Audi S6 satnav MMI issues

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Discussion

SportingBearsMax

Original Poster:

237 posts

180 months

Friday 16th January 2015
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Hi all, I have a 2007 S6 avant, V10 runs lovely but the MMI screen and system has stopped working, no radio, bluetooth, sat nav.

I have been to an independant specialist who was unable to help diagnose and said try main dealer as their kit goes deaper. Audi dealer tells me that the SatNav unit is not working and that has caused the screen and system failure.

Option 1 £1,900 to replace unit - guess what I said
Option 2 £350 to code around the Nav unit so everything else works and no nav.

My thoughts are what about buying replacement unit form ebay and changing the box, is it plug and play as all the wiring, etc is of course fitted, or as suggested by the Audi main delaer when I asked them, is it coded to the MMI/chassis of each car so not as simple. Lots of units for sale on ebay......can anyone help?

Can I just replace the unit?

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 16th January 2015
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Hmm. The MMI has the car's VIN coded into it (you can call it up) so it may not be quite as easy as plug and play.

OTOH, if you can find a second hand one, I can't see why a dealer or even an indie wouldn't be able to fit and code it.

fatboy b

9,492 posts

215 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
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Or maybe the VIN is read from the ECU, and isn't stored in the MMI. More likely.

dvs_dave

8,581 posts

224 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
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Try unplugging the power from the sat nav unit in the boot and see if that brings things back to life. Leave the fiber optic in though. If you remove the fiber optic connection, you will need a loop back (readily available) so as to maintain continuity in the M.O.S.T fiber ring. Although I'd be surprised at it causing the whole system to die. That sounds more like the central MMI controller rather than the sat nav which is a separate and optional plug in module.

If you find the sat nav unit is the cause, then you can purchase a used one and install it. But you will have to pay a dealer a couple of quid to remove the component protection and key it to the car's VIN.

Although a word of advice; trying to diagnose electronic issues on Audi's without your own VCDS (aka Vag-com) is an exercise in futility.

Chippo1

344 posts

122 months

Saturday 24th January 2015
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I really do Wonder about all of these electronic devices being fitted by all manufacturers , the costs of repair , or indeed the inability of even the manufacturers to repair will start to render cars as scrap maybe far sooner than has been the case of late .

Are we heading for more like white goods with a 5 year life cycle for cars , totally reliable up til then , thereafter god help the owner. Once a PCB covered in surface mounted components and lot s of closed protocol software becomes defective , it becomes almost impossible to repair,and the replacement costs will soon become uneconomic on a 5 to 10 year old car ,look at the cost above .

I suppose at least this car runs , but how about other systems on board that are critical to running , you would be stuffed and royally screwed by the OEM as you will have no choice but to get them to replace the part and then switch it on effectively

I see this all the time now in the lift industry , closed protocol system that only the OEM can deal with , even to the point that timers are in the soft ware that need to be reset or a degradation of service begins !

jigsaw a hole in the dash and fit an aftermarket head unit , only joking !

shtu

3,407 posts

145 months

Sunday 25th January 2015
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SportingBearsMax said:
Option 2 £350 to code around the Nav unit so everything else works and no nav.

Can I just replace the unit?
The MMI Satnav drive is not, repeat NOT coded to the vehicle.

As for option 2, They're charging £350 to untick an option in the central convenience module, and (maybe) unplugging the fibre loop and plugging-in a loop connector.

I would suggest you get the system looked at by someone else, they sound like they're guessing.

The common problem with these systems is that either the screenwash hose breaks, or when aftermarket tints are fitted, and a load of water gets dumped onto the electronics on the media rack in the boot.

Dr G

15,159 posts

241 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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I suspect the issue relates to the MMI amplifier which will require coding.

Have a feel of the foam in the bottom of the hole the amp is in and look for water marks on top of it. Ensure the rear screen wash jet works perfectly, ensure no water is splashing inside the tailgate, ensure the NSR light cluster is correctly fitted. All can cause water ingress into this area.

A lot of garages will not code a second hand unit for you as it can be tricky to prove where they came from.

There are a couple of companies that advertise a service refurbishing these and I've tried them a few times with a 0% success rate, unfortunately. Once they're wet it seems to be game over.

blueg33

35,580 posts

223 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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Mine had a similar issue. It turned out to be a faulty telephone module that stuffed up a host of other MMI functions. It was actually replaced twice under warranty, once when the car wa 9 months old and one when it was two and a half years old. Same symptoms in both cases

Edited by blueg33 on Monday 26th January 09:44

SportingBearsMax

Original Poster:

237 posts

180 months

Monday 26th January 2015
quotequote all
thanks for all the advice and interestinly I have recently had replaced the rear washer pipe.

my problem is my independent specialist was unable to see enough to advise and so he advised me to put in Audi main dealer hands, if I replace the satnav box (seen ebay c£250) it will still need codeing into the car system min £100 with no guarantee it will reboot the MMI, so risk at £350 at least.
OR £350 Audi wire around and I get Radio/Bluetooth phone, but if it doesn't work then they are obligued to correct at no extra as they have Main Dealer diagnosed.

£1900 to replace unit is out of my league when a Tom Tom is £200 for full European mapping.

Gears and cogs are easier!!


Adrian E

3,248 posts

175 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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There are specialists that can cope with investigating the cause - the problem being that most indys don't have an electronics specialist (and neither do a lot of main dealers) so you need to find someone local to you who isn't frightened of a bit of fibre-based fault finding.

As suggested, putting a pass through loop around a suspect box may bring the rest to life, and takes minutes to try.

I presume you have DVD nav rather than HDD? If so the loop through on the nav drive would be a starting point, but I suspect it's more likely something else in that boot compartment that's taken a bath and not liked it much!

You should not need a new MMI system - it doesn't live in the boot so won't have got wet.

Taking the contents of the side compartment out enough to check for water ingress and related damage to connectors isn't tricky - garages just hate doing it as it's labour intensive and potentially unproductive if they don't find anything. They'd rather fob you off. A main dealer 'ought' to be able to diagnose the likely cause without generating a massive bill

Dr G

15,159 posts

241 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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07 car so DVD nav only; everything is in the boot and there's foam in the bottom of the compartment (that retains water) so if it's leaking you'll know about it.

It does only seem to take a few spots to hurt the amp and watermarks are easy to see on the heatsink on top.