[Nai3t]

My assumption is this first wave doesn't count – it's getting a sampling of vehicles in, getting the process established, finding kinks, training techs.

When it goes into wide release, if it's a free-for-all is going to be a scheduling nightmare for service departments, so I anticipate they go in VIN "buckets" – not exactly date-of-sale order, but close enough and easy to control.

VW has experience with this – any other dieselgaters remember scrambling to get a months-out appointment spot for their buyback?

 

[Nai3t]

I wonder if software updates must be applied at the dealership. ... If I need to bring it to the dealer for updates, I might not buy either of them.

Yes. Maybe. No.

The goal is regular OTA updates. For the '21 model year, and software v. 2.1 in particular, the car needs a dealership visit for a few different reasons. However the intent moving forward, v. 3 software and beyond, is over the air updates via cellular (Car-Net) connection.

But if there comes a time to update specific modules that aren't accessible to the OTA system, it may require a dealer visit. That said, hopefully nothing as extensive, complex, and time consuming as what we're witnessing with the 2.1 cars.

 

[Nai3t]

I read somewhere that the 2.1 to 2.4 update required a flash of a BMS system to enable it to support future OTA updates, but again, that’s just something I read on the forum!

That's what makes the US situation confounding. In theory, we could have taken in our 2.1, received the 2.4 BMS update and new 12 volt battery, then received the remaining via OTA (like they're doing in Europe?).

But given the complications we saw there, and the issues dealership service departments are experiencing here, that's probably the reason VW opted to do it this way.

However... 2.1 to 3.1 (more accurately 2.1 to 2.3 to 2.4 to 3.1) was the plan from the start, as of last February, before 2.4 went gold, and before any of these recent update problems were known publicly. So it's pretty clear VW knew this update was going to be a problem.

 

[Nai3t]

That is what we heard last year but I wonder if this is the way they are doing the current update. Maybe @VW TECHNICIAN can shed some light on the process.

This is what a VW tech wrote today on Facebook:

"I just finished a 1st edition. It took me 5 days to muddle my way through all the complexities.​

BTW - the update is multi part.​

1. install 32gb update with USB stick to infotainment.
2. replace 12v battery with (less aH but more CCA)
3. connect scan tool and update 34 control modules
4. force a CAN BUSS sleep
5. now go back and code, parameterize, adapt, and set basic settings of all 34 control modules
6. another CAN BUSS sleep
7. now program the 12v to the car and manually set basic settings of a few systems.

"This is BY FAR the biggest and most complex update done to any of our cars. I can understand VW wanting us to stop if control modules get bricked. With the chip shortage who knows when a replacement will get there????"​

​

No details about having to step through multiple updates, but perhaps he glossed over that part? @VW TECHNICIAN does the update entail a multi-step 2.1 > 2.3 > 2.4 > 3.1 upgrade path, or has it been condensed down to fewer steps?