Mega mile B8 A4 Avant 3.0 TDI and Audi Music Interface

[esixtythree]

Picked up a mega mile B8 A4 Avant 3.0 TDI at the weekend in small-wheel anti-bling spec. 186k miles. One owner car, bought from said owner. Was planning on buying one with half the mileage for 2-3x the money, but this popped up very locally and I bought it on a whim without any of the usual due diligence.



Interior in ridiculous condition for mileage. There aren't even scratches. Hard to comprehend how this was achieved. I'm pretty careful, but I don;'t think I could manage 14 years and 186k miles and not beat a car inside up at least a bit.




How is this seat 185k miles?



Anyway, trying to get streaming music / audio out of iPhone into car (Bluetooth for calls is working fine, but system has no streaming audio support). The glovebox has the Audi Music Interface box with a combination Lightning and 3.5mm audio cable.



Absolutely nothing happens on iPhone or car when I attach a modern iPhone, don't even get any error messages. Am I doing something wrong? Is the Audi interface simply too old? Or should something happen and it's broken?

Literally everything else in the car works perfectly.

[esixtythree]

Oh, and it's an early 2009 registered car.

[Adrian E]

That could be an aftermarket interface wire? Is the other end a rectangular plug? Might be worth trying to borrow some alternative AMI cables to test

It should come up as a source on the MMI when it’s recognised. Other option is a Bluetooth streaming dongle, but be good to establish the interface actually works first!

[Lotobear]

These earlier Audis do wear their mileage ridiculously well.

A friend has a 2011 A4 Allroad that's now done 215k and it doesn't have so much as a squeek or a rattle and the leather is still good

I sense the later Audis are a lighter build - subjectively they feel less 'tank' like

[esixtythree]

Adrian E said:

That could be an aftermarket interface wire? Is the other end a rectangular plug? Might be worth trying to borrow some alternative AMI cables to test

It should come up as a source on the MMI when it’s recognised. Other option is a Bluetooth streaming dongle, but be good to establish the interface actually works first!

Yes, it's a rectangular plug at the other end. No idea if the cable is aftermarket. And yes, a Bluetooth dongle into the AMI might be good.

On the other hand, I normally have my phone charging and plugged in whenever I'm in a car and driving, so a lightning cable into the AMI box that charges and does the audio would make sense too.

[shtu]

That does look like an aftermarket cable tbh, may lack the in-cable electronics that earlier phones didn't require.

I think this is what you need, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166425967487

You might also need to look at firmware updates for the MMI system, but it's years since I last looked at that stuff.

[esixtythree]

Thanks.

The 3.5mm analogue part of the cable definitely works, but the lightning bit is dead as far as my phone is concerned.

One question, can you use an extension cable with that? It's very short!

Edited by esixtythree on Friday 10th November 14:15

[gregpot2000]

This is what you need, plugs in to the same port, and gives full bluetooth streaming capabilities.


Yes, it's pricier than others, but it's the only one on the market that doesn't just give audio passthrough, but actually shows track names on the system, and you can use steering wheel controls / MMI controls to skip track / pause etc.

I got for my SLK earlier this year and it's been a godsend.

just check you get the right model for your system (there are two for Audi)


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07G38THN9/ref...

[ChocolateFrog]

We need to define 'mega mile' because 186k isn't it.



I'll start the bidding at 300k.

[esixtythree]

gregpot2000 said:

This is what you need, plugs in to the same port, and gives full bluetooth streaming capabilities.


Yes, it's pricier than others, but it's the only one on the market that doesn't just give audio passthrough, but actually shows track names on the system, and you can use steering wheel controls / MMI controls to skip track / pause etc.

I got for my SLK earlier this year and it's been a godsend.

just check you get the right model for your system (there are two for Audi)


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07G38THN9/ref...

Guess what arrived yesterday...

Went for it in the end as it was the only one I was confident would work. And it does. More expensive, but as you imply, worth it.

[esixtythree]

ChocolateFrog said:

We need to define 'mega mile' because 186k isn't it.



I'll start the bidding at 300k.

Well, it's got well over three times the miles of any other car I've ever bought. And it's higher miles than any other 3.0 Avant available on AT right now.

I'd say it's very high miles by any reasonable standard, albeit perhaps not by web forum oneupmanship standards.