Q2 2018 Q2 MMI 5F unit broken - £5K Nightmare

[K2SkyRider]

Hi guys

My 2018 Q2 MMI/Screen stopped working nearly a year ago. Tried the YouTube resets but no luck. Took it to the dealer and they ran a diagnostic and updated the firmware on it and found no fault. They assumed the 5F unit was shot and needed to be replaced ... £5K-£6K quote!

Took it to an Audi specialist for a second opinion and they said the same.

It's a nightmare as apart from not having the MMI functions, I'm stuck in km/h, I can't reset the tyre pressures, can't connect my phone etc. Apparently, it's also responsible for sending the wrong info to the alternator, so my battery isn't being charged correctly.

At this point, I just want to get rid of it.

I've thought of doing the following, but need some advice:

1. Can I fit an aftermarket MMI system (e.g. Halfords) instead of replacing the failed unit with a new Audi one?
2. Does anyone repair these 5F units and if so, what ballpark cost would I be looking at?
3. If I buy a second hand 5F unit from eBay/breakers, will I need to code it and what would be the cost?
4. If I sell the car in its current state, how much should I knock off the price given the MMI issue?
5. Will Audi UK do anything to help? If so what can I expect?

Any advice/help appreciated.

Cheers,

K2

 

[aj84]

I'm sure I'll be corrected very quickly if I'm wrong here but an aftermarket will not get you what you want because the core functionality such as the settings etc would still be MMI driven.

We have a similar issue with our Q3 but thankfully Audi replaced it under warranty. However on the note of warranty, if you reported this last year, it would have only been a year out of the original Audi 3 year warranty and so I would definitely push Audi UK to foot some/most/all of the cost out of goodwill. The screen/MMI system should not only last for 3-4 years!

I assume you do not have extended warranty on the car?

As for a second-hand one - this should work assuming it is the right part numbers etc but would almost always need to be coded/removal of component protection.
Where are you located? There are a number of people on this and a couple of the other forums UK based who diagnose/repair these things - top of my head @NHN (can't remember location but very active on here) , @DJAlix (North London side from memory) , @Audi Upgrades Ltd (Sussex side) to name a few (apologies if I've missed anyone obvious!)

If you are happy with the car, I think resolving the issue is your best/ cheapest bet. I suspect to a normal buyer, you would have to knock a fair bit off for the same reason though maybe quite a cheap fix for someone who fixes these/can fix these.

I would look at maybe contacting the above/others in the first instance and maybe go from there.

 

[airhoguk]

You could try hazzydayz https://www.hazzydayz.com/mmi-3g-ba...-service-including-firmware-update-8536-p.asp

 

[K2SkyRider]

I'm sure I'll be corrected very quickly if I'm wrong here but an aftermarket will not get you what you want because the core functionality such as the settings etc would still be MMI driven.

We have a similar issue with our Q3 but thankfully Audi replaced it under warranty. However on the note of warranty, if you reported this last year, it would have only been a year out of the original Audi 3 year warranty and so I would definitely push Audi UK to foot some/most/all of the cost out of goodwill. The screen/MMI system should not only last for 3-4 years!

I assume you do not have extended warranty on the car?

As for a second-hand one - this should work assuming it is the right part numbers etc but would almost always need to be coded/removal of component protection.
Where are you located? There are a number of people on this and a couple of the other forums UK based who diagnose/repair these things - top of my head @NHN (can't remember location but very active on here) , @DJAlix (North London side from memory) , @Audi Upgrades Ltd (Sussex side) to name a few (apologies if I've missed anyone obvious!)

If you are happy with the car, I think resolving the issue is your best/ cheapest bet. I suspect to a normal buyer, you would have to knock a fair bit off for the same reason though maybe quite a cheap fix for someone who fixes these/can fix these.

I would look at maybe contacting the above/others in the first instance and maybe go from there.

Thanks for the useful advice. I think you're right, any aftermarket parts need to be plugged into the MMI unit. I'll try reaching out to Audi Uk and see what they say.