Eurovan MV Auxiliary Battery

there aren't too many Eurovan owners on this group (i'm one of them but I don't know about your particular question).

but two places you might want to check for a faster response are the vans and transporters forum at

and also the Yahoogroup ev_update at you'll get lots of responsesthere I'm sure.

not to diss r.a.m.vw.w, but it's just that Eurovan questions are few and far between here.

And the fact that Eurovan questions are so few and far between could be directly attributed to the high cost of a Eurovan...I would drive one in a heartbeat, but I don't think for a second that they are (or were) worth the $30,000-$40,000 that VW was charging for them in Canada.

The Eurovan definitely has more cargo capacity than say a Dodge Caravan, but what killed the Eurovan was that it was never as aggressively priced as the Caravan, Windstar, Odyessy, Montana, and so on...

Didn't mean to get off topic like that...it's just that the Eurovan has always been a bone of contention for me...I mean, I love the van, and I think it's a shame that we are no longer offered it in the North American lineup...

(end rant)

directly attributed to the high cost of a Eurovan...I would drive one in a heartbeat, but I don't think for a second that they are (or were) worth the $30,000-$40,000 that VW was charging for them in Canada.

They were pricey when they were reintroduced in '99 in passenger format and this continued into 2000. For '01 and up they got a big price cut and a big upgrade in standard equipment (bigger brakes, bigger wheels, the 24V 201hp engine, fogs, ESP, lowered suspension all made standard for '01 despite a $4500-5000 USD price cut to about $26.3K USD versus $30K USD for '99 and '00). Dunno if VW was making a profit on the '99s and '00s and losing money on '01 and up models or if VW was making a HUGE profit on '99s and '00s and downsized to a more modest profit on '01 and up models.

but what killed the Eurovan was that it was never as aggressively priced as the Caravan, Windstar, Odyessy, Montana, and so on...

I think the Eurovan by the time the lower priced and higher-equipped '01s came around were a decent deal. What killed it IMHO is that VW didn't advertise the '99s and '00s at all that I can remember and I didn't see any advertising at all until about the '02s came out.

And US/Canadian minivan buyers have been led to expect car-like handling (the EV is a good handler *for a truck* though), dual sliding doors (never offered in the US, offered only on earlier Eurovans in Canada but not on '99 and up ones and always offered overseas), power sliding door options (not available), and nav systems (not brought to the US/Canada but was available on European T4s), and DVD players (I believe these were optional overseas). VW did evolve the Eurovan quite well overseas since the early 1990s via the bells and whistles, but those bells and whistles were never offered on North American models even though the competition had them all. I think those are silly frilly things, but the bottom line is that the masses eat them up so VW should have at least made them optional here. It also took VW a few years to work out airbags (as with the A3s...those should have had 'bags from the get go in all models IMHO but VW seemed to not be too forward thinking in terms of implementing airbags in their early 1990s designs).

Also, the Eurovan was absent from the US market completely for 1994-1998 (except for Campers) and in Canada I believe from 1996-1998 (except for Campers and cargo vans). I hear from many folks when they see my '00 that they didn't even know VW still made a van into the 1990s and beyond. Given VWoA's lack of interest in the van I'm surprised (pleasantly though) that the EV even returned at all for '99.

And Europe also had a wonderful array of engines and transmissions to choose from including three (!) different TDI engines for the T4 as well as a manual-transmission version of the VR6. We were stuck with only VR6 autos when the '99 EVs came back.

offered it in the North American lineup...

Agreed. I love mine. Even though it looks like the box it was shipped in, it's incredibly functional, beats all the mini-and-midi-vans on interior-exterior space ratio, is pretty well made for the most part, rides far less wallowy than the Astro/Safari twins, and never fails to amaze friends and family with it's quad seating, table, and fold-down bed all in a vehicle that's shorter front-to-rear than many midsize cars and has a turn circle that embarrases SUVs and other small vans and make them look downright clumsy.

Sure small/midsize vans aren't the rage anymore (SUVs are) but most major brands have one minivan in their lineup even today. For VW to have the excellent Sharan and T4 Caravelle/Multivan/Transporter (as the Eurovan was knows over there) overseas and deny/restrict them for the North American market is a shame. (Yes I'm aware that VW and Ford negotiated the Sharan not being sold in North America...too bad for VW...what did they need Ford's input on anyway for that car? The thing started life on a B3 Passat platform and had VW engines...so what did Ford bring to the table that VW didn't know how to do? beats me...but whatever.)

The new T5 based van that came out a year ago is downright beautiful, inside and out, and would put every people carrier in the US to shame. But shame on VW for botching the Microbus (waste of time/money on an ugly and expensive vehicle that was answering a question that nobody even asked) and for not bringing the T5 (already developed) to North America.

The Eurovan (we have a weekender) is (was) the best kid-friendly van made. We have three little nippers, the fact you can climb in the van, shut the door and stand up while strapping the little urchins in their car seats is a godsend. All of the other mini-vans we looked at required having to fold-down or move one of the seats, and then lean over one of the seats in order to get the third kid belted in - an impractical pain in the arse.

The rear facing seats are also a godsend (or a blessing from Allah just to be PC), b/c the kids can actually have fun with an adult looking them in the eye and keeping them entertained.

The only advantages to the other minivans were leather (a must have with kids imo) and built in DVD units. Once you get those installed, the other minivans are up to the $30k level of the EV.

Also with the EV, you ride high enough in the air that you get to look the massive SUV owners right in their jealous eyes, which petite wives in particular view as a gift from Yahweh. The breadtruck driving experience while taking a little getting used to, is also a distinct advantage for good driving habits. The zippy VR6 is great, altho I like the fact that you can't be too zippy since pounding the previous Passat V6 up to 85 every time you hit the highway was, with the three kids, starting to make me feel irresponsible.

One sour note now that I think about it - we recently did a 900 mile trip, driving straight thru at an average speed of 80-95 miles an hour. The EV performed great, however for a week afterwards the city driving was screwed up b/c the transmission was shifting at weird times. I've read that the VW automatics have some smart feature which allows them to learn your driving habits and adjust the shifting patterns accordingly. Is this true, is there anyway to disable it, and do I want to disable it?

Better gas mileage would be cool. A dealer that isn't 150 miles away would be cooler. Other than that the Eurovan rocks.

rgds Joel

Matt B. wrote:

Sadly, there is no way to disable the adaptive function of the transmission...it is annoying, but does in the long run make sense...it will save you fuel, because it learns about you, and not the other way around.

It has this "feature", yes. You can't disable it, but you can reset it.

Someone recently posted the procedure and their success in the Yahoo ev_update group...this is it:

Group,

For those of you paying close attention, I have made posts on and off about problems with my transmission. Mostly I've been having problems on and off for years with late and hard shifting of my 99 EVC transmission. I've had temporary fixes by dealerships but the problem always returned.

A few months ago, one of our group members came up with an amazing solution that was so simple that I ignored it until today. I got so fed up with the ever worsening late shifting of my transmission that I tried Bud Yandell's advice - copied here (from a June 4, 2004 post):

[Regarding reseting the transmission:] "Reset it Yourself - Turn on key - turn off - turn on again and depress accelerator to the floor (wot) and hold for at least ten seconds. Turn key and start engine. It will shift at low speeds and rpm's if you drive carefully. It is a compliant Tranny." [He went on to add in a later post:] "A compliant trans., adapts to the way you drive - I start out about 2000/2500 rpm - the shift from 1st to 2cnd is barely noticeable - maintain same and the shift to 3rd is imperceptible - then, maintaining same rpm, Shift to 4th can only be detected by drop in RPM on tach. If you want it to shift at higher RPM just start putting you foot into it and it will shift at the high point of RPM's - where ever you rev to will be recognized and will be set."

This 30 second procedure indeed reset the transmission. It works FLAWLESSLY!!!!! No cost. No trips to the dealer. No parts. Nothing except a 30 second (or less) procedure. It works! Do I sound excited? YES! Anyone with any transmission concerns must try this tip.

I'm commenting here because people might have missed this post and I wanted to attest that this little procedure works!

transmission...it is annoying, but does in the long run make sense...it will save you fuel, because it learns about you, and not the other way around.

Can be reset though to the original default factory settings.

I think I knew about that....but isn't that more or less just a "stop gap" measure....Because over time, won't the E-Van start shifting in the same manner?

Many many thanks for this! Will give it a shot. (Altho things did return back to normal - it was just the week after the long trip in high gear for several hours that the tranny got all wacky).

Now - anybody got a similar quick hack for how I might turn that automatic into a stick \:--]

rgds Joel

Matt B. wrote:

measure....Because over time, won't the E-Van start shifting in the same manner?

probably (although it depends if the driving patterns of the driver are the same again).

Sounds like once it "learns" to shift to one driver's preferences, changing those preferences seems to confuse it and result in unpleasant shifting.

but the best thing about that stop-gap fix is that it's easy, quick, and most of all free!

into a stick \:--]

Quick? No. But with enough time and money I'm sure it can be done.

12V VR6 models were available overseas with manuals. Most of us T4 owners had only heard of the 24V being offered overseas with automatic *and* syncro and only in North America with automatic, but a US-spec 24V VR6 manual transmission EV showed up on ebay a few weeks ago and all us T4 enthusiasts were dumbfounded. Theoretically no such beast existed as far as any of us knew. And it looked every bit factory from the pics and not a conversion. Seller had gotten it at auction and said he didn't have any reason to believe it wasn't factory either. So we're mystified as to how it came to be.

Now, oddly enough I recall reading on VESIS that apparently, some very early 24V VR6 E-Vans were available with a 5-speed. Since so few Eurovan's were imported into North America anyway, the rarity of this low volume model is increased by the low importation numbers.

Canada on the other hand, always was able to order a 5-speed transmission with the Eurovan. The trouble was finding a dealer that would be able to do it.

early 24V VR6 E-Vans were available with a 5-speed.

could be, but if memory serves me right this particular one was an '03 whereas and early 24V VR6 would have been an '01.

with the Eurovan. The trouble was finding a dealer that would be able to do it.

I recall all EVs since the '99 reintroduction only being listed on VW's site (US or Canada) as automatics.

5-Speeds were available....very early production '99s.....we had one at the dealer where I worked.