Dino Milani

I believe there is a way to enable traffic via SiriusXM using an ODBeleven modification. Some here have said they pay just the $4/month traffic cost through SiriusXM and get the traffic overlays on the built-in maps.

Edit, here is the link:

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q5-...pires-2941112/

chingwodapigu

So are you saying that BMW will give you traffic data without needing to pay for a data subscription? I don't own a BMW that needs data (old '99 540i), so I just assumed that all "connected" vehicles needed some sort of overpriced data plan.
I prefer to use my phone for NAV, so I didn't bother continuing my Audi Connect subscription on my SQ5.

ribeye

Iam not sure if you get traffic or not, (Its my wire's car) but I am pretty sure they use live google data, we have not updated the maps in 2 1/2 years and they seem to know where the new places are. I know we don't pay any monthly or yearly fee and I can do a lot of stuff for free with the app. Check the millage, is the car locked, where the car is, and send trips etc.

Let me look into it and I will let you know exactly what the deal is.. I just know it is far superior the the Audi nav system. It understands you so much better and it is so much faster.
Oh, no android auto, but they have apple carplay (2017 anyway)and it is through blue tooth and you don't have to plug in the phone.

ribeye

OK, I just sat in the wife’s car for about 10 minutes looking at the map info in her 2017 X3. There was a setting for traffic reports and it was checked. According to my wife, it shows red where the delays are and is reflected in the arrival time. She thinks it shows the delay time as well. It says it the manual that they get the info from radio stations????

Also there is a setting for auto local map updates and that was checked as well. The ones installed were 2019/1 BUT…. they were only for Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Virginia. (We live in Florida) The rest of the maps were from when we got the car in December of 2016. I think if you want a full 50 state update, you pay for it. I don’t think this car will leave the state of Florida so that is great for us.

Hope that clears things up.

Now you can get the same from Audi for the low price of $400 a year. (Yes I know you get other stuff but do you use it?) Or you can get it from BMW for free.

Q5 Bob

Good recap. The traffic and map updates on our 2019 X3 are very similar to your 2017. The real time traffic and regional map updates both are included for 4 years. After 4 years I think you pay a subscription, but not sure.

DC321

I am currently under the trial plan with Audi Connect. I use Waze and Carplay, and will definitely not be adding/paying for the service afterwards.

superswiss

Both BMW and Mercedes include 3 years of their online services with the purchase of the car. BMW's system is called BMW ConnectedDrive and Mercedes system is called Mercedes Me Connect. After three years you have to pay as well. So those who lease don't have to pay extra as the services are paid for already. Don't think anything is free, though. It's just worked into the price of the car. BMW on the other hand charges a subscription fee for Apple CarPlay. Imagine that. You have to pay BMW an annual fee to use a third-party system in their cars. The grass isn't greener on the other side, just a different shade of green. I do have to say that the Audi Infotainment system in their current model is falling behind the competitors. Audi is catching up to some extent with the new system in the all-new A6,7,Q8 and the upcoming facelifted Q7 and eventually the new system will work its way down to all models. I'm buying a Mercedes-AMG C63S Coupe. It's my first Mercedes and reading through the owner's manual online the Infotainment system is much richer and has more functionality than Audi. I just recently learned about 3 word addresses for example, because it's something that the Mercedes system supports (https://what3words.com/2017/09/merce...gation-system/). I had no idea about this system, but it's kinda intriguing. There's other stuff such as the ability to update the entire Infotainment system, not just the maps, over the data connection. So Mercedes can push out updates and add new features to the system similar to Tesla. Audi only comes out with bug fixes eventually, and you have to go to the dealer and convince them to install the firmware updates. There are definitely a number of things that BMW and Mercedes do much better than Audi, but do your homework this time around.

wolfjo

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful replies - one of the reasons I have enjoyed being an Audi owner over the last 12 years has been these forums. Always good for thoughtful discussion and information/research.

I get a lot of the above responses - "didn't you know" "you have lost perspective" "why is this so important" etc. I also hear a LOT of resignation - that this is just the way it is and we can't change it.

I think corporations like Audi make stupid pricing decisions all the time - this happens to be one of them. I don't know why being charged so much extra for something so simple as traffic makes me so mad - of course I can "afford" it, but that is not the point. The point is that they are now trying to break things out of the purchase/lease price of the car so that people won't notice them or incorporate them in their buying decisions. And the 6 month and 18 month options that don't line up with a standard lease contract are intentionally asinine.

My overall question (besides venting and hoping to get someone from Audi's attention) was whether or not other Audi folks are OK with this arrangement. My take from the above is that most people are not, have found ways around it, or are resigned that this is part of the price of the car and grit their teeth and pay when its due. I am probably going to take the other tack and vote with my feet for the next 2 leases.

The reasons have more to do with overall pricing and Audi's choice to wait so long between MMI updates than just the AudiConnect pricing issues. For example, the X3 m40i has a more advanced infotainment system that has been updated more recently and has wireless CarPlay (yes, I use the traffic on CarPlay too - did I mention I sit in a lot of traffic?) However, the BMW is actually around $2K less than the SQ5 with similar features. Add in the $30/mo Audi Connect BS pricing and you have a substantially more expensive car. $30/mo on a lease buys you another $3K in MSRP options on a standard Audi residual lease, so it ain't nothing.

I see that the new Q3 announced in NY will have Audi's newest touch screen interface and wireless CarPlay as well. I think this bodes well for the Q5 refresh next year, and hope they add it to the A4/A5 platforms as well when that mid-cycle refresh occurs. I don't think it will be in time for either the Q5 lease (up in a few months) or my A5 SB (which I love) which is up in 4/2020. I guess I'll learn how to love my new BMWs (we'll see how the equivalent 4 series Gran Coupe drives - right now the A5 SB is worlds better.)

Who loves being overcharged for 5 year old technology just because the company screwed up some diesel certifications? It very much feels like the loyal customer is now paying for their mistakes.

wolfjo

Congrats on the AMG C63S - have seen a few of these on the road and they are awesome. Thanks for the input on the other manufacturers - I appreciate having the price worked into the car, but of course I just add it to the Audi when making purchase decisions. I absolutely knew about this when I leased the A5 - I just loved the car so much that I ignored it. Turns out I am still mad about it 2 years in when being asked to pay another $400 for the last 12 months of the lease. I would love to know how many people feel the same way and opt out. Agree that Audi is refreshing this part of the car way too infrequently to keep up - OTA updates are needed in this day and age.

bailyc

Off topic, and I'm sorry to hijack the thread, but how are you able to send trips without Audi Connect? I assume you mean the feature where you use your phone to search for an address, and then forward it to the car. I keep trying but my car tells me it needs an Audi Connect subscription to access My Audi Contacts or whatever it's called, which I think is where those addresses from Google Maps were sent to.