DillonM

Could someone explain what this means for someone that is about to pull the trigger on a car that's already at a lot in the U.S.?

Talbot

In my opinion, nothing that should stop you from pulling the trigger.

I breaks down like this:
Maybe they will update the engine software here at some point in time. Maybe they won't.
If they do update the software, maybe it will provide an improvement to a parameter that's important to you... Maybe it won't.

There's little more than can be said about it, really.

DillonM

So, worst case we take our cars in for a software update?

Talbot

Correct. You would be notified about the availability of said update via postal mail, more than likely.

If nothing else, it will certainly be discussed to death here.

Glisse

Good summation.

In Germany, any change to a regulatory specification requires re-certification of the vehicle. The software change is going to impact on the carbon dioxide emission specification, which is currently certified at 166g/km based on the EU6 drive cycle. It was reported that the change will be single digit level, which would mean the new figure will be somewhere between 167g/km and 175g/km.

These figures are meaningless to the US market, perhaps even more so in the current environment. Although carbon dioxide emissions are directly related to fuel consumption, so the consumption figure in the US may increase by around 0.2mpg or so, but I don't think this has any impact.

But the impact can be quite significant in some markets. By example, the UK (which is a similar size to the US for Audi) charges an annual vehicle tax based on CO2 emissions, with 13 scale levels. The current S4 at 166g/km would incur a tax of £500, if revised to 175g/km the tax would be £300 higher. So these numbers matter within a global market.

What is unknown at the moment is how real the proposed change is. It may be that the CO2 numbers certified for the S4 and S5 were too low for the typical weight of the cars, and Audi is nervous at a time when plenty of arrests are being made in Germany. I would like to think they are genuinely trying to improve the throttle response / transmission mapping behaviour to remove the strange lethargy in certain modes/situations, which is clearly efficiency related. But they did not do a stop sale on the SQ5, which uses the same engine and transmission. I have not driven an SQ5, so don't know how that feels. But from what I have read here, it is the same. The SQ5 has a much higher CO2 figure, due to its weight. To change the S4 and S5 ECU maps, but not the SQ5, makes me a little concerned as to what is really going on.

The positive aspect is if you already like the car, you like the car. If they do affect any real change, it is most unlikely you would like it less

Talbot

Maybe they're just staggering the change(s) so they don't have a complete production shutdown on everything with that engine? I'd sort of expect a slight variation in software between the 4/5 and the Q anyway.

mmorais

Good explanation.

I'm far less interested in the changes in emissions and certifications than I am in a verification of just what the updates they're doing are meant to address, who's going to get them and when?

Anyone know that beyond the marketing spin Audi has said about it?

I won't like my car any less with no change but I'd sure like it more if they fixed the responsiveness.

Damon44

Geez isn't that the truth!
Gas is so cheap that performance is everything.
I can't imaging purchasing a BMW , MB or Audi and driving it in eco.
Like keeping one foot on the brake.

Talbot

Apparently you haven't noticed the complaints in this very forum about actual gas mileage obtained vs what was put on the sticker.

But, yeah... I agree with you.

Spartan-S4

Why not? It's one of the reasons they have the modes. If you're on a long highway commute and are traveling the country on vacation & have your family with you say wife/kids then D/Comfort makes complete sense to use.

The statement about can't imagining someone buying one of these cars and using D mode is just sorta closed minded. You're not the norm anymore. The norm are people who want the best of both worlds & that's what they car makers are shooting for/making.