Customers have been frustrated over the fault in the SOS warning systems of their Audis and Volkswagens. These two groups along with Skoda have received the accusation of deliberately selling cars with defective SOS Warning systems. In some cases, the system failed even before the new owner left the dealership.
A rule was made all across the EU countries that from 2018 onwards, all new cars are bound to have an eCall system that automatically activates the emergency alert services and lets them know the vehicle’s location in case of an emergency situation.
This is a very useful and advanced update that works using the car’s navigation system and airbag sensors, and it has a mobile phone sim card incorporated in the system for emergencies.
What is the SOS Warning system over faults?
In 2017, when the VAG group first introduced SOS Systems in its car, it was noticed that almost immediately, the buyers of Audi and VW were concerned about problems they were facing due to the system.
Even though the matter has been looked upon by the manufacturers three years ago, the issue is still a big problem for most new car owners.
What is the reason why VW, Audi owners are annoyed?
Audi and Volkswagen owners have been frustrated for some time with the SOS warning system errors in their new cars. Customers have complained about having to make useless trips back to the dealers investing both time and fuel to get no ultimate result.
So what exactly are the problems that the owners are facing? In most recent cases, the complaints have been about useless satellite navigation systems in their cars along with in-car phone systems. Several car owners have faced the problem with their affected cars that have been made in a significant batch of 2020.
In May last year, VW almost fell due to the malfunctioning of the SOS model. They were forced to temporarily halt deliveries to their latest golf. They had to recall and repair more than 20000 cars after discovering that the emergency alert was not working the way it should.
Customers have complained that even after routine inspection, there have been no responses to the SOS button. People have not been able to take their cars anywhere as the warning light would flash up suggesting that the SOS system has failed. The car’s sat nav system becomes irritating and the person on the other side cannot be heard using the hands-free phone.
One of the biggest problems that the customers are facing is the fault in diagnosing the problem. The SOS button in cars has been malfunctioning days after the purchase of the car and customers suspect that even the company and the dealers have no idea about how to fix the issue.
What is the use of an SOS warning system on a vehicle?
Vehicle safety is being promoted by European Legislation in which all is one of the more advanced techniques. ECall means Emergency Call, and the system is designed to contact the emergency services to make the drivers aware of a severe accident. The claimed benefits of eCall include reduced time lag in emergencies as response times to an incident, therefore, increasing the survival chances of an individual who has incurred an accident and is seriously hurt.
Research conducted during the evaluation of the email system comes to the statistics that accident rates and chances of survival will be increased almost by 40% in Urban Areas and 50% in rural areas.
One flaw of the eCall system is its dependence on GPS global positioning technology. There are several privacy concerns with this, as there is no guarantee that the technology can’t be “reverse engineered” to find a vehicle even if there hasn’t been an accident.
Either way, with more vehicle connectivity coming to the cars with the advancement of technology, the calling system is a boon. It can help to improve the chances of the emergency services and reach the required passengers in case of any mishap for you, your passengers, or even your car.
What does SOS mean on a Vehicle?
SOS refers to emergency services provided to the car in case of accidents. A lot of people press the SOS button without any actual use, only out of curiosity not understanding the warning it comes with. It places an emergency call to the fire services, making it a big trouble.
As a result, the fire service receives many false alarms and wastes a lot of resources on unnecessary emergency actions.
People should refrain from using the SOS button unnecessarily and understand the gravity of its use.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the VW group has had a lot of vehicles in the past. Their main focus is on performance like all German brands. The innovation that made them come to the limelight was the Dual Clutch Automatic transmission. What this system does is eliminates the time taken to change gears and hence enhances performance. But in recent times, a lot of problems have been faced by the customers due to their defective SOS warning systems.
