drgallo

If there was any "common thread" among the owners of the '04 A8L that post here on this board, it is the lack of any usable cellphone "integration" with the MMI on the car. We are unique here, the system is beautifully integrated on cars sold in Europe. This is an issue that probably won't be fixed any time soon. It should be an embarassment to AoA that other car manufacturers tout electronics that far outperform the "telemetrics" portion of our vehicles. (Read the ads for the new Acura ($40K less) which has fully integrated Bluetooth cell phone capability, or the ads for the lowly Jeep which is now offering hands-free, dealer-installed Bluetooth kits to owners of Jeeps even RETROACTIVELY to 1999 models!!! )

The answer is simple. Yes, the system is flawed on the Audi '04 A8L, and admit it, Audi will probably NOT be able, or willing to fix it. Witness the difficulty that Audi is having getting a satellite radio converter that will talk to the MMI out to us. (Now delayed to Summer'04, at last communique from Audi.)

How many '04 A8L owners are out there? Surely it wouldn't break the back of AoA to give us the mounting bracket, and that outdated Motorola phone as a "gift". Perhaps they could even get a US cellular carrier to subsidize part of the cost, just like they do whenever you buy a phone at Verizon, or Sprint, or like they do with the OnStar hardware.

I don't work for Audi, I just drive their cars. I don't understand the sciences of marketing, or customer support. I am a small business owner with a very loyal customer (patient) base that I strive to keep happy, so that they come back to me instead of the competition. It is obvious how loyal we owners are, and how much we are willing to put up with the foibles of this great vehicle, usually with a smile.

Come on AoA, you read this site. Fix the problem, though I doubt that you can, or make your owners happy with a free phone.

(P.S.- And by the way, where is my "Audi Advisor" ? I've had my '04 A8L now for three months, and haven't been contacted yet.)

PaulW

Why doesn't somebody who has an A8L in Chicago hook up with me in January once the ross-tech software is released to talk to the car and let's see if we can hack our way into the system.

Or Greenie should go by Ross-Tech and see if Uwe can hack into it. Once you get in there, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some measuring blocks or something that could be changed around to get it to talk to the system.

Maybe it will need a software update instead. Don't know.

AoA isn't going to fix it, the dealers don't even know it's a problem, I'm quite sure it's possibly something we could do by ourselves. Once we get into it, then we can post instructions.

pw

BackToBasics

Between your post and mine, if AoA reads this forum, they will get the message. The really surprising thing is that they allow a problem like this to fester without publishing information to stem the flow of rumors and bad will.

I'm guessing there are fewer than 500 D3 owners in the US right now. How hard would it be to send them a letter or email that either a) admits the problem and announces a 'fix' to satisfy customers, b) a clear statement that they plan to do nothing for '04 to fix this, or c) give a directive to their dealers to contact their customers who purchased the V60 and do what it takes to make them happy.

Given that many (most?) D3 buyers who also got the V60 were told that there would be integration with the MMI (myself included), either the dealers were passing along what AoA told them, or they were making it up as they went along. In either case, we were sold an expensive solution that is not a solution at all.

Get ahead of this problem AoA, before it gets any worse!

greenie

unless parts have to be ordered from Germany. I will call Uwe next week and for the sake of the cause Ill let him hack away! Maybe we can wake up that silly ole TV tuner as well.


greenie 6625


04 A8L silver/sabre

Krisko

I suppose just because it's not a big deal to me that doesn't mean it's not important to somebody. But we're talking about a phone here, right?

I thought a breakthrough in cellular technology was making cell phones small enough to come out of the car. I would never want a phone to be attached to a car, you can't take it anywhere.

Egil A64.2s - S6

Sure it is JUST a phone. That is not the point. It is a very expensive luxury car catering to a certain expectation. The least you'd expect is the same availability of 'luxury' items as in less expensive cars! Also the phone it just one of several shortcomings in the 'luxury' features of this car.

drgallo

I am not sure after reading your comment that you understand the situation with this phone. And no, it probably is not a "big deal" if you do not have an '04 A8L and were not "lied to" by Audi.

My particular Audi dealer assured me that the phone would integrate. I even spent more than $300 for the stupid bracket to mount the phone. The "integration" is so lame that I decided that I'd skip the additional $400 and not bother with the v60 at all.

Krisko

I guess the big deal is that with integration, the cell phone is hands free? That could be a big deal with new legislation. Good luck getting it resolved.

BackToBasics

Krisko, the problem is that with the V60 phone, the only way to dia a number without wrenching your arm around to the actual keypad is to use the voice dialing function. That's acceptable for basic numbers, but if you are dialing voice mail or need to dial a business extension after connecting, you are forced to use the phone's keypad when it is plugged into the cradle.

Again, many early D3 buyers were promised MMI integration with this phone, i.e. that you could dial numbers using the MMI wheel and screen...that is not now the case.

greenie

Its a bunch of dealers who didnt know enough and did not want to lose a sale. They still do not understand this car. Believe me doc, we from this forum could open an Audi dealership and put every other dealer to shame!


greenie 6625


04 A8l silver/sabre