8.5R Gremlins

[Msportman]

15 hours ago, Booth11 said:

That is bad.

 

Theres no Velcro or zip, the leather is not removable. It’s very poor stitching on yours. 

 

 Mine’s not exactly high quality craftsmanship but it’s better than that.

 

 

 

 

 

Do the cloth seats have the same seam?

[Booth11]

2 hours ago, Msportman said:

Do the cloth seats have the same seam?

I would assume so but perhaps someone with cloth can confirm. 

[mahalo]

Just checked mine whilst I was washing the car and mine are exactly the same quality as Rebecca’s seats. Stitching is acceptable but not what I would call high quality. I would show your seat stitching to the dealer as that looks like a manufacturing fault to me which should be covered under warranty.

[garykane1980]

21 hours ago, Booth11 said:

That is bad.

 

Theres no Velcro or zip, the leather is not removable. It’s very poor stitching on yours. 

 

 Mine’s not exactly high quality craftsmanship but it’s better than that.

 

 

 

 

 

Looks much better than @scuderiafolene‘s, but funny when you hone in on something it looks worse than it first appears!
 

I’d still be looking for mine to be sorted if it did look like @scuderiafolene‘s though!!

[AHG]

On 23/06/2025 at 02:22, Msportman said:

outrageous that a £50k car with new mostly useless tech that superseded the MK8 woes is still having problems. Is this just a Golf problem or a VAG problem?

I think the 8.5 has more specimens that are problem free o r near it than the mk8.

A friend of mine has GTI 8.5 and so far had no malfunction (just some adjusting, like polarized glasses making the hud vanish, or auto-parking giving him new beeps).

 

On 24/06/2025 at 21:31, garykane1980 said:

That looks shockingly bad!! 
 

Is there perhaps an inside out zip along the inside of that seam for taking the cover off? What’s the corresponding seam like on the driver side?

It looks like it was torn before delivery and a manual fix was attempted

Id ask for it to be replaced 

 

20 hours ago, Rossdh91 said:

Mine has been relatively solid in regards to next to no issues! I’ve had the paddle shifter issue once or twice but it’s been for the last couple of months! 
 

I have however got a bit of a rattle that I’m struggling to pinpoint 100%. It’s either in the driver door card or the right hand side of the dash and it comes and goes. 
 

other than that, as I said mine has been pretty solid! 

Did you check for the center console screw covers ?

 

I have a rattle coming from the door and though it may be the screw covers, as it is known to project the sound and make it sound like it’s com8jg from the door, but the problem is I don’t have a way to verify as it comes and goes as it pleases, without any scenario I can replicate either on purpose. So no way of checking. 

[Rossdh91]

13 hours ago, AHG said:

Did you check for the center console screw covers ?

 

I have a rattle coming from the door and though it may be the screw covers, as it is known to project the sound and make it sound like it’s com8jg from the door, but the problem is I don’t have a way to verify as it comes and goes as it pleases, without any scenario I can replicate either on purpose. So no way of checking. 

 

That's a good shout! I will have a look, thanks!

[scuderiafolene]

On 23/06/2025 at 01:22, Msportman said:

What a pile of poo. Reading problem after problem and people waiting ages to be seen then told no faults found or come back later! 
 

As said it’s outrageous that a £50k car with new mostly useless tech that superseded the MK8 woes is still having problems. Is this just a Golf problem or a VAG problem?

 

Such a shame for all who have invested hard earned money into a car that enthusiasts were hoping would be less problematic.

 

I was hoping that as time went by in the build cycle all these issues would be resolved to tempt me into one.

 

Maybe a M240i or M2 maybe a better choice.

Had a M2C and M235i. And tbh, other then valvetronic collapsing (BMW took it in on goodwill! A repair of 3k£) I must say the M235 was the most fun street car I have had. Somewhere between the evo and the gtr. And such a nice street gearbox. 

 

Yeah and its not really fair to compere them interior wise. But Golf is light years behind. And that's being kind. And my Tiguan 2020 isnt much better so I would say its a VW thing. Got to stop buying these cars lol.. 

[scuderiafolene]

On 25/06/2025 at 19:14, garykane1980 said:

Looks much better than @scuderiafolene‘s, but funny when you hone in on something it looks worse than it first appears!
 

I’d still be looking for mine to be sorted if it did look like @scuderiafolene‘s though!!

Yes, I am making a list lol  So far I think I am Volkswagens number one enemy in the north. 

[robdfr]

On 23/06/2025 at 00:22, Msportman said:

What a pile of poo. Reading problem after problem and people waiting ages to be seen then told no faults found or come back later! 
 

As said it’s outrageous that a £50k car with new mostly useless tech that superseded the MK8 woes is still having problems. Is this just a Golf problem or a VAG problem?

 

Such a shame for all who have invested hard earned money into a car that enthusiasts were hoping would be less problematic.

 

I was hoping that as time went by in the build cycle all these issues would be resolved to tempt me into one.

 

Maybe a M240i or M2 maybe a better choice.

I test drive the new M2 before I purchased the golf it’s a brilliant car and would have purchased it except it was rear wheel drive , great for summer , but anything wet or icy and it would be a real handful.

as soon as the x drive version is announced (circa Autumn 2026) then I’m afraid it’s goodbye VW.

 

I really can’t believe how shocking the simple things VW have just fuc*ed up , by law you can’t use your phone while driving , so Bluetooth is a must , but every time it disconnects I have to fiddle with the screen , then reboot the screen to let it connect again , bloody dangerous.

seriously the software engineers at VW need firing , I can’t believe they have been allowed to go to market with such a crap architecture running the system , it’s 2025 ! Not 1980 with a Sinclair spectrum at the heart of the system.

 

[blizzard60]

9 hours ago, robdfr said:

I test drive the new M2 before I purchased the golf it’s a brilliant car and would have purchased it except it was rear wheel drive , great for summer , but anything wet or icy and it would be a real handful.

as soon as the x drive version is announced (circa Autumn 2026) then I’m afraid it’s goodbye VW.

 

I really can’t believe how shocking the simple things VW have just fuc*ed up , by law you can’t use your phone while driving , so Bluetooth is a must , but every time it disconnects I have to fiddle with the screen , then reboot the screen to let it connect again , bloody dangerous.

seriously the software engineers at VW need firing , I can’t believe they have been allowed to go to market with such a crap architecture running the system , it’s 2025 ! Not 1980 with a Sinclair spectrum at the heart of the system.

 

The top executives were fired. Just takes forever to create change so the new architecture didn’t make the MK8.5.

[R_wannabe_owner]

On 24/06/2025 at 19:28, scuderiafolene said:

How about this fine quality german stiches on passenger seat 😆

 

Am I being stupid or is this some kind of velcro solution that I am unaware of. How does your 8.5 passenger seats look like?

That’s pretty poor and not want I’d expect to see in a new car when spending around £50k or more depending on the options selected. Hopefully VW will do the right thing and replace the seat cover without trying to wriggle out of it by making some lame excuse like ‘you must have had someone sitting on the seat’ 😲🤣 (but it’s a seat, and that’s what it’s for) or ‘it’s wear and tear’ (it definitely isn’t).

 

Over the years, I’ve noticed a drop in VW’s build quality and after sales dealership support that VW might feel is acceptable. Unfortunately I don’t, and I won’t be buying another VW for the foreseeable future. 

[blizzard60]

How is an M2 being compared with a Golf R? How much is an M2 in the UK? Here in Canada an M2 is at least 60% more than a Golf R ($80K vs $50K).

[Dannybear83]

1 minute ago, blizzard60 said:

How is an M2 being compared with a Golf R? How much is an M2 in the UK? Here in Canada an M2 is at least 60% more than a Golf R ($80K vs $50K).

I know we going off topic… I drove the black M240i while my car was on carwow  it defo felt a level up In performance but i couldn’t get comfortable because the pedals felt to far to the right 

[Msportman]

1 hour ago, Dannybear83 said:

I know we going off topic… I drove the black M240i while my car was on carwow  it defo felt a level up In performance but i couldn’t get comfortable because the pedals felt to far to the right 

Similar to the M2 Comp I drove a couple  of years ago.

It has a lovely sublime chassis (2018 car) and IMO one of the best looking M cars.

 

You can get a really nice M2 Comp with low miles £35k-£40k.

Yes it hasn’t got useless tech which I love and is only 2WD which is perfect as an occasional or Sunday outings car.

 

Maybe in another 12 months they will bring a special model R with all the bugs sorted??

 

Still like a heavily optioned R20 though.

[AHG]

15 hours ago, robdfr said:

Sinclair spectrum

 

Wow, I remember Sinclair … that’s how old I am 🙂