Audi 2004 A8L MMI water damage

Has anyone out there ever experienced a slight spill of a liquid (from the cup holder area directly adjacent to the MMI interface) that damages the functionality of the entire MMI unit...causing the owner to eventually fork over $3,000.00 USD to have the unit replaced? I'm afraid I'm facing that problem. I purchased NON-certified used A8 last winter. I noticed a few of the keys were sticking. And although I never had a spill, the unit now goes nuts from time to time and the CAR button has quit functioning altogether. I suspect the former owner had a spill. The dealer, Leith Audi here in NC said they expect the whole unit will have to be replaced. I'm just curious to see if anyone else has experienced this since the design is such that this must have happened countless times.

Thanks!

I have a 2005 A8 and for the second time there is a problem with the MMI Audi covered it under warranty after a threat of going to court. Now we have a second problem am waiting as I write this for a answer from Audi as to what they are going to do or if I will have to take legal action. This is a design flaw in the car when they put cup holders right behind the MMI unit which has absolutely no protection from anything that could be spilt on it. I do know that this is not only our issue My car still happens to be under warranty I just wish I knew how many times this has happened to others and they just paid for it. This is a flaw in design

Jim

Thanks for your comments. Glad you are under warranty! I wish I was.$3000.00 for a new unit, only to expose it to the same risk unless I go totally liquid-free inside the car. Unreal that AUDI would allow this design to pass. I won't purchase another AUDI as long as this flaw is present.

Have you tried posting your question @ the www.audiworld.com A8 forum (no I'm not affiliated with the site)? They have separate forums for each model that I find extremely informative when I have questions about my 2006 A6 3.2...
Just a thought.
mb

Jim,

I have the same issue on my 2007 Q7. They are not willing to replace the MMI under warranty. I just got off the phone with AUDI and am waiting for a resolution. I may also have to take the legal route as well. How far did up did you go before they agreed to replace the unit?

JimC

Shoot. I was afraid of this. My unit somehow just stopped displaying and the LCD is stuck in the up position. I don't think I spilled anything but one of the keys a few days ago was stuck.

A side note: 18 months ago, I had a water leak that came in from the windshield wipers/air cleaner under the hood. One night of rain and the floorboard underneath the driver's seat was wet. The car the next morning was completely dead. After towing to the Audi dealer, they determined where the leak was from. I only owned the car 4 MONTHS. Under the floorboard were 3 computers (I can't believe they put things under your feet where water has a very big possibility of going). They were all fried. Well, it cost me $11,000 and Audi would not cover under warranty. Needless to say, I am still $@!#@!# livid at the situation

I don't have time to find a class action attorney as others have experienced this.

I would NEVER buy an Audi again because of the lack of support.

My wife spilled about 3 ounces of coffee onto the MMI unit of her 2-week old 2008 Q7, which short-circuited the motherboard. Since the cupholder on the armwrest is LESS THAN 2 INCHES away from the MMI and just waiting for a spill, I considered this a poor design by Audi and think they are at least partially responsible. If the salesman would have pointed this out when we purchased the car (and known that using the cupholder is a potential $1100 mistake), we would not have used it. This complex circuitry, if placed in such a spot should be made water-resistant, like my $50 Sony Sports Walkman is.
Audi "Customer Care" was polite but denied any responsibility for accidental damage. Apparently, Audi feels like there is nothing wrong with the placement of the MMI directly underneath a cupholder. Audi agreed to talk to the dealer service manager and try to see about a goodwill solution.
When I spoke to the service department manager, I started was back to square-one. After he continually telling me that Audi would not help me out in this situation, he finally agreed to split the cost of the part ($857) and I pay for labor ($177).

This has happened to me on my brand new q7. The local Audi dealership admitted there is a design flaw in these cars but that they are not responsible. After 2 weeks of arguing and the dealerships abusiveness, it cost almost $1000 to get my car back. I have had 3 conversations with Audi America and they all claim they have never heard of this problem. They are obviously covering up their design mistake and making their 'customers' feel responsible.

The MMI in our 2006 Audi A8 never really worked correctly from the beginning without spilling anything on it, then it got worse acting very erratic up down on its own , shuts off by itself, turns on by itself . They said I must have spilled something on it. I'm not aware of ever spilling anything. They tried cleaning it that didn't work, so the agreed to replace it, well that didn't work either. Has anyone replaced theirs and it still not work?

I too spilled a few ounces of coffee into my MMI. Car switch is shot. Outside of warranty. Can anyone advise me (or direct me to a website) on how to remove the unit?

email us for complete repairs. we help anyone and will offer as legal opinion from damages. www.amautosystems.com

does anyone know the part # for the mmi board in the 2004 a8.

I guess if you drop ash from a cigarette on your leather seat Audi should replace that too because they didn't provide you with a flame retardant leather? Grow up and acceept responsibility for your actions.

well, whenever it rains heavily, i get issues w/ my mmi-radio...it blinks out and doesn't work, then after the water clears from where ever it's sitting - it comes back on, but the right rear speaker cracks & pops (whether the radio is on or not)! WTF
anyone else, have this issue?

Did anyone find the part # for the mmi board in the 2004 a8L.

Hello All,

I just bought a very clean 2004 A8L on 11/6/08. I'm trying to play with the MMI to turn off the tire pressure warning and the CAR button will not work. I'll research other forums, but wanted to post out to see if anyone had a simple solution or not. All of the other buttons/features work great!!!!

I am first time Audi owner and learning every day.

Thank you,
Jeff

2010 verison of a8 and s8 has solved this problem and moved the control unit upwards towards were the current temp controls are. just fyi for new buyers out there. I love my audi. follow the no liquids rule! wish there was a way to make it water resistant.

I have a 2004 A8L and have the old MMI unit. The whole system became erratic and the dealer said it was not under warranty(100,000 mile certified pre owned) because the unit was contaminated with a foreign substance. I asked them to show me the contamination. They pointed to dust around the buttons! I made them give me the old unit and I am going to try and fight this one. The part # is: 4E1-919-612-H. I have had no luck locating it anywhere. I was charged $617.78 for the unit and $135 for labor in New Jersey.

Two problems on 2005 A8: first the MMI screen stopped opening all the way on a very cold day and I pressed on it and it snapped up but now it merely opens 1/4 inch and only opens up if I press on the cover at the edge fairly hard. then it opens to about half way --then I do the same pressing on the edge of the cover and it opens all the way but I hear what sounds like a gear wheel clicking for 9 clicks. Then it is fine..closes fine. Only does this when opening. Any suggestions?
Second issue: the automatic trunk lid, again on very cold days, will not stay down and lock...it repeatedly keeps opening on its own after I press the close button on the inside of the trunk lid. It seems to close but after two seconds, you hear the mechanism beginning to open again and up it goes. After I leave in warm garage, it seems to "thaw" and the trunk locks again by itself. Otherwise it merely looks like it is closed but you could walk over and just manually pull it up. Very annoying. Any similar experience?