Dynamic market changes require garages to constantly update and extend their services. More and more customers, owners and users of newer cars, often still in the guarantee period, are looking for an alternative to authorised ASO service stations. This trend offers great opportunities for the development of garages and diversity in the market, but it also comes with certain demands. How to repair, diagnose and service cars so that the customer does not lose the warranty? How to obtain technical documentation, detailed wiring diagrams or repair procedures? The answer to this question is relatively simple, namely PassThru. This article describes how to gain access to PassThru and the manufacturer's portal for the VAG group of cars: Audi, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Seat, Skoda, and the benefits of having this type of entitlement.
I. Registration of accounts on erWin portals
To begin with, it should be noted that in the VAG group access has been divided into 3 levels:
In order to take advantage of the possibilities made available by the manufacturer of VAG group vehicles, one must register for an account on the erWin portal. It is important that the registration must be performed for each brand individually, i.e. for VW (photo 1), Audi (photo 2), Skoda (photo 3) and Seat (photo 4).
After completing the form and accepting the GTB (General Terms and Conditions) and additional consents, a message with a one-time password is sent to the email address provided, which must be changed after the first login.
II. Access to the DSP
Immediately after registration, in the case of the VAG group, access and entry to the DSP (Digital Service Plan - Digital Service Book), which has been introduced for this group since 2015, is obtained at no extra charge.In order to maintain the basic or extended warranty for the car in question, an entry in the DSP is required, as well as the generation of a corresponding inspection list and the use of spare parts of at least P quality (comparable quality). The service performed in this way is fully recognised by the Group provided that the procedures required by the manufacturer are followed.
In order to create a maintenance list and enter the maintenance into the register, you will first need to enter the VIN number of the vehicle being serviced in the "Digital Service Plan" tab.
The next step will be to start creating the maintenance table. In step one (photo 6), you need to enter:
1. the current mileage of the car,
2. type of the last inspection:
If maintenance alone was selected in item 2, the last oil change must also be entered in the selection box below.
Once the certificate has been created, it can be printed out and given to the client. It is important to note that it is possible to edit the created list and entry for 14 days. After 14 days, it is permanently stored in the DSP register. The few simple steps described above ensure that the independent workshop can carry out the service in accordance with the manufacturer's requirements without the risk of losing the warranty by the customer, which can be a huge competitive advantage in the local market.
III. Access to paid content on the erWin portal
On each erWin portal, once logged in, you can purchase access to documentation consisting of:
All documents are displayed on the basis of the previously specified VIN number. At the date of writing the costs for accessing the documentation are: 7€ per hour, 30€ per day, 130€ per 7 days, 310€ per month, 2850€ per year, annual multi-user license for 5 users 3500€. It is important to note that when you purchase from the erWin portal of your choice, you gain access to the documentation of the specific brand. The period of access to the documentation is calculated at the time of purchase.
IV. Access to ODIS system diagnostics
In order to use ODIS diagnostics with PassThru technology, you must first apply for an OrgID/Global User ID. The application can be found in the erWin Product Wizard, under "Applications, forms and certificates". In order to submit this application, the workshop data must again be entered and this time the European VAT is mandatory. After sending the application, a message will be sent to the e-mail address to which you must respond by sending a document confirming the type of business activity (for Poland, an extract from CEiDG or e-KRS in .pdf format; for other EU countries, other documents may be required - the type of document is specified in the e-mail) and you must specify the brands of the VAG Group to access them (Audi, VW, Seat, Skoda). After successful verification we can receive up to three OrgID / Global User ID`s: Audi/VW, Skoda and Seat - this depends on the number of brands applied for. Submission of this application is free.
After obtaining the OrgID / Global User ID, you will need to create an account on the GRP portal (Group Retail Portal) and add employee accounts and assign permissions on the CPN portal.
Before starting the diagnostics you first need to purchase any token on any brand for the diagnostics e.g. at the date of writing the cost is 1 hour for 10€, 1 day 25€, 1 week 110€, 1 month 210€ and 1 year 1760€. This enables you to download and install ODIS following the instructions on the erWin portal. Before installation, however, a licence must be generated on the computer that will be used for the diagnostics. For this, you need the OrgID and the so-called Hardware ID of the computer, which is generated by the application. The program for generating the HardwareID must be downloaded from the erWin portal. A licence must be generated on each erWin portal - per brand. The last licence generated contains all the others. After these steps, you can complete the installation and configuration of ODIS to work through the PassThru standard. In order to diagnose the vehicle, a VCI compliant with SAE J2534-1/2 standard must be connected and a diagnostic token must be purchased. Then the vehicle VIN is read in and you have to log in with your individual Global User ID (starts with DPXXXXX) and password. After these steps, the diagnostics can be started. In this case, the countdown of the token time starts at the moment the diagnostics are initiated. It should be added here that a purchased token for diagnostics after connection with the vehicle also provides access to repair manuals, wiring diagrams, technical bulletins and vehicle equipment codes from the ODIS item.
V. Access to system diagnostics – GEKO
As mentioned at the very beginning of the article, in order to be able to carry out coding, updating, parameterisation drivers, adding Immobiliser and online keys, etc., through ODIS, are needed additional authorisations which called GeKo. Details on how to apply and what documents are needed can be found on the erWin platforms under "Applications, forms, certificates" and at email: technika.volkswagen@vw-group.pl (in Poland). Once you have successfully passed the procedure for gaining access to the GeKo security function, you will need to sign a contract at Volkswagen Group headquarters. You will then be sent tokens generating the SecureID variable code.
Their receipt must be confirmed by e-mail. Once this has been done, the independent workshop has access to the above-mentioned functions, providing its customers with a full range of services for the entire VAG Group, even for the group's latest car models.