Entwood

Hi All, 2014 A6 Allroad in black The "colour-coded" wheel arch plastic things are dis-colouring to a sort of greyish colour with the texture of, I believe it's called, "orage peel". Is there any advice as to how to rectify or prevent the problem, don't want to start messing with odds and sods in case I actually make things worse !! If a keen "detailer" has any advice I would welcome such asisstance Regards, E

There are various sites you can use to correctly compare the "rolling circumference" of different wheel/tyre combinations. The obvious reason is to get the answers as close as possible to reduce any effects on speedo/abs etc etc.. An example Tire Size Comparison If the wheel tyre combination is listed on the fuel flap then 100% it will be OK One certain advantage of dropping the wheels size is comfort! The A6 Allroad I purchased had 20" wheels (255/40/20 tyres) ... very quickly changed to 18" (235/55/18 tyres) just for the improvement to ride ! Put simply the total radius is the wheel + the tyre.. if the wheel is large the tyre is skinny, if the wheel is smaller the tyre is taller. The taller the tyre the more flexible and capable of absorbing impacts it becomes. The fact that 18" tyres are, generally, cheaper than 20" tyres was a secondary consideration for me ...... I just wanted to keep my teeth in when driving UK potholed roads !!

In the "pinned" section is my post from when I had a reverse camera fitted to a A6 allroad by Audi Retrofit Specialist | Autologics . Well pleased then, and still am, absolutely no problems with it at all, May I suggest you give them a ring ??

I used these folks, extremely helpful in all respects .. Satnavishop.co.uk worth a check of the website and maybe a phone call !

I used Satnavishop.co.uk to update my 2014 A6 allroad with 3G+ MMI. "David" was extremely helpful, answered every "help" email within an hour, and they sorted all the hiccups easily. Hiccups were unusual, it seems, as some other work had resulted in some of the MMI already being updated, but no-one knew... least of all me. !!

I used Satnavishop.co.uk to update my 2014 A6 allroad with 3G+ MMI. "David" was extremely helpful, answered every "help" email within an hour, and they sorted all the hiccups easily. Hiccups were unusual, it seems, as some other work had resulted in some of the MMI already being updated, but no-one knew... least of all me. !!

Might not be relevant at all, but a similar problem (heat one side cold the other) on a different car was also caused by a partially blocked matrix. It seems that a partial blockage allows a very low flow that provides a bit of hot water to give heat to one side, but once thats gone the "other" side only has lukewarm/cold water flow, so generates no heat at the vents. Replacing the matrix with a "freeflowing" one solves the problem as both sides get plenty of hot water. Hope that helps, although I accept it might not !!

Hi memzey, antenna is placed front right hand corner of dash just beside the speaker grill (1.jpg). Cable goes down the right hand side, then in behind the fuse box cover,(2.jpg) then out and under the steering wheel area with excess cable pushed into the large recess, (3.jpg) cable then goes up and over, tucked in between the fascia and the steering wheel and into the MMI. I simple connected to the MMI then reseated the MMI with the cable coming out of the top right corner.(4.jpg) Not ideal in any way but it works. Car is booked in to a local auto electrician to have a new aerial fitted the week after next. The SRS warning light is apparently caused simply by having to unplug the two cables underneath the MMI in order to get sufficient access to the aerial socket. Simple reset with the appropriate kit sorted that.

Quick update folowing the weekends efforts. On Saturday I removed the MMI again and found a way to re-route the generic aerials cable such that, although not perfect it is out of the way and the aerial is at the bottom edge of the windscreen. Satnav has worked perfectly with 8/9/10 satellites when ever checked. At least this proves its the existing aerial that is the problem. Along with memzey I also still have the airbag light now on since I started this saga. I don't have a code reader so the car is booked in to a local non-audi specalist for next week. They will check out and fix the airbag problem, and advise me on their cost of fixing the satnav aerial properly. I know I've got it working with the bodge, but I like things done properly.....

Progress, of sorts..... using the second video above (thanks Alpha Omega) and the purchased tools, I successfully, eventually, gained access to the rear of the MMI. The cables are very short and a couple have to be unclipped to get to the back. Plugged in a generic GPS aerial off ebay (less the £5.00!!) and it all started working, 9/10 satellies received... happy me .. or so I thought...... I couldn't work out/see any way to mount the aerial near the windscreen, so simply placed it on top of the MMI. Then had some "fun" getting it all back together..... there is VERY little room and the numerous cables conspire to prevent easy access/movement ... but got there eventually. Test drove it and it was VERY erratic, quick check and only 3/4 satellites... so obviously on top of the MMI is useless. Another days work I guess trying to find a better place/way, but at least I know how to gain access. To add to my woes, the "safety systems" warning is now illuminated... I wonder if the repeated moving of the seat and kneeling on it to try and get a torch/eyesight into the MMI area has damaged something, a very quick look doesn't show any loose connections, again something for another day ... ......at 72 my arthiritus, bad back, eyesight and patience have all run short for today !

OK, from memory as the car isn't here at the moment..... with no route planned, select "Tour", then select the topline, regardless of what it says, press centre button, rotate centre button one click clockwise. Should now display number of satellites and assumed position .. in my case "0" and south wales-ish even though I'm 80 odd miles from there !!

I used these folks, very pleased with their support and their product. Audi Sat Nav Update Discs | Map DVD 2023 (satnavishop.co.uk)

Remove Audi MMI module (audizine.com) That's all it says .....

That looks a possibility, thank you, appreciate the help. Hopefully these tools will be man enough to do the job !! 12 Heavy Duty Car Trim Removal Set Radio Panel Door Dash Vehicle Repair Pry Clip 7427274231726 | eBay

Found an article that says the MMI is held in by one screw that is accessible after the climate control panel is removed....... but doesn't tell me how to remove the climate control panel ..... any one able to assist ?

Thank you for your efforts, but mine doesn't look quite like that, and certainly does NOT have those two little cutouts. Hopefully someone can offer other ideas!!

2014 A6 allroad and the satnav has just started misbehaving. Internet search has enabled me to find a way of knowing that 0 satellites are being received, so I suspect the sharks fin aerial has failed. I don't think its simply moisture as its been bone dry for 10 days and the car is black and has been stood in the sun, so the roof has got pretty hot!! Seems that is a real PIA to replace as the whole headlining has to be removed. Several sources state that unplugging the existing GPS aerial and replacing with a generic GPS aerial from fleabay is a simple and effective solution .... only problem is I can find no detailed instructions on how to remove the MMI to do such a thing !! There are various mentions of special tools and/or dismantling centre consol and others say its simple just one bolt !! So what is the truth please !! Could someone who "knows" give me a detailed guide to the easiest way of accessing the GPS plug on the MMI so I can then fit a replacement GPS aerial. Any ideas greatly appreciated.

I presently run 255/40 R20 at 37psi all round as the car is mainly used to tow the tin-tent, so has a fair bit of tail weight as well as a load of kit in the back, its very stable. The previous owner, who purchased the car new, paid an absolute fortune for the 20" wheels - OK they look good, no dispute there - and I put new tyres on when I bought the car. Those tyres are now reaching time to be replaced, and I'm very seriously considering buying some 18" wheels and running on 235/55 R18 tyres, as I think the ride on 20" wheels on the abysmal roads round here is back breaking - literally!!! The car is a dream to ride in cruising the motorways, but a country road with deep potholes...... not good at all 😞 Trying to work out the relative costs of buying a set of Audi 18" wheels off the Bay, and how much I might get for my 20" ones. There appears to be no to little difference in the actual price of the tyres (Continental SC5).

Knowing that I know nowt about audi setups in particular - I bought this car so I no longer have to work on fixing cars ! - feel free to ignore this.... but your statement is incorrect on a large number of cars/applications. The common view that if its in the off position its isolated is often wrong, as many times the switch provides the "earth" (more correctly the 0 volt connection) to enable a circuit to be completed, thus at any point in the wiring before the switch a "short" to "earth" will provide the 0 volt connection and the item will burst into life !! Without knowing the circuits, your description of the fault fits this scenario perfectly ... a break in a wire somewhere between the motor and the switch is "earthing" and completing the circuit so the wipers do their own thing regardless of switch position. I wish you luck in finding the offending bit of wire... I'd be looking around the tailgate hinge area myself .....

Mine has done the same occasionaly .. but I think it might be operator error....... not certain but I "think" its linked to the auto-close window system .. so if I hold the "lock" button too long it auto-closes even though the windows are all shut! Probably wrong but that's what it seems like to me !!

Have the handbook now, and the info is on page 128, and quite long so I won't type all of it ... relevant bit as far as I can see is : "The adaptive air suspension is an electronically controlled pneumatic spring/shock absorber system. The set-up is adjusted according to the selected mode, steering movements,braking and acceleration input by the driver, road surface quality, road speed and vehicle loading. The vehicles ground clearance depends on which mode is selected and how fast you are travelling. If you drive in auto or efficiency for longer than 30 secons at over 120km/h the motorway ride height is selected. If the speed dropsbelow 70 km/h for over 120 seconds the ground clearance is automatically raised " Mine is a 2014 Allroad and presently is set to "efficiency" mode and shows 2 bars ..... Hope that helps .....

If memory serves me right, can't get to the handbook right now to check however ...... in "dynamic" mode the ride height self-adjusts with speed, so starts off at 2 bars then as speed increases it "lowers" to 1 bar to improve handling at higher speeds .... I'll be able to get to the handbook tonight to check my, probably failing, memory !!

Sounds really like a battery problem .. these cars are VERY easily upset if the battery is not in really good condition... and a simple voltage check with a meter is no where near a good enough check,, the battery needs to be checked with a PROPER PROFFESIONAL battery checking device... there might well be enough "oomph" in the battery to start the engine .. but the voltage drops as the battery recharges and numerous other circuits kick in is often enough to cause many problems of the type you describe..... this of course assumes the alternator is also in good condition ... as that is what actually provides all the electrics the car needs !!

Brilliant, many thanks ... will attack it tomorrow !! I might take meter readings anyhow and publish them just to see what the "hive mind" thinks ! I'm starting to think that - as the frequency of the warnings changes with the bending of those two wires - that the problem is probably in that plug somewhere... be it corrosion, a bad connection or a nearly broken wire ... be interesting to see whats inside it !

Hi, many thanks for the prompt reply, appreciate it. Attached a photo of the connector, wth the wires "bent" to the position that appears to give the least number of warnings !! Still happen , but just not as often ! Your idea if cleaning up the pins was in my mind, but I'd also like to check the readings via a meter if possible. Thanks again E