Stevial

US cars get dumbed down a lot, partly because of united states mandates and testing (i alway wonder how lexus gets away with it) the other reason is Americans love to sue at the drop of a dime.

I still wish we could get some of the same options that the european countries get

Check out the laundry list of features that are offered on the United Kingdom A7, Adavance Self Parking system, satellite based advanced head lighting system, comfort seats with ventilation and massage features, there heads up display also displays infotainment lists, rear seat entertainment, power door closure, heat/ sound insulating glass. The list goes on and on.

The united states is like a bad step child, who gets a honda (nothing against hondas) to drive to school, and europe gets a Bugatti Galiber 16C

http://www.audi.co.uk/content/dam/au...-sportback.pdf

carljones11

What do mean "how Lexus gets away with it"? The trunk lid would not close with the remote either and the GPS was atrocious by modern standards. All functions (or most of them) on the Lexus touch screen would grey out while driving and the voice command system was so bad I gave up on it pretty quickly and the "icing on the cake", EVERY time you started it up, you had to press the "I agree" button for their legal disclaimer to use the screen at at all!

Other than that, I agree with your post, their are MANY functions I wish our car had that are available in Europe. Perhaps there are functions in U.S. cars not available to the European counterparts. Oh wait, not many Buicks sold in Europe huh?

Stevial

"By how Lexus does it" - one example is the self parking system which has been available in Europe years before lexus showed it off in the United states. A lot of There innovative features i have seen a year or 2 before in Germany, but they just seem to be able to copy and then get the features approved in the states and out to market quicker than the Germans.

Audi is testing a self parking system that can park your car in the garage without anyone driving, A wireless Charging pad for charging hybrid vehicles, Motion flowing LED Lighting system, $5 says Lexus gets it one or more of these features on there cars coming to states first before Audi does.


As far as the legal disclaimer, remember, not too long ago, Audi had the same disclaimer when you started any car that had a 1st and 2nd generation MMI. And in a way they still do, you cant enter in telephone info or navigation info while the vehicle is moving without accepting the disclaimer that you acknowledge its unsafe to enter information while the vehicle is moving.


Take a good look at the UK brochure with all the features the A7 gets, i cried for at least 1/2 Hour. Even if we could have the options, that would be better than not having the choice at all.

crazidezi

What is the down sides of "hacking"an A7. Does it void the warranty or cause any other problems?

Is there any simple website that can show me how to do it and what I need to buy?

How difficult is it to "hack" the vehicle? Is it as simple as jailbreak iPhone or rooting Android? Or is it more complicated?

Stevial

its a little more complicated yet very simple, down side is you have to extremely careful or you could damage your vehicle. Also it frowned upon by the dealers.

clintb

Yeah I really love Lexus' Full LED Headlights and Google Maps Integration,


C'mon gotta give Audi some credit, they are introducing lots of great things... Too bad North American MKT is so restrictive

But at least we don't have to pay European prices for cars!

crazidezi

sign me up! where can I find a guide?

jfourman

Everything you need has already been posted in this thread:

Go here and buy the cable and software: http://store.ross-tech.com/shop/VCHUC.html (be sure to validate that your PC meets the requirements for the software and USB cable).

Go here for the steps to code Vehicle in Motion (VIM): http://trick77.com/tools/mmi3g_vimcode.php

Go here for steps for some other hacks (translate German to English): http://www.stemei.de/pages/coding/audi-a7-4g8.php

A Google search will find other VAG-COM code hacks for Audi's; but I am not confident that they will work on the A7...and you might mess something up if you are uncertain and change the wrong code.

DISCLAIMER: You take responsibility to use these at your own peril and at risk of messing up a very expensive ride.

I am always interested in other forum member's finds of codes that work on the A7. Please post 'em if you've got 'em.

crazidezi

How simple is it to undo is what I do causes a problem?

jfourman

I have tried a few things that have worked... Video in Motion, Needle Sweep on Start and CD RIP. I have tried a couple of things that didn't work... Close/Open Window with Advanced Key and Enabling the Battery Capacity Status Bar. I think the Battery Status Bar is not possible on the A7. I have not discovered why I can't get the Close/Open Window with Key to work (I am asking for help on that in my next post).

My advice is to use extreme caution. Don't change any setting that has not been vetted on this forum. If you try something like I did with the Battery Bar and it doesn't work, be sure and set it back to the original setting. If it didn't do what you expected it to do, maybe it did something you don't want it to do.

I am quite certain it is possible to cause serious, dangerous, expensive damage to your car and your person if you mess around with settings for which you are uncertain of the result.