What does it exactly do and can it be installed additionally? Ones who have it: Is it useful?
Any comments are appreciated on this matter I know very little about.

IJ
99A31.8T

I know i´ll forget a few things but here´s what i can remember without looking at the manual:
It gives a readout of the following:
Fuel economy: instant and average
MIles untill gas tank is empty (depending on driving conditions)
Timer (hours of driving)
2 speed alarms (you set at any speed you want)
Outside temperature (not very trustworthy)
Radio Station/cd and track no./ tape side

It warns you of:
Low gas
Low winshield washer fluid
Low brake fluid
Worn brake pads ??? (the dealer told me the A3 doesnt have the sensor)
ABS Malfunction
Low oil

It is pretty useful (specially the miles ´till empty function, and the warnings) in my opinion, but nothing you couldn´t do without.
I guess it can´t be installed aditionally, since the NAV sistem either and i supposed it´s the NAV would be less of a hassle to wire up. But that´s just an educated guess.

Hope some of this is useful and sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes (english isn´t my first language).

Jorge Valdés
A3 Ambition manual, sports susp. , bose

Hi

I noticed that Jorge covered all the major functions in his post.

Essentially, the computer is a toy - Some functions are useful, mpg, average mpg and I guess if you travelled comercially, this might become more useful. The miles left to go indicator is variable, for example, I filled my car to the top today and it read 365 miles to empty. Having driven the 2 miles to home it read 390 miles to empty and then having driven 70 miles on motorway and A roads it now still reads 390. The fundamental problem is that it can alter so quickly depending on driving style. I have seen the reading go from 300 to 150 after a 10 minute blast at 100mph +.
It obviously has to behave like this otherwise you would run out of petrol with miles still showing, but you know it is time to fill up when the yellow light comes on!

My point is that whilst the computer is good to have as a standard fit - it provides little further useful information over the standard car. If the module was a 5 minute job to fit I would say, yes, buy it and you will enjoy fiddling. As I see, it would be both expensive and time consuming to retro fit. I know I would question the worth of it.

Regards

David