[jmdumalski]

Hey everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone can shed some light on the heated steering wheel (I run a 2012 TDI Exec). Currently each time the vehicle is started I have to go through the infotainment system to turn it on. By default the heated steering wheel is set to off each time the vehicle is started. Is there anyway (perhaps a vag-com option) to enable this to come on automatically at start-up or remember the last setting it was on before shutting the vehicle off? It's kind of a PITA to wait 30 seconds to turn this on. My DS seat turns on automatically at start-up (if it was on when shutting the vehicle off) which is fantastic. Cheers!

Josh

 

[Eugene-Dave-1]

I'd be interested in this too if it can be done.

 

[zimm17]

Very cheesy there's no mechanical switch for the steering wheel heat.

 

[jmdumalski]

I agree - a switch would have been nice - possibly with a light so you know the fricken thing is on - my 04 V8 had the steering wheel button but there was no light anywhere to show if it's actually on or off....

 

[nickm]

I have the same frustration with my T3, it drives me nuts in fact...haven't found a solution yet.

 

[jmdumalski]

It's driving me crazy .... a lot of times when it's cold out (-40°C) I just hit the start button to let it warm up for a few mins and meanwhile head back inside or clean snow - looking at maybe doing a remote start option but the steering wheel wouldn't turn on starting it this way....

 

[Spyder]

+1 with this frustration. DS seat-heater remembers the last setting before turn-off, but PS does not. Wifey's 650 has the wheel-heater button on the steering column, but it's impossible to see, so also not an ideal solution.

Spyder

 

[tuckman]

subscribed, I would like that on the -40 mornings! Already have VCDS from Jetta Tdi ownership.

 

[jmdumalski]

tuckman - you running a remote start on your tdi?

 

[tuckman]

tuckman - you running a remote start on your tdi?

No I am not, but want to know if there is a wv option...or how it worked on the t3's

 

[nickm]

It wouldn't bug me as much if the damn climate menu didn't take 45 seconds to load on cold start...feels like an hour when its in the sub zeros out there!

 

[tuckman]

It wouldn't bug me as much if the damn climate menu didn't take 45 seconds to load on cold start...feels like an hour when its in the sub zeros out there!

At -56C with windchill, it feels like an eternity!

 

[nickm]

Also drives me nuts that they went backwards on this..my T1/T2 I turned it on ONCE, the day I bought the vehicles, if it was +4C the wheel wouldn't come on, any lower than that it would come on. I sooo want that functionality back.

 

[T-Reguan]

Also drives me nuts that they went backwards on this..my T1/T2 I turned it on ONCE, the day I bought the vehicles, if it was +4C the wheel wouldn't come on, any lower than that it would come on. I sooo want that functionality back.

I would not be surprised if this feature exist on a T3, probably buried somewhere in the VagCom menu.

 

[nickm]

I've been looking...going to send a dump of my steering wheel module to ross-tech, see if they can decipher all the bytes. They have blanks for everything in that module

 

[Eugene-Dave-1]

Thinking about this like a VW engineer... They leave the heated seats on across shutdowns (driver's side anyway). So clearly that's not an issue of safety, inconvenience, battery drain, etc. Is there some reason why they would deliberately shut off the heated steering wheel? I can't think of one... Well maybe it's because there's no obvious visual indicator that the heated steering wheel is On, like there is for the seats. I dunno. Those wacky German engineers!

 

[nickm]

I can't think of one either..and it makes less sense considering they previous generations were set up where the heated wheel would always stay on! I wasn't kidding when I said I pressed it once (only once) and it was on from that day until the day I sold it.

 

[jmdumalski]

So just an observation. I often use the "REST" function while running errands. If I shut the Touareg off, press the REST button and leave the vehicle, lock the door and then come back say 25 minutes later and hop in and just hit the start button - the steering wheel heat is on (when it was on before originally shutting it off).

Tuckman - there is a local shop here in Regina that has done about 5-7 T3's using the idatalink CAN interface with a Solace S3 remote start - they have been successful however there is one minor glitch that they can't seem to get over and that is as soon as you open the door (after remote starting it) it will shut off which means you need to crawl in and restart it - not a huge deal.

nickm - I am in the same boat as you - I pressed by heated steering wheel button once when I bought my 04 V8 - and never touched it after that till the day I sold it! Looking forward to see what ross-tech can find... keep us posted!

 

[Arne S]

Which button (and where) is the "REST" button?

 

[jmdumalski]

The button is labelled REST and is located on the heater control panel right below the manual fan speed increase button. When you shut your vehicle off - press the REST button and it will kick on the fans and draw the residual heat off of the engine and keep the inside of your vehicle warm. I believe it runs for 30 minutes - works awesome! I notices Arne S you are in Norway - perhaps not available there? Here in Canada we get some extra winter climate specs on our vehicles.