New owner of Cupra Born - beginner questions

Faults and Technical chat for the CUPRA Born
Anterialis
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:44 pm

Post by Anterialis »

Hi!

I'm a new Cupra Born owner, actually bought it used from the dealer here in Norway yesterday. An october 2021 production car with very low milage (60 km). The software is rather old, I believe it is a 2.1 version (I don't remember the four digit version number, but I remember seeing H20). Coming from BMW (iX as main vehicle) and being used to the iDrive system, the I.D.3 / Cupra system (whats its name?) is new to me. A few questions, if you don't mind:

1) Is it true that I need to get the dealer to update the software past a certain version number (2.4?) in order for the OTA updates to work as intended?
2) With my BMW I am used to different things being set up (mirrors, seats, menu items like the Driver Profile, regeneration level in D, temperature, etc.) according to my preferences, when I enter the car with my key. Similarly, my wife's settings are applied to the car when she enters with her key. Do things work the same way with the Cupra? We have Pilot L, Tech M, HUD, Panorama, electric seats..
3) I see that I have to change the Driving Profile from "Comfort" to "Individual" every time I start the car, the car does not seem to remember my choice. Is this normal? Or should the car remember this?
4) Which settings are actually "remembered"/"stored" in the key? Only external mirrors? Which menu items?
5) Is there a way to change the amount of regeneration when in "D" mode? I am familiar with the B-mode, but coming from the BMW I have very aggressive regeneration applied to B-mode, and three (or four?) settings for the D-mode, light, moderate, heavy. Is there a similar thing for the Cupra? I'd like a bit more regen than standard D-mode (coasting).
6) How do I update the navigation/maps? OTA or by USB?

Super happy with the car already, I really like the sporty feel and comfortable seats. Great purchase!

Thanks in advance =)

Deleted User 490

Post by Deleted User 490 »

Hi, I’ll have a go at these, but you should also check the digital manual if you haven’t already as you will definitely have other questions!

https://www.cupraofficial.com/owners/cu ... cupra-born

1/. For an October 21 car I would say yes, they will also replace the 12V battery. I did this with my ID3 last year. I’m no expert with the Born as my car is quite recent, running 3.1 (0561) so it hasn’t come up, but I don’t think Cupra have started the programme in many places, I believe they have or are about to in The Netherlands,
2/. The Born does this with User Profiles that are stored in the Cupra cloud.. There is a primary user and you can add users. Again I’m no expert as I haven’t done this with mine we just use one user profile. Also, it may not save the same preferences as you are used to from the BMW.
3/. Yes, it reverts to Comfort as far as I know.
4/. Not sure what you mean here, the key doesn’t store preferences as far as I know. The Born can be prone to forgetting some settings as you will discover, well discussed on here too, try searching “amnesia”
5/. The Born (as are all MEB cars) is pretty simple when it comes to regen, it just has two levels. D is mild, typically used on the open road or if you happen to prefer it that way. B mode is stronger, often used in urban/town driving, but I wouldn’t call it strong. There is no adjustability with these modes, it’s just D or B.
6/. Navigation updates, as with all updates will happen OTA, there is no USB updating. I assume your car is online with a 4G signal and paired to your phone using the My Cupra app.

Others may be along with more detailed input or to correct me if I’m mistaken so you won’t be misled.

Best of luck!
Anterialis
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:44 pm

Post by Anterialis »

Thank you so much for your informative answer!

1) Perfect, I’ll contact the dealer or CupraOfficial and see what they say
2) Hmm, I have not seen any mention of User Profiles or Cupra cloud in the menu or digital handbook. I’ll search specifically for those words and make sure I didn’t skip anything. Could it be that these User Profiles were introduced in a software version more recent than mine? IOW, I would have to update it in order to make User Profiles work? I am currently on version number 0796 (and hardware number (?) H20) which according to a friend equals to v2.1..
3) Thanks. The only thing I don’t quite like is the mapping of the “electric pedal”. I find it to harsh, to aggressive the first two centimeters. I prefer the “range” option as the acceleration is milder. Any way of making the car always choose “range” for the ACC (accelerator?) setting?
4) I was trying to ask which settings are remembered/changed when changing the key fob. I would imagine at least the exterior mirrors change according to who (which key is opening the car) is driving. But I guess other settings are also “connected” to the key. But, you mentioned User Profiles, so maybe the key activates a specific User Profile, which in turn stores these settings.
5) Thanks.
6) It is connected, correct. If I remember correctly the navigation version was 22.12 or 12.22, which might be dec. 2022. In that case, it is already updated… But it did not find my home address, which is a new a address from two or three years ago.

Thank you very much!
Deleted User 490

Post by Deleted User 490 »

For clarification

2/. The terminology I’ve used is probably not exact for search purposes. Cupra seem to refer to “Users”, primary user plus guest users. Cupra cloud was just my description, they have online servers that the app connects to, these servers communicate with your car. The app doesn’t connect directly to the car.
3/. If range isn’t an option in individual then no.
4/. I don’t think any settings are related to the key fobs, it’s all via Users, but others may know differently
Anterialis
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:44 pm

Post by Anterialis »

3) «range» is an option under «individual», but I would like to not have to select “individual” every time I enter the car, I want it to default to “individual” :)

4) makes sense that it is via user profiles, but my point is how do the car know which user (me or my wife) is entering/opening the car? In my BMW there are also users that are stored online, and the keys are registered to individual users. So when I open the car with my key, the car immediately adjust settings (seat positions, mirrors etc) according to my profile. If I were to open the car with my wife’s key, the car things I am my wife and adjust to her settings.

I am starting to think User Profiles does not exist in my car as of now, but might be introduced in a later software update.
Elea4
Posts: 200
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2022 5:19 pm

Post by Elea4 »

Anterialis wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 4:51 pm 3) «range» is an option under «individual», but I would like to not have to select “individual” every time I enter the car, I want it to default to “individual” :)
The first Borns were shipped with either version 2.3 or 2.4. The reason the 12V battery needs to be replaced is that initial attempts to do an OTA update on the ID.3 resulted in empty batteries part way through. Yikes.

The new 12V battery actually has a slightly smaller capacity than the older on but a better BMS that can handle the long 6-8h updates whereby each subsystem gets flashed one at a time.

As it stands, a few early Born owners outside of Germany are beginning to get workshop appointments to update to 3.1/3.2... the main CPU, ICAS3, has the same software in 3.1 and 3.2 and the difference lies in another control unit. Some Germans are now being told they can update in the summer, which is a change from up until recently when VW/Cupra refused to commit to any updates.

Software 4.0 will require new ICAS3 hardware, so it doesn't look like any of the current Born/ID-series owners will get that. So let's hope 3.x will get a decent amount of attention in the meantime.


Re. drive modes: Comfort is the default because of vehicle homologation, aka Conformity of Production for those in the UK: https://www.vehicle-certification-agenc ... roduction/

Sticking to homologation defaults is a strict affair in the EU. Sure you could argue that setting it to Range looks better in terms of increased WLTP - but then you no longer have a vehicle that delivers as much power as per the homologation specs.

Re. seats: nope, no memory seats in the Born as there's no data bus wiring going to the seats. There are other threads here about this.
Anterialis
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:44 pm

Post by Anterialis »

Thank you for a very thorough reply!

Regarding “Range”, do you not have max output (kW) when flooring it in “range”? I thought it just had a milder mapping/response curve..

Thanks again, I learned a lot!
Anterialis
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:44 pm

Post by Anterialis »

Another question:

When driving during daytime I use DRL (auto). In my other car I can set the car to turn the back lights on or off during DRL. Is this possible in the Cupra? Under certain driving conditions (e.g. heavy fog + bright day) the DRL keeps running and there are no lights in the back = potential dangerous situation if cars behind me cant see me coasting to a halt e.g.

Is it possible to have the lights in the back turn on during the day with DRL?
Elea4
Posts: 200
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2022 5:19 pm

Post by Elea4 »

Anterialis wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 8:04 am Thank you for a very thorough reply!

Regarding “Range”, do you not have max output (kW) when flooring it in “range”? I thought it just had a milder mapping/response curve..

Thanks again, I learned a lot!
No problem!

You're correct in that respect: as on all VAG vehicles, flooring the accelerator until it clicks should indeed give you full power. I should have written handling characteristics and responsiveness instead.

In Range mode power saving impacts things like steering responsiveness, throttle mapping, regeneration, predictive deceleration and DCC reactivity (if installed).
Anterialis
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:44 pm

Post by Anterialis »

Thanks. I quite like the mild response curve on the accelerator for daily driving, at least a milder response curve than the one in "comfort". I find it to aggressive. It's difficult to get that smooth energy saving driving profile I want. But I guess others have quite different opinions =)

Do you also know about the DRL-issue I mentioned in the previous post?
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