Seems like when you’re talking about MMI or changing settings, a lot changes from year to year or between models. So, a few questions. My car is a 2018 SQ5 Prestige with most options. I’m not a hacking genius, but not technically inept either. Fooling around looking for hidden menus I found one, but it’s all Greek and I don’t know if it’s information or if changes can be made from it. So I backed out before doing any damage.

To my question. I read about a single use dongle that appeared to be a crafty guy’s way to profit by enabling VIM quickly and easily for a price. But that was 2015, not my car and not my MMI. What would be the easiest answer for me, if there is one?

This brings up my next question (excuse me if I get names wrong). I see Carista, OBDeleven, VAG, and other names. It seems some are all inclusive. Others require license, add-ons, or subscriptions to be useful. Assuming I want to disable the prohibition of watching a DVD or video while moving, what’s the most economical solution? What if I want to tweak other things like seatbelt chimes or other things? One thing that bothers me with current cars is having them go into park or not shift if a door is open. I’ve heard if my BMW stalls in the road, in order to push it off the road you have to crawl under the car and disconnect something to be able to push it with a door open. If I want to move my SQ5 a few feet in the driveway, I have to shut the door.

So what are the recommended tools to use without having a PhD or cryptic coding manuals. And what is the cost? Subscription, credits, per use...I guess I should add I use iPhone’s and iPads and don’t have an Android device. I also have a Windows 7 laptop. All have Bluetooth and WiFi.

And if I don’t want to make a major investment in tools I’d only use infrequently, how easy is it to find someone who can make changes (for a price or good nature, bud or beer)? I live in Allentown, PA if anyone lives nearby. How likely are dealer techs willing to make changes? Or would doing so violate safety concerns and put them in jeopardy? I know when I had bodywork done on my 2002 TT I wanted the spoiler removed (it ruined the look of the car which didn’t have it initially. But apparently some bonehead with an early model felt the need to go 140 and the car went airborne), so they were prohibited from removing the spoiler.

i do enjoy doing things myself when possible, and logic is the main requirement. I plan to lower the car, but I haven’t read where it is possible to do with VAG COM for my model year/model, and spending $200 on a set of links might be cheaper and easier than finding a tech who has done it in the area with Audi’s Scan Tool. Opinions?

Thanks for the help,

James

‘That’s why I’m looking for a definitive answer for my SQ5 which would have the latest MMI version. And am I correct in assuming OBDeleven doesn’t work with iOS devices? There has to be a way to do it because it can’t be using some complex determination that the car is moving. IIRC, I can shift into drive or reverse and it doesn’t blank a video until I start moving. In a pat installation I did, I think it was just determining if the parking brake was engaged. Obviously since a nav screen changes continuously, it won’t be GPS, or location changing related. Something is telling MMI that the car is moving. I’ll have to see when exactly VIM is disabled and maybe it will provide a clue.

Still would like to know if there is a way to do screen mirroring from an iPhone. And if so would it require VIM enabled?

I tried a few things to see if they provide any clues to enabling VIM.

Engine running, car in D, R, or N - DVD plays while stationary or moving at a crawl

Ignition on, engine not running, car in Neutral - DVD plays until coasting faster than a crawl.

Ignition off, car in neutral - DVD plays coasting at faster than above. I didn’t test at any faster speed, but assume it will continue to play until ignition turned on.

Since it won’t play going in reverse, it obviously is unrelated to forward motion, or whether the car is in gear since it stops playing in Neutral until slowed to a crawl.

Does this provide any useful information to anyone familiar with coding in OBDeleven or VAG?

I seem to have managed somehow to update an old Amazon Fire (it took about 6 system updates), and miraculously install Google Play Sore and the OBDeleven app. Having gotten this far I figure it might be worth it to buy the product. So, do I buy it from obdeleven.com or is there someplace cheaper that won’t take up to a month to ship? Do I want the Pro Pack or anything else, or can I get by without it. They don’t provide much info other than credits add to the cost. If a simple c-ring to pull it out is more than $10, it seems nothing is cheap. With the device, Pro Pack, Tax and shipping I’m over $80. Recommendations please.

update: I just noticed a thread from ECS Tuning. Seems to be the same price but in the US. Are they the place to buy. Any promotions going on. OBDeleven has a spot for promo code, and ECS mentioned something about 200 free credits, but it was 6 months ago and not on their website that I saw.

Yeah... I heard that this was apparently a deliberate move by Audi. But, hopefully, some talented programmer will figure it out. Why they couldn’t just put a warning not to watch videos while driving is beyond me. Even Waze just puts a thing that lets you use it if you say you’re the passenger while the car is moving.

If you use an app to make a change, can you see a list of all the steps/coding it takes to do make the change? I’m just wondering how much effort Audi took to prevent VIM. If it put a message up saying you can’t do it, maybe if you could turn off that message from appearing, video would continue to play. (and when I say ‘you’, I mean someone who knows enough not to kill the MMI completely.)