JulianHicks

Just in case anyone's searching for issues like this; I've had similar problems with my Nov 2004 [MY2005] 3.0TDI for almost all the time I've had the car [5 years]. The battery is the original Nov 2004 Varta which seems OK for most of the time. Occasionally I get DIS 'Battery Management' alerts and more often, the 'Battery Level' display is at 10% or 60%. [Funnily, it never seems to be anything than this, other than 100%, obviously]! But the car has never failed to start, although the car has occasionally turned off a lot of the electrical 'stuff'. However, it's happened half a dozen times over Xmas so I've had enough. I've been back to my friendly [Non Audi] service agents and they've found there is a Battery Energy Management [bEM] ECU Firmware upgrade for my car. Note: this is not an MMI Upgrade - mine's been at 5570 for some time. This is an ECU firmware upgrade that apparently has to be installed directly by a VAS using an Audi firmware CD. The fix covers various issues including "10% Battery Level on the MMI display". The A8 version upgrades the ECU code to 0510, in my case to replace the 0390 version that I presume has been on the car since new. CD 'part' number for A8s is 4E0 906 961G [yes, it's very similar, but not the same as 'MMI upgrade' CD numbers]. There's a separate CD part number for the same issue on A6s to take them up to 0490, but Hey, this is an A8 forum My upgrade's due for later in the week; will add to this later once I've seen the results. Julian BTW, forgot to say the battery was tested and is apprently still within spec.

I'm a 'fan' of Kumho and I've had two and a half sets of the ECSTA tyres on in the [almost] five years I've had my 3.0TDI D3. I found my tyres were getting scrubbed recently but had the four-wheel alignment redone 'properly' on my local [non Audi] dealer's 'Hofmann' alignment rig in Ashford, Kent. Alignment was out in various ways [probably pot hole based] and wear is now back to normal [for Quattros, at least] on the replacement 'all round' set of Kumhos I got shortly afterwards. Julian

One UK based web dealer [Roachford Tyres, aka alloywheels.com] explains what the ET range is for a particular car; they said they got it from Audi when I phoned. Julian

Following my upgrade to 5150, I discovered that my sound system played 'left side only'. Apparently that's a symptom of 'Component Protect' - apparently the 'old' Bose DSP Amps are prone to this. . Looks like a trip to the dealer for that one ... :mad: Everything else was OK though and I got a few nifty updates; 3D view in Navigation, 'tidied up' FM history, TMC working properly! MMI version screen wasn't removed, just moved to a different place. :confused: So I went on with the other two CDs tonight: CD2 - ran SWUPDATE but as expected, no updates as I have GSM phone. CD3 - two updates only; FM Tuner APP from 620 to 630 and MMI High APP from 5150 to 5570. All ran OK in about 10 minutes

Just in case it helps anyone, I've just updated my 0890 system [probably the original in my Nov 2004 built A8] to 5150 in the last hour. I used CD1/3 in the official "MMI High EU" three-CD kit that I bought from my dealer this week for £4.86! I've been keen but catious to do this for some time but bit the bullet this afternoon as I had nothing else going on and it was a sunny day. It took 45 mins. and six components got updated in the following order: 1) Tuner Bootloader went to 22 [was 17] App went to 620 [was 290] 2) IDC [think that's the 6CD player] Bootloader went to 330 [was 290] App went to 470 [was 340] 3) Bose DSP Bootloader went to 460 [was 360] App went to 460 [was 360] 4) Tele EU [GSM phone - handset and SIM carrier in arm] Bootloader 1 went to 70 [was 65] Bootloader 2 went to 70 [was 65] App 1 went to 770 [was 650] App 2 went to 15 [was 9] 5) MMI Bootloader went to 240 [was 231] APP went to 5150 [was 890] Have to admit that the phone went on the longest causing a bit of apprehension. About 15 mins for the four code updates ... Still seems to work and no bits seemed to go to 'component protect'. Lost a few screens, including the one that shows you MMI version. Hopefully will sort that out when Craig puts my DAB and AMI in shortly. Will wait a few days before trying the other disks ... Regards - Julian PS Once I'm finished, if anyone wants my CD set you can have it for £4.86 plus postage to where you are.

AU51 ART: According to the service book of my 2005 A8 3.0TDI, it's the diesel engines that are chain driven and the petrol one's that need a Cambelt every 80,000. Regards - Julian

Interestingly, I've just bought a 2009 DVD from my dealer because he [or Audi] have reduced the price to £149. I was on a 2006 DVD too and fancied getting it updated with more recent maps, having got lost recently due to different layout of the town I was visiting. Lo and behold, my TMC now appears to work for the first time. I'm still on MMI version 0890 and TMC has never worked before with either the original 2004 DVD or the 2006 DVD I'd replaced it with. I was told a 2xxx level of MMI fixed it but all I did was put a 2009 DVD in the boot drive. Can't guarantee it works 'properly' but I never used to get any Info data or TMC radio stations selectable in the setup and now I do, and I get Navigation maps updated in realtime with visuals to show roads with problems. How did that work then? :confused:

mlillywh: 1) Wheel Fits: One key factor is the ET value, the offset from the centre line of the wheel assembly. D3 A8s wheels apparently need to be between 35 & 45 to fit properly. [My factory fit 8 x 18 RS4s are stamped ET 43 on the inner surface]. 2) The best size is dependent on whether you want "fits" or "fits and keeps the speedo accurate"! As you suggest, Audi selections are probably best but you still need to check wheel width as well as wheel height to do the job properly. [Note; my wheels are 8 [wide] and 18 [high] - Audi do 8.5 x 18s too which have a different size fitted as standard]. A good guide to wheels, tyres and fitting is on the web here: Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 2 of 2 but you need to be clear headed when reading it. 3) I've been using Kuhmo KU31s which have lasted me almost 30000 miles and are about £125 per wheel at the moment. I'll be fitting a new set next month. on my TDI 3.0. Regards - Julian