jwrmoore

Hi guys, im made up I found such a great site! Iv searced many many pages to try and find similar problems.

Basically, I bought my A8 off ebay, on the way to collect it (7.5hr train journey!) the seller called me to say that he had the battery on charge over night and had just replaced it now, and he noticed that the MMI control **** wasnt lit up or functioning. So apparently he called Audi and they said its a simple fault, the fuse had blown and it would cost £200 to fix. The seller knocked that off the winning bid and I headed home (5hrs) the radio would just go on and off at its own free will and the MMI monitor was going up and down.

So I took my car for diagnostics and a full service at 'an Audi specialist' its taken them 5 days to conclude that its not one of the 4 fuses, I need a whole new MMI system including the screen!? I was quoted £1300 plus labour - they've had it 5 days but im refusing to pay more than a couple of hours labour due to their incompetence at finding the fault (they dont know this yet)

Has anybody had, or know of anyone who has had loss of power to the MMI control system (I read a few liquid spillages). And is it true that I HAVE to buy a whole new system (they mentioned 3 parts, control panal, base panel and monitor!) seems a little extreme to me, someone please give me some good news!

Oh its done 101k miles and out of warranty, can I claim on my insurance?

Thank you all in advance, and in reply to an age tread: im 28, surely one of the younger owners?

John

jakematic

Welcome to the forum John.

Well firstly you don't need to replace the monitor based on what you described.

It's probably the control panel, but a VCDS (VAG-COM) or dealer diagnostic will tell you for sure.
Not likely 2 of the 3 components, probably just one of them is bad or has a problematic connection.
If the 'Audi Specialist' in fact has this software and they used it get a full scan report from them.

£200 for a fuse ? Really ? That's criminal.
£5 and 5 minutes would replace most fuses in an A8.

-Jake

ezveedub

I would say it doesn't need all those parts. The MMI control panel can get screwed if liquid spills into it. This will make it short out and cause havoc to the signals sent to the 07 MMI control unit. It may also damage the 07 MMI unit in some cases as there is no way to know what actually happens IF its actually shorted by liquid. I cannot see how the MMI screen panel would need replacing. It has nothing to due with the MMI functioning other than showing the display. The mechanism that moves the screen has had issues on the early cars, but none that stop the MMI from functioning and is separate from the MMI screen itself. IMO, I would try a new MMI button panel first, then scan for issues. If the MMI still comes up and then goes down again, scan for DTC's in the system to find out whats going on. A ring break diagnosis should find the faulty control module on the MOST ring if there is one that's not working properly and causing MOST system to shut down the MMI system.

jwrmoore

Thank you for all your advice guys, I thought replacing the monitor would be a pointless exercise, the manager said all 3 parts are "pared up" and need the same operating codes - Im not that naive!

Do you think I should cut my losses an take it to a main dealer in the hope they'll find a cheaper cure? Already been quoted £126 to diagnose it, but is there any point after the 'specialists' cleared all the fault codes? - and yes I will ask for a copy of the report and take it to the Audi main dealer if I decide to go down that route.

Iv tried searching for an MMI control panel but negative results as of yet, iv emailed an A8 breaker on eBay who iv bought a private plate off so I'm hoping he'll get back to me ASAP!

mishar

Welcome!

For the beginning buy VCDS (Ross-Tech) so you can do your own diagnostics.

VCDS scan will show you what's wrong. Without it everything is just guessing. And my guess is that something is wrong with MOST ring. It can be one of modules or ring (fiber optics) itself.

Be sure that you never go back to that "Audi specialist" again.

ezveedub

If your in the UK and near Audi West London, LMK. I personally know a qualified tech there that I've worked with for years and he will get your MMI sorted out properly.

jwrmoore

Gutted! I'm in the north west near Liverpool, wouldn't wanna risk the drive down - in sure it'd be worth it though! Cheers for the info, if you have a contact number could you PM me please.

I'll be sure not to use them again trust me!

gogoni

check your amplifier. you need an optical ring loop to bypass the Bose amplifier and see if your screen comes back to life. when the sound amp goes bad everything shuts down. the system is protected.

ezveedub

The amp is only one thing on the MOST, it could be any of the control modules on the MOST loop.

jwrmoore

Ok great advice guys! Should I just take it to an auto electrician? And does anybody have the part number for the MMI control panel please?