Spin323

Hello all. First post and a new owner (me, not the car).

I recently bought a 2012 A6 (C7) 3.0T Prestige with the 3G+ Nav. I checked the VIN with the NHTSA website and found the fuel line recall wasn't completed. So, I called the dealer to get an update on the fix (not available yet, or so I'm told) so I asked what the firmware update included, as I'm pretty sure the car hasn't been updated since it was driven off the lot in 2011. My software version is HN+R_US_AU_P0467. Nav database is 8R0060884AD.

Dealer says the Nav update might add a street or two, but isn't really required. The firmware update is a mysterious collection of updates that only the tech could tell me what was included after "looking at it" for the tune of $145. So, hooking up a cable to see what it says costs $145. Updates after that I can only assume will cost more, depending on how much updating is needed.

So, does anyone know what's been updated since P0467 and if it's worth it? The car will be at the dealer for the recall once the fix has been completed, so if it's there already and worth the update, I might as well have them do it if I can't get it myself.

Loving the car! I upgraded from a company owned S4 to the A6. While the A6 isn't as peppy as the S4, the luxury and space are well worth the trade.

superswiss

Well firmware updates are essentially a collection of improvements, bug fixes and occasionally new features. The latter is not very common in the auto industry. Generally to get new features, you have to buy a new car, but firmware updates do fix known bugs, improve performance etc. I don't have a full list of fixes and improvements but your version is very very old. The fixes that most people are keen about are Bluetooth fixes for newer phones. Over time as vendors update phones and new phones come out, Bluetooth connectivity issues are probably the most common issues that start cropping up and require firmware updates to fix.

The current latest update is 942_3 or something like that. There may even be a newer update by now, but 942_3 is what I'm on in my RS5. I can definitely tell you the system works better now than it did when I originally bought the car and I started with version 718 or something like that, so quite a bit newer than what you have. I also had hardware upgrades which added support for the faster 3G networks (HSDPA and HSDPA+) as well as allowing me to switch to AT&T for the data services improving the speed and coverage of Audi connect. I'm not sure I would pay for a firmware upgrade. All my firmware and hardware upgrades were done free of charge under warranty or dealer goodwill. I generally don't bother much with map updates. The streets do not change that significantly around here that it makes a big difference and the map update costs another $400 or so at most dealerships. I did get my complete MMI replaced under warranty in 2015 as the earlier hardware has a known GPS reception issue and with that I got an updated map database for free. Some of the firmware updates also attempt to mitigate this GPS reception issue w/o requiring new hardware. The issue manifests itself by the nav failing to acquire your current position and putting you miles away from where you actually are.

Spin323

Thanks for your response. My car is definitely out of warranty. So what are my options to update the firmware myself?

I've read a site on here that offered the update memory card for a reasonable small fee, but is that my only option?

porksoda

Basically. Do GPS Maps update and the firmware gets updated automatically as its required by the gps map update.

Worldwidebeagle