Bryan72880

Was just told by my Audi dealer that the retrofit kit for the '06 A8L is $1,000!! That's just the kit, not the labor to install. He said that it's not the same as the install in an '07/'08 model, and will end up disabling either the sat radio or CD player.

This seems to fly in the face of the research I've done on adding the ipod interface to my car.

Anyone have experience with installing the AMI on an '06 A8?

Thanks!

Rowlie

I had it installed in my 2004 which has both satellite and CD changer. Both still work fine. I don't think the system changed significantly in '06.

lgball

Get the part numbers you need from this site and price them from another dealer. Then call the A8 owner hotline and advise them that your dealer is trying to rip you off. My guess is they will not be happy. Then order the parts online and do the install yourself or go to another dealer.

rechsm

My dealer (in NYC) told me the exact same thing.

Ended up going with the Dension Gateway. Love it.

--matthew

Ringmeister

I paid $896 USD in parts plus 2 hours labor because I was the first vehicle at the dealership to be upgraded, it took them longer to perform the install. I think that dealers who have done this procedure before should be able to do it in 1 hour or less assuming your MMI software is already at a compatible level.

I assure you that the parts can be purchased for less than $1K so shop around. Several folks on this forum went the DIY route and only had to pay for parts. I believe at least one of those folks wrote up the procedure in case you're interested.

Also, you do not lose any capability for CDs or Satellite as I still have the use of both. That may have been true for some non-fiber optic models but it is certainly not true for the D3.<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a8d3/msgs/47949.phtml">AMI part numbers and pricing from my local Audi dealer</a></li></ul>

thrilla from manila

and took me no more than an hour. Most of the time was dropping the glove box. The interface is basically plug and play. make sure you have the MMI firmware updated to 33.6 or higher. drop the glove box and you will not need the radio removal tools. And will give you more room to work with. You can use zip ties to coil the extra length of the cables. You need Torx 30 for the glovebox.

I never even had to touch the VAG-Com to enable anything. It basically works as a daisy chain like old SCSI or firewire drives. You won't lose anything.

If bought through Genuine they send you a very detailed install manual. if not I can send mine out to you.

dalep

This can be done in under half an hour, I can do in 10 mins.

There is NO need to drop the glovebox out, simply use the removal tools to remove the CD changer, then insert new loom components with CD changer removed.

Slide CD changer slowly back in, not trapping any cables, at the same time, pulling the slack out of the second slot where you will fit the AMI, this will allow new loom components enough length to protrude from out of the second CD / AMI slot.

Plug in the Loom connectors, both power and fiber to the AMI, slide back in !

Job done, no component protection on the AMI

Then use vagcom to enable added Multimedia device

Soobie23

I just won an AMI unit on Ebay, and there's another one up for auction now. I ordered the iPod cable, and am looking for the second set of cables. I'm hoping to be able to do the install myself.

Galco

Got a link? And what else is needed to complete the install? TIA

MP4.2+6.0

Yes, post-06 is different. But that's simple, they already come with it so you just need the end connector cable to the ipod. On 06's and earlier you need that cable, the AMI brain, and the optical plus wiring harness. Three parts, the brain being the most expensive. Early cars might need a glove box change, though no post I recall has mentioned that as the reality. Might be the early Euro models sold as '03's or something.

It will not disable the sat or CD. I have both. It just sees the AMI as another CD. It is possible to install it INSTEAD of the CD to avoid the harness cost, but that isn't recommended since you need the CD player to update the car software from time to time too, even if you don't use CD's any more with an ipod.

My auto sig also has my direct install experience on my '06, which I did among the earliest who tried it.