waninae39

I have a 7 month old Q5 3l S-line. i love it

the GPS maps seemed outdated when i got the q5

I am booked in for the recall notice next week.
i asked them to update the maps

they said no, Audi is only responsible for the car and not the GPS.

for 2016 and older, the customer has to pay as NO MAPS are included in the 3 year guarantee. cost $500 + 1.5 hr labour

2017 + the maps can be update by the customer in the vehicle

does anyone else have any other experience?
has anyone got a free map update?

please advise before i take it in next thursday

atc98092

I know of no auto manufacturer that offers free GPS map updates. For vehicles that can be updated from the navigation.com web site, the price has dropped substantially since a few years ago. But Audi isn't available from them. If you select Audi from the dropdown list it redirects you to the Audi USA web site. I don't know if the dealer was accurate that the owner can't update the map, but I think he's wrong. I found a place based in the UK that offers maps for older cars, including mine. I checked with them and they do offer North America maps compatible with our versions of the MMI.

You can look at https://www.audiupdates.com/

waninae39

someone a while ago posted that owner get THREE FREE map updates during the first 4 year guarantee period. I cant find that post any more.

is this still true?
does anyone have a document stating so?
i need this to show my dealer next week.
please advise

plat27265

I really do not understand why car manufacturers would spend so much time developing GPS equipment and maps on their own when there are GPS manufacturers like Tom Tom, Magellan and others that have been already doing it with great success. If Audi likes to save money, just leave the GPS tech (software and hardware) to, say Tom Tom, and focus on the car itself. This way, users who want to get updated maps at affordable prices just need to go online and buy it from Tom Tom. This is the case of Audi and other car manufacturers re-inventing the wheel when it is already invented. Will they ever make money out of over-priced maps? No. So why do they spend so much time and resources on it?

waninae39

i update from my old garmin $400 to a new faster and bigger garmin $225. the screen is almost as big as the one in the Audi.

I get free life time maps with my garmin. Unless i can get FREE maps from AUDI, they will not make a single cent from me. I will just use my easier to use garmin over their custom one

Audi can either give me free updates at no cost and be nice to me to buy another vehicle
or
lose any future business from me by being cheap and trying to squeeze small incremental $ for GPS updates.

It's their business to lose and make no more money from me

ex-quattro PETE

First time I'm hearing of this.

ex-quattro PETE

Audi does not develop maps on their own. They use one of the major map suppliers.
Audi does control the update process because they are responsible for the end product and how it plays with the rest of the car. Maybe it's to make extra money or convince you to buy a newer model. Or maybe they're afraid that a potential glitch in a new map could possibly hang or freeze the whole MMI, which in some cases may be considered a safety issue. So they need to fully vet the maps (which costs somebody's time) and control the update process, so that things don't get bricked. Maybe it's both.

FYI, i am not saying it's right. Just thinking out loud. Eventually all cars will have a permanent connection to the cloud and access to the latest maps via the likes of Google and Android Auto, so this problem should go away.

ex-quattro PETE

Right, but what else (apart from maps on an SD card) do you need to actually perform the update? I've read on here reports of special update hardware/software and/or special codes that need to be punched in before you can proceed with the update.

atc98092

They say they include an SD card that has the authorization codes to allow the update. That's their claim anyway.

ex-quattro PETE

Thanks.

250 British pounds is still quite a lot for a map update.