Before I go over this, the text below on these mods are being posted to an online Volkswagen community so I make a few assumptions when talking about the modifications to my 2016 Volkswagen Golf R. For this post, I’ll give a back story on the LED Taillights. When you order a Golf R in Europe, you get a few things:
- Sunroof
- Chrome or Carbon Fiber side mirror caps
- Automatic folding side-mirrors (saves you when parking in cities)
- LED Taillights that match the same look & function as the front headlights
- A spare tire
- Storage inserts under the hatch area that go around the spare tire where you can store pretty much anything you want that’s smaller than a Windex bottle
- An armrest that works
- 8” Infotainment screen
- Pretoria Wheels in multiple sizes
- Blind-Spot detection side-mirrors
- a few more minor things, etc, etc.
Everything I listed above is not available even as an option on the North American Golf R expect the 8″ screen and only Canadians have access to that through a Tech Package.
A lot of the modifications I’m making to my Golf R are simply to get my car up to European spec. I ordered foam inserts and a spare tire + kit for my back hatch that fits perfectly. I ordered the blind-spot mirrors, the LED Taillights, I hacked the arm rest so I can actually move it and access the cubby. Next up are the OEM VW folding side-mirrors and an 8” Infotainment pop-in screen that is simply plug n’ play.
The Volkswagen German-made LED Taillights are plug n’ play but the amber turn signal doesn’t work. So you have to make or buy a custom harness some guys in the states put together and then do some software coding using a tool called VCDS from Ross-Tech. I already had the VCDS Cable so I ordered the LED Taillights and the harness and did the install myself. Below are notes from the forum copied and pasted here for posterity
Mod #14.5 – Euro LED Taillights (Harness)
My LED Tail lights arrive tomorrow but I went ahead and started with the Euro Spec Harness from Deutsche Auto Parts.
Buy here
MK7 LED Tail Lights Harness Description:
Photos of the Install:
Gotta start things off with a glass of Hill Farmstead Abner…playing some N.W.A. and enjoying the warm day:
Plastic Off:
Running Wires to Inner Taillights:
The install was pretty easy today. It took 2 hours because I was taking my time. The cables from DAP were very thin and could be easily broken if you’re not careful. No fault of DAP’s but you gotta be careful when snaking and to not break any of the plastic or clips in the car.
Their video guide was very handy:
I didn’t put back on the rear plastic piece or hook up the harness so my stock lights still work to and from work tomorrow. Stoked to be installing the LEDs tomorrow!
I think I’m going to add the brighter LED reverse tail lights to my build list – http://deautokey.com/product/reverse…led-taillights to complete the entire package.
Next Day, Installing the LED Taillights:
Mod #14 – LED Tail lights install. I bought them here. You could buy the Chinese ones and save $400 but I wanted to go OEM. you can decide if it’s worth it to you to buy VW parts.
In the last section (above), I installed the harness from Deutsche Auto Parts. Today, the LED Taillights arrived and I didn’t screw this up which was pretty impressive! Everything worked the first time.
Installing the Taillights:
Outers, there’s just one plastic screw you undo and you take out the lights and unhook the electrical from them which is just one clip with 3 wires seated in there. Slide the new tail lights in, screw and clip again. The inside lights are held by 2 small nuts so slightly more work but very easy. Seating these was a bit more tricky but take your time, don’t break the clips and you’re good.
Getting the hatch plastic back on took a bit of time but this is something you want to be patient on. You’ll break plastic, or clips or you’ll destroy a wire that might control your rear-wiper, lights, camera and hatch latch opener. Be very careful not to crimp any wires as you put plastic back on. Luckily, I didn’t have this problem.
VCDS Coding wasn’t required. the LED Tail lights work great without the harness. You can plug and play but the turn signal won’t be amber and it won’t be that nice clean long line. It’ll be the red brake lights flashing as your turn. the harness makes enabling the turn signal much easier but you’re going to need a VCDS / Ross-Tech cable with Vag-Com to enable it.
Follow this guide to complete coding. It took 30 minutes and that was with me triple-checking every change before committing it. After that, no error lights, perfect expected operation of the tail lights. I confirmed back up lights do work but I’ll be swapping them out for LED lights from deAutoKey (link) very soon as they’re brighter and help visibility when backing up at night.
I can’t help you justify spending $899 + $239 + a $350 Vag-Com cable (if you don’t own one). This mod looks great but is purely cosmetic. Worth it to you? I can’t really help you decide.
Photos:
Here’s a video of how this looks at night through different modes with my GoPro:
Here’s a video on how to install the taillights via DAP. It shows just how easy this is: