s4master1

What are you guys are crying about?
the time used to do this is a total waste,
most people use this forum to glorify their cars, boasting how their 80k cars are built and perform but when something breaks due to normal use or else all they do is find ways to butch their way out of it even if the outcome is the part fixed no longer works as designed.
Most guys here don't even stop to analize why parts are built in a certain way,
give the sample of the gear in question, why is it made of weak plastic?
why not metal?, stronger plastic? maybe larger/deeper teeth in the gear?
or why not a servo motor altogether with a lever arm that will break or snap off just as easy as the gear will break?
why not?
well. Metal is heavy and a servo unit with arms need more space to operate.
that leave us plastic, why softer plastic?. we have plastic parts driving windows up and down and last much longer than this gear.
the answer has to do with the position the display sits.
whoever knows this and leave alone my hat off to you, whoever knows this and still modifies this part values money a lot (is a moron).
whoever doesn't know, well he just doesn't know and there's no crime committed.
Now for all you whiners that get all upset about my post try this,
go to the VEHICLE ELECTRICAL CONTROL MODULE #2 and pull pin # 87+ or 88-,
someone tell me which is the best choice between those two please.
this way you don't have to cut any wires.(in the car business as any other you don't cut wires), butchers perform cuts but even them don't just cut for the hell of cutting.
this is far worse than a butcher.
somebody advise others to take my advice with a grain of salt.
you will need a lot of salt as my advice is crude, cruel, ruth, cold, sour and tasteless.
but it will never be condescending, sarcastic or misleading with guessing as is with a lot of the post/suggestions here.
I stand my ground, can't afford it don't drive it.
been told to be humble, what is so humble about this forum?
mostly is about bragging/boasting about our cars.
so please just stop crying.

Mister Bally

Again, thanks for not keeping your word to us about being CONdescending.

Now, to answer your question:
[Most guys here don't even stop to analize why parts are built in a certain way,
give the sample of the gear in question, why is it made of weak plastic?
why not metal?, stronger plastic? maybe larger/deeper teeth in the gear?
or why not a servo motor altogether with a lever arm that will break or snap off just as easy as the gear will break?
why not?]

Answer, because Alpine, the supplier of the screen & mechanism wants to sell expensive, profitable service parts.

Alpine being the supplier is based on what I have been told by a former Nav-Tech and Magellan employee who I have worked with. He's a nuclear engineer from the Naval Academy so he is reasonably educated and probably knows what he's talking about. Heck, what do I know, Maybe Bosch/Blaupunkt makes it. They still are greedy when it comes to service parts.

I do agree with you on avoiding cutting wires. I have or I make many pin/connector extraction tools for these types of situations. However, interior wire cuts that can be hidden by shrink tubing are not the end of the world.

s4master1

that does not answer the question or even near,
there's a lot other parts they can make weaker and a lot more profitable than this unit.
in my book cutting wires is just inferior work quality even if you can hide them (reminds me of the cat when uses the litter box, you can hide it but still is S**T at the end).
the wire in question specially, you could've accomplished the same result without cutting or taking barely anything apart.
Nuclear engineer? worked with you. and you approve of these methods?. Somehow the image of homer Simpson came to my head

FlyTyinFool

Where is that ejection seat button...

Mister Bally

Alpine is the supplier of the navigation/MMI screen. That's the only part they supply.

The Nuclear engineer I mentioned worked for two of the world's largest navigation companies after he retired from from the Navy. He has nothing to do with my cutting interior wires comment.

You neglect to tell us how to remove pins 87 & 88. What kind of tool, stiff wire, etc should we use.

You seem to enjoy being CONdescending. Have a great evening.

s4master1

the wire repair kit # is VAS 1978.
if hard to get or too expensive try the STAHLWILLE kit is only around $800 but has all the pin removing tools use in the D3.
you can buy them separately and pay $95.00 each.
I hope your evening is as good as mine, thanks

mishar

Won’t work. The wire was cut.

Other than tone there are some good questions here. Why do we have problems with things that could be so easily better designed?

First we should think statistics. I bet that Audi A8’s MMI screens popped out just fine billion times before the first one got stacked. Not a bad score.

Than we should think price. Metal MMI gears would be 10 times more expensive than plastic. Not huge dollar difference in this case, but if they start going that way we will pretty soon get into Bentley range, than Bugatti, Boeing, Space Shuttle … Engineers are always limited by budget. Designs and technology has to be just as good as it is necessary. Ideal case would be if all parts fall apart at the same time and we take our cars to the junk yard just a day before. As a matter of fact we are not that far from it. These cars are made for people with money. Most of them last long enough to serve that purpose. For a few there is a warranty. So some of us are driving junk yard cars and I don’t see anything wrong with cutting some wires, patching here and there or losing some non-essential functions. We can still enjoy some of luxury we can’t afford. Just don’t remind us about this all the times.

We can take repairing our cars as a hobby. People would repair old machines they do not need at all. Why shouldn’t we? And we shouldn’t cry over small problems we have. As a matter of fact, I would cry from the top of my lungs if I paid for it 80, or in Canada 100K and in a few years it is ready for the junk yard.

Edd W

I agree on this and I doubt the part is either a designed failure point or as built-in obsolescence, if Audi were to find out that a part had been designed to perform a function to their spec and they were suffer the consequences of warranty work and the costs and reputation that causes they would not use that supplier again.
I think it is purely and simply a part which is not strong enough to last the number of actuations it needs to.

I believe it should be designed for about 10 years normal use but they usually fail at about 5 to 7 years with some failing earlier.

Mine now has started failing to fully lift sometimes but I am not going to complain about it or spend hours discussing the purpose of the design - I will simply either replace the gear or buy a whole new assembly, not a big issue, simply a part which has failed and needs to be repaired properly.

williebone

Ok gents,

Before the Mud Slinging starts and slurs such as Troll, Natzi or the likes and this Threads turns into somethng other than its purpose, lets step back and take a deep breath. S4Master1, while we appreciate your knowledge on this Vehicle, your approach seems to light fires before calming the seas. Yes, you have been better lately, but eveyone has been waiting on this moment knowing that you can't help yourself. It seems that it is only when you get slapped on your hands like a Child that you then run to your room for a Time Out session. You then retreat by self deprecation with promises to say nothing else, but will continue to watch and Bang!

You just light up a Thread again only to offer a Certified Solution after Ignition of a fire only to rub Posters against you. Why not offer the Solution First and leave it there? You had a Valid Answer, but waited to see how many Ideas that you deemed Stupid would be given as to prove that we have less knowledge than you. Well, after all you are Certified and should be the First to Reply with Part #s, Cost, How To's, and Alternatives/Temporary Fixes if possible. As you can see, the majority here are those who are more concerned with Options/Alternatives and will only go the Dealership Route when absoluted necccessary! I'm yet to see my SA from one of the Largest Audi Dealerships hanging out here, but I'm sure that if he did then he would be more concerned about us getting it right then how Stupid and Silly we sound. So, the last thing we want to here again from you is how you will just hang out and watch us stumble over solution and say nothing for a while.

Contribution from you should be that of a Leader so do your Job and quit being a Brilliant Spectator with a Bully Bat waiting to Swing it. I myself have been using the Assist Method to the Screen Problem and will continue to help the Screen Up until I find it neccessary to Replace the Gear or Assembly at which time I will Gladly do myself simply because I want to. Cutting the wires would not be my choice, but that's my call and it would certainly not offend anyone had I posted my personal opinion as to why. Remember it's all in the approach and people don't mind objections as long as it stimulates a Smart Solution in the End. Back to the Thread and laters,

Matt@H2OTuning

Tell me more about pulling the pin. Where is the module? Does the unit need to be up first before pulling the pin?