Should I get VAGCOM

[obi_waynne]

What are the benefits to me owning my own VAGCOM lead and software?

What will it enable me to do/know? Is it worth the money in the long run?

 

[Yugguy]

Depends. If you have a garage you trust then they'll do it for you. But if you don't, or you are competent to do the work yourself then VAGCOM is very handy. It's good to be able to go to a garage and say that you know exactly which sensor, or injector, or coil pack, or whatever, needs changing.

The software also has all the real time graphs so you could see the values of all the sensors as the engine ran. Fascinating really. And very good for when your car isn't running right but there are no actual error codes. These displays could help diagnose things like leaking turbo pipes that you might not be able to physically see straight away.

I had a copy of VAGCOM with the Bora and it was handy.

 

[T9 man]

As above really, if you do the work on your car yourself then I can see the benefits of having one to hand. I personally have an RAC fault code reader that is capable of resetting the fault light on the car. It is handy for me to keep an eye on the Beast should it decide to throw a DIVA like tantrum, it is good to know if the fault is ok to drive through or whether I should summon the garage.

 

[HDi fun]

I have a VW specific (therefore Audi, Seat & Skoda too) handheld code reader. I can also reset faults with this and set/reset oil change intervals from fixed to long-life variable.

 

[herb]

As said by Yugguy it's useful for self diagnostic for either doing the work yourself or if your going to take it to a garage to do the work you can know what's wrong and therefore not get ripped off!

But tbh I have used it for a while and I still don't 100% understand the logs but on specific forums members do and are generally quite happy to help diagnose problems!

 

[stamford]

When I saw the thread title I thought it was a personal problem..............

 

[T9 man]

When I saw the thread title I thought it was a personal problem..............

 

[obi_waynne]

When I saw the thread title I thought it was a personal problem..............

 

[old-git]

My son resets his mum's (my wife's) engine management light before each MOT. Car is fine, apart from a turbine whistle, but the light would be a fail. It comes and goes at random intervals so we just make sure it is off for the test

 

[RobBentley]

VCDS is worth its weight in gold if you're a regular VAG group car owner. I've had my lead since I was 18, its come in useful time and time again. Nothing comes close to it bar main dealer equipment. At work we've got various diagnostic tools which cover most makes/models - my favourite being the MaxiDas DS708, but for VAG group cars, VCDS is always better, easier, quicker.. you name it.

It'll do most coding, basic settings, adaption etc (not just diagnostics) on near all VAG control units.. the same as main dealer kit.

 

[HDi fun]

VW cars do seem to be warning light happy. What's the point of putting up a fault light if there is no fault?

Let's say the ABS/EBD/ESP/DSC whatever light is permanently on and the whole gamut is working properly. How does the car alert the driver to a fault??

 

[RobBentley]

Generally in my experience of them... there is a fault of some sort when you get a light, unlike a lot of cars which exhibit physical problems with no codes/lights thrown. The problem is due to the way either the canbus or can gateway works... 1 simple sensor fault can throw a dashboard like a christmas tree. This is my pet hate with VAG cars. You'll end up with say an implausible MAF signal, which will throw an engine light, but then the ABS/ESP ECU will throw a code saying the Engine ECU has a problem and put both its lights on, the parking brake light will come on and the EPB ECU will throw a code saying check the Engine and ABS controllers... and so on and so forth. The customer thinks the cars literally exploded, when in fact its a dozen ECU's all screaming about the same fault.