Lane Departure Assist Retrofit on Passat B7

Lane Departure Assist

The feature seems to be available for the Passat only. Though the feature was mentioned on the VW technical literature, we were not able to find any parts for the various other models. 

My 2013 study was done here. 

Embarked on the project to upgrade my B7 Passat with the Lane Assist camera.  This requires the replacement of the windscreen with the necessary mounting brackets for the camera. 

Original screen being prepared for dismantling.

Heart wrenching removal of original screen. It broke, of course !

Special New Lane Assist windscreen 

The Darth Vader camera viewing aperture

The Lane Assist Camera mounting bracket on screen

Inside view of bracket.

Because the rear view mirror have shifted lower down the screen with this new arrangement of the Lane Assist camera, we need to extend the wiring harness for both the Rain Sensor and Auto-Dim mirror.  The harness is extended by some 8 cm. 

The Front Assist module mounted overhead

Lane Assist control module 

With the trim cover installed.

The harness of the Lane Assist camera is fitted new and runs directly to the Gateway module. Coding of the vehicle electronic is required.

We had the option to enable the TRE function or Traffic Sign Recognition from the camera and RNS510. Unfortunately, Singapore itself is not on the support countries ( refer Owner's Manual for list of available countries ) . Road detail data are stored in the map data and works together with the camera to enable the function.  We disable the feature subsequently. 

Additional function : Traffic Sign Recognition

Driving Experience

After everything was verified and tested, we test drove the vehicle over several days.  As described in the owner's manual, this feature only works in certain conditions......above 65 kph vehicle speed, clear road markings, fine weather and brightly lighted roads without oncoming traffic. 

This feature is really useful for those who may occasionally lack concentration....it is always functioning when enabled within the given conditions mentioned earlier and assist the driver in situation when the vehicle have unintentionally drifted out of the lane. The steering make small adjustment to get the vehicle back in lane. 


When we allowed the vehicle to drift off lane without turning the steering, the system automatically adjusted the steering to get the vehicle back in lane. When we attempt make slight adjustment to steer the vehicle off lane, the system recognise this and turn itself off. As such, when driver decides to change lane, the system would not intervene to counter the attempt. 

Conclusion, the Lane Departure Assist functions is a definite plus for safer driving especially on longer distances.