[pillallo]

my multifunction display on my 2007 gti started flickering on and off @ around 3k miles, on my 5k miles service i mentioned to the service rep, but they could not replicate it, now at around 5.5k miles it's happening more often, sometimes not working at all, after i drive a few miles, it starts to dim itself until you can only see 2 lines, does anyone have this problem? i am so upset, i mean the car is basically brand new and i already had a fuel pump replaced, had radio issues, now this crap, VW still cranking subpar quality cars, i'm loyal to vw but i think they will lose me on my next car.

 

[GTI MKV]

VW always seems to have some problems with cars when you first get them but after the first 10k miles all seems to be well. hang in there you will soon have the car in tip top shape 8)

 

[vdubbaby]

I had the same problem a week after I bought the car it seemed to do it more often when the car was sitting in the sun for a long time. After 3 trips to the dealer they just replaced the entire MFD and now all is fine.

 

[pcaffari]

I actually just made a post on this problem myself. Yes it seems to be related to heat. I still have to take the car in. I was looking for some info, I guess I found it!

 

[lumpypumpkin]

I had a similar issue with mine. The display would go backwards, upside down, turn all red, or just turn off.

Mentioned it to the dealer and they thought i was crazy, so they took a look at it, but couldnt recreate it, then on their delivery inspection, it happened to the driver.

They had to replace the whole dash pannel, and then reprogram all the electronic keys. No more issues.

 

[VEGAS FAHRENHEIT]

When I had my '01 Audi S4 - that MFD did the same thing - they replaced it and it was fine. Like said before, it was heat related - for some reason it does not like direct sunlight - after that I always put a towel over the dash to protect it

 

[uncle dude]

Why is it that the dealer has to always re-create the problem. Do they think VW owners have nothing better to do that invent ridiculous problems? Especially with electric issues, where this brand has little or no credibility.

 

[BlueFrogPosse]

In many cases it's impossible to find what's wrong when the malfunction is not present. If the MFD is flickering on and off it may not be as simple as replacing the MFD. It could be the display, the electronics module, the fuse, wiring, power supply, etc, etc. Rather than replacing everything and having your car out of commission for weeks, the technicians would much rather be able to 'shoot the problem down while it's happening.

 

[uncle dude]

In many cases it's impossible to find what's wrong when the malfunction is not present. If the MFD is flickering on and off it may not be as simple as replacing the MFD. It could be the display, the electronics module, the fuse, wiring, power supply, etc, etc. Rather than replacing everything and having your car out of commission for weeks, the technicians would much rather be able to 'shoot the problem down while it's happening.

I agree with you, it is certainly ideal if the tech can see the problem first hand. But using your example if you told the technician the MFD flickers off then comes back on, what is the technician really going to learn by seeing it for himself? They would still have to check all the items in your list wouldn't they? I don't fix cars for a living, but I wish sometimes they would take you at your word and look into it, rather than sending you away frustrated. Trust me, I am speaking from experience which is why I get belligerent when I feel I need to. I have had to many small electric issues not repaired because the problem couldnt' be reproduced in the shop.

 

[BlueFrogPosse]

You make a good point, and I would certainly want them to look into and take my word for it. However, if the tech were to take a meter to the wires and the terminals trying to find a problem with the power while the MFD was working fine, he'd find that everything was okay. Especially with symptoms like a flickering display, I'd likely lean toward a loose connection or broken wire. It wouldn't be worth my time to scope the wires while everything was kosher. I can think of one thing we do a lot in the Air Force - you can try suggesting this to the VW techs but it's a very highly technical process and requires years of training and experience to really be effective. I like to call it the watch-the-screen-and-wiggle-the-wires method. Basically what it involves, contrary to its title, is watching the screen and wiggling the wires. When the screen flickers, you're close to the problem.

 

[VEGAS FAHRENHEIT]

Wow, that's an extremely highly intelligent way of probing for a problem. And implement this method on million dollar airplanes as well?

 

[BlueFrogPosse]

If there's one thing I've learned; it doesn't matter if you're working on a $25K car or a $300M bomber or a $9.95 alarm clock, if you keep things simple things will in fact be simple.

 

[VEGAS FAHRENHEIT]

well spoken O0

 

[pcaffari]

unfortunatly in this case a loose/broke wire would make the problem appear more often than in this specific case (which seems to be heat related). These types of problems should have been discovered at the engineering level. ie: "test the darn thing under various ambient conditions" and they might find out that "hey, we may have a problem when the display gets too hot"

 

[whtemxcan]

i got an 08 mkv and for some reason the convenience feature on the mfd has disappeared from my menu... Is it possible that the dealer removed that from my gti? (on accident that is or just cutting corners)

(now this is funny)
I had a flat tire that punctured both my tire and wheel. so i had the tire and wheel replaced and i kept the old wheel and tire so i could fix it later.. well the tech rep couldn't figure out why my low tire pressure light would stay on if all my tires were inflated properly. i soon realized that my punctured rim was in my trunk. (giving a low pressure signal) i remember seeing the dude using a lap top and having it plugged in to the data port under the dash. when i asked what he was doing, he said he was gonna try to dissable the low pressure light... i finally let the dude know that my wheel was in my back seat with the TPMS stem still attached to the wheel....

could it be that what he did caused my convenience option to be deleted from the mfd using VAG COM?

any suggestions? please help.