MMI not turning on, black screen.

[Jonnyb537]

Afternoon all,

Girlfriend has a 2023 A3 and the MMI screen isn’t turning on at all. Standard message on the dash saying ‘initialising entertainment. Please wait…’ screen never turns on and this message just seems to keep spinning around between the clocks. 
 

USB output isn’t working either so I have checked the fuse which looks to be okay. I have also tried the ‘reset’ of holding the on button down on the centre volume controls for 10 seconds but that isn’t working either. 
 

any ideas welcome..

[Steve Q]

This is well documented, mmi requires an update and from what I last heard Audi hadn't come up with a fix yet. 

[David A3]

Hi @Steve Q and @Jonnyb537

New member here.  I, too, have a 2022 A3 diesel.  On 31/12/23, the touch screen remained blank.  An hour earlier, I had driven 75 miles without problem.  I tried the full extent of my knowledge of car electronics, I switched the car off and then back on again.  Still blank screen.  Drove to lunchtime restaurant without the screen.  Two hours later, return journey, it worked again and has done ever since.  Car has 7,600 miles on the clock.

 

I bought the car from new.  I'm reluctant to take the car back to the Dealer until I know a little more.  Google shows this to be a common problem but doesn't show much about a robust fix.  Also, is this black and white a warranty issue or should I expect to have to handover my blank chequebook?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice from fellow, frustrated owners.

[RyanM87]

4 hours ago, David A3 said:

Hi @Steve Q and @Jonnyb537

New member here.  I, too, have a 2022 A3 diesel.  On 31/12/23, the touch screen remained blank.  An hour earlier, I had driven 75 miles without problem.  I tried the full extent of my knowledge of car electronics, I switched the car off and then back on again.  Still blank screen.  Drove to lunchtime restaurant without the screen.  Two hours later, return journey, it worked again and has done ever since.  Car has 7,600 miles on the clock.

 

I bought the car from new.  I'm reluctant to take the car back to the Dealer until I know a little more.  Google shows this to be a common problem but doesn't show much about a robust fix.  Also, is this black and white a warranty issue or should I expect to have to handover my blank chequebook?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice from fellow, frustrated owners.

I had a similar issue, my maps wouldn’t work on MMI. Kept coming up ‘initialling database’ but would never leave that message. 
 

took mine to Audi and they reinstalled the maps, though it took them some time as they had to do a full reconfiguration of the MMI. I’d suggest booking it in with Audi under warranty and it’ll probably go through the same reconfiguration process. If you’re worried about any potential costs I’d tell them when you take it in to not do any work that’s gonna cost without your authorisation. 
 

From what I can gather all updates on the MMI go over the air, if updates get interrupted they can become corrupt, which will affect the MMI. My mate has a 2022 A6 BkEd and his has been in 7 times with MMI failure. 
 

Hope this helps 

[David A3]

I called into my local dealer today to chat to one of their service desk people.

The good news:-

1. Coffee and biscuits were nice

2. He’s recorded our discussion on the car record

3. If I want them to look at it, it is a warranty issue.

The bad news:-

Given that the car is now working properly, they almost certainly will not find the problem. He told me that the OBD probably has “hundreds” of recorded faults but that unless it is currently “not working”, they can not further interrogate the OBD to find root cause of this specific issue.

He did say that if it happens again, it may be helpful to the Technicians if I took a photograph to show dash working but touch screen dead. He added that it’s better than nothing and may give them a clue.

Lastly, he also said that I can try a “restore factory settings” by pressing the radio on-off button for 10-15 seconds.

For now, I’m leaving well alone.

[Francis007]

Hi David.

I had this happen to me twice on a previous Q8. .MMI screen just went completely blank.

However, on both occasions, I did the factory reset as recommended by pressing for about 20 seconds on the radio on / off button and it worked both times. Screen came back to life.

I replaces my 2020 Q8 with a new one in June 2023 and have had no problems with this current car....yet !

[RyanM87]

3 hours ago, David A3 said:

I called into my local dealer today to chat to one of their service desk people.

The good news:-

1. Coffee and biscuits were nice

2. He’s recorded our discussion on the car record

3. If I want them to look at it, it is a warranty issue.

The bad news:-

Given that the car is now working properly, they almost certainly will not find the problem. He told me that the OBD probably has “hundreds” of recorded faults but that unless it is currently “not working”, they can not further interrogate the OBD to find root cause of this specific issue.

He did say that if it happens again, it may be helpful to the Technicians if I took a photograph to show dash working but touch screen dead. He added that it’s better than nothing and may give them a clue.

Lastly, he also said that I can try a “restore factory settings” by pressing the radio on-off button for 10-15 seconds.

For now, I’m leaving well alone.

Glad you got it documented! My A4 is due back in at Audi (again), intermittent drive system and pre sense faults. Only had it 8 months and been back 3 times already. 
 

From what I can gather by reading and speaking to other owners, the MMI system isn’t the most reliable system. Once the warranty finishes I’ll be selling for something more reliable. 
 

If the reset doesn’t work you could maybe try take the negative terminal off the battery for a few mins and reconnect, this might do a ‘deeper’ reset.

 

Hope the fault stay away!