Advice needed - buy VCDS or keep my paws off...?

[Niels J. Larsen]

I've just bought an Octavia II 2008 2.0 TDI Elegance.

I'd like to retrofit various components that will require coding.

As I see it I have three options to do this:

1) Let a dealer do everything and pay a lot of money

2) Fit the components myself and let the dealer do the coding

3) Buy VCDS and do everything myself and get the possibility of checking future errors/faults myself

Right now I'm inclined to select option number 1, but my local dealer has for example never tried retrofitting a Maxidot display and thus won't promise me anything.

This leads me to think that I can do as good a job myself.

I'm not really looking for your oppinion on which option I should choose, but I'd like to know the following:

A) How hard is it to learn to use VCDS?

If it's reasonably easy - how should I go about learning? Is it just a matter of buying it and start using it?

C) Is it *VERY* easy to mess up everything even if you perform a backup of the original coding first - rendering the vehicle useless or near useless?

D) Are there any "VCDS for dummies" guide out there? I'm thinking of a list of do's and don'ts ?

Thanks

Niels

[rwbaldwin]

First of all, I assume your car is still under warranty. If make modifications yourself, you will likely void your warranty so I have to say option 1.

A. I found it easy to learn to use VCDS, but I knew how the car systems worked. A spanner is easy to use. It is what you do with it.

B. Buy it and start using it. Ask on the forums for advice on the job you want to do. Read the procedures section on Ross-Tech's website.

C. There are a few ways, you can mess things up with no way back. My favourite is limiting the top speed of the car to say 25kph and then discovering the setting can only be lowered. In most cases, provided you make a note of the coding before you start you can go back. If in doubt, ask before you start - someone will have done the job before and will be able to advise.

D. Haven't seen one, but reading the Ross-Tech website is a good start.

HTH

[Mohamed Nassar]

hello

do you know mike which controllers for the octavia 2009 facelfit will accept coding once only

[gadgetman]

My favourite is limiting the top speed of the car to say 25kph and then discovering the setting can only be lowered.

:eek:

[Atty]

My favourite is limiting the top speed of the car to say 25kph and then discovering the setting can only be lowered.

:eek: Now that would just ruin all the fun!