Brushed shift bezel for Tiptronic in C5 A6/allroad/S6...

[Boston Driver]

So, SabaTronicO (local allroad owner) and I have been chatting for some time to brush his badly pitted shift bezel. I met up with him today to swap out his pitted one for a spare bezel (also badly pitted) I had on hand that I brushed last night.

Here is the allroad's bezel, waiting to get swapped out...


...and the finished product!


It is really not that hard, although there are a few challenges along the way. Here is the process for anyone that might want to try this on their own, and this applies for any C5 platform model with tiptronic (A6/allroad/S6, note the RS6 bezel is already brushed).

Shift bezel removal

First, you have to remove the wood trim shift surround. Using a plastic putty knife, get in on the rearward edge of the surround and release the rearward edge of the trim. Remove the shift surround by lifting up while moving it rearward to clear the ashtray...


Next, shift the car into 4th gear (or "S" if so equipped) so we can remove the shift knob...


Here is the tricky part, and I do not have pictures since it requires two hands to do it. Using a putty knife or something firm with a think edge, separate the metal collar of the shifter's shaft from the shift knob by prying at the seam between the knob and the collar. Once that is separated, pull the shift knob's button out and pull up HARD. The knob will come off. If you have a spare blade fuse sitting around, stick it in the slot on the bottom edge of the button so the button does NOT retract into the knob. I did not follow my own step here and it resulted in an extra 30 minutes and a trip for SabaTronicO to the WalMart next door for a tool (although I finally got it out before he returned). Anyway, with the knob removed, set that side.

You will see two tabs on each side of the bezel. Gently pry those back to relase the tabs...but be careful, they are extremely brittle!



Once the bezel is released, pull straight up to get more of the tiptronic cable so you can get at this wire connector under the bezel...


Release the cable connector, and then gently remove the electronic circuit board under the bezel...


Okay, you are now ready for the fun part!

Brushing the bezel

Here is the condition of the bezel I had on hand, the "donor" bezel...


Using a rubber sanding block (the kind that takes the 1/4 strip of sandpaper) with coarse grit (I used 150 grit) sandpaper and go back and forth in one direction to remove the shiny finish of the bezel. Here is a pic of the shiny surface in process of being removed...


Don't panic about the plastic button shift indicator "windows." If you are using a firm sanding block, they will be unharmed. I also cheated a bit by going in the perpendicular direction on the forward and trailing edge of the bezel to get a better "edge" between the shiny original bezel finish and the brushed finish. Once I had that edge, I went back to the original direction of sanding to finish the brushing.

Continue to sand until you have a rough brushed look to the bezel...


Now change to a finer grit sandpaper to get a more even brushed look. I used 400 grit for this step here...



Reinstallation

Reinstall the circuit board and snap the bezel back into place...


Reinstall the shift knob. Make sure the button is pulled all the way out so the internal pin does not break the white plastic retaining slot at the top of the shifter.


Make sure you can shift easily from gear to gear, then snap back into place the shift collar (I forgot to do that in the pictures), reinstall your shift surround, and enjoy!!!



After doing this a few times, I think it is time to fix the one in my car!!! ))

[Troy H]

[Boston Driver]

I did not ahve my sanding supplies on me, and it was already a major PITA to get that button back out, so I doubt we would have had the time.

The collar would be easy...with the knob off, it just lifts off the shift lever. The button would be a bit harder, as it does not really remove from the knob. It would be hard to get the whole button brushed and uniform looking.

[GBman]

Had the same problem with an 03 A4 cab. Have Audi now addressed this problem ?

[girlroad]

at 78k...also the alum trim on the outside...I wonder if my prior owner (it was a lease so that would surprise me) had them coated with something when they were new? Just a thought...that and it still amazes me if these are scratches that someone would treat a car that poorly unless it was a defect in the finish on the metal to begin with that is.

[2 avants]

[Casablanca Avant]

[girlroad]

[2 avants]

[Boston Driver]

...at least as well as a sanding block. I have a Dremel, but all the sanding discs are too small for a project like this, unless the goal is to brush the entire surface (including the shiny edges. Doing so would require removal of the shift indicator windows (which are epoxied into place) or run the risk of damaging them.

The whole brushing process (once the bezel was removed) took less than an 30 minutes sitting in front of the TV.