JonoNZ

Hi,

I've just bought myself a 2009 B8 A4 Avant (2.0TFSI Quattro) that was imported from Japan.

So far I'm really enjoying the cat, but I was wondering a couple of things with regards to the options on the car and what I can do with the MMI unit that's in there.

I've had a look around about using the sticker with the PR codes to figure out what options the car has, but I don't have the original manual and I can't find the sticker anywhere in the rear of the car around the spare tire well or the panels on the left and right sides of the trunk. Anyone have any ideas where else it might be?

Additionally, I'm trying to figure out what I can do with the MMI unit that's in the car. I'm pretty sure the car has MMI 2G High, although the control **** has the little joystick on the top like the MMI 3G models. The unit has navigation from a DVD drive in the trunk and has a 6 disc cd changer in the center console. The screen is colour. I don't have a navigation DVD for the drive, but it would have been a Japanese DVD anyway.

There is an AMI port in the glove box which currently has an AMI to USB cable of some kind plugged into it. I don't get anything happening when I plug a USB key into it and I don't have an iPhone or any Apple device to test that with.

Checking the software version shows:
SW: B8-HU 20.9.0 0809
HW: B8-HU 6337D1.0
FC SW: 06131AFC6AB3201...
FC PS: 0100 FC HW: H08

The main things I'm wondering are:
I guess the MMI system is at version 2090. This means it would need to be updated, but once update can play mp3s off a USB flash drive? Is a specific USB cable needed for this or should any AMI-USB cable work?

I've tried burning and running the EU version of the latest update CDs, but it comes up with an error about the update being for the incorrect region (EU instead of Japan). Does anyone know if the Japanese version numbers follow the same numbering scheme as the EU/US ones (55.7.0 being the latest?) and whether they have seen an update CD around for them? I assume updating will return the unit to Japanese, so I guess I'll need to use VCDS to change the language afterwards?

The center console has a 'Tel' button that simply says something like 'your phone is not connected correctly' and won't respond to the setup button. Does this mean the car does not have the bluetooth handsfree option?

JonoNZ

Nobody here familiar with the Japanese versions of these cars?

That's unfortunate, although it does seem to be pretty standard. It looks like the Navigation is handled differently in the Japanese versions than the EU/US ones. Something about it being a pass-through that completely takes over the screen, with the LVDS signal coming straight from the nav unit in the trunk.

Still no luck finding a Japanese update disk (or even the part number for one). Will try ringing around dealers here in NZ tomorrow, although I'm not getting my hopes up in that regard.

Teamelevation

If your looking to buy a US MMI control unit i have one for sale DM me if your interested Im usually not on this Part of the forum.

lotech

Did you every get anywhere with this? I'm thinking of just taking mine to someone who can do the necessary updates for me.

JonoNZ

No luck at all. Took it in to get a gearbox service at Giltrap Audi in Auckland. Asked them to give it a check over and let me know if there was anything that they saw that was amiss or needing attention. Got it back with all the same firmware in it.

I was told that they had hooked it up and checked for any error codes and that it would prompt them if there were any units with out of date firmware. I'm guessing that's only valid for the engine/transmission etc. and not the MMI.

So yeah, still can't play MP3s off a USB flash drive using the USB cable that was already in the car. Ordered an AMI to 3.5mm cable off Ebay that never showed. All in all, a complete cop-out!

lotech

Yeah I just bought a 2009 A4 3.2 Quattro which has the same model numbers - except us one version newer in SW -

SW: B8-HU 21.0.0 0809
HW: B8-HU 6337D1.0
FC SW: 06131AFC6AB3201...
FC PS: 0100 FC HW: H08

I'm still waiting for delivery of it but grabbed that info on my test drive. It's going into Multimedia Navigation and Audio Specialists | Auto Gravity later in the week for a Firmware update and to have its radio band changed from Japan to NZ. I'm going to ask them to confirm exactly which version we have - from my research its 3G Navigation but it's so hard to really tell.

From what I can tell your best bet is to go to either Autogravity or Prestige Motors Home - Specialized in European Cars are the people to see about what they can do.

I am going to ask them to also enable the hidden menu and ideally make sure Bluetooth is working properly.

JonoNZ

Interesting. I'll be really keen to see what they come back with. It would be good to at least get any form of Aux in working for mine, although bluetooth A2DP or handsfree would be better.

If you're interested, I've got a HEX-CAN and I've been playing with VCDS. Mostly mucking around enabling the gauge sweep on start, LED daytime running lights, that kinda thing. I also did the ADS-lite mod, but I reverted that to avoid it having an error when I took it in. I keep meaning to buy the buttons and do a retrofit.

lotech

So I got a couple of quotes from both Autogravity and Prestige.
I can definitely confirm that we have MMI 2G High and you should definitely look to get the firmware updated to 5570 - its so much faster and has some nice improvements.

Cost wise AutoGravity quoted $400+gst to upgrade the radio and firmware.
But to add Bluetooth they said $1800+gst - apparently because of the B&O sound system - it should generally be $1000+gst for the normal system.

I then call Prestige and they quoted $1000+GST for everything! They were cheap, I dropped it in the morning and it was done by 5pm. To be honest they seem to be the best place for everything - servicing included.

JonoNZ

Awesome! Good result. So what functionality do you have now? What did they do with the radio frequency? Does it display properly or just look like a band expander?

Bluetooth is handsfree as well as A2DP or just one of the two?

lotech

Full functionality of both Radio and Bluetooth - A2DP & Handsfree.
No band expander - picks up station names, searches in the right frequencies. Also gained access to the hidden menu as they need that to update the other stuff.