Mr. Ian

I successfully completed an AMI retrofit which did not go smoothly and thought I would post some notes in case it helps others. The information to do this is scattered around in bits and pieces and not always so straightforward. Use this information at your own risk.

Car: 2007 A6 Quatro 3.2

1. The first thing I did was update the MMI software. I was on 1190 which is not compatible with the AMI. I went on eBay I found an upgrade kit from a reputable seller and bought it for about $15. You can download the ISO's but I decided to pay the $15 since I didn't know what I was doing and the seller seemed quite knowledgeable in exactly what I needed. Normally when performing the upgrade, you're supposed to connect a battery charger, however I read several posts that say just let the car idle so I took a chance with this approach. You just insert the CD in slot 1, it will detect it and ask you if you want to upgrade. It worked fine and about 2 hours later I was at software version 4610 (yes you will be sweating bullets for literally about 2 hours waiting for it to finish).

2. The next thing was to update the Bluetooth. Again, put the upgrade CD in slot 1, follow the prompts and wait about 20 minutes. The Bluetooth upgrade added a lot of new features like address book sync and better phone compatibility.

3. While I was at it I decided to upgrade the Nav software as well. I found a kit on eBay for about $20 with the 2014 maps. The DVD was a copy but it works fine. Just pop it in the trunk DVD drive for the Nav, follow the prompts on the MMI and it takes about 5 minutes. Easy peasy.

4. Now that my software was all up to date, I needed to find an AMI unit. They're pretty rare on eBay and usually go for about $600 w/shipping for a kit. I kept an eye out and finally saw one go up for about $260 got it (just for AMI "B" model, not the kit). I also got the removal keys for about $2.50 and a USB cable for about $12.

5. Now it was time to install it and this is where it got difficult. Unfortunately, the keys were of inferior quality and had a rough edge. This was scraping up against the edge of the locking tabs making them extremely difficult to insert. I finally got them inserted and the CD changer wouldn't budge. After doing some research I discovered that some models of the A6 have the CD changer wedged in extremely tight and the only way to get it out is to remove the glove box and push it from behind. Unfortunately I did not learn this until I managed to bend the locking tabs and make it impossible to remove with the keys.

TIP: To use the removal keys properly, the notch and beveled edge must be pointing inward. Also, push the keys in the slot while holding them slightly inward (so your hands are coming together). When the key clicks into place push the keys outward (so your hands are moving apart) and pull the unit out. There is a lever action where pushing the key outward pushes the locking tab in. Also, it's helpful sometimes to bend the end of the key slighty up so it locks into the tab more securely.

6. After getting frustrated with this, I decided to remove the glove box. There are 4 screws on the top and two on the bottom, all hex. It's tricky to get the glove box out but it will come out. Once the glove box was out I still could not for the life of me get the CD changer out. So I got medieval and drilled out the slots where the tabs go. I took a pair of needle nose pliers and ripped the face off the CD changer. I then took the pliers and bent the locking tabs into a position where they could no longer prevent the changer from coming out. I pushed on it from the rear with great force and it finally came out.

7. Before destroying the CD changer, however, I decided to plug the AMI in once the glove box was out. One concern I had is that since there was no AMI installed when I did the software update, the AMI software would not get installed into the MMI. This is NOT the case. When I plugged the AMI in, it went through a brief initialization and worked without requiring any additional software or configuration changes in the MMI. After verifying that the AMI worked, I inserted it in the glove box slot and put the glove box back in.

8. At this point, the AMI was working fine with USB flash drives but I wanted to get an ipod. So I search on Craigslist and find someone nearby selling an ipod nano 3rd gen for $50. I buy it, plug it in, and no dice. Not detected. After being dissapointed I go back to the Internet to do research. Apparently there are 3 different ipod cables and the eBay seller sent me the wrong one (blue grommet for CAN/MMI 3g). So, back to eBay and I finally find someone selling the correct OEM cable with the black grommet from about $20. See this post for more info about the cables.

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a6-...rized-2840907/

9. I got the correct cable, plugged the ipod in, and it works. So, after much frustration, I am now the owner of a fully functional AMI and got it done for less than $300.

LLskier23

Great writeup. I had similar issues with removing the CD changer and also had to remove the glovebox to accomplish it. Would recommend removing the glovebox to anyone doing this retrofit so you can push from behind. After that, installation and getting it to work was easy.