# Volume lowers and distorts when driving on freeway, windows down



## wes301201 (Jul 22, 2019)

Hello! Bought a used 2013 volkswagen jetta about a month ago and I replaced the stereo it came with a aftermarket one with bluetooth. The default stereo it came with needed a passcode to even use and the vw dealership wasnt gonna unlock for free hence why i replaced it. Anyways whenever i drive on the freeway going 60-80 mph, the volume distorts and lowers. This only happens if the windows are rolled down and when i roll them back up all the way, the audio turns back up and goes back to normal. The EPC and battery light are on when the car is on without turning on the engine. Dont know if those could be the issue or if it is something like a Speed sensitive volume control setting. The stereo i bought doesnt have such a setting and i am not sure if the default one has one. Going to call vw customer service tomorrow since the are closed. What could possibly be causing this? I want to pinpoint the issue before throwing money at every problem it has. Please help.


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## randyvr6 (Aug 17, 1999)

I don't believe that VW will be able to diagnose or provide much help since it is an aftermarket radio.


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## vw_service_advisor (Aug 10, 2017)

You honestly expect a VW customer service rep to be able to diag issues with your aftermarket radio install over the phone?

That’s right up there with assuming the service department came to work to do free stuff for you like source your radio code. Do you know what info from the vehicle pulling a radio code requires and what needs to be done to access that info? Once you’ve got that info off the car do you know who has authorization in Elsa to access the code and how much or in what manner we pay that guy? Given how well your radio install went I’m gonna guess the answers are no.

Hopefully you didn’t break anything and you can put the OEM unit back in the car and pay them the 0.5 labor to get the code.


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## wes301201 (Jul 22, 2019)

vw_service_advisor said:


> You honestly expect a VW customer service rep to be able to diag issues with your aftermarket radio install over the phone?
> 
> That’s right up there with assuming the service department came to work to do free stuff for you like source your radio code. Do you know what info from the vehicle pulling a radio code requires and what needs to be done to access that info? Once you’ve got that info off the car do you know who has authorization in Elsa to access the code and how much or in what manner we pay that guy? Given how well your radio install went I’m gonna guess the answers are no.
> 
> Hopefully you didn’t break anything and you can put the OEM unit back in the car and pay them the 0.5 labor to get the code.


Actually i was gonna ask vw customer service if they knew if the standard radio that came in the car had the speed volume sensitivity feature. Which they said it does, but with an aftermarket radio that doesn't have the feature, it should not be able to affect the sound. Also, they used to give radio codes away for free by looking up the VIN but now they no longer do so please give the unhelpful rant about why its not free a rest. I talked to the guy who installed my radio and he said that installing my 4 channel amp should alleviate the issue. I’ll let this forum know if it actually does fix my issue.


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## vw_service_advisor (Aug 10, 2017)

wes301201 said:


> vw_service_advisor said:
> 
> 
> > You honestly expect a VW customer service rep to be able to diag issues with your aftermarket radio install over the phone?
> ...


We used to give them out for free too because they were easy to lookup. Now you need a serial # off the radio and the permissions got a lot stricter on VW’s side. Maybe a security issue made them change the process or something, I don’t know. 

That’s why they were charging you labor.


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## Jack0228 (Mar 9, 2021)

wes301201 said:


> Hello! Bought a used 2013 volkswagen jetta about a month ago and I replaced the stereo it came with a aftermarket one with bluetooth. The default stereo it came with needed a passcode to even use and the vw dealership wasnt gonna unlock for free hence why i replaced it. Anyways whenever i drive on the freeway going 60-80 mph, the volume distorts and lowers. This only happens if the windows are rolled down and when i roll them back up all the way, the audio turns back up and goes back to normal. The EPC and battery light are on when the car is on without turning on the engine. Dont know if those could be the issue or if it is something like a Speed sensitive volume control setting. The stereo i bought doesnt have such a setting and i am not sure if the default one has one. Going to call vw customer service tomorrow since the are closed. What could possibly be causing this? I want to pinpoint the issue before throwing money at every problem it has. Please help.


Did you ever find a solution to this? My wife’s 2017 Jetta SE does the exact same thing. Complete factory audio and it has done this since brand new off the lot in 17. It’s been driving me nuts but no one seems to have a solution


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## ChefroA6 (Dec 3, 2020)

I'm sorry to ask as I don't mean to sound belittling or rude, but since the wording is rather awkward and unclear I need to ask.
What's the exact thing you have:
aftermarket unit that loses and distorts the volume when you roll down windows, or a defective "complete factory audio"?


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## KingintheNorth (11 mo ago)

Any updates on this issue? My 2017 Jetta does the exact same when the windows are down and I’m driving over like 30mph. I’d rather not replace the speakers if I can help it but I also hate not having proper audio with the windows down when it’s nice. Otherwise it’s an absolutely delightful car


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## Gsmith713 (8 mo ago)

I have a 2014 jetta with a factory radio that does the same thing iv tryed changing the SDV settings and nothing seems to fix it with any the settings


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## autobean777 (3 mo ago)

Jack0228 said:


> Did you ever find a solution to this? My wife’s 2017 Jetta SE does the exact same thing. Complete factory audio and it has done this since brand new off the lot in 17. It’s been driving me nuts but no one seems to have a solution


 We are having the same issue on 2016 Jetta SE, I see some responses but no answers can someone point me in the right direction away from the angry VW service rep…LOL


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## bookslyce (2 mo ago)

No one fixed this???


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