kry226

Hello folks, quick question…It appears there’s a possibility of us picking up a leftover U.S. spec 2017 Q7 Premium Plus here in Germany. Obviously, the GPS will be loaded with U.S. maps and the dealer will give a “Europe Non-Functioning GPS Credit”. But we’ll likely be here another 15 months and I’d like to get European maps loaded as I did with my U.S. spec 2013 BMW that I currently own here.The research I’ve done has yielded very conflicting information from “it’s an easy upload” to a requirement to change hardware, and everything in between.

So on a 2017 Q7 PP with the MMI Nav Plus, how would I go about getting European maps while retaining the ability to reload U.S. maps when we return to the States? Is this possible? Thanks in advance.

jetsfan101

The dealer over there could do it for sure. For the US Spec cars, the US maps aren't loaded until the car comes over the "pond" so to speak. Either at the port or at the dealer is when it's done.

The easiest way out is finding a good shop or a dealer in the EU and have them do it. I don't see what the problem would be...

kry226

Thanks for the feedback. Any other suggestions? If it's as easy as simply uploading the new maps, are there any online vendors offering downloads/activation codes?

Redd

It may be heresy, but I velcro a 10" GPS right over the dashboard screen. And I get free lifetime map upgrades, typically issues every quarter. Unlike the factory system where I can spend many bucks and still not get an upgrade more than once every two years.

Getting the free frequent upgrades is something car makers won't do for you--even though they are buying the SAME source maps and data at the same prices.

kry226

I have one of those too (not 10"). It tells me where all the "safety" cameras are.

Redd

Yes, the US DOT dropped their pants and didn't enforce the proposed rear view camera mandate in 2014, so my car didn't have one. My GPS has one as an option. Many do. Or, you can put a piece of pinao hinge on the GPS and just flip it down when you need to see the dashboard screen.

(Damn Yankees! Always finding a way to unemploy the engineers!)

jetsfan101

Why buy an audi then if you going to rock a portable gps. stop it. please

Brimstone

With the new Q7, you get free upgrades 2x/yr. Unfortunately you pay an arm and a leg for Audi connect to get traffic info (and make it reasonably useful in an urban area) which is still worse than free apps on the phone.

My wife's toyota they wanted to charge us for, no thanks its free (and better) on my phone.

Andriod auto/CarPlay are also options in the new Q7, unfortunately CarPlay is apple maps only so that's not a good option either, I think trafficless outdated maps in the car is better.

kry226

No unlimited data here either, and cell signal is sketchy in lots of places too. I'll always vote for on board maps, especially here in Europe.

superswiss

There seems to be third-party companies that claim they can do this. A Google search should bring them up. My understanding is that it requires a change to the EU firmware. There are also hardware differences. The US system has SiriusXM and HDRadio receivers while the EU system has a DAB receiver. Out of the box, the US MMI only supports North American maps. For example for European Delivery, Audi hands out portable GPS devices as they can't load the European maps onto the system while in Europe. BMW on the other hand can and does load the European maps on ED cars and then replaces them with the US maps once the car arrives here.