I ended up posting this in a post asking about the Fender Audio System in the 2012's but I thought that now that I have a fix, I would post a new thread explaining how.
Issue:
In 2012 they changed the overhead console. They removed the 3 blutooth control buttons and the adjacent microphone grill's. They then moved the microphone between the map light buttons and courtesy light switch. The microphone is now located behind a plastic panel with no holes for the sound to travel through. I use my Bluetooth constantly and have heard the following complaints: sounds like you're talking through: a plastic cup, a glass of water, my hand, my a**, etc, etc.
The fix:
I have since remedied the issue by drilling holes in the panel. It now works great. No complaints from anyone about muffled sound. I'm disappointed that I had to resolve it myself as the dealer was not interested because they don't have an authorized fix from VW yet. But it works well and I think it looks decent.
Instructions on what to do if you like what you see:
1. Remove the clear plastic light panel. Pry and pull down on the front and the panel will pop out.
2. Remove the 2 torx screws that hold the light panel and buttons in place. NOTE: Be careful not to touch your torx driver to the dome light terminal as this will blow a fuse in your panel, and when you go looking for a fuse diagram in your owners manual you will find that it was not available at the time of printing.
3. Pull down on and remove the light panel. You will need to unplug the light plug and remove the microphone from the panel in order to remove the panel from the car. The microphone is the little black rectangular box surrounded by 3 plastic clips. Spread these clips apart CAREFULLY and pull the microphone out.
4. Now time to drill your holes. I tossed around the idea of a bunch of little holes, or 1 big one, or 2 medium ones. I wanted it to look good, but still be as functional as possible. I decided on 2 - 3/8" holes in line. I used a 1/2" uni-bit, started from the back side of the panel with the initial 1/8" of the bit. Then I flipped it over and finished the drilling from the front side. I drilled down to the 3/8" size and then did a mild countersink with the 7/16" of the bit.
5. Clean up any burrs, and reinstall everything in the reverse order.
I hope this is helpful to folks. And that VW remedies this issue soon. Let me know if anyone has any questions.
Here's a picture to show what I did to resolve the issue (note the 2 - 3/8" holes next to the right side map light button):
Issue:
In 2012 they changed the overhead console. They removed the 3 blutooth control buttons and the adjacent microphone grill's. They then moved the microphone between the map light buttons and courtesy light switch. The microphone is now located behind a plastic panel with no holes for the sound to travel through. I use my Bluetooth constantly and have heard the following complaints: sounds like you're talking through: a plastic cup, a glass of water, my hand, my a**, etc, etc.
The fix:
I have since remedied the issue by drilling holes in the panel. It now works great. No complaints from anyone about muffled sound. I'm disappointed that I had to resolve it myself as the dealer was not interested because they don't have an authorized fix from VW yet. But it works well and I think it looks decent.
Instructions on what to do if you like what you see:
1. Remove the clear plastic light panel. Pry and pull down on the front and the panel will pop out.
2. Remove the 2 torx screws that hold the light panel and buttons in place. NOTE: Be careful not to touch your torx driver to the dome light terminal as this will blow a fuse in your panel, and when you go looking for a fuse diagram in your owners manual you will find that it was not available at the time of printing.
3. Pull down on and remove the light panel. You will need to unplug the light plug and remove the microphone from the panel in order to remove the panel from the car. The microphone is the little black rectangular box surrounded by 3 plastic clips. Spread these clips apart CAREFULLY and pull the microphone out.
4. Now time to drill your holes. I tossed around the idea of a bunch of little holes, or 1 big one, or 2 medium ones. I wanted it to look good, but still be as functional as possible. I decided on 2 - 3/8" holes in line. I used a 1/2" uni-bit, started from the back side of the panel with the initial 1/8" of the bit. Then I flipped it over and finished the drilling from the front side. I drilled down to the 3/8" size and then did a mild countersink with the 7/16" of the bit.
5. Clean up any burrs, and reinstall everything in the reverse order.
I hope this is helpful to folks. And that VW remedies this issue soon. Let me know if anyone has any questions.
Here's a picture to show what I did to resolve the issue (note the 2 - 3/8" holes next to the right side map light button):