Just bought an MFD2 on ebay

[farrow-chan]

Hi guys might need a little help here

I bought a Mk5 gti at the weekend and havent even picked it up yet (will do on Friday)
However this didnt stop me from purchasing a nice OEM sat nav unit for it. Its not the all singing all dancing RNS 510 but for 195 squid I thought it was something of a bargain.

So question is how easy will it be to install?
Will it require VCDS coding?

Previous owner installed an ugly Blaupunkt head unit with a single din in dash cd changer, looking forward to getting rid and returning it to OEM look

Any help would be much appreciated

[Norbreck21a]

Piece of pi55...

Take the old unit out, slide the new one in, pop in the security code (which I hope came with the unit ?) and you are good to go. You only really need to have it coded if you have the highline display, as the NAV instructions, compass arrow ect. won't show up unless that's done. Also, it will throw an error in VCDS about the unit being incorrectly coded, but it doens't affect the operation of the unit or the car in ayway, and if you don't have VCDS, you will never see the error code anyway  

If you only have midline dash, then don't even bother coding it, just fit and play.

Just hope that whoever fitted the aftermarket unit didn't hack into the original harness and quadlock connector and everything is still in place ?

Just remember the limitations of the MFD2, which is that the NAV disc has to be in the unit when ever you want to use the Nav function, meaning you can't use the a CD for music, therefore only radio will be available unless you have a 6 disc changer or Ipod prep. That's the reason why ALL MFD2's were sold from the factory with either a CD changer or Ipod prep fitted. TBH, if you have either of the former then it's no big deal but if you haven't it will drive you nuts.

Don't get me wrong, for less than 200 smackers, it's a really nice unit (especially if it's the later DVD drive version), but just be aware of it's limitations. One of the reasons why I upgraded mine to an RNS-510 with MDI.

[farrow-chan]

Hey all - so a quick update

I fitted the unit this afternoon - was a bit of hassle getting all the trim off and then back on again but I managed it without too many scratches!

In any case - just been reading about battery drain.
I have an 06 gti - any idea if I will be able to start the car in the morning!?

Cheers for any help

[Teutonic_Tamer]

In any case - just been reading about battery drain.
I have an 06 gti - any idea if I will be able to start the car in the morning!?

You know there is only one answer to that question! 

But seriously, do you know what firmware is on the MFD2?  And what spec is your battery?

[farrow-chan]

Not got a clue about the firmware..do you know how I can check? Is there a back menu I can access that will tell me? Ill go outside now and check the battery..........

[farrow-chan]

Hey its a 72Ah battery
Had a little play looking for a firmware version but couldnt see anything obvious

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Not got a clue about the firmware..do you know how I can check? Is there a back menu I can access that will tell me? Ill go outside now and check the battery..........

My memory fails me on how to access the engineering menu - try www.VWnavi.com - they will know. 

And your 72Ah battery is good.  Some had a lower-spec 70Ah batt which caused issues.

[Norbreck21a]

TT, as this is an MFD2 he's talking about (not an RNS510), have you ever heard of anyone having battery drain issues with one of these?. I certainly haven't ?

[Teutonic_Tamer]

TT, as this is an MFD2 he's talking about (not an RNS510), have you ever heard of anyone having battery drain issues with one of these?. I certainly haven't ?

Yes, I had it with my RNS-MFD2 - completely blitzed the batt - couldn't even unlock the car with the remote!  Repeated attendence by the incompetent VW brakedown service, and repeated complaints to stealer.  A combination of firmware flash on the head unit, along with replacing the 70Ah batt with the correct spec 72Ah batt cured it.

I think the issue was related to faulty TIM settings - the head unit should go to sleep after 24 hours of no ignition - but mine wasn't.  Stealer said (after they eventually fixed it) it was a common-ish prob with early DVD RNS-MFD2 units

[Eddie-NL]

Hi
I replaced my 72Ah battery with a 70Ah version and I have an RNS510 both been running fine for over several months without any issues. I had the mfd2 before the rns

[andyceb]

TT, as this is an MFD2 he's talking about (not an RNS510), have you ever heard of anyone having battery drain issues with one of these?. I certainly haven't ?

Yes, I had it with my RNS-MFD2 - completely blitzed the batt - couldn't even unlock the car with the remote!  Repeated attendence by the incompetent VW brakedown service, and repeated complaints to stealer.  A combination of firmware flash on the head unit, along with replacing the 70Ah batt with the correct spec 72Ah batt cured it.

I think the issue was related to faulty TIM settings - the head unit should go to sleep after 24 hours of no ignition - but mine wasn't.  Stealer said (after they eventually fixed it) it was a common-ish prob with early DVD RNS-MFD2 units

This is very interesting reading! 

My 55 plate GTI has the MFD2 fitted by a previous owner (it can't be factory as it has the mid-line display) I left the car for about a week and the battery drained... I assumed it was the original battery giving up after 5 years so bought a Bosch Silver to replace it, all was fine until I stopped driving it again for about a week and it was flat also!

I checked my alternator and it is spot on, giving a good charge even with all the electrics turned on so it must be that something is draining the battery! 

I don't suppose you have any more information about what update or change the dealer made to your headunit?  I have a service due and would be tempted to take it to a main dealer if they can fix this at the same time 

[andyceb]

Well took my car to the VW main dealer and they upgraded the head unit to version 30 which is the latest European version (50 is for USA)  one of the 'bug fixes' listed in that upgrade is something to do with closed circuit power.

They then hooked my car up to a 15 hour long current draw test to see what current if any my car is using - Nothing, after a few minutes or so when lights go off, alarm sets etc it evens out to a perfect smooth line - no peaks no current draw at all 

Problem solved 

Something the dealer did say to me though is that power loss can be seen if you set the TIM function on - this can cause the radio to switch on and look for traffic reports - if it does this for hours and hours every night you can see a problem after the car has been left for a week or two.  Something to check if you are seeing this problem