Charlie Gage

I have searched and read up extensively on swapping the Gauge Cluster in my 2006 A8L 4.2L. I have the Narrow DIS and want the wide one that has a digital speedometer (07+ vehicles have this. My donor cluster p/n is 4E0920951C).



I have a service appointment on Monday. The dealer agreed to remove component protection, but said it could be a 2+ hour job if they remove and install the cluster themselves. They also said it "might require some programming". At $145 an hour i'd like to do all the work I can myself. I am happy to swap the Cluster in the parking lot when I drop it off on Sunday night to save some cash. My 15 year old will be driving this car (learners permit) and the Digital Speedo is so much easier to read. She is used to my wife's car with Digital Speedo and HUD.

I'd be super grateful if anyone here could help answer any of my questions below. I promise to do a full writeup of everything I learned and link to all relevant threads after it's said and done.

First question is the most important...

#1 - For those who know, does this require any SW/FW programming of the cluster itself? Most threads said plug and play, but the 2nd link below mentions having a "930 Flash" and "Just blast one with highest version 930T-430.sgo and see what the cluster will do.". My thought is that he was trying to flash it to get by component protection (which won't work). But maybe he needed to change the SW/FW to get it to work?

#2 - My understanding is that dealers can increase mileage, but not decrease it. Is that right? I would love to get it matched so I don't have to deal with the Secretary of State (DMV) if I ever sold it. The thread in the a8parts.co.uk forum explains they have the "Polish or Albanian Mafia" match the mileage up or down! I won't cry if it doesn't match and will just have the dealer sign a letter explaining explaining everything - which is how you make it legal in Michigan.

#3 - If I try the swap tonight just to make sure the used cluster I bought even lights up, can i swap my old cluster back in for the weekend? Or does triggering CP in the donor cluster mean that the original will be triggered too?

#4 - I am 99% sure that you can drive it with CP enabled in the cluster, but you have to use your phone for GPS speed since all dash functions shut down. It would be great to just swap at home and drive it to the dealer vs. a parking lot swap.

Bonus Question: I have seen a lot of places that sell ODIS one time sessions where they remote in to your laptop and remove CP for you. it requires a VAS 5054a or clone (I only have a VCDS right now). Should I have done this option vs. a service appointment? It seems sketchy, but it would be amazing to have that in my bag of tools if I ever needed it vs a $145 minimum at the dealer. Sketchy Link: https://mhhauto.com/Thread-Odis-Comp...lp?pid=1807332

Relevant Threads:
Detailed Guide to D3 Cluster Swaps (Note only Facelift Models WITHOUT ACC have the Digital MPH display 07-08 is the safest bet = 4E0920951C). Thread has some info on Mileage Correction. This guy goes crazy on needle and LCD swaps to begin with before getting into whole cluster swaps (which are far easier): Wide Display Cluster Retrofit - A8 Parts Forum

Audiworld Swap with Part Number list. Also talks about 930 Flash. I purchased the same part but unsure if my cluster would need any SW/FW updates: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-...2878062/page3/

dvs_dave

Hows about just teaching your daughter how to read a conventional speedo? Just a thought.

Charlie Gage

You know, I agree. I debated even putting that in there because I knew I would get some snark ;-) She got her permit on an analog speedo. Unfortunately after losing a family member to a negligent driver, my daughter has a big fear of driving period so every bit helps.

But mostly I love the digital and I want the wider display for Nav, Phone, Songs, etc. I'll be driving this more than her.

Any thoughts on the Questions?

dvs_dave

Changing the instruments is possible as others have done it, but it’s not a trivial task from a configuration perspective as you’ve seen, and is likely to remain glitchy, and not fully functional as it is on the 07’s+

Have you actually had a play around and a good drive with a car that has the bigger screen? If so, was it really that much better to warrant trying to update an earlier car?

Charlie Gage

I’ve definitely driven a few of the 07+ models. The extra size makes a big difference. Aside from the Digital Speedo (which is my main motivation here). The screens show more information, and more complete information. Entire song names, entire street names, more navigation graphics, and when switching between screens more information shows constantly, like temperature / MPG / DTE.

if you read through the thread on the UK site completely you will find that if you swap clusters from a non-acc car to a non-acc car the swap will bring over 100% of the functionality. Nothing will be missing, or broken. The only difference is the added features.

dvs_dave

You should go for it. CP is VIN locked so your old cluster would still work if you had to reinstall it. Mileage correction will likely still be an issue though and may throw some codes as the mileage stored in the cluster won’t match the mileage stored by the engine ECU, etc. Maybe dealer level component protection removal process can take care of that too....I don’t know.

This’ll blow your mind though. The actual screens on both cluster types are the same size. Just the “small” screen is masked more than the larger one. It’s only the SW (900 vs 930) and screen mask that are different.

Charlie Gage

You definitely blew my mind and that answers my question.

now what they were talking about in the Audi world thread below makes sense. They were trying to put a 930 flash on to an 06 cluster (normally 900 flash) to see if it would allow them to use the entire screen after removing the masking plate thing. It didn’t work so they did the swap and got CP removed. Awesome. You also answered the question about CP coded to the VIN. Thanks!!!

I’m excited now.

from what I have read, the dealer can easily adjust the mileage up, but not down, and they can only do it once per cluster. We will find out Monday. The yard I bought the part from couldn’t tell me the mileage since they were parting 4 D3’s. I hope it’s lower or near mine so they can adjust it and not flag a bunch of carfaxes if I ever sell it. However at that time it won’t be worth much anyways. I bought the thing for 3 grand.

completely squeaky clean VCDS scans now though. Only known issues are TPMS and drivers door closer. I’ll fix the door, but the TPMS will have to wait for new tires as these have tons of life in them. Oddly they don’t throw a dash code, all wheels show green, but they don’t report the actual pressures. Those are blank. My dad (previous owner) used aftermarket sensors last tire change.

snapdragon

I did mine a few years ago. I put an '09 wide cluster into an '06 A8. Fitting was pretty easy. It worked apart from the DIS screen was permanently lit up orange and the rev counter didn't work due to CP.

I got CP removed at an independant shop using the Dealer tools VAS??? as my dealer refused. They said the mileage can only be changed once and only if the mileage displayed is still under 100 or 1000 (can't remember which)

I borrowed a dodgy all-in-one universal mileage hacking tool and managed to do the mileage, it was a PITA, the instructions included turning ignition on and off, counting seconds, opening the drivers door abd removing and reinstering cluster fuse and took about 10 goes before it suddenly worked.

The coding can just be matched with the old one in VCDS. The backlighting is nicer on the newer ones too. A bit more contrasty.

Charlie Gage

It's in the shop now. I removed all the trim for them (it was a breeze), and went through the entire new cluster with my compressed air and photography cleaning brushes and paper wipes to get out the dust specks, etc from behind the clear plastic. Amazing how much gets stuck under there.

Removing the CP should be no problem at all, let's see if they have a VAG-COMMANDER to do the correction. Lots of people online say that a cracked version of 1.4 VAG-COMMANDER and a FTDI chipped OBD interface will allow you to set the miles to anything you want. It seems that dealers can do this if they are smart with the tools or do a lot of hop up work, I doubt that mine is in that category. I think it's more likely that dealers won't do the correction for obvious reasons and because their standard software doesn't support it.

Anyhow, since I'll probably drive this car nearly into the ground ( I wouldn't sell it ) it's not a big deal, but I wouldn't want it to say 200,000 mi if it's really 125,000 mi. If the new cluster comes in significantly higher or lower (more than 20k) i'll look into the reprogramming options from Aliexpress, etc. Or I could probably pay a service and swap back to the old cluster for a while.

More likely i'll do the latter.

storka

Fvdi V2018 Diagnostic Fly Fvdi Abrites Commander Fvdi Full Version can change milage