D4 A8 Data SIM Card Size

[w8pmc]

I'm considering an A8 Black Edition & just wondered if anyone could confirm the required SIM card size that sits in the dash unit between the 2 SD card slots?

The slot appears to be the size now called Micro, but it's hard to tell & i wanted to be sure i had the correct size before possibly losing a card that's too small in the slot, to getting one too large jammed.

Thanks in advance.

[w8pmc]

PenelopaPitstop said:

My S8 from 2015 has full size sim card. I would expect the same from 2017 car. I can let you know in couple of weeks when I get mine ;-)

And to answer your other question not asked here, there's no standard USB port. I doubt it was changed in last two years.I have special cable which I never used.

Edited by PenelopaPitstop on Wednesday 19th July 07:20

Thanks. Full size SIM as in the one phones used about 10yrs ago?

If no USB port, how are you meant to charge your phone in the car? I had a D4 A8 a few years ago but for the life of me i can't recall how i set the phone up. I guess it must be Cig lighter adapter for charging if no USB. Going to be painful not being able to use Spotify in the car as have used this in my last 2 cars so will certainly miss it.

What's the best method for Audio playback, Music Library or SD card?

[w8pmc]

Dr G said:

Audi actually have started fitting standard size USB ports now; I believe this started in 2015. The new A8 brochures don't specifically reference USB ports and I only have slightly older A8s here to look in (that still use Audi's own AMI connector although they do come with a standard USB adaptor for this anyway).

Bluetooth audio is standard fit so you can use Spotify or Apple music easily.

Thanks. I'm assuming the AMI lead only has the female USB connector so a USB lead can be plugged into the connector? Would then it be possible to plug the white iPhone lightning cable into this & also how about an external USB hard drive or USB stick?

Does streaming Spotify via BT in the A8 allow any control of the playback from the cars controls or is everything controlled from the device (iPhone 7)?

[w8pmc]

fatjon said:

I have a 2017 A8L and can answer a few questions. MIne has mobile prep High with Audi connect and has no USB ports in the arm rest. The AMI cable with a USB cannot be used for an IPhone. It will charge it but not let you access the phone. You need the AMI cable with a lightening connector on the end which is about £70. My 2012 car would not work even with the right AMI cable as the head unit could not charge at the current required for an IPhone 6S. Even after the latest firmware it was tetchy and unreliable. I found the "fix" myself which is to use a lightening extension cable between the AMI cable and the phone. It then worked fine. The 2017 has no such problems.

A point to note:

all the high tech stuff like Car Play is not available on the x8 models and not available for. It's as clear as mud on the Audi site but that is the fact.

Ridiculous I know, buy as base model A4 and it's all there but spend £100k and it's not. My partners 2017 A6 has it all but Audi technical support says no plans to put it on the A8. So no you can't control any of it with your steering controls as such other than basic itunes stuff. No mirroring to the car screen etc. When you connect the Audi App to the car most of the icons you get on lower models are missing as they are not supported. Annoying but a small price to pay overall.

Thanks for that info. So to confirm, in a 2017 A8 i need to buy an AMI/Lightning Cable for simplicity (would that come with a 2017 car given Lighning has been the iPhone connection for a few generations now?), but could get away with the AMIUSB adapter (i assume this will be supplied) & plug my Apple Lightning cable into that & then connect to the iPhone?

If the AMI/Lightning cable isn't supplied with the car, where would i buy one?

What about connecting an iPod Touch (latest generation)? I had this in my FFRR & just left it in the car as that has most of my iTunes library on it? Could that be controlled via the cars controls if connected via AMI? (i guess the same issue with leads/connectors applies as that's Lightning too?).

Last check on the SIM card, it's the full sized (currently the largest variant) that fits into the dash?

[w8pmc]

fatjon said:

With AMI-Lightning cable you can fully control IPhone and ipod music using car controls. With AMI-USB you can only charge the Iphone, not use it.

I have not yet tried a portable hard disk on the AMI-USB lead so no idea if that would work. I suspect not.

My car came with an AMI-Lightning, AMI-USB and AMI-Apple 30 pin cables. If your doesn't Audi can supply them cheaply enough, beware of Ebay Clones, some work some don't.


With no cable or sim in the head unit you can connect your phone over bluetooth and play music/make calls but the only car controls you have for the music side of things are play, back one track, forward one track and no album art displayed. So really in that scenario you need to pick up the phone to pick your music, not ideal.

Yes, full size sim, big as they get. No mini or micro.

Perfect, that's good to know. I'll make sure given the car's brand new that the dealer supplies the car with an AMI/Lightning cable. I've contacted 3 & asked them to send me out a Full Sized SIM for my Data account, so once activated that can go in the car.

Glad the iPhone or iPod can be controlled via the cars controls if connected via AMI. Best case i'll connect the iPod to the AMI lead for Music & the iPhone i'll charge via a USB cig lighter adapter & that can be connected for just calls via Bluetooth. Are their any Cig lighters/12v sockets hidden away or just rear & front console?

What functionality does the Data SIM provide in the car?

[w8pmc]

PenelopaPitstop said:

Here's the link to online manual for MMI: http://www.manualesaudi.com/AudiA8/en_GB/mmi/m_t00...
I bet there are functions I never use because I never bothered to remember after reading it or never needed it. Just recently discovered that I can switch to Google Street View when checking destination. Was never aware of it or used it.

Traffic updates are fairly accurate, I assume they are coming from Tom Tom, because they are identical to it. I was only disappointed once when I almost missed the flight when Audi showed all green and I was stuck for an hour on 1 mile stretch of M25/M23.

BTW, w8pmc did you get good deal on a car? Or at the stage of looking? Your question is very coincidental with good leasing offer from Jardin on Monday.

Thanks for that. Full sized SIM should arrive today.

Deal done & i'm picking the car up this afternoon. Hoping the deal's good as checked a few online Leasing/CH brokers & they couldn't get close to the deal i got from the local Audi dealer i've bought many cars from.

Audi A8 3.0TDi Black Edition. Profile is 6+23 & based on 10k miles pa with a monthly rental of £480 inclusive of VAT & 2yrs RFL. No additional cost options on the car as comes very well spec'd as is. Best i could find online was around £600inc VAT based on 8k miles pa.

Having just rejected my FFRR Autobiography, i needed a car quickly & this was a vehicle Preston Audi had in stock so immediately available.

[w8pmc]

12TS said:

Impressive deal. I was close to a deal before, but the car is just too BIG! Hope you like it.

It certainly is. The P11D value of the car is £71k, so to only be outlaying £13900 over 2yrs wouldn't cover even 50% of the cars likely depreciation over that term.

Had several A/S8's over the years, so am used to & like the size of vehicle. Having come from a shoddily built FFRR, the A8 will feel a more compact drive (wouldn't normally hear that said of an A8).

[w8pmc]

PenelopaPitstop said:

I'm sure you will be happy with it. I'm swapping S8 to A8, the same model as yours with no options from stock. S8 was a bit overkill for some of my driving. 520 horse power is useless when stuck in traffic ;-) I'd like to have a bit better range than 430 miles on one tank. Diesel should be real long distance cruiser :-)

I have another V8 to keep me happy, so should be fine with "normal" A8.

A8 Black Edition 3.0TDi? Please don't tell me you got a significantly better deal as i'm having a good day so far

Quick question, is it possible to change the Phonebook format from Surname, First Name to the reverse? I'm sure i had it set to First Name, Surname in my last D4, but was a few years ago & can't find an option to change in the Settings.

Initial observations are it's a dream to drive, but with a caveat that on 21"s the ride is a lot firmer than i recall from my SE Exec 5yrs ago. Not played with the Drive Select yet so just set on Auto, but does feel very firm for an A8 so may try Comfort & see if that's more forgiving. Only drove home from the Dealers & the car will now be tucked up in my garage for a couple of weeks before she has a decent journey i can play about with the settings.

[w8pmc]

Another question, are their any Connected services (via an Audi App) available on the MY17 A8? I've got Audi Connect in the car & an active Data SIM, but wondered if any Audi App exists that allows any connectivity/functionality on/in the car?

[w8pmc]

PenelopaPitstop said:

I've got a bit better deal but didn't want to rain on your parade. It's not huge difference. I considered getting one at your price anyway, so getting cheaper one was a bonus. Brokers have Black Edition at £16K for 2 years. Did you get Service Plan for £350? Or did you ask about price of oil change/inspection service? On my current car oil change came at 17300 miles and inspection is showing at 19500 so it could be potentially avoided by returning car with lower miles.

Don't forget that Black Edition has sport suspension and when you add 21 inch wheels, it has to be harsher than your previous car. When I moved from AMG to S8, I thought it's a boat and was driving mainly in Dynamic Mode and lowered it by 40mm using VCDS codes. Over time got used to Comfort Mode and use it as standard most of the time. I suspect, I will have a bit of initial shock due to 21 inch wheels and probably more noise on my least favourite concrete parts of M25.

Don't know answers to MMI questions, just left on default for phone book. I installed Audi Apps but after realising they don't give me anything extra just uninstalled them and never used again. I rotate Audi with my other car so it's sitting in a garage now and won't be used for another two weeks.

Another thing is this new Audi diesel recall. I wonder if it affects latest 3.0tdi cars. No details yet but I would want to avoid any emission fix.

Oh no, what was the better deal??

Best i could see on Broker sites was £600 a month (can't recall if that was inc or excl VAT), but that was based on 8k miles pa. Did some digging & couldn't get a stock or to order vehicle for anywhere close to £480 per month including VAT on a 6+23 with 10k miles pa. My total outlay over the 2yrs will be £13900 which i couldn't better from a variety of sources.

I've acquired through a dealer i've used many times so given it will only need one service while i have the car & that's just an oil change, the Service plan wasn't worth it as the 1st service will only be £150 tops. Also they'll give me free AdBlue top ups for the time i have the car (no big deal but saves a further few quid).

No idea how the car notifies me on the AdBlue levels as in the FFRR it was in the Oil Level menu, but can't see anything in the Audi. The FFRR used to drink AdBlue at quite a rate so would be good to know how i can keep an eye on the levels.

[w8pmc]

PenelopaPitstop said:

Got the car for 6 + 23 x £399 for standard spec Black Edition, Floret Silver with Black interior, sport seats. Car in stock to be registered by end of September. Read about it on Best Leasing Deals thread. It was dealer from Jardins group. I put deposit and it's being held for me.

I'm still trawling internet checking if I could get something better or for better price but can't think what could be better than A8. Don't need and want SUV as it could be too tall and cause issues when opening the boot in the garage or in my car port. Also don't live SUVs. Going to arrange test drive in A6 Allroad Sport which I initially wanted but couldn't get cheap deal. Local dealer has new demo car and I'm going there for service next week anyway.

Thanks. Just checking other deals & that £399 appears (i think) to be plus VAT so works out at £480 which is the inclusive monthly payment i'm making. Also is that based on 10k miles pa or 8k as most of the 'best' deals are quoted as 5 or 8k miles pa?

Mine won't be driven for 2 weeks as we go on holiday on Friday so she'll be sat in the garage with just 46 miles on her. Looking forward to some journeys when i get back from holiday though.

Found how to top up the AdBlue but appears no levels can be viewed until the range drops below 1500 miles. Handy that the special 2l bottles i bought for the FFRR are the ones recommended for the A8 so that's a few quid saved.

[w8pmc]

12TS said:

Same price as a 5 series. Bargain.

Also the 5 Series deals are only on a fairly basic 520d last time i looked so although they have more up to date tech on the 5 Series, it's like comparing apples & pears. Had an F10 M5 for 3yrs & i felt the new 5 Series looks virtually the same as the outgoing model, however the interior has had a significant update.

[w8pmc]

PenelopaPitstop said:

My quote is VAT inclusive, 10K per annum, excess miles 10.80p. Someone said it was VWFS subsidised. When I called midday I had a choice of all colours but no choice of options, when I chased 3h later there was last available car from stock, so I took it. Such deals are sold out in matter of hours and you have to be lucky to know about it from someone or even more lucky to stumble upon it yourself when looking for a car. I just refresh Best Leasing Deals thread frequently ;-)

Never had car with AdBlue before so will learn how to live with it. Generally avoid diesels as I hate the sound but hope this one is not bad and car is quiet inside. Only drove A8 diesel once when checking the noise level from the driver's door comparing to my S8. It was bloody noisy, hope new one won't be. I can hear my neighbours starting their diesels, BMW 520d and Audi A6 2.0.

That's excellent then. Defo stumbled across a great deal then as the regular online brokers who have the great deals were all well North of £600 a month (can't recall if + or incl of VAT) when i looked so timing must have been perfect. Mine is with VWFS. Sounds like a similar scenario to the Golf R Estates being punted around a couple of weeks ago which i missed out on by a matter of hours

No idea when you last drove an A8 diesel, but the 3.0 today is different to the earlier ones as they'd have had DPF's whereas the new ones require AdBlue. Also the power/torque & even description of the engine is different to the one i had 5yrs ago & it certainly appeared very quite, albeit on a very short drive home.

Best to get the purpose designed bottles (1.89 litres i think) as makes the filling extremely simple if doing it yourself. Bit of a pain a range remaining isn't displayed until it's close to requiring a top up, however as an estimate i'd say the car would consume around 1litre every 500-750 miles & i think it holds about 10-12 litres.

[w8pmc]

Betts88 said:

Would you expect to need two services in 2 years? I'd have thought you could get away with one with today's long life servicing trend...

I'll only need one service, so the Pack wasn't of value to me & as part of my deal i'll get that 1st service for £150. Only planning on doing 24k miles in the car so can't imagine i'll even get close to needing the 2nd service.

[w8pmc]

PenelopaPitstop said:

My local Audi dealerships are not very helpful and I doubt they would agree to discount service that much. They don't seem to be interested in having loyal customers or customers at all.

Was more to do with getting me back in an Audi as they've lost the last few sales to BMW & Range Rover. Have bought a significant number of Audi's over the years from this one Main Dealer & always had exceptional service (knew the DP which no doubt helped), so had become a bit of a standing joke they'd lost me for several years.

They couldn't move on the price (your deal appears better though), so i pushed for additional enhancements such as the first (only) service cheap & a few freebies.

[w8pmc]

Betts88 said:

Right, I'm cancelling my floret silver car (hadn't signed the finance docs) and have instead gone for a Mythos Black car that is on the water instead of having been sat for 6 months.

The car has the 4 camera option for birds eye view parking and is 3+23 for £480 per month inc. VAT instead of £492.30 for a Floret Silver car, both on 10k pa. Saved me £319.80 and I'll be treating the other brokers fee as a sunk cost...

That's a good price, overall about £1400 less than mine. I also took a Mythos Black car but managed to get one that was in stock, so that saved me the cost of hiring a car whilst waiting & a few incentives from the dealer to sweeten the deal.

[w8pmc]

Betts88 said:

I thought so too - I didn't want black but it has grown on me. I expect they may get cheaper in the next couple of months but if I wait too long I'll miss the boat.

I still have a car so waiting 2-3 weeks for it isn't an issue for me! How are you enjoying yours?

So far so good. The Mythos looks stunning clean & being the Black Edition looks very BLACK which in the flesh looks amazing. The interior uplift (quilted seats) make a bug difference & overall i'm very pleased with the car. The newer 3.0tdi engine is no slouch & extremely smooth so overall a lovely place to spend a few hours driving. When all told though, the biggest draw after the farce with my FFRR is the A8's a known entity for me as everything works as it should, car was available immediately & it's costing peanuts relatively speaking.

[w8pmc]

PenelopaPitstop said:

Cameras are quite useful for tight spaces, especially with such long car :-) Car would have to be really, really cheap to convince me to go for black again. Havana Black is nightmare to keep in good condition, without light scratches, etc.

Did you have to go through finance check again when dropping one deal and getting another one? The same dealer/broker or different?

I have to agree about the black comment. For me the expanse of black on black on black does work really well on the Black Edition, however if i'd been 'buying' the car then i'd have steered well clear as even after just 1000 miles i can see several light scratches that on a black car stand out as if the car's been keyed. Even did 2 myself down the boot lid yesterday when using the miracle blade.

Have to think that Mythos is insanely soft paint, as on my wife's dark blue XC60 it looks almost brand new with over 12mths abuse & i used to have a MCB M5 which i followed the same cleaning procedure on & never had a mark on the paintwork (other than stone chips).

[w8pmc]

Betts88 said:

Thanks and sorry for not replying sooner.

I drove a white 66 plate and loved it - like chalk and cheese with the US spec car - found the throttle response odd (lot of travel in the pedal for me compared to what I'm used to) but loved the car. I was so comfortable, the ride was fantastic (as expected) and I found it very relaxing, if not very dynamic/involving. It'll be just what I need after getting off a plane and something that I think will be reliable no matter what the conditions/my tiredness.

The sports seats are very comfortable and the birds eye view looked brilliant for reversing but at risk of being a gimmick until you REALLY need it (the dealer didn't let me park it unfortunately) although I personally feel I'd have been fine with just the camera and side mirrors! Bose was better than expected, although I may well miss my under seat subwoofers from my existing Logic 7 setup.

In summary it will by Mythos Black with the camera option, and is being sourced from Preston Audi and delivered to me on a transporter on 30th September OR I can go and pick it up. Won't be a cover on the car if it is transported but the risk of stonechips will be a fact of life unfortunately as it will now be going up and down the M5 a fair bit as well as coming to Bruges with me for a fortnight in October/November. At least the black should hide it and potential airport car park dings well.

I've got the price down to £475 on a 3+23 with no fees, so £514.83 amortised a moth give or take the 1/3 of a pence in rounding.

My biggest dilemma is whether or not to have it maintained at £117 initial and £39 per month, both including VAT, as offered from the lease company:

'The main difference between our package and Audi’s is we cover no quibble tyres which means we cover punctures and if the puncture cannot be fixed we will replace it with a new tyre, whilst Audi do not offer this service they only replace the tyre if it’s at its legal limit.'

Given 21" tyres (presuming 275/35/21) are coming in at £300 each, I calculate at ((24 * £39) + £117) = £1,053, this could well pay for itself potentially, barring any odd exclusions.

Any thoughts, anyone?

Is that based on 8k or 10k miles?

As for the Service Plan, if it does include full tyre cover then it could be worthwhile (you say Audi don't offer this but the leasing company do, surely the lease is through VWFS?) If not, who's the Leasing company?

Depending on mileage you're only likely to need one service & if 8k pa could actually swerve a service altogether (depending on driving style). On that basis you'd then need to get through 3 tyres in the lease period which would be very unlucky as you'll not wear them out during the lease.

Personally i swerve such things as over the years i'd have been well out of pocket taking service plans, but i'm sure those who tend to be unlucky could have been in profit.

[w8pmc]

Bear in mind, if something seems too good to be true then it often is.

I declined on mine (A8 Black Edition) as at worst i'll have one service towards the end of the cars time with me & i'll get that for around £150 as was agreed with the dealer. Unlikely to need any other service/maintenance in the 20k miles i'll run it other than maybe the odd oil top up & i have a few litres in the garage already.