James-247365

Just an update on my gremlin, it kept getting worse, up to the point it would take 20 minutes for the infotainment screen to boot up. I got the car into the dealer just after the New Year, parts were ordered and last week a new ‘media system’ was installed in my car. So far everything is working correctly. 😃

My key was starting to scratch up quite badly on the logo side. I tried a carbon fibre cover, but whilst it was thin, it was still too bulky for me. So I bought some PPF from eBay. It was a wee bit tricky with the bevelled edges but with the aid of a hairdryer and a little bit of swearing I got the logo side covered. I didn’t cover the button side.

@Booth11 Thanks Rebecca, at least I don’t have to worry about the rear door lights not dimming!

I’m not sure I’ve got a gremlin or ‘design feature’ but the coloured lights in the two rear passenger doors don’t change brightness when I adjust the brightness of the lights in the front doors and dashboard. The two in the rear remain very bright. If anyone is driving in the dark, I would be grateful if you could have a look over your shoulder and confirm if the if the brightness of the front and rear doors coloured strips match, especially if you have turned down the brightness from the standard setting. TIA.

I thought I had my first Gremlin, the infotainment screen wouldn’t come on when I started the car! After a number of minutes it eventually booted up, and some of my settings had been reset. It may have been a software update.

VW now have a Spotify app available to download from the VW website; but I’m guessing many owners will just use CarPlay or the Android equivalent.

After the 1st April 2025 the VED for 171 to 190 g/km group cars will increase to £2190! 😬

I’ve had my R for just over a week now but couldn’t post a forum pic until now!

It can’t be turned off from within the car, I believe it may be possible to ‘hack’ the software to turn it off. I’m not a fan of the ‘monobrow’ look, but it looks better with the illuminated badge, rather than a hole, like the MK8. Given a choice I wouldn't have it, but once you’re behind the steering wheel, you don’t see it and forget it’s there!

Hopefully you’ll get it before April and the new VED car tax increases!

It’s now the default startup setting.

The MK8.5 R does have a Eco Mode. “The Eco driving profile switches the vehicle into economical mode and helps you to drive the vehicle in an energy-efficient manner.” This is copied from the manual. I think VWROC gets notified if you select the ECO mode, I think it might be against the T&Cs of the group. 🤣

Comfort driving mode isn’t as bad as it sounds, it’s still shifts when required…..😉

I’ve had my R for a week now, and had to look in the manual as I thought it was something I was doing wrong! The text from the manual is below. Behaviour of the driving profiles when the ignition is switched off and on The vehicle system settings are reset to the Comfort driving profile when the ignition is switched off and then back on again. Sorry for the bad news. 😕

The bad news is that the MK8.5 now defaults to comfort driving mode on start up!