busrider

Hello All,

I have a 2006 A6 Avant with 121K miles on it(I'm the 2nd owner for six months now). I'm assuming the cars MMI feature has failed. The problem began exactly one week ago. Neither the radio or the nav will respond to my inputs. The only display that I can generate on the screen is the initial Audi MMI illustration during a re-boot. All of the center console buttons related to the MMI remain dark and related steering wheel controls have no effect. During the first hour of this problem I could get a partial response from button commands but I could not advance the screen past the initial "Acceptance of terms," display. I also experienced a popping sound in the speakers, twice. As of today all MMI functions are dead.

I haven't spilled anything on the center console or ever let the buttons get wet, although obviously I can't speak for the original owner. Coincidentally, though, it was raining on the day of the failure.

Lastly, I only have one remote key FOB for the car and it's performance at unlocking the doors is poor. Unless I hold the key against the glass of the drivers window, my commands to unlock go undetected. The Key FOB has a brand new battery.

Has anyone else experienced these MMI problems? I'm leery about replacing the MMI control module at what I would suspect is great cost for fear that an outside source caused the problem and could cause it again. Can anybody shed some light on what the problem(s) might be and what some of the associated repair cost could amount to?

Thank you to everybody in advance

cebo0650

Check to see if you have water/moisture in the left hand side trunk compartment where all the electronics for the MMI and Audio are stored.

I had a similar problem a while back every time it rained. I would start the car, hear a pop from the speakers and the radio and sometimes the MMI as well would die. Turned out that one of the tubes that channels water away from the sunroof was clogged and water was getting into that compartment. Thankfully, in my case nothing was fried so once they replaced the tube (CPO warranty) the problem has never re-occurred. The tech at my dealership did mention that a few weeks before I brought my Avant in they had another one with the same problem but it that case they had to replace most of the MMI modules and amp.

busrider

Thanks for your insight and quick reply. That compartment was my first suspicion so I went straight there to further investigate but found it to be dry. However, when I first test drove the car I looked in that compartment found it odd to see a clear plastic sheet draped over the component stack. My hope and thought at that time was that the plastic had been there since production. Now I'm even more suspicious of its strategic placement based on what your telling me. Tomorrow I'll dig deeper into that corner of the car along with checking the drain tube.

Thanks again and I'll post my findings when there's more to report.

oaktreelimb

I would use rear washer a few times then check for leak in the same area.

busrider

... I'll check that, too. Thank you.

busrider

My local Audi dealer told me today that the radio amplifier has failed. Without that component working then everything linked into the MMI system is inoperative. $1,145 for a new replacement amp, I haven't taken the plunge yet as I'm still weighing my options (salvage part?).

oaktreelimb

Audi 2006 A6 Avant (and other model year 2005-2008 too) rear glass washer system has leaking problem. The rear washer hose may be broken at lift gate left hinge. When using rear washer, the fluid may leak and normally drips right on top of amplifier.
I would check for water leak and fix it first before replacing amplifier.
Salvage part is OK but make sure to get a correct one.

mp-avant

i had my washer fluid hose leak onto the amp in the trunk and fry everything. luckily it was a couple weeks before the warranty was up so they fixed it. otherwise it would been a few thousand dollars to repair.

even though the washer hose is now "fixed", i've stopped using it as i don't want to risk it leaking again.

busrider

I replaced the Bose amp today with an exact replacement from a Maryland salvage yard. Everything works fine now except for one item,the entire right channel(balance)is dead. The front to rear fader works fine as does the NAV/AM/FM/SAT functions.

As an FYI - The salvage yard amp cost $400 Vs $1,000+ for a new unit. Also, the rear compartment in my car that houses the infotainment rack was bare bones dry from bottom to top. Nor could I find any water streaks or stains that might have contributed to the original amp failure.

Any ideas as to what might be causing the right channel failure?

Thanks

lagunadavid

Audi has come up with a work around kit to repair the leaking washer fluid that when used floods the left side electronics compartment. After I replaced the amp everything worked perfectly with the exception of the speakers. Only the left door speaker seems to work.
I have not been able to get all the speakers working....