One Or Two Small Mods.

Our Alltrack comes with an auxiliary battery to the left of the load area ( I don't know if they all do ) used,as far as I am aware,to run the electronic "extras" so as not to flatten the main battery.

At this time of year I like to give both batteries a charge now and again but the auxiliary battery involves removing the oddments shelf above it,not an arduous job but a slight pain.

I decided to affix a CTek Attachment Lead to it so I can connect my CTek charger without disturbing anything.

 CTek Attachment Lead

Secondly I have often thought that the tailgate edge looks a bit bare compared with the models that have a chrome strip attached so I had one installed by the dealer.

Finally I attached one of these to the spare wheel valve :-

Air To Spare

Makes checking the air pressure in the spare much easier as the wheel does not have to be removed from the vehicle to do it,saves my back.

Ian

Egged!!

A couple of weeks ago on a dark rainy night,some pillock threw an egg at the car.

The noise when it hit was frightening,I thought the rearvsuspension had collapsed it was so loud.

Anyway I ( wrongly ) thought that it was only an egg and most of it would wash off in the overnight rain.

When I came to clean the car the next day,egg was everywhere,paintwork,glass and also in the window guides from where it took some removing.

Unfortunately it had also pitted the paintwork on the rear offside passenger door,pitted the aluminium on the lower window guide and also pitted the paint on the black strip down the side of the door.

Today it has cost me £170 to have the upper door resprayed,the black upright resprayed and the aluminium window guide replaced ( incidentally the price of the guide is a frightening £50).

So if you are unfortunate enough to get "egged",get it off the car immediately or you will be facing a hefty bill.

Ian

A Little Bit of Tinkering.

Had the Alltrack into the dealers a couple of days ago for an oil and filter change,swapping the wheels and tyres for the winter models (of course there will now be an autumn heatwave ) and the fitting of some wind deflectors to all the windows.

I thought (hope) that these will prevent the buffeting noise from the rear windows when they are open in the summer,they look good too,well I think so.

Had the coolant topped up as well as it seemed a bit low.

That's it all set up for winter.

Ian

Trailer Assist contd......

I Tweeted VW to ask if Trailer Assist,as offered on the new Passat,would be available as a retro fit,the reply I received said "not anytime soon".

Pity really as I don't think it would take much fitting if you already have Park Assist but there you go.

Ian

Air To Spare

Fitted one of these to the Alltrack spare wheel today :-

Air To Spare

It enables the spare wheel tyre pressure to be remotely checked without humping the spare wheel out of the car as the valve on the spare points dowmwards ( why it couldn't have been the other way up I don't know ).

Seems to work well,have left it coiled up in the wheel well but may reposition it later on to check without lifting the boot floor if I can think how to do it.

Ian

All Patched Up.

Took the Alltrack to Premier Paint in Wakefield today and had the rear bumper scuff repaired and a stainless steel plate ( from Germany via E-Bay ) affixed to the bumper and had the original protective film removed except at the sides as the plate wasn't as long as I thought it would be.

Looks rather good in my opinion ( biased ).

Also had a couple of stone chips touched up as well.

She is now back to her pristine lovliness.

Ian

Bumper Damage

Whilst hitching up our caravan,a certain person ( not me ) managed to reverse the Alltrack into the caravan hitch,damaging the bumper.

Not a massive amount of damage it has to be said but it's away to the repairer on Tuesday to be assessed.

Ian

Wiper Hesitation

I have noticed that when the vehicle is stationary using the Stop/Start and the windscreen wipers are in use,when the car starts again there is a noticeable hesitation in the wipers but nothing else electrical.

Does anyone know if they all do this or is it something that cn be corrected ?

Only a minor thing I know but I would like to know.

Ian

Breakaway Cable Attachment

As I have mentioned previously the breakaway cable attachment on the Westfalia towbar is a bit of a faff to connect being a "grovel on the ground" sort of a job.

I have attempted to remedy this a bit by attaching a suitably robust shackle to it,whilst not making the job a doddle it does improve things somewhat.

Hope this is of some assistance to somebody.

Ian

Excellent !!

Just returned from a few days caravanning in Scarborough.

The Alltrack was excellent,towed a caravan,four passengers,packed with luggage,a full roofbox and two childrens bikes with no problem at all.

The auto/Tiptronic gearbox is a delight.

Well pleased with things so far.

Ian

Towing

We used the Alltrack to tow our caravan for the first time last weekend to watch the Tour de France in Leyburn in the Yorkshire Dales.

There was only one word to describe the Alltracks towing ability and that is awesome.

It was rock steady on the road,even when passed by artics. on the A1 it never moved,put it in "cruise" when appropriate to do so and just steer.

It turned in just a shade under 30mpg whilst towing our Bailey Orion ( according to the digital display ) and the pop-out factory fitted towbar did its job without any problem.

The only very minor gripe is that that the securing point for the caravan breakaway cable on the Wesfalia towbar is hidden away at the back which means a hands and knees job to clip it in.


Ian

Film Time

Had some protective film applied today to prevent the bodywork getting marked by stonechips.

Front of bonnet,either side of the front number plate and to the back bumper behind the retractable towball.

Very good neat job done,I was going to include a photo but they can barely be seen with the naked eye let alone with a camera so a bit pointless really.

Would be a good idea if they were offered as a factory/dealer fit extra.


Ian

Update On mph/kph

Visited the dealer yesterday asked if they knew how to alter the digital reading from km/h to mph in the digital display as mentioned previously.

The answer was that it can't be done ( well it could be done with some jiggery pokery in the computer but would be illegal ) as the speedometer only shows mph and legally it has to show km/h somewhere as well.

In other markets it is allowed hence the bit in the handbook describing how to do it.

So there is the answer,you can't do it.

Ian

Trailer Assist

It appears VW are to offer Trailer Assist on the forthcoming new Passat for 2015.

Trailer Assist

It would doubtless help us caravanners who aren't exactly red hot at reversing although I can't see it being retro-fit to older models but you never know.

Ian

Beware That Hosepipe !!

Have just given the Alltrack its first clean and it occured to me how easy it would be to get an exhaust pipe ( or two exhaust pipes ) full of water from using a hose.

Think I will cover them with a plastic bag next time.

Ian

Stop/Start Stopped ??

Yesterday I thought the Stop/Start system had packed its bags and left town as it didn't work.

It wasn't until I consulted the handbook I discovered that there is a long list of provisos before the Stop/Start decides to Stop/Start,one being not having the fan on Max which we had at the time.

Ian

Km/h To Mph ??

Does anyone know how to change the second speed display in the MFD from Km/h to Mph.

It tells you how on page 23 of the handbook but I do not appear to have an Alt.speed.dis. function in the computer.

I have also tried the other way of doing it via pressing a button three times etc.but that doesn't work either.

I will ask the dealer if all else fails but someone must have altered it themselves I would think.

Ian

It Arrived Eventually.

As can be seen from the main blog picture the Alltrack has finally arrived.

Have to say I am pretty impressed with it in the two days it has been here,the technology on a new car these days is astounding,even if it takes a degree in automotive technology to fathom it all out.

First a bit of background,the car is a 177PS with a DSG gearbox in Tornado Red.

We specified a fair few factory fitted extras,namely:-

Electric folding mirrors
Heated front seats.
Heated windscreen
Manual rear sunblinds
Park Assist
Parking heater
Rear view camera
Electric tailgate
Electric towbar and 13-pin electrics
Leather upholstery

And some dealer fitted bits and pieces:-

Net partition
Door sill and bumper protection
Rubber floor mats
Semi-rigid load liner
Load bars
Child seat ptotector
DVD players

I originally wanted headlight protectors and mud flaps but were told these weren't really compatible with the Alltrack.

Also bought a five year warranty and servicing plan.

We received excellent service from JCT600 in Wakefield and obtained a fair price for our trade in so if anyone is thinking of using them do not hesitate,ask for Graham Bulmer and you won't go far wrong.

If any caravanners are reading this and specify the factory fitted Westfalia towball,you may be a bit disappointed when you find there is no anchorage for the breakaway cable,I was.

However on further examination it is there,tucked right at the back of the tow ball compartment and is difficult to spot at first.

I hope it lives up to its first impressions.

As with my Bailey Orion Blog ( BOB ) don't hesitate to get in touch with anything interesting.


Ian

It's Landed !!

Well the Alltrack has finally landed at the dealers,been to have a quick look this evening,looks good.

Ian

VW Possible Tow Bar Problem

Could I draw attention to this post I have placed on Caravan Talk regarding possible problems with the Westfalia factory fitted tow bar set up.

Caravan Talk Post

If anyone has any comments,feel free  to get in touch.

Ian

Week To Go.

Well it's landed in the UK and should be with the dealer within seven days,hopefully.

One or two ( well quite a few ) dealer fitted accessories to go on it though.

Ian

Bobbing About On The Briny.

Just had notification that the Passat is bobbing about on the North Sea,not long now.

Ian

It's On Its Way.

Had an update today on the VW Vehicle Tracker and it is built and in transit,can't be long now.

Ian

Alltrack On Order

Welcome to the VW Passat Alltrack Blog.

I am still tittivating the blog up a bit so it should improve over time.

Anyway we have a Tornado Red Alltrack 177 PS on order from JCT 600 VW dealers in Wakefield.

It was ordered on 13th.February with an estimated delivery date of the 8th.May.

According to the VW Vehicle Tracker it is due to be built sometime next week,27th.April .

Have specified a fair few extras :-

Electric folding mirrors
Electric Tailgate
Leather Upholstery
Heated Front Seats
Heated Windscreen
Rear Sunblinds
Park Assist
Rear View Camera
Factory Fit Towbar with 13-pin Electrics
Parking Heater
Mudflaps
Loadliner
Door Sill Trims
Rubber Floor Mats
Net Partition
Load Bars
Rear Seat DVD


Also specified a 5-year Warranty and 3-year Service Pack.

Got a very good deal from JCT and a fair price to trade in the Jetta.

I look forward to receiving any comments anyone may have,feel free to get in touch.

Ian