B8 S4 Ownership

[Phill_1981]

mattuk89 said:

Thanks, seems I wasn’t being patient enough holding the button, and the car was locked, loving the car at the moment, averaged just under 20mpg on my 3mile drive to work, same as my my old e46 330ci, so am pleased with that! To be fair the 520d didn’t get far off that at it didn’t even get warm on the journey.

I also do a 3 mile commute - here are all my fill-up and MPG figures since buying the car new: http://www.fuelly.com/car/audi/s4/2015/phill_/4472...

[FurryExocet]

mattuk89 said:

Thanks, seems I wasn’t being patient enough holding the button, and the car was locked, loving the car at the moment, averaged just under 20mpg on my 3mile drive to work, same as my my old e46 330ci, so am pleased with that! To be fair the 520d didn’t get far off that at it didn’t even get warm on the journey.

It will also automatically lock the car again if it was locked when you opened the boot.
I thought folding mirrors were standard? Have you bought a Bluetooth dongle and app yet? There are lots of options you can program. OBDEleven would be my first choice

[silentbrown]

FurryExocet said:

I thought folding mirrors were standard?

No, an option up to the bitter end, IIRC. You'd need to replace the mirrors themselves and the joystick/switch as well as configuring it via OBD.

[Adrian E]

silentbrown said:

FurryExocet said:

I thought folding mirrors were standard?

No, an option up to the bitter end, IIRC. You'd need to replace the mirrors themselves and the joystick/switch as well as configuring it via OBD.

Yep, there's a guide to retrofitting on one of the US sites and it doesn't look too horrid and the folding mechanisms aren't as overpriced as some parts.

You could get electric folding mirrors as part of the seat memory pack, which I think also got you auto dimming exterior mirrors rather than just the central rear view mirror.

I like the electric fold option as it's also a visual indicator that you've locked the car, assuming you set it up to fold the mirrors on locking!

[silentbrown]

Adrian E said:

I like the electric fold option as it's also a visual indicator that you've locked the car, assuming you set it up to fold the mirrors on locking!

"Convenience pack" - seats, folding mirrors. Mind has dimming side mirrors but I'd forgotten that was part of that pack.

Beware the "folding mirrors = locked" thing. They only unfold if you start the car, so you can lock it then unlock it, but the mirrors stay folded.

[mattuk89]

I’m not too fussed about the mirrors, won’t retrofit them, was just a nice feature on the bmw, I have electric seats but no dipping mirror when selecting reverse, I guess that’s only an option with memory seats? The wheel to control the MMI is going to take some getting used too, especially when selecting a radio station, seems back to front.

Now I only got 1 key when I got the car, and on the MMI it says there are 3 keys associated to the car, I’ll be getting a spare soon from Audi, but is there a way to remove the other 2 without having to goto Audi, or will they just do all together when I get the spare.

Overall really happy with the car, sounds a lot louder in person than on all the videos I’ve watched of other cars, could just be YouTube not showing how nice it actually sounds or maybe previous owner had done something to the exhaust, tips are standard though.

Will look at doing some vag.com stuff, not really sure what i would want to do as of yet though.

Plenty quick enough as standard, but I’m sure I’ll get it mapped in the near future, love how it just blends into traffic, previous owner has removed the v6t badges, I’m not sure if I’ll get them added back on or not, quite like it looking a bit cleaner and more of a sleeper look, had a play with a couple of cars off the lights, they didn’t know what hit them.

Think I’ve actually made a right decision when buying a car for once

[silentbrown]

mattuk89 said:

Now I only got 1 key when I got the car, and on the MMI it says there are 3 keys associated to the car, I’ll be getting a spare soon from Audi, but is there a way to remove the other 2 without having to goto Audi, or will they just do all together when I get the spare.

I think you can get replacement keys cut and coded to the vehicle without using a main dealer, as that's probably not cheap!
When you replace a key any keys not available at that stage should be automatically "removed".

This may be helpful. Check the "emergency key" isn't lurking in the glovebox! https://www.audi.co.uk/content/dam/audi/production...

[mattuk89]

silentbrown said:

I think you can get replacement keys cut and coded to the vehicle without using a main dealer, as that's probably not cheap!
When you replace a key any keys not available at that stage should be automatically "removed".

This may be helpful. Check the "emergency key" isn't lurking in the glovebox! https://www.audi.co.uk/content/dam/audi/production...

Thanks Just a look, nothing in there, I’ve just registered on “my Audi” and have looked at the spec sheet for the car, it says it has led interior light package, as far as I can see that’s just lit up foot wells? I can’t see any other leds inside the car, no led puddle lamps or anything either.

Car also had technology pack which I wasn’t aware off, so assume it has the HD I can add music too. Don’t really know much about Audi’s, and their options! Been a bmw guy for too long.

EDIT

Had a quick google search and some people have interior lightening menus on their mmi, I don’t have that, but do have the lit up footwells etc, really need to get it plugged in and access the hidden menu and have a play with the settings.

Edited by mattuk89 on Thursday 18th January 20:37

[catso]

mattuk89 said:

Now I only got 1 key when I got the car, and on the MMI it says there are 3 keys associated to the car, I’ll be getting a spare soon from Audi, but is there a way to remove the other 2 without having to goto Audi, or will they just do all together when I get the spare.

Not sure if it can be done DIY? but dealer can programme out any extra keys.

They did it with mine as the emergency key (at least the innards of it) has gone missing but was still programmed into the car so I wanted it gone in the unlikely event that it might turn up in some scrote's hand.

Initially they wanted £60 to do during a service but did it FOC after I asked 'how much?'

[Adrian E]

Ours came with the 2 remote fobs, but missing the emergency plastic key and the holder which should live in a loop on the left side of the glovebox. The emergency key and holder weren't too criminal from Audi - £67 and they coded it (and therefore removed the lost keys) FOC.

On the interior light options, be wary of comparing specs between pre and post facelift (shape of foglights - round=pre) as the MMI interface had a significant makeover that alters a lot of the menu structure and what you can fiddle with - the rest will be due to what spec the car has.

[Philip0]

I'm going to re-set the start-stop function on my 2015 S4 auto with the VCDS gizmo which my local indie hopefully has. Any tips about what else can be adjusted with the VCDS to improve the car?

[catso]

Switch off the soundaktor.

[Philip0]

"Soundaktor"? Had to Google that. I can't believe a S4 needs such a thing. Is it easy to turn it off?

[MattS5]

Philip0 said:

I'm going to re-set the start-stop function on my 2015 S4 auto with the VCDS gizmo which my local indie hopefully has. Any tips about what else can be adjusted with the VCDS to improve the car?

Oil temperature (if not already activated on a 15MY)

[catso]

Philip0 said:

"Soundaktor"? Had to Google that. I can't believe a S4 needs such a thing. Is it easy to turn it off?

In the words of the Donald; 'Fake Noise' - it's a speaker that makes engine noises and not something I expected to find on a £45k car.

First noticed the engine note was louder in 'S' or Manual than in 'D'. You can change the volume of it in VCDS:

- A9 Structure Borne Sound - Adaptation 10 - Volume of structure borne sound,

Displayed as a percentage, default is 100%, a lower % makes it quieter, 0% turns it off completely.

If you don't have VCDS you can simply remove the fuse; on mine it is fuse F5, a 5A fuse behind the RH side dash panel (behind the opened door).

Last vertical row of fuses on the right, 5th one down. You can safely remove it because it does nothing else but it will bring up an error on a VCDS scan - won't affect anything else though - I would advise you check the manual etc just in case they changed the fuse layout at some point.

[Philip0]

Thank you "catso"....top tips!!

[catso]

I actually made a 'switchable fuse' - cut the fuse link and then soldered a wire to the top of each side, then fitted a small in-line switch on a lead so that I could definitely establish where and when the extra noise was made by switching it on/off whilst driving, but the difference is so noticeable that it wasn't really necessary.

You could go one step further and completely remove the speaker (excess weight!) but I don't know where it is and you'd probably need the windscreen out or something to do it.

I do wonder what they were thinking with the 'Fake Noise' though?...

[catso]

As for other things to do with VCDS, most useful options such as folding mirrors, door locking, sunroof closing etc. can be done from the car, you could enable video in motion (if car has DVD player) but probably best not to! but the diagnostic/service side is very useful and essential for some jobs e.g. rear caliper rewind (to change brake pads) or battery replacement.

I recently had a misfire under load causing it to shut one cylinder down which was a bit scary at first but it diagnosed which faulty coil and I'm certain that the cost of said diagnosis and repair alone at an Audi dealer would have been more than the cost of VCDS, plus we have a couple of VWs that I've used it on, so mine has definitely paid for itself by now. I would advise anyone who has a slight interest in DIY'ing anything to get one.

[mattuk89]

Is everyone using 97+ Ron on these? I’ve used shell v power and Tesco momentum, on my only 2 fill ups so far, but the cap says 95+ does anyone use standard fuel? I’m thinking just for pottling around town using normal fuel, then if I fancy a blast at weekend etc put in super, does it make a difference on non mapped cars?

[silentbrown]

mattuk89 said:

Is everyone using 97+ Ron on these? I’ve used shell v power and Tesco momentum, on my only 2 fill ups so far, but the cap says 95+ does anyone use standard fuel? I’m thinking just for pottling around town using normal fuel, then if I fancy a blast at weekend etc put in super, does it make a difference on non mapped cars?

Regular fuel in mine, which is a standard car.

Consensus seems to be that the standard ECU map retards timing based on knock sensors if low-grade fuel is used, but doesn't advance it to take advantage of anything over 95RON.