bnl107

What parts would I need to install the OEM navigation system in my car?

SmokinS4™

I hear that that the factory prewiring is pretty hard to duplicate after the car is assembled at the factory

bnl107

I'm not interested in any aftermarket navigation unit, only the Audi OEM system.

System_S4k

Ya, but the OEM system SUCKS! Not worth it.

bnl107

Can anyone actually answer my question???

Spdgeek

Best guess in terms of price would be like $3k to $4k if I was taking a guess, you would also have to remove a lot of the dash and console system to retrofit it I think. I haven't researched this but this is what I am guessing off the top of my head.

J.T.L.

Someone posted a long time ago regarding a list of parts needed, and after pricing out about half of them he was up over 2k. I have used the search extensively but cannot find that post.
Before you read on, I think joshd was experimenting with seeing if the Euro Nav plus unit from Europe could be put into a US car. His car has the US Nav system, and I think he was trying to make it a totally seperate installation so that he did not disrupt his functioning US Nav system. You may want to contact him for more info (joshd@s4.org I think).

Anyway, as far as putting a US Nav system into a car that does not already have it, my advice is to spend a LONG time with your dealership's parts guy, comparing part numbers to determine which parts are different between a car with Nav and one without. A STARTING list of parts to check on is given below. I think almost anyone here, including myself, giving you a list of parts that are different is guessing, unless they have extensively researched it.

-Guage cluster (may or may not be different, don't think you want to just swap that from car to car as you indicated in a previous post since that contains the odometer)
-Whatever the Nav unit uses for input of speed/distance info
-Nav input controls in center console
-Nav CD Drive in trunk mounted below audio CD Changer (Nav computer may be incorporated in this or it may be seperate)
-GPS receiver (may be incorporated into the CD Drive unit)
-Rear Window or whatever else contains the antenna for the GPS receiver (I believe the antenna is in the rear window with the radio antenna, since the S4 does not have a "button" on the trunk like the A6s and A8s)
-Main car wiring loom (I think the main reason that Nav is not a dealer installed option is that the Nav wiring is incorporated into the main wiring loom). An Audi tech told me that it is possible to buy "pigtails" which are just a plug with 6-8" of wire for most connections in the car. You may be able to get all the pigtails and run the wires to connect everything yourself. You should check the wiring diagram VERY CAREFULLY before attempting this, as there may be resistors or items in the main loom that you would not have by just connecting the wires together.
-Radio head unit or the wires that input to it (Nav unit uses the pass side door speaker and lowers the volume of the radio when giving voice commands. This would require additional inputs to the stereo head unit. I don't know if there was a special head unit just for Nav cars)

Again, this list is a STARTING POINT and a GUESS and should be checked with your Audi parts advisor. It may not be wise to assume that parts are interchangeable. In my experience with previous Audis I have found that Audi likes to change things almost at random during the production runs and I think you will find many part numbers are qualified by "for VIN numbers xxx thru yyy only" and will list an alternate part number for other VINs. Maybe the parts are the same and just have different part numbers, but maybe they really are different.

If you will accept nothing less than the factory Nav system, then, IMHO you should have bought a car that had it. That's one reason I ordered one and waited over 8 months for it.

You picked a great color combination by the way.
Good Luck,
J.T.L.

J.T.L.

IMHO...

I have experienced the BMW TV screen in the console Nav system. I found it very distracting, like trying to read a map taped to your dash while trying to drive. I also observed it display two arrows pointing in opposite directions as your next instruction.

I like the US Audi system, as it is unobtrusive and only gives me the info I need to know, like where to turn and how far to the turn, with a voice command, a turn direction arrow, and a bar graph of how far to the turn. I have also found the Traffic and Route List options very useful.

Only complaints I have is that it does not cover smaller towns or rural areas in some cases. Mostly this is annoying just because I cannot demo it for friends. Also I did once receive a "you can't get there from here" message, which I easily proved incorrect. And it requires 10 CDs which do not have info beyond their designated area, as opposed to competing systems with a single DVD.

I like it and would buy it again.
J.T.L.

bnl107

With the money you could go and buy an aftermarket navigation unit. Email me if you are interested and I'll start doing some research on what I need for the swap.