the boot.. I might see how my wife gets on (she is a very short 150cm).

So many questions!!!! :p

[Jakeys]

ACC would be cool, but the reviews of it I've read say even in sport mode it does not give the performance of the standard R36 H&R/Sachs spring and shock combo. That's more important to me than a comfort mode. This is totally personal preference though.

No idea about the motors, I'll suss that out at some point, but it's a low priority job for me as I don't use that feature anyway! I am thinking it's the same manufacturer, I'm barely out of pocket if not.

I read that depending on the year of the car and the year of the transplant Dynaudio, the amplifier wiring can vary, eg. different connectors. I would be prepared for that possibility. For aftermarket Dynaudio equipment a step up from factory Dynaudio, new you'd be looking at in the $2-2.5k area maybe? To buy the Dynaudio set new from VW is impossible, the parts quotes alone from them is like $8k as it's not intended to be bought after delivery. Be worth asking for a quote on aftermarket parts though, try FHRX Studios.

The motors won't help her if she's short, as the button is at the top of the lid when opened anyway. She'll still be reaching. The remote only opens it, doesn't close it. Safety reason maybe. Stupid feature I'm hoping to fix with a simple relay. Even if you could remote close it, it's not worth $1500+ to retrofit, although it is awesome!

[Passat R36]

Do a search in the forum you will find a lot answers. Congrats on the purchase.

[Felixrising]

Small update on the broken driver side lumbar/bolster adjustments.
I contacted the RACV inspection centre about the seat bolster/lumbar adjustment not working... which they hadn't noted in the report... anyway, looks like I might have it fixed under the RACV inspection warranty!.. will let you know how I go on Saturday morning when they will inspect it again. That report has really paid for itself already!!! I already got the original owner to flush and replace the brake fluid and top up the coolant ratio all based on that report... so it's been well worth the cost.

[kleung]

Small update on the broken driver side lumbar/bolster adjustments.
I contacted the RACV inspection centre about the seat bolster/lumbar adjustment not working... which they hadn't noted in the report... anyway, looks like I might have it fixed under the RACV inspection warranty!..

Be a little bit careful - it might pay to get some quotes om the repair costs before proceeding, as RACV's 30 day guarantee has coverage limitations. $1000 for pre-purchase inspections, $2000 for comprehensive. Also, any approved repairs must be done at an RACV "Accredited Auto Care Centre".

[Felixrising]

Yeah, I'm familiar with the conditions. The fix would apparently cost about $600 (estimated by VW) so I'm well in the clear. I'll let you know how it goes after RACV takes a look in the morning.

[Jakeys]

$600, bloody hell! Did they say if it was broken gears or something else?

[Felixrising]

Apparently the previous owner had had a problem with it before, and they'd offered to repair it at that price. I have no idea what is actually wrong though, so hard to say whether that is reasonable or not.

I checked it again last night, the lumbar support does blow up (after pressing the button for quite a while), but it doesn't move up or down. The seat bolsters (the ones for the torso) don't do anything at all. So it's a bit of a mixed bag. I was even wondering if it could just be a blown fuse or an error code that needs clearing.... anyway, tomorrow will bring some answers with a bit of luck.

[Felixrising]

Sooooo

I went and the RACV guy checked it out, no error codes (the pneumatic bolsters and up/down lumbar adjustments aren't tied into the CANbus - not stored in the seat memories) ... but they were definitely not working.

However, as I drove away from the shop, I played with the buttons again, and lo and behold, they're working again!!! Well, intermittent issues are a pest! I wonder how the wiring loom looks like down there, two different switches stopping working, and then kicking in again. I'm guessing a loose connection or breaking wire...

What to do...???

[nermal]

Sooooo

I went and the RACV guy checked it out, no error codes (the pneumatic bolsters and up/down lumbar adjustments aren't tied into the CANbus - not stored in the seat memories) ... but they were definitely not working.

However, as I drove away from the shop, I played with the buttons again, and lo and behold, they're working again!!! Well, intermittent issues are a pest! I wonder how the wiring loom looks like down there, two different switches stopping working, and then kicking in again. I'm guessing a loose connection or breaking wire...

What to do...???

Quick, set your memory seats and code to your key fobs!

[Felixrising]

I've been working on an accessories and mods list, just to spruce up my new mistress.

1, Chrome power window, mirror and light switches
2, Chrome dashboard air vents (including LEDs)
3, Cargo Net
4, Protective film or Aluminium scuff plate for tailgate bumper (load, unload protection)
5, Cornering Lamps upgrade to Philips Crystal (4300k) H7 55w globes + the T10 W5W Blue globes (Melbourne ebayer) for the parkers
6, ???

I'm not sure where to get the Dashboard Air Vents from, the centre one is no problem but sourcing the vents for the right hand side driver position is hard with a plethora of vents online for left hand driver and zilch for right hand driver :/ Any suggestions?

Cheers!

[Jakeys]

Yeah I noticed the vent thing as well. You'd probably want to ask VW on the price for that one piece.
Don't forget your license plate and mirror puddles as well if you're going the LED route.
Also you'll have to source your own links for these but consider doing the R line footrest which is aftermarket and effectively just an aluminium plate to stick onto your plastic footrest to match the pedals, and the R line brake retainer springs which are genuine VW pieces, a la Scirocco / Golf R.
Then tune, DynAudio retrofit with grilles, intake, exhaust, could go on haha...