VW ID.3

No it's not. A quick google confirms this. A well known issue that some reports saying it's drive shaft related.

Saw a Garda ID.3 today.

any chance you could ask what exactly was replaced?

That is dear for a module but I do not know if you can get it done cheaper elsewhere. It could be like how a lot of manufacturers are going these days and could be software locked by VW. But that's just guess work by me and I could be well off.

The question I'd be asking if whether the SOS module does in fact need to be replaced before a software update can be applied to the car - i.e. what's the relationship between the two?

It's not unusual. Nissan did the same thing with their wonky back axles on the early Leafs. Well known issue but Nissan refused to address it. Took me months of nagging til they finally agreed to pay for the part but I had to pay them the labour cost. Wouldn't even let me get it fitted locally.

WeConnect App or whatever should give you battery % anyway if it’s important.
Technically it should be an NCT fail but I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t check it. Covered below under “New testable items from May 2023”…..

https://www.ncts.ie/1157/

Any regrets Fits?

Not really. Model Y is a very different car. Travel assist and headlights and wipers all better in ID.3. Memory seats and driver profiles very good in model y and it’s an extremely efficient car for its size. We got free supercharging too which has been very handy on trips to Kerry. Model y is much bigger and has the turning circle of a cruise ship so I do miss the niftier ID.3. It was more engaging to drive too. The driver profiles are really useful for us though as we share the car fairly equally and are definitely not the same size 🤣. My perfect car would take bits from both.

ID.4 1st Max owner here, I'll try to answer what I can

The 4 is definitely a bit more of a brick on the roads from what I've heard. It's got no shortage of power but probably doesn't feel as nimble as a 3

The main selling point of the 4 is more space, if you need it then go for it, otherwise the a 3 Pro S is another option. Resale on the 4 might be better, the Pro S seems to be taking a beating on depreciation

The extra range makes a big difference in Ireland I find, often turns a midpoint charge and destination charge into just a destination charge

The HUD is cool, but pretty much a gimmick. I ended up turning it off

The Travel Assist (I assume that's what you mean by advanced lane assist) is brilliant. It makes motorway driving so much simpler and less stressful.

I've never found it ping ponging between the lines like some folks mention about the basic Lane Assist. In fact it'll generally try to hold the same position as when it's started, in contrast to some others which will fix themselves to the middle of the lane no matter what

I would say the Travel Assist is only really useful on motorways and fairly straight N roads. I tried it on a fairly rural road once and needed a change of underwear afterwards

It's still worthwhile I'd say, for example do Dublin - Galway on Travel Assist, then if you're heading further do most of that manually

Great summary Fits. ID3 Pro S / Tour is an excellent car. The travel assist and matrix lights are the business

You won't fall asleep, the car will start beeping at you if you let go of the steering wheel.

The emergency stop system is actually pretty slick, if the car doesn't detect your hands on the wheel it's start beeping and then will tap the brakes a couple of times to try and wake you up

Failing that it'll bring the car safely to a halt and start beeping the horn and turn the hazard lights on. At the same time it dials emergency services using the SOS system, the idea being that if you're still unconscious after all that it's because you can't wake up (i.e. you've had a heart attack or something)

During all this the ACC and lane assist keep working so you shouldn't drift off the road if you're on a motorway

Thankfully I haven't had occasion to test it but there's plenty of demos on YouTube

To give some context, I did a 9 hour drive across the UK two years ago using a lot of Travel Assist on motorways. I honestly don't think I'd have managed it driving manually, I would have needed a midpoint stop for a rest. As it was the two charging stops provided good opportunities to take a break

I could be wrong but those videos where Tesla drivers are asleep is only for America there are different laws in Europe regarding self driving.

I think a lot of the early ones were staged as well, influencers trying to figure out ways to defeat the driver detection.

Apparently a wedge of lemon or something around the steering wheel was enough to make the older teslas think there was a hand on the wheel

Frankly you can bypass any safety system if you try hard enough. Don't want seat belt alarms? Just get a buckle from eBay and plug it into the recepticle. Of course what's the point of the seat belts then if you won't wear them

There's always a degree of personal responsibility as well, the safety systems are there but you need to let them do their job

I’d take it but won’t be up that way any time soon. Extra annoying as I had to replace a tyre last week.

New pricing is out, my only question is, why are the GTX variants, listed at 77kWh, but are 79kWh across europe.

Has to be a typo.

It’s the same price in the configurator, so if it is a mistake, maybe get an order through before someone spots it!