I wanted to share the installation process of the VW Bluetooth accessory in my Mk5 R32. The process should be similar in any recent Mk5 VW. As usual the standard disclaimers apply- this worked for me but may or may not work for you, so use caution.
After installing this I want to first say that IMO the Parrot Bluetooth offering is much more feature-rich than this thing is. Pricewise they seem about the same, so do compare the Parrot offering before you commit to this. Also the installation process is fairly complex. Read through this before beginning.
So far here's what the Volk-L kit can do:
Will mute/pause the radio/cd when the phone is active
Will announce via a voice the name of the contact when a call comes in ("Call from Otto Bahn at home")
Will announce via a voice when a reminder pops up (for smartphone calendar reminders)
stuff it can't do:
Cannot initiate a call from the steering wheel button (Parrot can do that)
Cannot mute the mic. The * button mutes the audio (why?)
Display caller-id in the MFD or radio on incoming calls
Tools needed:
A plastic tool to pop the interior panels off without scratching anything. I used an ancient plastic TV alignment tool. (it didn't survive the install, but worked nicely)
T15 & T20 torx screwdrivers
tweezers
Wiring repair tool or some thin wires/needles used to remove pins from wiring harness plugs
VAG-COM or equivalent to recode the ECU & bluetooth modules
The kit comes with pretty detailed instructions on installation, so I won't go into too much depth, except for the parts where it refers you to the service manual which I don't have or is ambiguous. The install took about 3 hours, most of which was spent trying to figure out how to take the car apart without breaking anything.
So, let's begin. The box:
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What's in the box...
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...installation instructions, supplement to the car manual, and the Bluetooth box itself.
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Microphone, wiring harness, and a bag with connectors, zip ties, a chunk of foam tape and a nylon mesh bag.
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Here's what you're about to take apart!
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Begin by carefully prying off the air diffuser. This was a lot harder than it looks, but be persistent and patient and eventually it will pop out:
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The daylight sensor is circled. Carefully unplug it and set the air diffuser aside.
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There will be one Torx screw to remove on the base of the diffuser. Be careful not to drop the thing into the vent.
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Pull up on the rear of it and work the base of the diffuser out. Note the locking tabs in the front, which is why you need to lift it from the back.
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With that part removed, you will see two more Torx screws (circled) and note the three locking tabs in the rear (arrowed)
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After removing the screws, I used the tool to release the locking tabs and lift the trim piece up slightly.
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I used the tool to push in on the seam between the upper and lower trim panels. This was also a lot more difficult than it seemed like it should be, but once the locking tabs were released, it was possible to lift the entire assembly up and out:
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Note the locking tab on the right side of the dash assembly, it may help in understanding how the pieces lock together.
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The lower trim assembly is held in by two Torx screws (circled) and is fed between two tabs (arrowed) - remove the screws and lift the trim out of the locking tabs.
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I then used the plastic tool and worked my way down the trim, popping the clips out one by one and eventually removing the whole piece.
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With that lower trim removed, the four Torx screws that hold the radio in are exposed. Remove the screws and then you can carefully slide the radio out.
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The antenna connectors are color coded, so don't worry about labeling them. Disconnect the two antenna inputs by releasing their small white locking tabs and pulling them off. The main connector for the radio has a locking lever on the bottom. Release the lever and the connector will come off.
The dash removal part is done. Now you'll need to remove the AIRBAG cover on the passenger side A-pillar trim.
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The cover pops off pretty easily. Extract the screw behind it (careful- don't drop it inside!) You can then work the trim off by "uncurling" the part that goes under the door weatherstripping. I didn't take it completely off, just moved it far enough to be able to get inside:
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The white thing inside there is the airbag. Also at this point, remove the panel from the side of the dashboard and then the small panel that goes between the dashboard and the weatherstripping where the A-pillar's base is.
Remove the screws that hold the sun visors in. There's a small cover to pop off to reveal the screw inside. I recommend removing both sides. I let the visors hang by their wires, but the clips needed to be completely removed:
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Now you need to work on removing the roof console. Pry on the plastic grille, on the side facing away from the windshield, and it'll pop downward on some tabs:
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There are two screws to remove (circled) and note the black chunk of foam that's arrowed. This is where the microphone will go.
Extract the console at this point.
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You now need to release the console frame- two screws inside are circled. Remove the screws and you should be able to pull down on the frame, giving you enough clearance in the headliner so you can snake the microphone wire up into that space.
Now, at this point, you are supposed to remove the glovebox. I couldn't figure out how to do that, but I did notice that you could see all the way through the dash, so I used an electrician's fish tape and pushed it though into the middle of the dash.
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Here's the passenger side, showing the end of the fish tape, (and the cover I previously spoke about still installed)
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Here's the hook end of the fish tape ready for use
Now we can work on the Volk-L unit itself.
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Lock on the supplied wiring harness to the connector
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Use the supplies included to zip tie the nylon bag onto the unit. This is used to prevent rattles.
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There was plenty of space under the radio cavity to fit the unit itself.
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At this point I was able to attach the mic connector to the hook of the fish tape...
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...and then pull it carefully though the dash behind the airbag and glove box.
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Then I fed the wire up through the A-pillar (above and behind the airbag) and through the headliner, and into the ceiling console. (circled- and yes, it was a real pain)
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Install the microphone into the ceiling console. (circled) and attach it to the microphone cable (arrowed) - use the sticky foam tape to wrap the connector so it doesn't rattle around inside.
You can now reassemble the console!
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Now it's time to work on the wiring- here's where things get kind of nasty. Let me explain the basic process:
You will remove some pins from the radio connector and insert them into supplied connectors
You will insert the pins from the supplied harness into the radio connector
You will reconnect the assemblies
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Using a tweezer, squeeze the top locking tabs of the magenta connector lock, lift it out of the radio connector.
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I used the leads of a capacitor to unlock the pins from the connector, as shown above. Once the locking tabs are pushed in, you can pull the wire out from behind. The wires you extract from this connector will be reinserted into the white and black headers that are supplied with the kit. Note that there are pin numbers on the locking tabs if you look carefully- assemble as the instructions detail.
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Assemble the rectangular black connector to hold the small pins. and insert the black header into the green housing. Then the green housing is snapped into the radio connector.
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Connect the black and white 2 pin headers together
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The completed radio connector!
Now you can reassemble the radio. If you disconnected anything (airbag light, switches, sensor) reassemble them so you don't throw any codes when you switch the ignition on later for testing.
To code the radio with the VAG-COM, I first logged into module 19 (hub) and coded it to enable module 77 (phone). Then I logged into module 77 and set coding to the 3 bytes listed in the instructions.
You can then turn the ignition on and pair the unit with your phone. Initiate a call, and hopefully you should see:
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If everything is good, put everything back together, and go hands-free.
After installing this I want to first say that IMO the Parrot Bluetooth offering is much more feature-rich than this thing is. Pricewise they seem about the same, so do compare the Parrot offering before you commit to this. Also the installation process is fairly complex. Read through this before beginning.
So far here's what the Volk-L kit can do:
Will mute/pause the radio/cd when the phone is active
Will announce via a voice the name of the contact when a call comes in ("Call from Otto Bahn at home")
Will announce via a voice when a reminder pops up (for smartphone calendar reminders)
stuff it can't do:
Cannot initiate a call from the steering wheel button (Parrot can do that)
Cannot mute the mic. The * button mutes the audio (why?)
Display caller-id in the MFD or radio on incoming calls
Tools needed:
A plastic tool to pop the interior panels off without scratching anything. I used an ancient plastic TV alignment tool. (it didn't survive the install, but worked nicely)
T15 & T20 torx screwdrivers
tweezers
Wiring repair tool or some thin wires/needles used to remove pins from wiring harness plugs
VAG-COM or equivalent to recode the ECU & bluetooth modules
The kit comes with pretty detailed instructions on installation, so I won't go into too much depth, except for the parts where it refers you to the service manual which I don't have or is ambiguous. The install took about 3 hours, most of which was spent trying to figure out how to take the car apart without breaking anything.
So, let's begin. The box:
What's in the box...
...installation instructions, supplement to the car manual, and the Bluetooth box itself.
Microphone, wiring harness, and a bag with connectors, zip ties, a chunk of foam tape and a nylon mesh bag.
Here's what you're about to take apart!
Begin by carefully prying off the air diffuser. This was a lot harder than it looks, but be persistent and patient and eventually it will pop out:
The daylight sensor is circled. Carefully unplug it and set the air diffuser aside.
There will be one Torx screw to remove on the base of the diffuser. Be careful not to drop the thing into the vent.
Pull up on the rear of it and work the base of the diffuser out. Note the locking tabs in the front, which is why you need to lift it from the back.
With that part removed, you will see two more Torx screws (circled) and note the three locking tabs in the rear (arrowed)
After removing the screws, I used the tool to release the locking tabs and lift the trim piece up slightly.
I used the tool to push in on the seam between the upper and lower trim panels. This was also a lot more difficult than it seemed like it should be, but once the locking tabs were released, it was possible to lift the entire assembly up and out:
Note the locking tab on the right side of the dash assembly, it may help in understanding how the pieces lock together.
The lower trim assembly is held in by two Torx screws (circled) and is fed between two tabs (arrowed) - remove the screws and lift the trim out of the locking tabs.
I then used the plastic tool and worked my way down the trim, popping the clips out one by one and eventually removing the whole piece.
With that lower trim removed, the four Torx screws that hold the radio in are exposed. Remove the screws and then you can carefully slide the radio out.
The antenna connectors are color coded, so don't worry about labeling them. Disconnect the two antenna inputs by releasing their small white locking tabs and pulling them off. The main connector for the radio has a locking lever on the bottom. Release the lever and the connector will come off.
The dash removal part is done. Now you'll need to remove the AIRBAG cover on the passenger side A-pillar trim.
The cover pops off pretty easily. Extract the screw behind it (careful- don't drop it inside!) You can then work the trim off by "uncurling" the part that goes under the door weatherstripping. I didn't take it completely off, just moved it far enough to be able to get inside:
The white thing inside there is the airbag. Also at this point, remove the panel from the side of the dashboard and then the small panel that goes between the dashboard and the weatherstripping where the A-pillar's base is.
Remove the screws that hold the sun visors in. There's a small cover to pop off to reveal the screw inside. I recommend removing both sides. I let the visors hang by their wires, but the clips needed to be completely removed:
Now you need to work on removing the roof console. Pry on the plastic grille, on the side facing away from the windshield, and it'll pop downward on some tabs:
There are two screws to remove (circled) and note the black chunk of foam that's arrowed. This is where the microphone will go.
Extract the console at this point.
You now need to release the console frame- two screws inside are circled. Remove the screws and you should be able to pull down on the frame, giving you enough clearance in the headliner so you can snake the microphone wire up into that space.
Now, at this point, you are supposed to remove the glovebox. I couldn't figure out how to do that, but I did notice that you could see all the way through the dash, so I used an electrician's fish tape and pushed it though into the middle of the dash.
Here's the passenger side, showing the end of the fish tape, (and the cover I previously spoke about still installed)
Here's the hook end of the fish tape ready for use
Now we can work on the Volk-L unit itself.
Lock on the supplied wiring harness to the connector
Use the supplies included to zip tie the nylon bag onto the unit. This is used to prevent rattles.
There was plenty of space under the radio cavity to fit the unit itself.
At this point I was able to attach the mic connector to the hook of the fish tape...
...and then pull it carefully though the dash behind the airbag and glove box.
Then I fed the wire up through the A-pillar (above and behind the airbag) and through the headliner, and into the ceiling console. (circled- and yes, it was a real pain)
Install the microphone into the ceiling console. (circled) and attach it to the microphone cable (arrowed) - use the sticky foam tape to wrap the connector so it doesn't rattle around inside.
You can now reassemble the console!
Now it's time to work on the wiring- here's where things get kind of nasty. Let me explain the basic process:
You will remove some pins from the radio connector and insert them into supplied connectors
You will insert the pins from the supplied harness into the radio connector
You will reconnect the assemblies
Using a tweezer, squeeze the top locking tabs of the magenta connector lock, lift it out of the radio connector.
I used the leads of a capacitor to unlock the pins from the connector, as shown above. Once the locking tabs are pushed in, you can pull the wire out from behind. The wires you extract from this connector will be reinserted into the white and black headers that are supplied with the kit. Note that there are pin numbers on the locking tabs if you look carefully- assemble as the instructions detail.
Assemble the rectangular black connector to hold the small pins. and insert the black header into the green housing. Then the green housing is snapped into the radio connector.
Connect the black and white 2 pin headers together
The completed radio connector!
Now you can reassemble the radio. If you disconnected anything (airbag light, switches, sensor) reassemble them so you don't throw any codes when you switch the ignition on later for testing.
To code the radio with the VAG-COM, I first logged into module 19 (hub) and coded it to enable module 77 (phone). Then I logged into module 77 and set coding to the 3 bytes listed in the instructions.
You can then turn the ignition on and pair the unit with your phone. Initiate a call, and hopefully you should see:
If everything is good, put everything back together, and go hands-free.
