2024-10-28

Company news

Retrofitting electrical kits for towbars - coding of vehicles from the Volkswagen Group

When retrofitting towbars for passenger cars, it may be necessary to recode the vehicle electronics to enable some comfort functions. For vehicles from the Volkswagen Group (VAG), it may not be possible to carry out such coding from the production month of July 2023. The reason for this is that more and more vehicle models are being equipped with so-called component protection. However, to ensure that newer VAG vehicles can also be retrofitted with a trailer coupling, ERICH JAEGER offers a solution for this situation with its Flex-E kits.

Cyber security measures prevent full access to on-board electronics

Cyber security is playing an increasingly important role in the automotive industry.To ensure the IT security of vehicles and prevent unauthorized access from outside, more and more models are being equipped with so-called SFD2 component protection.This protection is the result of several UN and EU directives on the security of vehicle diagnostics, especially in the area of cyber security and software updates.

It is designed to prevent tampering attempts and ensure IT data protection. However, it also prevents access to certain settings and functions that are essential for the development of accessories and for repairs. This affects, for example, various Volkswagen Group models with the model year code “R” in the chassis number.

The use of Full-CAN electrical kits is no longer possible for the affected vehicles. The following article numbers from ERICH JAEGER can therefore not be used for newer vehicle models:

748242, 747431, 748503, 737342, 737103, 737666

JaegerFLEX offers functional trailer lighting and flasher failure indication even without coding

With the JaegerFLEX electrical kits, ERICH JAEGER offers a solution that continues to guarantee fully functional trailer lighting and flasher failure indication. Only some comfort functions, such as automatic deactivation of the rear fog light or the parking assistant, cannot be implemented without coding.The following JaegerFLEX article numbers can be used for the above-mentioned vehicles:

748342
748343
737334
737343

Adapter for converting Full-CAN electrical kits

However, the company also has a solution for the affected electric kits (see above), so that they can continue to be used: With an adapter, these can be converted to a FLEX-E set. This VAG/MQB-FLEX adapter can be ordered from ERICH JAEGER under item number 722102.

No coding possible for the time being

It is not yet possible to predict how the situation regarding component protection will develop. The JaegerFLEX electrical kits at least can still be used in the affected vehicles in the future. These products may also allow subsequent coding. The prerequisite for this is a new legal regulation on data access or data access within the on-board electronics.