USA Audi A8 moving to Europe
 

Hi,
I am moving to Europe with my 2013 A8.
I was told EU tail-lamps are different from US models (front lamps are the same!), since they must have yellow blinking turn signals to get traffic permits. So I need to have change them, or reprogram.
I was also told tail lamps, plus control eletronics are also different. Others told me I must change/reprogram the control panel EPROM chip too.

Any experience with this? Any EU auto shop to make this change for friendly price? What do Audi dealers charge in EU for this update?
Thanks.

Pomperj,

A couple of questions. Where are you moving to? Are you in or associated with the US Military or DOD? If you are moving to Germany, Italy, or Belgium you will not have to make any changes to your Audi. Part of the agreement between those countries and the US (SOFA) allow us to bring our vehicles over with no modifications. The only country I can think of that require modifications is England and then it's only to add rear fog lamps unless already equipped. Honestly, your question is the first time I've heard of anyone needing to make modifications.

Let me know your situation and I will try and assist more. I've been in Europe (Germany/Italy) since 2001 so I have a little knowledge about such things.

Bill

Hi, my move is purely civilian.
Will live in Budapest, Hungary, and driving all over EU, from Brussels to Bucharest. A local Porsche/Audi shop guy told me to replace the tail lamps simply for about $400, and mount a fog-lamp-looking object on it.

But Audi officially does not gave any info despite my efforts at headquarters; they simply said there are other differences too, and they do not give support.

Which is absurd lie, as they have the Factory Delivery Program, where they prepare your car to drive all over Europe for weeks, and then they modify tail lamps (and others?) in port Emden before shipping to USA, as US model. They do this on mass scale.

There are webshops with EU AudiA8 lamps, as a do-it yourself option. But these lamps are intelligent and programmable, so a simple change might kill the electronics.
Thanks for any ideas.
pomperj

resident

Pomperj,

Unfortunately, I don't have info about Hungary but can't believe there is a different standard for the lights. We (DOD) affiliated personnel living and working in Europe do not have to modify any of our equipment other that what I stated in my previous post. By moving here on your own, I can't speak to what may be required of you. Have you tried reaching the Hungarian agency responsible for automobile standards?

The Euro Delivery Program is set up for US customers to pick up their US spec vehicle to drive around Europe and then ship it to the states. To my knowledge, they make no modifications to the vehicle prior to pick up or after drop-off OR more than likely, they are unable to make changes. I'm willing to bet that the lamps fall under the same category as my MMI/3G Navigation/Google Earth problem. Because my car is US spec, they cannot replace my MMI unit with a Euro spec one because of electronic and other incompatibilities. In order for me to use my system, I had to have it "reprogrammed" by an independent shop and then they will have to undo the changes they made once I return to the states.

I emailed the customer service team at Ingolstadt and they were more than helpful when I had questions about the MMI. Instead of emailing me back, they actually called me and explained in length why it was impossible to change out my unit. Their email is kundenbetreuung@audi.de and it's worth a shot to ask them about your problem.

Good luck and keep us posted on your journey,
Bill

Correct. Euro Delivery is for US vehicles only. They are built to US spec and can not be altered by the factory at all. Euro spec vehicles have different amber bulbs in the rear. There are other circumstances where there could be other things needed to be done to the car to make them legal to license them in other countries.

Euro Delivery vehicles are registered on temporary licence plates and do not have to fulfil EU homologation. The vehicles of US military or government personnel are also exempted under certain conditions. I am certain that in the UK the headlamps also need to be reset or replaced because of left hand traffic.
EU cars require:
Amber turn signals
Rear fog lamp
Asymmetric dipped beam
All safety equipment and lighting must be E marked
Licence plate must be fitted front and rear and a special dispensation maybe required if a European format licence plate does not fit and a "special" US size plate is to be issued.

I know people who have moved here to Germany from the US who decided that it was less hassle and cheaper to sell their car in the US and buy a new car here.

What really happened
 

1)Your requirements list is correct.

2)I did the following:
-bought used EU rear lamp pair, for cca.300 EUR (new lamps cca.750EUR) on the internet in Germany
-the cables to lamps are a little different, 5 lines instead of 6, so the electrician had to install one more, 3 m long, from control panel to lamps
-mount the EU rear lamps, connect them EU ways
-program (=assign) the control channels of the auto-computer to the physical lines accordingly, fog lamps too
-front lamps are the same, so no change was necessary

This was accepted at EU inspection, I received EU licence plate.

3)To sell A8 in USA, and buy one in EU. This idea just sets you back 25.000 USD, as the prices are the same (except one is in USD, the other is in EUR!)

4)It looks going to be easy to refit the US mount,
when I move back again next year.

The UK do have different rules to Europe but you can visit here on your travels by only making a simple change to your headlights (Stickers will do).

You will need a rear sticker for the country you're in if you plan on travelling around Europe.