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VW Polo: MID shows speed warning & nothing else at 80 km/h

6th August 2021, 14:35 by Chirag Moro

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However the MID displays only 80 kmph and I cant see any other information like DTE, Mileage, Engine running time, etc. It is in a state of locked situation and I have to reduce speed to glance through those other information which is of interest.

BHPian Sureshmadhan recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I own a BS6 GT TSI. This machine is the top pick for any auto enthusiast. Perhaps I had zeroed down with this little hot hatch based on few criteria.

Powerful engine
Automatic transmission (with Hill hold)
Handling
Safety
Build quality

Two compromises which I did was

Rear leg room space
Low slung ingress and egress for my dad who is in early 70s.

In the automatics, there were very little options with hill hold feature

Dzire
Amaze CVT (brochure does not mention this specifically but CVTs can hold inclines)

Dzire was off due to its safety but now I feel its a very good package. Amaze was off due to the looks and ingress and egress was even lower. The boot was large and I am sure if the boot swallows more luggage, the car tends to be closer to ground and may take a hit on its belly.

This pandemic and lockdowns has given me very little space to be behind the wheels. Once I had to take a long distance drive in my GT TSI and I found a peculiar issue. When I cross 80 kmph speed, you get a alarm chime which is mandatory as per govt rules. However the MID displays only 80 kmph and I cant see any other information like DTE, Mileage, Engine running time, etc. It is in a state of locked situation and I have to reduce speed to glance through those other information which is of interest. This is something I am sure will be in all BS6 VW SKODA cars.

I had reported this issue to VW and my local dealer CRM. I shared a video explaining the issue. Initially the Dealer did not take this issue seriously. After a reference number to my complaint was taken from VW, then I saw CRM writing emails and calling me to have a looks at the problem. Apparently, I had the regular 6 month check and dealer CRM mentioned that team will look into this issue and let me know.

The day had come for service and car was taken for service. I repeated the same story of the issue to the Service Advisor as well. During my mid check point call, SA mentioned that the vehicle is scanned for any issue. At that point of time I was pretty sure that they did not understand the issue. The SA towards the evening was mentioning that usually this alarm comes and this is as per govt laws. As again I had to explain the issue again, SA requested that he may need to hold the car for one more day. I gave a nod with half mind.

Next day, people were clueless and it was sounding as if they are hitting a roadblock to fix the issue. I asked the SA to send back the car, incase the issue wont be fixed in the short term. In the mean time, I had sent an email to VW referring the complaint number that my car is in service center and requested them to put attention.

Here's what Volkswagen replied to the email:

According to VW norms, The Multi function display won’t work if any warning message is displayed while the vehicle is in running condition. If the vehicle crosses 80 KMPH, a single acoustic warning will come and if Vehicle crosses 120 KMPH speed a permanent acoustic sound will come.
While the warning message is displayed in the Multi function display, the Driving Data Display won’t work in order to concentrate on driving at higher speeds which was designed for safety measures by VW.
The same was mentioned in the VW manual, images attached for your reference. Please be assured that the performance of your vehicle is meeting all the parameters of Volkswagen and your vehicle is in roadworthy condition.

It appears that VW is not taking this as a bug and that they wanted more number of complaints to roll out a fix. I had seen a Youtube video where one of the owner has indicated this issue which is not yet fixed. I have a BS6 Aura Turbo and I dont have this issue. The buzzer in Aura is way too loud and annoying but it shows the real time information.

Now that I would like to take opinion on the issue itself and I don't see the point in having the MID showing only 80 kmph.

I would like if anybody in the community is having the same issue and had it fixed? Perhaps there are ways to fix by the OBD port function but this may void the warranties.

Is there any strategy to shake VW more so that they provide an official fix?

Apologies for the video quality as I was in travelling in bumpy road when dealer CRM was asking for the video.

Here's what BHPian Turbohead had to say on the matter:

This is a known issue with the Polo/Vento/ Rapid.
The MID originally had a user configurable speed alarm which can be set anywhere from 30 kmph to 250 kmph. Once the car crosses that set limit, the MID will only show the speed exceeded sign in the MID, just like the video. The other parameters will be locked out.
When the govt rule came into force, the dudes at VW made a shoddy implementation, for which minimum work was required- basically implement a permanent alarm from 80 kmph.
I am not sure if the same occurs in the new Kushaq.
The only solution is to go to a local tuner and remove the speed alarm completely. I believe even VCDS can also be used to remove the speed warning.

Here's what BHPian sen2693 had to say on the matter:

You can argue if VW/Skoda are forcing an inconvenience on you in the name of safety feature but it is definitely not a bug. My Rapid has the same feature. Even I get pissed sometimes when am driving on highway and cannot check my running mileage but it is not a big loss or discomfort. That split second I will look down on the dashboard is the split second I take my eyes off the road at 80+ kmph. And you know Indian highways and the all the different kind of drivers you meet there.
Plus as mentioned above, tampering with it might or might not void your warranty.

Here's what BHPian abhishek46 had to say on the matter:

I dont think this is bug. As explained by VW, this is their way of implementing the safety controls.
In my opinion, at 80kmph, we should focus our eyes on the road, and not on the MID.

Here's what BHPian RMN had to say on the matter: