VW Golf MK7 Infotainment headaches

SMN

SMN

SMN

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Evening all.

Looking for advice on how to proceed with a fault developed by my Golf. Its a Golf TSI SE Nav 1.4, MK7 (17 plate) with bang on 20,000 miles on the clock.

About 3-4 weeks ago I was turning left around a tight corner in a retail park and accidentally bumped into the kerb. Wasnt going more than 5mph. The infotainment system immediately cut out, and after 2-3 periods of static/garbled audio it has been completely dead and unresponsive. I assumed that I had knocked a connection loose, and didnt really prioritise fixing it given i barely drive nowadays. Theres no power to the USB charger, either. The only signs of life are the fans spinning up and down on the glovebox unit.

Fast forward 2-3 weeks i've finally started to investigate. I've removed the glovebox unit and the screen unit and visually inspected the cables connected to each but they all appear to be seated correctly. I've given each one a push just to be doubly sure they are connected.

I took it a Volkswagen dealership today who after a day with it have determined I need the entire glovebox unit replacing, part number "J794-5F", and the entire cost will be £2.4K (!!).

I've complained bitterly to Volkswagen customer care who have raised a case for me and will investigate. Has anyone ever had similar issues? Any tips on how to proceed without this costing me an arm and a leg?

TIA
 
You'll find the glovebox units all over the place second hand and people willing to code them in. More often as complete kits to upgrade to larger screens or newer MIB units.

I can't vouch for this company, they're just the first that popped to mind as they advertise a lot - https://northeastvagadaptions.co.uk/collections/vw/products/volkswagen-mib2-8-retrofit-kit

I'm sure a company like this would be able to sort just the glovebox part of the unit if that's all that's faulty and for significantly less than £2,400.

Edit - as an outside chance, might be worth double checking fuses etc. yourself too, in case it's just a fuse that's been knocked loose. Wouldn't put it past a dealership to quote you to replace the entire infotainment system without checking basics like that first :p
 
SMN said:
I took it a Volkswagen dealership today who after a day with it have determined I need the entire glovebox unit replacing, part number "J794-5F", and the entire cost will be £2.4K (!!).
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That can't be the part number, it's not the right format for a start.

Pretty sure it'll be one of the following, depending on what media/navigation system you have:

5G0 035 819 A
5G0 035 819 AX
5G0 035 820 A
5G0 035 820 AX
5G0 035 824 A
5G0 035 824 AX
5G0 035 832
5G0 035 832 X
5G0 035 834
5G0 035 834 X
5G0 035 840
5G0 035 840 X
5G0 035 842
5G0 035 842 X
5G0 035 850 B
5G0 035 878 A
5G0 035 878 AX

J794 5F is the address and module on the CANBUS IIRC.
 
5F is the MMI main unit - the part codes with X on the end are exchange units but if ordering one of these, there's normally certain criteria around the condition of your original unit (you'll need to speak to the dealership on this part) but they're still hugely expensive. The Parts Catalogs only show the current units as well so I'd take out the unit and see what the part code is on it instead as it may be an older version that the list from Paradigm doesn't have on it - plus there's 3 different units available for the Mk7 - Composite, Discover and Discover Pro. If you go for a different version you need to be 100% sure it's compatible even if its replacing a Discover Pro for another Discover Pro for example - a later revision may need other modules to have a different HW/SW level.

Cheapest way would pick a unit up off eBay - you'll need to fit it which is a couple of minutes job and then pay the dealer to take off the Component Protection (1-2hrs labour depending on the dealership) assuming it's not reported as a stolen unit - it's a risk you'll take by buying from eBay but it's probably the cheapest option. It may need some coding as well so you'll need to find someone with VCDS locally unless you already have it.

Alternatively as Kenai suggested - there's a few VW Retrofit places dotted about the country - go to one of those guys failing the DIY route but certainly don't let the dealer anywhere near this! Even if you get goodwill, I would still estimate you'll need to cover between 30-50%.

Before you buy anything, it may be worth finding someone with VCDS to plug in and see what the diagnostic report says.
 
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Yeah defo find the unit you need online or from one of the retrofitters, who will be able to source and fit for you if necessary.

Maybe worth getting a second opinion elsewhere maybe from an independent garage that deals with a lot of VWs.
Like someone’s suggested they can run VCDS which may highlight where the fault lies, and or at least give it a look over to make sure you’ve not missed anything obvious.
 
Googling the part number suggests it is an Audi part but a few hits for the MK7 Golf as well - the results at face value tend to suggest it is rather prone to failure.
 
when you say it went funny i suppose you have tried a battery reset? just disconect the battery for 20 mins, sometimes works had a ex customer come to the house the other day with dash completly dead on a 18 passat did a reset and after a cup of coffee all was back working :)just a thought easy stuff first.
 
Thanks all! Its been a fun few days since I posted.

So I did as you guys said, I checked all the fuses in the glovebox and in the engine bay - along with multi-metering the battery to ensure it wasnt dead/dying and selectively turning components off. I also re-seated every cable in both the glovebox unit and screen unit.

After testing everything I went back into the car, key in, turned the ignition, and the car was stone cold dead :cry: Windows wouldnt come up, no info on the mini screen between the speedo's, etc but the AC and the central locking worked. Checked everything again in the fuseboxes and it all seemed fine, so had to take it to a garage to find out I'd put the fuse back in the wrong slot somehow :rolleyes:

So unless something else is dead, i'm confident now that it is this glovebox unit. The part number is 3Q0035874B. I'm going to get one from https://northeastvagadaptions.co.uk...swagen-mib2-fully-activated-unlocked-unit-nav (thanks Kenai) and try a replacement, given they advertise them as 'Component protection has already been removed'.

I'll let you know how it goes.
 
SMN said:
Final update. Bought the replacement MIB2 with component protection removed from VAG (https://northeastvagadaptions.co.uk...swagen-mib2-fully-activated-unlocked-unit-nav) and replaced it really easily, screen powers up now and everything is working (touch wood). Saved me £2000 compared to what the VW main dealer wanted.
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Evening! I know this is an old post so don’t expect a reply but any reply is gravely appreciated! When your screen was blank, was the backlights lighting up still or everything dead? I’ve got a mk7 (2013) golf with the infotainment System with everything dead after disconnecting battery and reconnecting? Checked all visible fuses and all good.
Kind regards Tom
 
trfrick26 said:
Evening! I know this is an old post so don’t expect a reply but any reply is gravely appreciated! When your screen was blank, was the backlights lighting up still or everything dead? I’ve got a mk7 (2013) golf with the infotainment System with everything dead after disconnecting battery and reconnecting? Checked all visible fuses and all good.
Kind regards Tom
Click to expand...
giphy.gif
 
Kenai said:
You'll find the glovebox units all over the place second hand and people willing to code them in. More often as complete kits to upgrade to larger screens or newer MIB units.

I can't vouch for this company, they're just the first that popped to mind as they advertise a lot - https://northeastvagadaptions.co.uk/collections/vw/products/volkswagen-mib2-8-retrofit-kit

I'm sure a company like this would be able to sort just the glovebox part of the unit if that's all that's faulty and for significantly less than £2,400.

Edit - as an outside chance, might be worth double checking fuses etc. yourself too, in case it's just a fuse that's been knocked loose. Wouldn't put it past a dealership to quote you to replace the entire infotainment system without checking basics like that first :p
Click to expand...
I can vouch for that company, I have used them twice and they have been spot on, first I got the digital cockpit installed and coded into my golf 7.5 and then had a reversing camera installed into my troc
 
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