[jamesyboy5593]

I've just been looking into this module and I think its absolutely brilliant!! If there were not warrenty issues I would install one straight away. Infact I can understand why these operations are not available as standard. I currently have a Vauxhall Astra where you can operate the roof from the key and I think its quite good. Not only can you have a little pose with it when you show your mates but if your walking upto the car from a distance the roof can be down already for you to pull off ready to go.

Another thing is operatong the roof whilst moving, if they can do it on the Volvo C70 and the Saab 93, then they can do it on the Eos. Ive been caught out before at the lights when its started raining, an at least you can pull away if the roof hasnt finished and just go easy till it has.

I think these things should be left upto the driver. They seem to have gone a bit over the top with safety here. OK so someone may put there hand in the mechanism when its working but they would be really stupid wouldnt they. If theres kids around I'll can make my own decision and use the deadmans handle on the centre console! At the end of the day its upto me.

Anyway has anyone here actually had this fitted or seen it in action??

 

[nail-z-gull]

I don't think many are questioning the benefits of having the module fitted - just that most aren't willing to void their warranty through installation.

 

[jamesyboy5593]

VW are just plain old spoil-sports!! Think I might get a module anyway and fit it on the 1st day of year 4!!!

Well I never thought my good old workin mans vauxhall would get one over on the 30k VW i'm replacing it with!

 

[Pepino]

I agree it would be great. However here in the states we have a 5 year 50k mile warranty bumper to bumper. It would be a shame to void that. but I'm with you, if I still have the car by year 5, I'm getting one too. I think the main thing keeping me from getting it now is all the moving parts of the roof. It is a lot to possibly break and not have covered.



joe

 

[neh321]

I've just been looking into this module and I think its absolutely brilliant!! If there were not warrenty issues I would install one straight away. Infact I can understand why these operations are not available as standard. I currently have a Vauxhall Astra where you can operate the roof from the key and I think its quite good. Not only can you have a little pose with it when you show your mates but if your walking upto the car from a distance the roof can be down already for you to pull off ready to go.

Another thing is operatong the roof whilst moving, if they can do it on the Volvo C70 and the Saab 93, then they can do it on the Eos. Ive been caught out before at the lights when its started raining, an at least you can pull away if the roof hasnt finished and just go easy till it has.

I think these things should be left upto the driver. They seem to have gone a bit over the top with safety here. OK so someone may put there hand in the mechanism when its working but they would be really stupid wouldnt they. If theres kids around I'll can make my own decision and use the deadmans handle on the centre console! At the end of the day its upto me.

Anyway has anyone here actually had this fitted or seen it in action??

Think not being able to open/close roof whilst on the move is more a question of the possibility of damage. The whole operation needs precision and once on the move all sorts of stresses and strains could be put on the various struts and levers. Imagine opening/closing it with the whole boot lid up and back on a bumpy road at 10 mph - no thanks! Can't say I blame VW and at the end of the day 25 seconds isn't long to wait. You try putting the hood up/down on a 1960s British sports car in 25 secs... 25 minutes more like!

 

[jamesyboy5593]

Once again, if other marques can do it..... anyway I know what your getting at but I would like to decide for myself really. I'm reasonably intellegent so i would not attempt to do it on a bumpy road or at speed. I do hoever like to jump in the car, start it, and say manouver out of my parking space at work whilst the roof is going down on its own.

All i'm trying to say is that I guess i'm just a little dissapointed as I assumed that this feature had become the norm on these type of car. My current car does it and its 5 or 6 years old. Its a nice little feature that i will miss. Thats all.

 

[EosEnthusiastNB]

Are you sure they can run the roof on the C70 hard top and the Saab 93 soft top while moving?

That being said, I turn on the engine, lower the roof and head out. To me the 30 seconds of engine warming up while the roof is going down is a time to just prepare for my drive. I don't mind it.

I agree that having the roof open or close by the remote would be a great thing.
I can see myself accidentally hitting the roof open feature while running to the car in the rain though. That still does not make me not want the feature. I know the Mods4cars roof module has the option to get the module with the roof open close feature while moving removed, which eliminates the opening while moving issue. VW has not given its blessing on that either.

It all comes down to whether you are willing to risk having to pay for any repairs to the roof out of your pocket. The chances are probably low that you would damage it or injure others with a remote roof open, but I guess VW feels like there is still a chance.

I personally have not gotten a module, it does appeal to me and I am not worried about the warranty too much, but I would rather get a solution with VW's seal of approval.

 

[don coffey]

Although my wife would class me as a gadget freak, I don't find the need to fit the Mods4cars as there is already a lot going on in the electrics department. We had both the remote opening/closing and ability to open and close the roof on the move with a BMW convertible we had. In two years of ownership I can't remember ever having used the features.

I personally would rather put the money to a re-map where you get to use the feature daily.

Don

 

[EOSmage]

I've said this before in various other posts... But once more couldn't hurt, right?

I have the module, but have never installed it. It is sitting in the original packaging because of the warranty issues. I know many people who have installed similar ones for their porches without any problem. I just refuse to void the warranty.

5 year or 50k isn't the greatest warranty, since the average usage is between 15 and 20k per year. I know ours is at 8900 and is just turning 6 months... Our "summer trip" is coming up soon, so we will probably be at 20k this year. At that rate, the 5 year warranty will be over in 2.5 years. I'm not complaining about warranty here, just saying that the car is meant to drive... and drive it we do! They could offer a 10 year/50k warranty and not really worry too much. What's the point of having a convertible sitting in the garage?


That all said, the day my warranty is up, I'll install the module just because I'm a gadget guy and like the idea of opening the top while standing outside. I think it is nifty when it is done on other cars...

 

[neh321]

Once again, if other marques can do it..... anyway I know what your getting at but I would like to decide for myself really. I'm reasonably intellegent so i would not attempt to do it on a bumpy road or at speed. I do hoever like to jump in the car, start it, and say manouver out of my parking space at work whilst the roof is going down on its own.

All i'm trying to say is that I guess i'm just a little dissapointed as I assumed that this feature had become the norm on these type of car. My current car does it and its 5 or 6 years old. Its a nice little feature that i will miss. Thats all.

Having a soft-top going up or down on the move is quite a different thing from a hard-top (as others have said they can do on their Porsches) as a soft-top is so much lighter. The chances of misalignment of those side rails whilst raising the roof on the move I would say would be very high. VW have not included this feature for a very good reason as they know that damage would be inevitable and don't want to have to foot the bill!

 

[nail-z-gull]

I assume the sensor to detect that there's sufficient room behind the car will still work?

More often than not I'm parked too close to a wall or fence to ever get any mileage out of such a gadget. How red faced would you be if you initiated the roof on approach and scraped the boot lid against a wall or parked car.

 

[SoCalMan]

How red faced would you be if you initiated the roof on approach and scraped the boot lid against a wall or parked car.

It has happened!

 

[jamesyboy5593]

I was recently at a car exibition and the Volvo guy did say that the roof could be operated upto 18mph, as can the roof of the twintop. The saab 9-3 definatly can - it was even featured on the tv advert.

On my astra that i still have now, you are supposed to have the handbrake on to operate the roof but if you just pull it up 1 click so the red light comes on, then it will work whilst in motion. I also took the spiring out of the rocker switch so you can just press open/close roof with 1 touch rather that keeping your finger on the button for 30 seconds. After all that the roof has caused no problems so it obvioulsy can handle being operated whilst on the move. However I do agree that the csc roof is probaly a bit heavier and the legs that actually suport the main roof and boot lid do look rather spindley.

To EOS image, i'm with you mate. gonna get the module and keep it till the warrenty runs out. Whats the splitter thing all about that they now show in the website, its not out yet but looks like it will be a simple plug n play job with it.

 

[EOSmage]

Ya, it looks like they finally created an adapter that makes it unnecessary to replace wires/pins from the factory connector. That was a big issue with me for the installation, I hope it also removes the requirement to "crimp" power and ground wires which makes the installation obvious.

Time will tell. But, I'll probably end up buying the adapter just so it will be easier to install when the time comes.

 

[evolvingpowercat]

SmartTop Comments

Warranty Comments:

If there was text in the 2007 US EOS VW Owners Manual prohibiting this type of accessory I missed it. Anyone in USA that has a specific story to tell about a VW Rep (not a dealer) officially stating a position on 2007 models?

Installation:

I got one and self installed it a week ago in about 2 hours. The install is not trivial as has been mentioned it involves taking a lot of trim panels out of the trunk, then pulling wires out of a harness connector, putting SmartTop wires in their place, and then putting the VW wires into new connectors that plug into the SmartTop. As has been stated you pick up 12V and ground from two of the wiring harness wires in the area of the Top Control Module.

Use:

SmartTop for EOS Version 3.2 has lots of cool features that work exactly as described on the Mods4Cars web site. They assume the driver has good common sense as they all have a small potential for injury if not used with care. If I had children that rode in the car frequently I would never have installed it. I will turn the module off and go back to factory mode when ever I have friends with children visiting that might be riding in the car.

For a intelligent adult the 1 touch windows up. 1 touch top and sunroof operation features are a joy, and the ability to operate them using the key fob is just cool. I also enjoy the one touch windows up feature too.

My Eos does not have the rear sensors so I have the risk of hitting something behind my in any case with or without SmartTop module. The SmartTop does interface the sensors on the models that have them. Hitting things behind my car goes back to that common sense thing again. If I operate the key fob and operate the top before I can see my car and check for clearance behind it, shame on me!

I realize that VW's lawyers have to assume that a few idiots might buy their cars, do stupid things, get hurt, and then sue VW's pants off. Guess the company that makes the SmartTop is small enough that it just does cool stuff and does not consult lawyers about potential liability.

=====

I don't see much risk associated with a dealer detecting the module during visits that are not directly related to fixing a Top Control Module or related to a very serious top operating issue. It is undetectable physically unless one's dealer mechanic has to do a 1.5 hour labor operation to take all the trim out of the trunk to access the control module and hydraulic cylinder area on the left side of the trunk. Like all the Mod4Cars SmartTop Modules, it has a stealth mode that one can put it in where it is transparent to VW's or any other CAN-BUS Scan Tool.

 

[victorTX]

I have the other version from LCT. I had it done and installed by an alarm guy, It worked beautifully. cost me $60 to install. What I have to offer is you are a grown up...exercise a little caution, when you do use it while moving. I just use the remote top and the 1 touch features. As for moving while top downing. I did it just ones in a very controlled situation where I drove like 5mph and really scope out the road before I do that.

As for warranty issue, I'd side with power cat. it's kinda like voiding warranty putting in a after market air filter or reroute the speaker wire for a new CD changer.... VW will have to really prove it that the chip did the damage. If you do something stupid, The only thing VW will do is to perform a visual inspection to see if you open the roof at 60mph. the stress marks on the steel members will SHOW!!

At the end of the day, It's still your car...do what makes you happy. Live a little. I'm sure that's the same reason why you didn't go out and buy the safest minivan out there. just my $0.02

 

[EOSmage]

I'm sure that's the same reason why you didn't go out and buy the safest minivan out there.

Uhm...

The Eos outperformed most of the other hard-top convertibles in safety tests. It isn't a tank, but it is one of the safest convertibles around.

Besides, I just couldn't see myself driving a minivan; even if someone asked me to just "move" theirs, I still wouldn't do it.

 

[SoCalMan]

Besides, I just couldn't see myself driving a minivan; even if someone asked me to just "move" theirs, I still wouldn't do it.

Agreed

 

[SiJ2000]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I have been doing a lot of reading on these MODs as I am curious about how they work and how they can affect the operation of the car...

My findings are very clear.....

1) The best MOD is the mods4cars.com one!
2) It interfaces with the CAN bus to get status of everything it needs
3) It emulates you pressing the roof button and holding it*
4) NEVER open the roof whilst moving (Risk of damage VERY high)**
5) It is completely failsafe and also easy to remove if necessary

* It doesn't override ANY function of protection. If it detects a CAN error on roof operation it will stop, same as it does if it overheats whilst you use the handle. It also uses the rear bumper sensors to detect obstruction when opening (setting dependent)

** It is possible for the roof to be damaged if you go over a pot hole whilst the roof is nearly closed, or nearly fully open. Expensive damage can occur and this will not be under warranty as it will be quite apparent that the car was moving or parked on a steep sideways angle whilst the roof was operated.

The issue with the warranty with VW is set out to protect VW against people who use these mods carelessly (only thing that can do any harm whatsoever is the movement of the roof whilst moving). There is no chance of any electrical issues being caused by a well made mod (even very difficult to cause damage from incorrect wiring). The CAN Bus is very robust against cross wiring etc.

 

[EOSmage]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I have been doing a lot of reading on these MODs as I am curious about how they work and how they can affect the operation of the car...

My findings are very clear.....

1) The best MOD is the mods4cars.com one!
2) It interfaces with the CAN bus to get status of everything it needs
3) It emulates you pressing the roof button and holding it*
4) NEVER open the roof whilst moving (Risk of damage VERY high)**
5) It is completely failsafe and also easy to remove if necessary

* It doesn't override ANY function of protection. If it detects a CAN error on roof operation it will stop, same as it does if it overheats whilst you use the handle. It also uses the rear bumper sensors to detect obstruction when opening (setting dependent)

** It is possible for the roof to be damaged if you go over a pot hole whilst the roof is nearly closed, or nearly fully open. Expensive damage can occur and this will not be under warranty as it will be quite apparent that the car was moving or parked on a steep sideways angle whilst the roof was operated.

The issue with the warranty with VW is set out to protect VW against people who use these mods carelessly (only thing that can do any harm whatsoever is the movement of the roof whilst moving). There is no chance of any electrical issues being caused by a well made mod (even very difficult to cause damage from incorrect wiring). The CAN Bus is very robust against cross wiring etc.

You have it pretty much summed up. The mod doesn't change how the car's roof works. All it does is allow us to use the remote to open/close it. It adds a few other features too, but nothing that wasn't easily able to be added to the programming by VW. There are no hardware changes made to the car, in fact, the module still uses the main roof control module to do the opening and closing. It is just changing the way the switch works and giving us multiple methods of activation.

VW was on the warpath with the modules that allowed roof operation while the car moved. The VW official releases all stated that the structure used in the design was all engineered to stationary operation. If they needed to operate the roof while the car moved, the structural elements would have been thicker and stronger (read that as being heavier). They didn't want to make the car into a slow moving slug and opted to reduce weight.

I agree with them. I'd rather the car be light weight and not use the roof under motion. Movement creates much different stress than wind does.

In the end, Mods4cars came up with a version of the module that doesn't allow for operation while moving. This should go a LONG way in making VW less prone to void warranties. I've just sent mine away for upgrading...

I'm going to buy the new harness in order to remove the requirement to crimp connectors into the power, and in order to stop from having to swap pins between connectors.

--Jon