VW Golf 8 Customer Deliveries Resumed, Software Glitch Fixed

We've learned that Skoda has also restarted customer deliveries of the Octavia this week.

The rollout of what is arguably Volkswagen's most important car, the Golf, was plagued by a software issue related to the emergency call function. The problem was discovered last month during routine quality assurance checks, prompting an emergency stop of customer deliveries. VW said a fix would be ready by the middle of June, and now the software glitch has been resolved.

While the issue with cars that have been built but not delivered yet will be fixed shortly, VW will also have to solve the software glitch on Golf 8s already in the hands of customers. The company estimates there are 15,000 cars in Germany alone in need of a fix, with additional vehicles throughout Europe. All of them will be involved in a voluntary recall. To that end, VW has already notified Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).

The same issue also affected customer deliveries of the mechanically related Skoda Octavia, but the Czech marque has not made a similar announcement about a software fix at the moment of writing. The software fix will be applied going forward on all Golfs, with the Octavia as well as the Audi A3 and SEAT Leon likely getting a similar update.

An emergency call function is mandatory according to European Union legislation. According to Europa.eu, an official website of the EU:

"If you buy a new model of car, approved for manufacture after 31 March 2018, it must have the 112-based eCall system installed. This rule applies both to cars with no more than 8 seats and light commercial vehicles. If you have a car which is already registered, you are not obliged to retrofit an eCall device but you can have it installed if your car meets the technical requirements."

If you're wondering how it works, the system automatically makes a free emergency call if the car is involved in a serious accident. It connects to the nearest emergency response center, regardless of where the vehicle is registered.