Audi S5 B9 electrics not good

[Andy015626]

Hi all,

I've owned my 2017 B9 S5 for about a year and a half and had no issues until last week. Now problems seem to be stacking one after another, all electrical.

First to go was the sound. I have the upgraded B&O system and no sound is coming from the speakers at all. When I turn the knob, all I get is the muted symbol (definitely not on mute!). I still however get reverse beeps and can make telephone calls.
Yesterday I noticed that the digital dash, centre screen and warning lights have now dimmed so I can barely see anything. Even going into the settings and turning brightness up to full has no effect.
This morning, I'm now getting a Yellow air bag warning light..... 

I'm going to assume due to the close proximity of these issues, they are linked. Has anyone else experienced anything similar or have a suggestion what it could be? The car is booked into Audi for a diagnostic in 3 weeks time so I will have to wait but with the car being just out of warranty, I assume they will attempt to take me to the cleaners 😭

Edited August 5, 2022 by Andy015626

[Magnet]

Hello Andy, 

Let’s eliminate the simple things first - has the battery been renewed yet on this 5 year old car? 
Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Andy015626]

25 minutes ago, Magnet said:

Hello Andy, 

Let’s eliminate the simple things first - has the battery been renewed yet on this 5 year old car? 
Kind regards,

Gareth.

Hi Gareth,

To my knowledge, the battery has never been changed. All other electrics are functioning fine. I've tested windows, seats and mirrors. The warning lights across the very top of the dash are fine by looks of it but the hand break light and gear knob lights in the centre console are dimmed as well. 

Andy

[Magnet]

Many thanks Andy,

It is likely that the battery used under stop/start conditions, is now nearing its ‘fully serviceable’ lifespan. It might not have anything to do with your problem, but an assessment of its efficiency in terms of all the parameters monitored by the battery control module, would be useful to know, and eliminate. 

Main dealer diagnostics and assessment? Wouldn’t be for me, with all due respect to my wallet! I would be talking the issues through with a trusted local independent, who you can hopefully ‘talk with’ as opposed to talking with someone who simply books it in, but your call of course. 
Others far more knowledgeable than I with the ins and outs of the electronics will probably be along, but possible Body Control Unit issues might come to mind?? 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Andy015626]

1 hour ago, Magnet said:

Many thanks Andy,

It is likely that the battery used under stop/start conditions, is now nearing its ‘fully serviceable’ lifespan. It might not have anything to do with your problem, but an assessment of its efficiency in terms of all the parameters monitored by the battery control module, would be useful to know, and eliminate. 

Main dealer diagnostics and assessment? Wouldn’t be for me, with all due respect to my wallet! I would be talking the issues through with a trusted local independent, who you can hopefully ‘talk with’ as opposed to talking with someone who simply books it in, but your call of course. 
Others far more knowledgeable than I with the ins and outs of the electronics will probably be along, but possible Body Control Unit issues might come to mind?? 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Thanks Gareth,

Tell me about it, Audi want £65 to tell me what's wrong with it plus an additional £15 for a car so I can get home (They want it all day apparently). 

I do know for a fact that car sat on a forecourt all through lockdown so that will obviously have a detrimental impact on the battery. 
My initial thoughts are that it's something to do with the MMI unit in the glove box but now I'm not so sure. All I need to know is the faulty part and we'll source it and swap it over ourselves. Hopefully no coding involved if it is indeed a battery issue.

Andy

[Magnet]

Hello Andy,

Your quoted prices seem much cheaper than I would have expected. I think you will find most things will need coding - inc. the battery. 
Kind regards,

Gareth.m

[Andy015626]

20 hours ago, Magnet said:

Hello Andy,

Your quoted prices seem much cheaper than I would have expected. I think you will find most things will need coding - inc. the battery. 
Kind regards,

Gareth.m

This gets better. The display has come back to life along with a selection of warning lights. I will be leaving this on the drive now until my trip to Audi in a few weeks time.

 

[Magnet]

Hello Andy,

It would be interesting to know how much regular ( reasonable distance) this car gets. 
‘……. leaving it on the drive ……’ May not be the best option.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Andy015626]

19 hours ago, Magnet said:

Hello Andy,

It would be interesting to know how much regular ( reasonable distance) this car gets. 
‘……. leaving it on the drive ……’ May not be the best option.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

I work from home so usually just use it to drive to gym every morning. About 5 miles.

[RoyC]

Try giving the battery a good charging.

I was getting all kind of random things happening, doors not locking / unlocking.

In the end I purchased a new Varta 110Ah battery, everything works ok now and I didn't even bother to code the battery.

Mind you my old battery was 13 years old.

[Andy015626]

16 hours ago, RoyC said:

Try giving the battery a good charging.

I was getting all kind of random things happening, doors not locking / unlocking.

In the end I purchased a new Varta 110Ah battery, everything works ok now and I didn't even bother to code the battery.

Mind you my old battery was 13 years old.

I have been very fortunate to have spoken to an Audi technician yesterday (friend of a friend). After explaining the issues fully, he thinks it is highly unlikely to be a battery issue and almost definitely a problem with one of the many MMI modules. Apparently these work in a loop so an issue with one, can cause the others to stop working properly hence the additional problems I am seeing. Because the first issue was lack of sound, the first thing that would need to be investigated would be the amp and they'd go from there.

As mentioned earlier, car booked in on 24th so I'll keep this thread updated with the cause and what I eventually have to folk out to get it sorted. Fingers crossed I can afford to visit the pub again this year!!!

Andy

[Andy015626]

Just thought I'd give an update on this issue as it continues to become even stranger.

So, yesterday I finally dropped my car off at the Audi dealership so they could diagnose the problem. At this point, my air con has also now packed up. After a full day in the workshop, Audi still haven't got a clue and will require further investigation next week. The problem is that multiple mmi modules have gone into CP mode and they do not know why. I was asked if I'd modified the car in any way which I have not. The only thing I've added is a Ghost Immobiliser and that was 18 months ago so I cannot imagine it being that. Currently scouring the web but this problem seems to be unique, lucky me! 🙄

The only good news they had for me is the car is mechanically in perfect condition and ok to drive. 

[Andy015626]

Finally, this issue has been solved and my car is back in full working order…

After being messed about by my local Audi dealer who couldn’t diagnose the issue after a whole day but wanted it back at further cost to carry on trying, I sacked them off. Absolutely useless. I also approached a handful of local so called Audi specialists, none of which wanted to know. In the end, I contacted a company down in St Albans called Hazzydayz who specialise in retrofits and MMI repair.

My issues were being caused by the central convenience module which had sadly died. They also diagnosed an issue with the internal battery on the CANbus gateway module. I had them both replaced and at a very reasonable cost.

In short, if you have MMI issues and you are out of warranty, take the car to these guys! Extremely helpful and knowledgeable and I wouldn’t hesitate to use again.