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VW 50185 en
VW 50185 en
VW 50185 en
Issue 2024-02
Class. No.: 50321
Descriptors: Arizona, Brazil, China, Florida, India, aging, climate, hot country, open-air weathering, weather
resistance
Previous issues
VW 50185: 2000-10, 2009-07, 2016-08, 2020-11, 2020-12, 2023-03
Changes
The following changes have been made to VW 50185: 2023-03:
a) Section 4.2 „Resistance to open-air weathering“, paragraph 1 changed;
b) Table 4 „Intervals of operating parts in the vehicle“, second-to-last line updated;
c) Section 5.3.2.6 „Lighting and illuminated elements“ added;
d) Section 5.3.3.3 „Glazed test boxes“: new test box type added, new boxes reduced to 2 types;
e) Table 5 „Dimensions and glazing angles of the test boxes“: box type for vans added.
Contents
Page
1 Scope ......................................................................................................................... 2
2 Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. 2
3 Designation ................................................................................................................ 3
4 Requirements ............................................................................................................. 3
4.1 General requirements ................................................................................................ 3
4.2 Resistance to open-air weathering ............................................................................. 3
4.3 Extended resistance to open-air weathering .............................................................. 4
4.4 Preliminary evaluation of resistance to open-air weathering using simulation
methods ..................................................................................................................... 5
5 Test ............................................................................................................................. 6
5.1 Proving grounds and testing period ........................................................................... 6
5.2 Weather data .............................................................................................................. 6
5.3 Aging of the test objects ............................................................................................. 7
5.3.1 Structure ..................................................................................................................... 7
5.3.2 Requirements for the vehicles .................................................................................... 7
5.3.2.1 General requirements ................................................................................................ 7
5.3.2.2 Ground surface beneath the vehicle .......................................................................... 7
5.3.2.3 Orientation of the vehicles .......................................................................................... 7
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be provided to third parties or reproduced without the prior consent
of one of the Volkswagen Group’s Standards departments. | internal
© Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft VWNORM-2022-12
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VW 50185: 2024-02
1 Scope
This standard defines the requirements for testing the resistance to open-air weathering of
– whole vehicles
– interior components
– exterior components
– specific components in the engine compartment
– charging accessories for private use (not public use)
– add-on parts in installed condition in the vehicle.
This standard applies to the development and production conformity monitoring of vehicles, parts,
and materials.
This includes, among other things:
– Textiles
– Fiber materials
– Sandwich composite structures
– Coatings (e.g., protective coatings and decorative coatings)
– Films
– Foams
– Metals
– Polymers
– Glass
– Ceramic
– Natural materials (e.g., leather, wood)
2 Abbreviations
The following abbreviations apply when using this document:
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VW 50185: 2024-02
3 Designation
Example of a drawing note for a part:
Resistance to open-air weathering of the part as per VW 50185
4 Requirements
– Part deformations in the form of dents, waves, waviness, offset, gap changes
– Color changes, gloss level changes, inhomogeneous brightness change, or haze. The follow-
ing requirement for evaluation using the gray-scale grade as per DIN EN 20105-A02 applies
as a guideline for evaluating a homogeneous change in brightness:
– GS ≥ 4,5 in the 1st year of the open-air weathering
– GS ≥ 4,0 in the 2nd year of the open-air weathering
– GS ≥ 3,5 from the 3rd year of the open-air weathering onward
NOTE 1: An area on the part that is completely covered during the entire weathering may be
used as a reference to determine the GS.
– Insufficient secure fit or changed adjustment or actuation forces or changed noises
– Material decomposition
– Debonding (delamination)
– Cracks, fractures, or holes
– Deficient function
– Corrosion
– Accumulations of deposits or bloom, if these are recurrent or not removable in conventional
customer use
B- or A-complaints must not occur during the extended weathering period (see appendix A).
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– Resistance to water
– Heat resistance
– High-temperature light exposure
– Color fastness to rubbing
– Wear behavior
– Shrinkage behavior
– Cream resistance
Heat aging test as per drawing or following agreement with E.g., as per
the brand coordinator or the open-air weathering owner at DIN 53497,
the respective brand if verification was provided demon- method B
strating that this would simulate an open-air weathering
damage type
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For parts in the engine/motor compartment, the tests listed in table 2 do not apply to the risk as-
sessment, but rather those short-term test methods required in pertinent TLs, LAHs, and drawing
notes.
5 Test
– Air temperature
– Global radiation
– Ultraviolet radiation: UV-A and UV-B, or as a combined measurement
– Wind speed
– Wind direction
– Amount of rainfall
– Relative humidity
5.3.1 Structure
NOTE 1: The setup and the preparation of the vehicles for the open-air weathering test are de-
fined in a Process Standard or must be agreed upon with the head of the „Open-Air Weather-
ing“ Volkswagen Group Working Group.
Table 4 (continued)
Intervals
Parts
during operation
1x per week with – Easy Entry in the 2nd seat row (usually only present if the vehicle
the engine/motor has a 3rd seat row)
running – Head-up display
– All touch screens
– Infotainment
– Folding table: 1x per week folded out during the day for at least 8 h
Position – Charging door:
changing – 1 week open with vehicle connector plugged in
weekly – 1 week closed, with vehicle connector stowed in the luggage com-
partment
– Luggage/load compartment cover, net partition:
- one week pulled out;
– one week rolled up;
- exception in the test box (for comparison testing):
Pulled out or without regular operation (alternatively, in another vehi-
cle);
– Exterior mirrors:
1 week folded in, 1 week folded out
– Beverage holders, center console, ashtray:
1 week open, 1 week closed
– 2nd seat row backrest:
If the backrest is split and the parts can be folded separately, the center
seat must alternate between 1 week folded down and 1 week in seat-
ing position.
– 3rd seat row backrest:
If the backrest is split and the parts can be folded separately, one seat
must be permanently folded down and the other seat must alternate
between 1 week folded down and 1 week in seating position.
If the backrest is not split, the bench seat must alternate between
1 week folded down and 1 week in seating position.
NOTE 1: If a luggage/load compartment cover is present, the exten-
ded position can only be reached if both seats are folded down.
– Seat armrests:
1 week up, 1 week down
– Window shades (side windows and rear window):
One sunshade must always be closed, alternating between them in 1-
week intervals.
25 times per week Sunroofs with integrated switching functions (switch-off mode: „mil-
ky/cloudy“), tilting sunroofs and sliding sunroofs
Extended 2 days Spoiler
per week
Parts aged on their own must be set up in such a way that the use conditions are simulated as
precisely as possible. The proving grounds operator must be provided with an additional Work In-
struction for measuring and operating these parts.
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– 90° shelf: Wheel trim elements, radiator grilles, front and rear emblems, turn signal repeaters,
plastic fenders, charging accessories (e.g., home charging station)
– 5° shelf: Headlamps, rear combination lamps, wipers
Parts subject to high thermal loads (e.g., roof trim strips, plenum chamber covers, protective side
moldings) may only be tested on the vehicle, because for these parts the thermal load when aging
on shelves does not correspond to the actual load in the installed condition.
The distance between the parts, and between parts and other objects (e.g., fencing), must be se-
lected such that even when the sun is low in the sky, none of the parts is shaded.
1) The technical documents are archived in the Engineering Data Management System (KVS).
2) The data can be requested from the appropriate person responsible.
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Figure 1 – Spectral light transmittance of the standard glazings for TSG and LSG
The use of other text boxes or glass types must be agreed upon with the purchaser.
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ume ratio).
Material As needed (as for vehicle interior)
specimens Cleaning of impermissible, heavy fogging deposits may only take place following prior depos-
it analysis, in consultation with the purchaser, using an isopropanol/water mixture (90:10 vol-
ume ratio).
Wet cleaning of the test objects during the summer months: At least 1× per week (as in the
Shelves
vehicle)
7 Evaluation
The test objects (vehicles, components, parts, and material specimens) must be evaluated only by
persons who have been specially qualified at the open-air weathering proving grounds as part of
their on-the-job training.
The evaluation is performed only on washed, dry test objects in suitable weather conditions, re-
gardless of the time of day.
Certain flaw types become clearly visible only at certain times of the day (e.g., when the sun is low
in the sky). Therefore, the affected parts may need to be evaluated several times at different times
of the day.
NOTE 1: Cracks in anodized decorative trims become visible only in direct sunlight and when the
parts are exposed to maximum temperature.
Complaints must be characterized as follows:
– Indication of the part
– Description of the type of damage
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10 Applicable documents
The following documents cited in the standard are required for the application of this standard:
Some of the cited documents are translations from the German original. The translations of Ger-
man terms in such documents may differ from those used in this standard, resulting in terminologi-
cal inconsistency.
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Standards whose titles are given in German may be available only in German. Editions in other
languages may be available from the institution issuing the standard.