VAG COM Recomendations

[martinj]

Hi,

I have been searching the forum and reading up on various VAGCOM options and am left wondering still which is the best bet.

We have a 1999 passat 1.8t and a 1999 audi s4, and all being replacing the passat with a 1999 a6 4.2.

I was wondering if anyone could help with a recomendation on the best cable / software to get for the above range of cars - do any of the systems offer a better range of options vs another, or has anyone bought one system and realised it did not do everything they wanted.

Any help, suggestions or recomendations would be really appreciated.

Martin

[Loofer]

Hi,

I have been searching the forum and reading up on various VAGCOM options and am left wondering still which is the best bet.

We have a 1999 passat 1.8t and a 1999 audi s4, and all being replacing the passat with a 1999 a6 4.2.

I was wondering if anyone could help with a recomendation on the best cable / software to get for the above range of cars - do any of the systems offer a better range of options vs another, or has anyone bought one system and realised it did not do everything they wanted.

Any help, suggestions or recomendations would be really appreciated.

Martin
I'm probably not the best person to be replying to your thread (as I have no experience of VAG COM) but I'm sure somebody will correct me.

First of all decide the software version. The 2 main ones are 409.1 and the more recent one 704.1.
Both are available to download for free from www.Ross-Tech.com
The difference between them? I'm not quite sure. Seen as they are both free to download and easily available so why not go for 704.1
(there is also a reason why you may have to choose 409, see below)

Decide whether you want to use the shareware version or you want to register for the full version which allows you access to more features. Registration alone costs $99 (£50). Hopefully this link will help you decide
http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/vag-functions.html

Now the interface (cable). The connection types are available in both USB and Serial COM Port. For your Audi you will need either the Key ($250) interface. You also have the option of choosing Hex + Can ($350) interface which will also cover the newer Vw/Audi cars (2004+). Both leads can be purchased from Ross-Tech inclusive of fully registered software.

Whilst upto $350 (£175) may be alot, there are many people/organisations selling 'dumb' interfaces. These are interfaces that are manufactured by sombody other than Ross-Tech. These can be bought for around £10 -£15. The catch is that most of them will only work with version 409.1

Most of the information I have given here is just a condensed version of what can be found on www.ross-tech.com and undoubtedly I may have got some things wrong.

It dosn't neccessarily answer your question but you need to ask yourself:
What do I want to use it for now?
What may I want to use it for in the future?
How much can I afford?

[AutoTDI]

I think eeezzup has provided quite a good summary.

My route was as follows:

1. Buy 3rd party connector/cable.
2. Download v409.1 "freeware"
3. Check hardware + software all works OK
4. Send off registration fee to release all functions.

This route effectively provides a staged approach and minimises the risk of something not working. I realise that v409.1 is not the latest version, but it seems to provide most of what I need for my 97 A4 1.9TDI. If you have a more recent car and/or one with a "CAN" bus, you may have to do something different. Another advantage of my route: The major cost is the software licence, which does not incur postage, VAT or import duty.

[martinj]

Hi Auto TDI,

I notice that you are in Berkshire, I am in Reading and was wondering if it would be possible to come over to see you VAGCOM to get a feel for what it is like and what it does / does not do?

Thanks to both of you for your replies, very useful and helpful.

Martin

[Col]

As to what to get;

If your going to keep your car and not get a newer vag group car, go for the older 409.

If you ever think you'll upgrade your car to newer vag group car then go for a hex-can lead which runs the latest versions. The older leads will not work on newer cars, MK5 Golfs B6 Passats etc.

As for seeing two local peeps here, how about a Berkshire meet sometime soon?

It would involve simply meeting up somewhere (preeferably somewhere with a food source :o) and having a good chat for an hour or so about the pleasures and dis-pleasures of ownership. I've done a fair few of these on another forum and they really are worthwhile.

If your interested post back in this thread and i'll start a thread proper to organising a meet.

[Eshrules]

As to what to get;

If your going to keep your car and not get a newer vag group car, go for the older 409.

If you ever think you'll upgrade your car to newer vag group car then go for a hex-can lead which runs the latest versions. The older leads will not work on newer cars, MK5 Golfs B6 Passats etc.

As for seeing two local peeps here, how about a Berkshire meet sometime soon?

It would involve simply meeting up somewhere (preeferably somewhere with a food source :o) and having a good chat for an hour or so about the pleasures and dis-pleasures of ownership. I've done a fair few of these on another forum and they really are worthwhile.

If your interested post back in this thread and i'll start a thread proper to organising a meet.

excellent idea col ;) nice to see you promoting the idea....

for the benefit of anyone who wishes to purchase a vagcom cable, i offer these to forum members at the exclusive price of £12 delivered, first class recorded delivery.

i can't fault the advice given above :beerchug:

[AutoTDI]

Having recommended this approach, I have just discovered a major limitation: you cannot delete DTCs!

This is an important detail that I hadn't been aware of, although it is mentioned in the manual. However, the manual does contain an Appendix which lists the available functions and clearing DTCs is listed. The comparison table for the different versions (interface + software variations) on Ross-Tech's website does not make this clear. In fact, not only do you need the HEX-CAN interface, but it has to be the "Professional" version, not even the "Enthusiast" version will do. I am also a bit miffed over the claim by the vendor of the connector that DTCs could be cleared with v409.1.

In reply to Martin, I only received my VAG-COM registration yesterday and I am still trying to work my way around it, so I don't think it would be very helpful to you at the present time to witness my cursing on finding out yet another function is missing. Perhaps it would be better for you to contact BigCol in Maidenhead as he's got much more experience than me.

In summary, I'm not a happy bunny today and I'm wondering whether I'd have been better sticking with the "free" software.

Correction: I have just discovered that DTCs can be deleted from an individual module, but not within the Auto Scan function. Why the latter method should need a different interface, I have no idea. I have just deleted two codes from the central locking module; one relating to door lock operation exceeding operating time and the other relating to the internal movement alarm being triggered. So far, the DTCs have not re-appeared. So I suppose I shouldn't have been too hasty in jumping to conclusions. I'll just have to plod through all the functions and remember not to panic! I've also had a play with the TDI timing checker, which works very well and has confirmed that my timing is OK. I now have the situation where there are no DTCs being reported and everything seems OK, so in the event of a fault appearing in future, I'll have a baseline to refer to.