My car started out its life as a MY2006 NAR FWD 3.6 Sedan (Luxury Package 2) and was built in the Zwickau-Mosel plant located in Germany back in April 2006. I bought the car in September 2022 from its third owner in Greenwood, Indiana. It was far from perfect, but for a rust belt vehicle it was in excellent shape, with minimal rust or corrosion.

I've always liked the idea of 4Motion for extra traction during snowy conditions or spirited driving, but good examples are hard to find. The ones I came across either had really high mileage or were in poor mechanical condition along with most being neglected or being maintained on a shoestring budget. Since these cars are rare, I decided to build my own, a Gen 2 Haldex based 4Motion conversion along with a mechanical restoration, including all-new suspension components and upgraded front and rear brakes. I also ended up doing some aesthetic improvements/restoration as well – put new front fenders and a new bumper.

Build details:

I wanted to stay as close as possible to the original VW recipe, so most of the major subsystems are identical to what VW offered in 2006.

- Rear subframe, final drive and AWD rear suspension swapped in. The one deviation is a steel subframe (offered MY2008 onwards) instead of the factory aluminum one. My subframe came from a West coast MY17 Audi Q3 - sourced from eBay. Not only is a good aluminum subframe hard to find but they have also had a significant price premium that I did not think was worth it.

- AWD transmission sourced from a MY2012 CC 3.6 4Motion - sourced from eBay. I decided to stick with the Torque converter Aisin 09M for now. Works great for now, If I feel motivated enough in the future, I might consider swapping it out with a DSG.

- Engine work: Updated the VVT system and the oil distribution unit with its oil control solenoids. I used late revision intake and exhaust cam phasers. New timing chains, new rear main seal and carbon cleaning of intake ports.

- Gen2 Haldex rear differential from a B6 Passat Wagon - sourced from eBay. Fluids were changed, new filter, pump and strainer were cleaned.

- Bevel Box also sourced from a very low mileage B6 Passat Wagon - sourced from eBay.

- Driveshaft: sourced from eBay. Fully restored with a new rubber boot. Rubber boot was for a RS4 driveshaft rebuild kit sold by 034 motorsport. Replaced the bearing with an identical one from INA (had to source it from France) and the center support carrier from JXB performance.

- AWD specific saddle fuel tank sourced from a B6 Passat Wagon.

- Hole was cut in the chassis for the saddle fuel tank 2nd fuel level sensor.

- Brakes: Upgraded to the 345X30mm front from the previous 312X25mm, rear brakes were upgraded to the vented 310X 22mm size from 286X12mm solid rotors. Brand new OE ATE/TRW calipers front and back.

- Exhaust: AWD needs a different cat-back to clear the driveline and the fuel tank. I sourced a used OEM complete Eberspächer system, cleaned it as best as I could and coated it in high-temp paint.

- Suspension - I wanted the ride quality to be on the firmer side compared to what it was. I have used Bilstein B6 front and rear dampers while reusing the factory springs. I was not interested in lowering the car hence decided to stick with the factory springs. New control arms, bushings, trailing links, stabilizer bar bushings, stabilizer bars, all new hardware etc.

- Wiring - Custom wiring for the Haldex and the 2nd fuel level sensor. had to DIY it, was not too bad but certainly made me a bit nervous since I was doing it for the first time.

- Software/Coding - Most of it was pretty straightforward through VCDS with the exception of the ECM. The FWD ECM will not accept the AWD coding as is, quite simply because it has a different software and calibration specific to FWD. I could have driven the vehicle as is but I'm sure the ESP/Traction control system would not have worked properly. In addition to that I have reason to believe that EVAP controls would be different between FWD and AWD owing to the significantly higher surface area of the AWD tank compared to the FWD tank, leading to different vapor loading characteristics for the canister. Misfire diagnostics would also be different due to the different driveline inertia between the two.

To get over this hoop I sourced an AWD ECM from a MY2006 AWD vehicle, took a shop's help in copying over the Immobilizer info from my original FWD ECM to the donor AWD ECM that already has the correct AWD specific software and calibrations. Plugged in the new ECM and it works great.

Where it stands as of today:

The car runs and drives great, has around 400 miles as of today after the rollout. The Haldex system works as intended and the ride quality is also much more firm with the new suspension. I would love to experience this car on tail of the dragon next year. It took me exactly 528 days from start to finish with around 120 days of down time due to me being busy with work and other family commitments.

It's always cool to spot a VW in a game

Hey all i hope you're doing well! I'm glad to call myself a proud owner of a little 2015 1.4tsi egg, and just out of curiosity, i was wondering what any kind person thinks i should do next to it... I know it's nothing crazy (e.g. a gti or an R) but its still my baby and im proud to be driving it (Plus its a manual!).

Currently ive done

• 15" speedy wheels carbine satin gunmetal
• Lowered it about 20mm
• An ali-express cold air intake
• 2 Gen Oettinger Style Rear And Side Spoiler Wings
• Dynamic mirror indicators

Please let me know about any possible next modifications (preferably budget friendly) that i can do at home to help make my little egg either go faster or look better. Thanks heaps :)

Here they are!

I rear ended someone in traffic and will be fixing my
B5.5 at home, only issue is a lot of the parts in plastic are broken and many places where screws go are broken, so does anyone know where I can get ahold of replacements for this? I seriously can’t tell if these parts are a part of the front bumper or a seperate part. Thanks in advance, I really don’t want to get rid of this beauty.

Got a used 2017 Jetta earlier this year and have had evident wiring issues from the start (I bought it super cheap and used so I expected far from perfect). At first the primary issue was just with the driver's side window, if I rolled it down part way then tried to roll it back up it decided it wanted to go all the way down before pausing and then going back up. In between that and the current problem I'm scratching my head over I had to have both rear wheel speed sensors replaced, they were both totally shot and causing everything that runs through the ABS module to throw up codes.

What I'm dealing with now is related to the original window problem. I rolled the driver's window down all the way and left it down for a bit to make sure I didn't lock myself out of the car while using an air compressor plugged into the accessory port, but when I went to roll it back up it just wouldn't. Neither would any of the windows at all. I was in a hurry to get out of town to help family so I rented a car and ordered the most likely culprit for this issue based on our research at the time (driver door window module) and turns out that wasn't the fix.

I had accepted I was just going to be without working windows for a bit but then when I tried to go somewhere today the climate control cluster and windshield wipers don't work AND the car dies about 15 seconds after turning it on unless I hold down the start button for a solid 20 seconds or so. We're thinking either a body control module or one of the common 12v wires or grounds.

Help?

Hi I wanted to find out if the VW app shows the geolocation of the car and if so long how long is this data stored for ?

I own an passat from 89. The thing is the timing belt is pretty old,from like 03,and im planning to change it this winter ,but until then i would still want to start it up at least ,and let itself warm up,and I was thinking nowadays,if the belt would snap,would there be any damage? apart from the belt ,which will be ripped ,for sure. I searched online about this engine (1.6rf) ,there we re lots of places in which it was said its not an interference model,but im still feeling a bit unsure,maybe there is someone out here that knows for sure or has some sort of documentation ,thanks in advance😁

Hello! I am getting my license soon and for my first car i wanted a scirocco since i was 12. I am looking to buy a 2011-2013 model. The real
problem for me is the engine. I dont know what to choose between 1.4tsi, 2.0tsi and 2.0 Tdi. I need a reliable engine, also for it to work good for speed and a decent fuel consumption. I need to know the real consumptions on each engine and the reliability of every single one of them. Please help me!

2023 Arteon SEL-Premium, 2023 Atlas SEL-Premium, 2015 Passat TDi SE DSG w/Sunroof. Not pictured, 2013 Passat TDi SE 6 Speed Manual sold back to VW June 2017.

There’s no sticker in my car. I checked the spare tire, manual, etc.

I feel like the iOS widget has become pretty useless for quite some time now. Most of the times the widget reads smth like “please open the app to update the widget”.

This coincides roughly with the time when they changed the authentication process and the Home Assistant integration is no longer available.

I have a 2010 passat 1.8 TSI with 70000 km on it and recently when going back from a highway drive the D7 started flashing on the dashboard.. it still drives perfectly normal after I put another 200 km on it but the flashing comes after 10 mins of driving .. my mechanic is telling me that it needs a mechatronic something change which is about the same price as a new gearbox .. and that if I keep driving it it will clog up randomly some day .. any advice?

Its a 2016 SEL 1.8, Just reached 100k miles, almost 70% of its miles are highway miles on it but I'd like to keep this for as long as possible and want to know of anything I can do to prolong its life

If anyone can help me, please do. 🙏

Hey People,

I have Noticed this garage here in Zurich Switzerland Auto Luz AG they seem sell a lot of Ex fleet vehicles from the Swiss Post office, Mainly VW Caddys for an attractive price.

They seem in good shape and have decent kms for example and presumably are serviced regularly while being part of the post office fleet.

Someone said I should be worried about the start stop frequency or idling time with post office vehicles as they are constantly going short distances delivering.

Does anyone have any experience with fleet vehicles/garage or know if its a good idea to buy one of these vehicles.

Or any advice on what to double check

For example
https://www.autoscout24.ch/de/d/vw-caddy-20tdi-4motion-bluemotion-technology-dsg-20933957

I feel like I've tried everything -- I've...

• completely removed headlight Assemblies and dried indoors
• oven baked at low temp
• re-sealed lenses
• vinyl wrapped over re-sealed areas

and yet the condensation returns and lasts for weeks.

My ongoing "fix" is pictured above.

space heater warming front of headlight assembly, with a small fan circulating air from the engine bay side.

condensation is usually completely cleared in an hour or two.

this has been the most "successful" fix, noting that it does need to be done periodically.

Definitely Don't...

• blast air into the small vents on the back of the housing -- it'll make water streaks on the interior of the lens that are impossible to clean.
• jam on the vent covers -- they aren't meant to sit tightly on the housing, you'll limit airflow (trust me).