Texguy33

In the market for a 2019 e tron.

I see only a few with the black “radar” on the front middle lower grille. What do you not get if you do not have this radar?

DMD

I have the same question. I have an E-Tron with the laser scanner and I thought it was an integral part of the driver assistance technology. Most other autonomous driving systems make use of laser scanners along with radar. Except for Tesla - Elon thinks they are not needed. Audi invested in a company, last July, that developed a system to provide enhanced laser point cloud data.

Why would Audi drop it? I would suspect it required a major software change for E-trons without it. Are laser scanners energy hogs? Was it too much data for their software to handle? Was it just a cost vs performance decision? i.e didn’t provide much more information then the accompanying radar? Why isn’t there an myAudi IQ video on why no more lidar!

SYMAWD

It's kind of a mystery. The e-tron dropped it mid model year and the A6/A7/Q7/Q8 don't have it for MY20 however the A8 keeps it. Audi says they have the same functionality without it, but why does the A8 keep it?

hrc1079

My understanding was it was needed for the Level 3 autonomous driving which the A8 does (just not in US). When I saw that it made it's way to the e-Tron and Audi announcing function on demand I assumed they were going to add Level 3 autonomy as an option when Audi felt it safe to do so in the US etc. I had the A4 with the "Traffic Jam Assist" and it was woeful compared to the e-Tron. The laser scanner (I'm assuming it's the scanner) does a really good job at detecting slow lane mergers etc. so it's disappointing to hear they're removed it from the newer models.

Also, the US models of the A8 didn't come fitted with the laser scanner because Audi had announced they weren't offering it due to the governments lack of laws etc. for self driving cars.

iStocky

Not citing this as the official reason it was removed from newer e-tron models, but a dealership friend told me they were having difficulties with the placement of the scanner. Basically, if it get's covered in snow, some road debris hits it, or you somehow move it slightly from hitting something while parking, it the vehicle acknowledges the lost calibration and forces you to get service. They then have to recalibrate it's placement and it's an annoying service visit. Pair that with slow-moving autonomous driving legislation stateside, and I'll bet they just said it wasn't worth having for the time being.

iStocky

Mystery solved: Radar exists on Prestige models but not on Premium Plus models. Just toggle between the two options on the Audi of America build page and the header image updates to include/remove the radar: https://www.audiusa.com/models/audi-...-etron-2019-GE

skaven81

This makes a lot more sense to me than the other explanations given in this thread about level-3 self-driving and stuff.

It's simply an option that is present on the Prestige trim level. FWIW my Prestige-trim e-tron has the radar box under the grille, and I purchased it in late November 2019. So it's definitely not something that was on "early models" and removed later.

DMD

But if you add Drivers Assistance package to the Premium Plus it show up
Does anyone with the Drivers Assistance package NOT have a lidar scanner?

SYMAWD

A8s do have the laser scanner.
It has nothing to do with trim levels. The radar is hidden under the grille to the right of the Audi rings (if facing car). The laser scanner is what is visible at the bottom of the bumper and was removed as a mid model year change.

skaven81

Except that my e-tron was purchased in November 2019 (certainly well past "mid-model-year" and it has the laser scanner box under the grille.