# 2018 Tiguan, VW Canada - Infotainment NAV System Questions



## nipp0n (Nov 21, 2018)

I feel like I should be able to find the answers to these questions in the literature, but I can't. It may be me, but I find the infotainment information is incomplete to say the least.

What is the model of the Infotainment system in the car? I doubt I need to know this but so many other discussions specify this or that unit so I thought I'd ask.
How is the user POI information formatted?
Is there a menu system for the POI's to be able to select from the list of factory installed POI's as opposed to looking on a map and touching this or that icon?
Any tricks that anyone has would be appreciated 
Thanks in advance for your help.

n


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## JimGravelle (Nov 13, 2018)

nipp0n said:


> I feel like I should be able to find the answers to these questions in the literature, but I can't. It may be me, but I find the infotainment information is incomplete to say the least.
> 
> What is the model of the Infotainment system in the car? I doubt I need to know this but so many other discussions specify this or that unit so I thought I'd ask.
> How is the user POI information formatted?
> ...


I too live in Canada, with a 2018 Tiguan Highline. The model of Tiguan will determine the Infotainment system you have installed and potentially the features (not sure if they are different beyond the screen sizes). But I don't think we are any different then the U.S., other then the models named differently. For example, in Canada it's called the Highline, but in the U.S. I believe it's called the Sel Premium (or similar). Sorry...don't have the answers to your questions, but did you try this website: http://knowyourvw.com ? Or check YouTube?

Also VW forums are a great resource. I agree, the VW manuals don't tell you everything...usually just enough to get you working with the stuff...basically all the average driver wants to know. For enthusiast stuff you need to check forums...like this great one! 

For example, on a forum I found out that if I put an album cover named "folder.jpg"....as a .jpg (duh) and no bigger then 500x500 pixels, in each album folder (which is how I sort my MP3 albums), the the cover will show up on the infotainment screen when a song from that album plays...nice! Learned that on a forum.


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## nipp0n (Nov 21, 2018)

Thanks for the hint re the folder.jpg, That is a good one. I really enjoy squeezing the full functionality out of electronic devices and in this case I have to admit being frustrated.

You are way more forgiving of BAD engineering than I am. I believe technical manuals should contain all the operating information including the model name of the unit (which I am still not quite sure of, for as you say the infotainment system id dependent on the car model). Do You know for sure the infotainment system is a RNS-510? I sure as heck don't I have strong suspicions but that is all; so my expectations my be completely off.

Oh yeah..., the Set Preferred Gas Station feature without any Canadian gas stations or seeming ability to add Canadian gas stations really ticks me off.


Thanks for writing.


n


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## JimGravelle (Nov 13, 2018)

nipp0n said:


> Thanks for the hint re the folder.jpg, That is a good one. I really enjoy squeezing the full functionality out of electronic devices and in this case I have to admit being frustrated.
> 
> You are way more forgiving of BAD engineering than I am. I believe technical manuals should contain all the operating information including the model name of the unit (which I am still not quite sure of, for as you say the infotainment system id dependent on the car model). Do You know for sure the infotainment system is a RNS-510? I sure as heck don't I have strong suspicions but that is all; so my expectations my be completely off.
> 
> ...


The "RNS-510" appears to be from the older Tiguan (Google searched it) . The 2018 Tiggy has what's referred to as the *MIB II Infotainment System*. The only thing I could find under _Settings / System Info_ was the device part number of 3Q0035876A. What model of Tiggy do you have and do you have the 6.5" or 8.0" screen?

I believe you are confusing engineering with user manual writing. Without a doubt, VAG has some of the best auto engineers in the industry working for them...so it's definitely not an engineering issue. It sounds like you are frustrated with the level of detail in the user manual. As I mentioned before; the user manual is typically meant to provide just enough info for the average owner to be able to use the features in the vehicle. I do agree, a technical manual for us "advanced/enthusiast" vehicle owners would be nice. Even if its just a pdf download, it would be a great leap in the right direction! But don't all automotive manufacturers do the same thing?

I haven't tried the "Set Preferred Gas Station" feature. Personally I prefer Google Maps...but I will take a look and let you know if my Tiggy does the same thing.

Cheers!


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## nipp0n (Nov 21, 2018)

JimGravelle said:


> The "RNS-510" appears to be from the older Tiguan (Google searched it) . The 2018 Tiggy has what's referred to as the *MIB II Infotainment System*. The only thing I could find under _Settings / System Info_ was the device part number of 3Q0035876A. What model of Tiggy do you have and do you have the 6.5" or 8.0" screen?
> 
> I believe you are confusing engineering with user manual writing. Without a doubt, VAG has some of the best auto engineers in the industry working for them...so it's definitely not an engineering issue. It sounds like you are frustrated with the level of detail in the user manual. As I mentioned before; the user manual is typically meant to provide just enough info for the average owner to be able to use the features in the vehicle. I do agree, a technical manual for us "advanced/enthusiast" vehicle owners would be nice. Even if its just a pdf download, it would be a great leap in the right direction! But don't all automotive manufacturers do the same thing?
> 
> ...


I don't believe that I am confusing engineering with user manual writing, they are both parts of the the same finished product. I am not going to argue the point.

I have found the proper format for entering "Destination" as vcf files and have written an macro to export an address list into multiple vcf files ready for import into the NAV. Now to figure out POI's (I hope). 

I have the 2018 Tiguan Highline, the Infotainment system with the 8" screen.

Look forward to your discoveries.

Thanks

nipp0n


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## JimGravelle (Nov 13, 2018)

nipp0n said:


> I don't believe that I am confusing engineering with user manual writing, they are both parts of the the same finished product. I am not going to argue the point.


Being an engineer myself I'll agree to disagree with you on that one. eace:



> I have found the proper format for entering "Destination" as vcf files and have written an macro to export an address list into multiple vcf files ready for import into the NAV. Now to figure out POI's (I hope).


Can you post the procedure you used to import the files into the NAV and the vcf file format that you've discovered?



> I have the 2018 Tiguan Highline, the Infotainment system with the 8" screen.


Same here!


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## nipp0n (Nov 21, 2018)

I too am an engineer; I have spent many years writing proposals, technical spec's, training manuals, and so my expectations are high. 

vcf files are just ASCII text files with a vcf extension. I have found that different email programs generate vcf files in slightly different "flavours" and not all of these are acceptable to the NAV. The following seems to work:

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:John;Smith;;;
ADR;TYPE=HOME:;;88 Any Ave;Montreal;QC;H9X6Z3;CA
TEL;TYPE=HOME:555-555-5555
END:VCARD

You need individual files for each destination saved to a USB or SD card. Insert the storage device in your car. Then in NAV, select "Settings" > "Memory" > "Import Destinations" (just follow the rest of the prompts)

I wrote the following VBA code to simplify the process by allowing me to enter the data in Excel (I don't see where I can post the Excel file to this forum so PM me and I will send it to you).

The data entry spreadsheet has headers in Row 1:
A1 First Name
B1 Last Name
C1 Address Street
D1 City
E1 Prov/State
F1 Postal Code
G1 Country (CA or USA)
H1 Phone Number (xxx-xxx-xxxx << Enter with hyphens)

Enter the destination info in Rows 2, 3, etc. (multiple entries are allowed, individual files will be generated).


```
Sub Create_vcf_File()

mypath = "G:\" '<<<< CHANGE FILE SAVE DESTINATION TO YOUR USB/SD DEVICE>>>>

For r = 2 To Cells(Rows.Count, "A").End(xlUp).Row
myfile = Cells(r, "A") & " " & Cells(r, "B")

Data = "BEGIN:VCARD" & vbCr & vbLf & "VERSION:3.0" & vbCr & vbLf
Data = Data & "N:" & Cells(r, "A") & ";" & Cells(r, "B") & ";;;" & vbCr & vbLf
Data = Data & "ADR;TYPE=HOME:;;" & Cells(r, "C") & ";" & Cells(r, "D") & ";" & Cells(r, "E") & ";" & Cells(r, "G") & ";" & Cells(r, "F") & vbCr & vbLf
Data = Data & "TEL;TYPE=HOME:" & Cells(r, "H") & vbCr & vbLf
Data = Data & "END:VCARD"

Open mypath & myfile & ".vcf" For Append As #1
Print #1, Data
Close #1
Data = ""
Next r

End Sub
```
Still no idea of what to do with POI files. Not a big deal, but as it indicates I can import this information I want to know how (I'd make POI files for CBC & NPR radio stations so I can keep listening when we travel, as I have no intention of paying for SiriusXM). 

BTW, Thanks for the jpg tagging trick, I use it for my radio stations.


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## JimGravelle (Nov 13, 2018)

nipp0n said:


> I too am an engineer; I have spent many years writing proposals, technical spec's, training manuals, and so my expectations are high.


Yes...but have you written *User Guides*? 

My bet is the good technical manuals are only available to VW techs at the stealerships. 



> vcf files are just ASCII text files with a vcf extension. I have found that different email programs generate vcf files in slightly different "flavours" and not all of these are acceptable to the NAV. The following seems to work:
> 
> BEGIN:VCARD
> VERSION:3.0
> ...


This looks like you are creating a destination file you can upload to the NAV system....which isn't exactly what I'm looking to do.



> Still no idea of what to do with POI files. Not a big deal, but as it indicates I can import this information I want to know how (I'd make POI files for CBC & NPR radio stations so I can keep listening when we travel, as I have no intention of paying for SiriusXM).


So I've been doing a lot of research on this...which explains the long delay in responding.

In terms of the model of infotainment system in our 2018 Tiguan Highline: I've determined that the "*MIB II Infotainment System*" name that the manual refers to is just the generation of the platform. The actual model is called the "*Discover Media*"...which is used in many VW models. (Anyone please jump in if I'm wrong on this.)

Once I determined it was the called the *Discover Media*, I was able to find a solution for adding custom POI's. Here is what I did:

Browse to this website: http://web.poibase.com/
Register (it's free).
Then you will be presented with _Manual Selection_ screens where you _select_ VW (of course), VW Discover Media & Pro, then VW Discover Media u. Pro. (basically the top options each time).
Once you've selected the device, you should see a menu with things to do. For example, click _Download_.
On the next screen click _Download POIs_.
Select a category. When I tested this I chose "Car & Traffic", then "Refuelling stations".
Click the "add" button beside the brands you wish to include.
You click the "Back" button and add as many categories are you'd like. You can also search for POI's in the top right.
When done, click the "Download" button on the bottom right. You should see a pop-up type window as it exports your POI choices and prepares the download...depending on your selections sometimes this takes a while.
In a few minutes you will get a link emailed to you where you can download the ZIP file with your POI selections.
Extract the ZIP to the root of an empty SD card. At the root of the SD card you should have a folder called "PersonalPOI", and a "metainfo2.txt" file.
Now take the SD card to your Tiggy and plug it into the empty slot in your glove box.
Turn your system on, tap on: NAV / Setup / Manage Memory / Update My POIs / Update
Follow the prompts and that's it! You have now updated the POIs on your NAV. Easy stuff!
As far as how the POI info is formatted? I see the bulk of the info is in the file "../PersonalPOI/MIB2TSD/personalpoi/ppoidb/1/default/poidata.db3". Typically a .db3 file is SQLite file...but I'm not 100% certain in this case...haven't tried reading it.



> BTW, Thanks for the jpg tagging trick, I use it for my radio stations.


UR very welcome! I like to see the album covers in the NAV instead of the boring default graphic...didn't think to do it for the radio stations.


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## nipp0n (Nov 21, 2018)

I took a slightly different approach to getting POI imports, I purchased a license for POInspector which works in a similar fashion to POIbase. POInspector does have the disadvantage of not having the web "environment" with built-in POI's (I need to import POI's from a separate site; I used POI-Factory). As an advantage, there is no limit to the number of categories you can build the database for (but this can be gotten rid of with a small annual fee).

EDIT: I did find that Win version of POIbase worked somewhat better (for me) than the web based version., with less waiting for server availability 

There are probably more ways then these to skin this particular cat.

Perhaps you have come across the answers to my remaining NAV questions (Just as a comment, most, if not all of these features were available in my 2013 Suzuki GPS):

Is there a vcf file tag that will allow me to upload a rural destination by longitude and latitude? I realize I can enter these through the NAV system screen, but I would like to be able to upload a batch of destinations for which I have no addresses, so far no joy in finding a way to enter in batches.
There is a feature to select “Favorite Gas Stations”, but none of the listed stations operate in Canada (US only). Is there a way to modify this list?
I have read about being able to add Destination.jpg(s), I'm guessing, but presumably on arrival a photo of the destination will pop-up(?). I have no information about how to do this.
Information regarding the “Avoid Traffic” feature is not clear. There was some information in the users guide about this information being transmitted over the FM band so I think it is different than the SiriusXM “Traffic Information” feature, anyone have any information?
Is there anyway to search for a POI somewhere in my location (but presumably outside the range of view of my map?


Seasons Greeting and the best for the New Year.

n


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## i_am_sam_i_am (Nov 2, 2017)

nipp0n said:


> I took a slightly different approach to getting POI imports, I purchased a license for POInspector which works in a similar fashion to POIbase. POInspector does have the disadvantage of not having the web "environment" with built-in POI's (I need to import POI's from a separate site; I used POI-Factory). As an advantage, there is no limit to the number of categories you can build the database for (but this can be gotten rid of with a small annual fee).
> 
> EDIT: I did find that Win version of POIbase worked somewhat better (for me) than the web based version., with less waiting for server availability
> 
> ...


Hi Nipp0n,

Please don't take this in a patronizing way, but I'm wondering why you are devoting so much time and effort into something with so many alternatives out there rendering it almost totally obsolete? 

I don't mean that in a condescending way at all, I'm actually genuinely curious. Back 5-10 years ago, I would understand wanting the built-in Nav to be as updated and user-friendly as possible, because the alternatives were few and far between. Built-in Navigation was a great thing when the only other option was to mount a GPS device on the dash. But now it's simply an extra charge for something whose software becomes outdated in just a few short months.

With the proliferation of GPS apps and the ever growing ability to use those apps natively in our vehicle on CarPlay or Android Auto, I don't see the benefit of the vehicle's navigation software over that. Apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze are update daily and have mostly everything you listed already built-in. They are more accurate, more reliable, and (in my opinion) more user friendly. 

Again, I'm not knocking your deep-dive into making your Nav exactly what you want. I'm actually impressed with the info you've found and posted. I'm just wondering what the backstory is.

Thanks.


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## JimGravelle (Nov 13, 2018)

nipp0n said:


> I took a slightly different approach to getting POI imports, I purchased a license for POInspector which works in a similar fashion to POIbase. POInspector does have the disadvantage of not having the web "environment" with built-in POI's (I need to import POI's from a separate site; I used POI-Factory). As an advantage, there is no limit to the number of categories you can build the database for (but this can be gotten rid of with a small annual fee).


I will take a look at these sites...thanks!



> EDIT: I did find that Win version of POIbase worked somewhat better (for me) than the web based version., with less waiting for server availability


I don't use Windows...so I need to be patient with the website. 



> Perhaps you have come across the answers to my remaining NAV questions (Just as a comment, most, if not all of these features were available in my 2013 Suzuki GPS):
> 
> Is there a vcf file tag that will allow me to upload a rural destination by longitude and latitude? I realize I can enter these through the NAV system screen, but I would like to be able to upload a batch of destinations for which I have no addresses, so far no joy in finding a way to enter in batches.
> There is a feature to select “Favorite Gas Stations”, but none of the listed stations operate in Canada (US only). Is there a way to modify this list?
> ...


Anwsers:

I haven't come across any .vcf destination stuff in my searches. If I do, I will reply here with what I find.
The issue with the fuel stations being only from the U.S. are on mine also. Uploading all the station POIs didn't fix the issue. Still haven't found a solution, but will keep looking...maybe its more of a software thing vs a POI thing. I find it very narrow minded of VW Canada to not have an update for folks in the Great White North. 
Good question...no idea. Sounds like a cool idea though.
I tried turning this on, but it requires a subscription to SiriusXM traffic stuff...so a no go. In a pinch I can use Google maps...not willing to pay for SiriusXM traffic info when its available for free. My guess its a deal VW Canada has with SiriusXM...which would also explain the 3 free months of SiriusXM radio with each purchase. :what:
Yes..I believe so. For example, after I uploaded my own POIs, I did a search for Tim Hortons :thumbup:..and it listed a whole bunch that weren't on the map screen based on distance from my current location.



> Seasons Greeting and the best for the New Year.


Thanks! All the best this holiday season to you and yours! :biggrinsanta:

(Can't you tell I just love emojis? )


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## nipp0n (Nov 21, 2018)

i_am_sam_i_am said:


> Hi Nipp0n,
> 
> Please don't take this in a patronizing way, but I'm wondering why you are devoting so much time and effort into something with so many alternatives out there rendering it almost totally obsolete?
> 
> ...


All great points and a great question, hopefully my answers satisfies.

I live in Canada, close to the border (as do approximately 90% of Canadians), and using my phone for data when visiting across the border can be quite expensive. I have generally been able to avoid this by going to hotspots when a data connection is required (I'm cheap).

I find plugging my phone in to use the NAV system so "20th century", i.e., a nuisance.

When I am using the Waze or Google Maps the turn-by-turn guide in the cockpit is not available. This is my preferred view to keep eyes on the road and still have the next turn in easy view.

I am an Engineer. I have either been taking things apart to see how they work, or figuring out how to make things work better since I was in grammar school; a long ways back.

And for the reasons mentioned above I spent too much money on a system that can't possible be as kludgy as it presents itself, but without proper instructions requires some figuring out to maximize the value of that investment.

And that's why.

Merry, Happy, Seasons Greetings.

n


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## i_am_sam_i_am (Nov 2, 2017)

nipp0n said:


> All great points and a great question, hopefully my answers satisfies.
> 
> I live in Canada, close to the border (as do approximately 90% of Canadians), and using my phone for data when visiting across the border can be quite expensive. I have generally been able to avoid this by going to hotspots when a data connection is required (I'm cheap).
> 
> ...


The data usage concern makes sense. 
Thanks for the explanation. 

Happy New Year to ‘ya!


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## Atomicevil (Jan 29, 2017)

Would anyone on this forum happen to know if there is a difference in the MIB 2 displays without nav and with? And is it possible if you have the model without nav to convert it? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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