Club Touareg Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Looking forward to it

Jump to Latest
1 - 20 of 20 Posts
H

Hairy Frizbee

· Registered
Joined
·
5 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi there,
Long time VW fan, replacing a Subi. I’ve recently picked up a 2012 TDI. 95k, and really clean in general for a car that is a dozen years old.
I have found forum communities to be very helpful when solving problems. Especially those that are common. If it is happening to me, it has probably happened to someone else. That person may have spent a great deal of time, trouble and money to solve it. I hope they are here!
Seriously hoping to learn about my new ride, things that go wrong, how to fix’em.
Also would like to know about aftermarket tuning and upgrades.
Have a nice day!
Jon
 
#7 ·
SaVAGeSoot said:
Order VCDS
Click to expand...
Don't bother the 500 to 1k for the vcds, they just want to nerd out, I have the same exact ride and mileage. 337 emulator for 40 bucks and the torque app you get the engine codes.
If your even with the engine light on..

welcome to clown world rules and the points don't count..

You can figure it all out. ;)

.
 
#8 ·
Hairy Frizbee said:
Hi there,
Long time VW fan, replacing a Subi. I’ve recently picked up a 2012 TDI. 95k, and really clean in general for a car that is a dozen years old.
I have found forum communities to be very helpful when solving problems. Especially those that are common. If it is happening to me, it has probably happened to someone else. That person may have spent a great deal of time, trouble and money to solve it. I hope they are here!
Seriously hoping to learn about my new ride, things that go wrong, how to fix’em.
Also would like to know about aftermarket tuning and upgrades.
Have a nice day!
Jon
Click to expand...
Hello and welcome to the forums.
Congrats on your purchase.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#9 ·
Wagon8ter said:
Don't bother the 500 to 1k for the vcds, they just want to nerd out, I have the same exact ride and mileage. 337 emulator for 40 bucks and the torque app you get the engine codes.
If your even with the engine light on..

welcome to clown world rules and the points don't count..

You can figure it all out. ;)

.
Click to expand...
VCDS itself is only $199 USD.
Most people have a laptop running Windows 7 or higher.
It's most recommended on here because most use it, and there is great support for it.
Can you use something else? Of course. It's all a matter of being comfortable with what you're using.
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhz
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#11 ·
A VCDS from Ross Tech is going to pay for itself for comfort coding, diagnosing, etc. Ross Tech has forums and customer support too. And you can share your scan on Club Touareg for additional assistance.
 
#12 ·
There is also OBDEleven which is a Bluetooth dongle you use with your phone but it does not come with as comprehensive support as VCDS.
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhz and Wagon8ter
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#13 ·
Cann buss scanners are out there stand alone. Even a 40 emulator and torque for free can scan the engines. You need a Can-scaner to get the the other ecus.
This is a vdsc cult.. all others are ridiculed relentlessly
 
#16 · (Edited)
Wagon8ter said:
Cann buss scanners are out there stand alone. Even a 40 emulator and torque for free can scan the engines. You need a Can-scaner to get the the other ecus.
This is a vdsc cult.. all others are ridiculed relentlessly
Click to expand...
It isn’t possible to do the basic functions necessary to diagnose and maintain a Touareg at home with those systems. I tried using Torque plus a knockoff vag-com dongle when I first got my Touareg TDI and ran into numerous things that simply weren’t possible. I didn’t want to buy VCDS, but there was no other option. For example, I could not get detailed info to diagnose adblue system failures, and I couldn’t reset the countdown to keep from getting stranded. In principle one could code their own VCDS alternative that works with generic interface hardware, but to my knowledge nobody has done so. A used VCDS with a single vin left only costs about $100 on eBay.
 
#17 ·
casioqv said:
It isn’t possible to do the basic functions necessary to diagnose and maintain a Touareg at home with those systems. I tried using Torque plus a knockoff vag-com dongle when I first got my Touareg TDI and ran into numerous things that simply weren’t possible. I didn’t want to buy VCDS, but there was no other option. For example, I could not get detailed info to diagnose adblue system failures, and I couldn’t reset the countdown to keep from getting stranded. In principle one could code their own VCDS alternative that works with generic interface hardware, but to my knowledge nobody has done so. A used VCDS with a single vin left only costs about $100 on eBay.
Click to expand...
Plus laptop plus learning time etc, I have several 337emulators, and not all loaded into torque on a 2012 . One did, from a trift shop for 3 bucks was the winner.

Locked 3 cars. Buy more, so old it's an windows xt shell. It's just my ast cam buss scanner still plugs along all the ecus.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I just dumped 4 grand on rubber coolant hoses for my Touareg since they were failing one at a time I just did them all. The idea that $100 is a crazy amount for a one time purchase to make diagnostics 100x easier is anything but a no brainer is absurd. VCDS makes life so much easier, it is a reason alone to own a VW over any other brand. I also have Durametic, the analogous system for Porsche, and it generally considered pretty good, but it is not nearly as powerful and useful as VCDS. I’d seriously consider a TDI Cayenne if it weren’t for the poor VCDS support.

The generic codes you get in Torque don’t have nearly the detail down to the specific failure, and you can’t execute the built in on demand diagnostics that actually test each system directly.

I can charge $500/hour for consulting, but haven't done any consulting in over a year because I'd rather go on outdoor adventures with my son. I'll be dammed if I'm gonna spend my weekend replacing the wrong parts on my Touareg because I was too cheap to buy VCDS.
 
#19 ·
casioqv said:
I just dumped 4 grand on rubber coolant hoses for my Touareg since they were failing one at a time I just did them all.
Click to expand...
Was it 4K because they were all OEM VW hoses?
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#20 ·
New2Tregs said:
Was it 4K because they were all OEM VW hoses?
Click to expand...
Yep OEM dealer prices. I think one of the hoses was $500 🤣 I could have got them cheaper but not quickly enough to get the dealer to install them for free while putting In a new engine under warranty.
 
1 - 20 of 20 Posts
About this Discussion
19 Replies
6 Participants
Last post:
casioqv
Club Touareg Forum
posts
784K
members
105K
Since
2003
Club Touareg Forum is a forum community dedicated to Volkswagen Touareg owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about VW Touareg Sport Utility Vehicles and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
General Maintenance & Repair Australia & New Zealand Brakes, Steering, Suspension, Wheels and Tires Mobile Electronics and In Car Entertainment General Touareg Discussions