Question on the Haldex AWD sytem for a 2012 VW GOLF R

Hey Everyone,

First car I've had with AWD so I'm just curious about how it works. If the Haldex system isn't working properly will it throw on a warning light / code in the instrument panel? Just need to know what to look out for with it and how to make sure it's working properly.

Thanks!

Ronnie said:

Hey Everyone,

First car I've had with AWD so I'm just curious about how it works. If the Haldex system isn't working properly will it throw on a warning light / code in the instrument panel? Just need to know what to look out for with it and how to make sure it's working properly.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

should throw an abs code

damagi123 said:

should throw an abs code

Click to expand...

Awesome! Thank you! Ok so no ABS Code which I'm gonna assume that the AWD is working just fine. Buying a used car I tend to worry about every little thing instead of enjoying the car like I should.

I say wait to have that confirmed I read it on the R forums a bunch of times but I don't have one

Problems with the transmission/drive train generally won't trigger a check engine. But the AWD system in the R's is pretty solid. I don't think you have much to worry about.

Dans GTI said:

Problems with the transmission/drive train generally won't trigger a check engine. But the AWD system in the R's is pretty solid. I don't think you have much to worry about.

Click to expand...

Sweet! I'm even more stoked now knowing the R's AWD is solid! I think it's pretty cool how when I turn left or right from a complete stop I can feel the different wheels engaging. I've only owned front wheel and rear wheel drive vehicles so this is a whole new experience for me. LOL!

That Haldex system has been around for over 15 years, and is in a TON of cars. It's absolutely rock solid, I wouldn't worry about it.

The Haldex AWD is a damn good system, don't be worried about it breaking. Now there is a fairly common issue kinda related to the Haldex, but not really, and that's the rear harmonic balancer that helps reduce vibrations from rear driveshaft to the Haldex. Take a read at: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6912758-Something-new-to-check

A Haldex doesn't work like a regular AWD differential, like a Torsen. Golf Rs are front-wheel-drive biased and the Haldex only engages its clutch when it feels it needs to. A popular mod is upgrading the Haldex controller to change how it engages. Take a read at this if you're more curious man: http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65009

Now with that said, you can completely unplug the Haldex and the car is still "drivable". This is actually how people dyno these cars on a front-wheel-drive dyno. It will throw faults of course and may screw with ABS, so probably not recommended to drive it on the road like that, but nevertheless doable lol...