AMI Retrofit Info

[brisweeney]

Brian downloaded the disks and I updated his car to 5570 whilst I was in Dublin, I shudder to think what the dealership would have charged him based on some of the prices he was quoting at me for parts from Audi in Ireland.

just catching up on all my internetings!

massive thanks to craigyb for the fast install of my AMI, it works a dream and he also updated my MMI and bluetooth software, so i now have my phonebook being read from my phone, thank god!!

if anyone is looking to get anything retrofitted i can absolutely reccomend craig, he's a great guy and will help you out as much as he can, and with what audi want to charge me over here, he's more than reasonable on price!

Audi just are not interestesd in retrofitting anything,and for some reason the prices for parts seem to be at least £200 over the prices in the uk!

next up, getting the nav and visual pdc installed!

[Mitchet]

Good to hear you're all sorted

Visual PDC (optical parking plus) is definately on next on my list too, it's just a simple, quick swap out and recode.

...just need to finish the auto open/close boot retrofit first

[brisweeney]

Good to hear you're all sorted

Visual PDC (optical parking plus) is definately on next on my list too, it's just a simple, quick swap out and recode.

...just need to finish the auto open/close boot retrofit first

on the auto boot open issue, when i press and hold the button on my keyfob the boot lid pops, but does no raise, and its very heavy to lift, im wondering, firstly if the car is fitted with auto boot open(i presumed all a8's were) or if the pistons on the boot arms are worn out. i know the car doesnt have the auto close, as there is no button on the boot lid, but maybe someone can set me straight before i go into audi some time next week!

[Mitchet]

Just sounds like the pistons/dampers are worn out. I believe the A8's boot (without electric open/close) was never designed to open automatically, just release the electronic latch only.

If your car doesn't have the close button, then it doesn't have the auto boot option, which means there is no drive motor present.

Replacement dampers are about £25 each... or that'll be £50 each in Dublin Sir ;-)

[Tipex]

All Audi saloons, along with the VW's and Skoda's too, had issues with the boot hinge mechanism seizing up.

They were replaced under warranty on all of our cars, a very common problem that Audi will be well aware of, WD40 will help, but it's not a long term solution, I believe the replacement hinge mechanism has different bushes in it.

[brisweeney]

Just sounds like the pistons/dampers are worn out. I believe the A8's boot (without electric open/close) was never designed to open automatically, just release the electronic latch only.

If your car doesn't have the close button, then it doesn't have the auto boot option, which means there is no drive motor present.

Replacement dampers are about £25 each... or that'll be £50 each in Dublin Sir ;-)

if im lucky! probably more like £75 or £100....

for some reason i always thought that auto open was standard but the auto close was an optional extra, the other halves dad has a 2009 a4 and he has auto open from the key, but no close function, same with my sisters 2006 passat.

when i pop the lid i can hear the latch return to closed position, then there is a whirring noise for about 1.5 seconds on the right hand side of the boot lid, it sounds like a motor whirring, very strange. i have the car going into audi next week to get a quote for the work that the garage i bought it from never bothered doing, including the infamous gurgling water behind the centre vents....but apart from all that, and now having the ami in, the car is a dream, loves long motorway drives, hardly even sips the diesel, city driving however....thats a different story, or when im feeling bored and pop it into manual for some over taking fun!

[PsYcHe]

Sound like you don't have auto boot. Check if there's a button next to the latch. If not, then you don't have it.

Mine does the same thing, pops up a bit when you press the button, then the latch pulls it home when you close it.

[Mitchet]

The A4 auto opening boot was just a £30 spring and some different dampers which pushed the lid open, no motor involved, hence why it doesn't close electrically. I'd suspect the Passat is the same system.

The motor noise you can here is likely to be the electric release latch. As Psyche said, the boot close switch on the lid is the key to whether auto boot is installed.

Once I've finished the retrofit, I'll post the details, part numbers etc. It's not as scary as you might think!

[PsYcHe]

audiforums.us has a thread on the auto-boot retrofit.

[Mitchet]

audiforums.us has a thread on the auto-boot retrofit.

Yep, and it's been most helpful

I've had the motor and closure button for a few months now, but just needed to figure out the wiring. Now that I have the diagrams, just waiting for the connectors to arrive at my local stealer.

[ModestW12]

OK, I now have the right cable and cost an extra fiver. It didn't come with the iPod and USB leads, so you got a bargain price as I paid close to £250 with everything.

Ian

I called my Audi dealer (Niello Audi in Sacramento, California, USA) and they are asking close to $1000 after taxes (about £650) for the AMI Module and MOST & PSU cables!!! I called the other local Audi dealer and same thing.

The parts guy said that their cost just for the AMI Module was $495 (@£340 after tax).

Anyone interested in buying and shipping out to me in exchange for compensation for your time? I'm an EU citizen if that helps (US permanent resident).

[ModestW12]

...or at least help me figure out which UK Audi dealership I can buy it from for £250?

Is it Leeds Audi at Tel: 0113 345 8241?

I tried calling service/parts at Leeds today but realized it was 7PM over there so I will have to try tomorrow morning.

I'm thinking I can make this work if I can buy it direct from a UK Audi dealer either via Visa or Paypal and then hire a dispatch company to ship it to me. I believe that's what they call shipping companies in the UK? Anyone know what the equivalent of UPS or FedEx is over there?

It would be quite an experience if this worked out as I bought my W12 from a dealership 2100 miles away without ever seeing the car in person. I'm on US west coast and the car was in northeast US. So far I've very happy (could only be happier with a Black on black S8)

[PsYcHe]

The UK equivalent of FedEx or UPS would be FedEx or UPS

I'd try Leeds audi, then extend the search possibly a touch, or contact craigyb and see what kind of price he can supply for.

[Mitchet]

You could also try eBay UK? There is one currently listed for £325 and the seller will ship to the US.

Link

[ModestW12]

Thank's for the replies PsYcHe and Mitchet! I'll try the ebay route first.

[ModestW12]

Does anyone know the difference between part numbers "4E0 057 785 B" and "4E0 057 785 C".

I've seen a post somewhere on the internet when I was doing research that listed the different letters and some of them corresponded to country specific versions.

I've see "4E0 057 785 B" and "4E0 057 785 F" on all the AMI threads in the USA and I recall Japan having it's own version but there is an UK ebay listing for "4E0 057 785 C" and I'm wondering if this will work for me?

[ModestW12]

According to ETKA:

Audi AMI P/N "4E0 057 785 B" is used on 2007's serial #022701 through 030000 and on 2008's serial #000001 through 004399.

Audi AMI P/N "4E0 057 785 C" is used on all 2008 for CN (China) and ROK (Korea) vehicles, no idea if it will work with other vehicles, or if the language is set?

Does anybody have any ideas if the C version should work with my US 2007 A8L W12???

[ModestW12]

I got a reply from the ebay merchant regarding the difference between AMI module part numbers "4E0 057 785 B" and "4E0 057 785 C":

"Hello. In response to both your messages:

The B & C versions are interchangeable. There is absolutely no difference between them. It will work in your car. We fit many of these every week and to cars that according to Audi are not able to have AMI so I wouldn't worry too much about what Audi says. I am guessing your ETKA information is not 'live' and may be out of date.

I can confirm 100% that there will be no language issues etc with the C.

Please note that there is a small chance that your car (2007) will rquire a software update in order to activate the AMI.

Having said all that, if you still want a B version, I can get it for you in 2 days. I will have to charge you £10 extra as I would only be ordering it for you. I have the C version here and can send within 24 hours of receiveing payment.

Let me know.

Cheers.

- turbo_herbie"

Can anyone confirm this to be true (craigyb?)

[Mitchet]

I'm not an expert on this (you'll have to wait for Craig for that!), but I seem to recall the letter indicates the revision. For example, Audi start with version A and go on from there when they make modifications (the rest if the part number stays the same). It's mainly functionality improvements etc.

But like I said, I'm not 100% on this subject.

[ModestW12]

The ebay merchant said they install C versions all the time in UK cars so I went ahead and ordered it. I asked if it didn't work would I be able to return it and exchange it for a B and he said yes.

I'll take photos and try to do a video of the DIY install when I get it hopefully next weekend.

Thanks for everyone's assistance on this forum.

[ModestW12]

It took 1 day to deliver the AMI kit from UK to California USA!!! Total cost to me $522.75 USD (UK eBay make offer listing) vs. $700+ for the cheapest US online merchants vs. $1000 for just the parts from local Audi dealer.

I didn't need to remove glove box at all and the "4E0 057 785 C" version works perfectly in my US W12!!! I have to give thanks to MP4.2+6.0 at Audiworld forums, he was the first I know of to shed light on the fact that removing the glove box is not necessary.

Never having done this before, it took me about 30 minutes. I did it without having instructions though I did research the self install extensively prior to doing so. The 30 minutes included moving the changer to the right side and inserting the AMI on the left. I do want to point out that my install seemed to be easier than ones I've read about for two reasons. One, I didn't have to change or enable anything with VCDS (Maybe because my W12 had 3360 MMI USA s/w version from the get go?). And two, the kit came with a MOST/fiber optic splitter that did not require manipulating the existing MOST/fiber optic connection. The MOST splitter just plugged right into the MOST connector that was originally plugged into the CD changer. If I had to do it again, 5 to 10 minutes tops with the kit I got.

Besides the AMI module and the MOST splitter, my kit came with a power splitter, an iPod AMI cable, and the CD changer pull out tools.

Pulling the changer out with the tools was a snap; insert the tool and push them in until you hear the clicks on each side, then pull out. It came out almost effortlessly. Both the MOST connection and the power connections had a tab that you pushed in to release them. The felt lined filler shelf that was on the right of the CD changer popped out by reaching behind it with my left hand and using a finger on my right hand through the hole in the back of the box and pulling with a light to moderate force.

After looking in there to see where best to route the power and MOST splitter cabling, I went ahead and reinstalled the CD changer on the right side first, pushing it in little by little as I routed the excess MOST and power cabling to a cavity behind the left side of the AMI/CD Changer bays. Finally, I connected both splitter ends to the AMI unit and pushed it back, checking with a flashlight at the last opportunity to see back there and then just pushed it in until it snapped into place.

Next I turned on the MMI by pressing down on the volume dial (the car was off the whole time), it seemed to do a reboot and 10 seconds later I had a fully operational AMI and CD MP3 Changer.

Hope this post will be of use to someone. Thanks to Mitchet for pointing out the UK eBay listing!!!

[ModestW12]

So in the UK with the right hand drive models, the cavity where i placed the excess MOST/fiber optic cable slack would probably be to the right of the AMI/CD changer bays (towards the center console) and my CD player was reinstalled first furthest from the driver seat and AMI in the bay closer to the driver.

[Mitchet]

That was a speedy delivery!

Good to hear you're all sorted.

I didn't bother removing the glovebox either, and the AMI unit is installed in the slot nearest the centre console. There was certainly enough room for the cable slack which is good when dealing with fibre cables!