New Member / S6 questions

A6 All/ S6 All
#1

Hey guys, V8A6 sent me over here from AudiZine!

I’ve just got a 2007 S6 a few weeks ago, and really love it so far! I have read through the entire “info dump” thread, and had a few questions that I couldn’t find answers to there, or anywhere else. Hopefully some of you guys can help me out! Also, I’ll try to post some pictures in here as soon as I figure out how.

Now, on to my questions:

  1. After I bought the car (from a dealer), I noticed that it has a Milltek exhaust. Awesome! But now I’m wondering what else has been done to it that has gone unnoticed by the dealership and myself. Namely, how can I find out if it’s had an APR tune? And what else should I look for?

  2. Where in the heck is the ECU located in this car?

  3. The previous owner drilled a hole in the front bumper, next to the driver’s side headlight, and installed what looks like an LED. There isn’t a matching one on the passenger side. And if it is an LED, I’ve never seen it light up. What in the world could this possibly be for? I’ll try to post a picture later, but has anyone ever heard of someone putting something there? I’ll post a photo as soon as I can.

  4. I get an adaptive headlight warning on the dash every time I start the car. The headlights move vertically, but it doesn’t look like they move horizontally. Any ideas?

  5. Is the MMI worth updating? I forget what version mine has, but I do know it hasn’t been updated since 2007. Can I update myself, or should I just take it to a dealer?

  6. Every once in a while, I get an ESP fault message. It comes up about once a week, always after I’ve been driving at least 10 minutes, but definitely not every time I drive the car. The ESP seems to be working fine. I mean, it’s sort of hard to tell, it’s really hard to break traction in this car even with the ESP turned off.

  7. The little removable covers in the front bumper under the headlights - what are they covering (there is no tow hook behind them that I can see), and how hard/expensive is it to get new ones? One of them is missing, and the other has paint pealing.

Thanks in advance, and I’ll try to get some photos up asap!

#2

Hey man! Welcome to AudiRevolution!

  1. Contact APR and ask them what to check with Vagcom to see if it was flashed. There are not a lot of tunes out there right now for the S6, so if it doesnt have one from APR, then it probably isnt tuned. If it doesnt have one, dont go out and buy the APR tune. There should be a new one available soon that will be top notch. You can PM me for details.

  2. Not exactly sure. I think there are two ECUs on the v10 S6

  3. Maybe laser or radar detector. Post pics

  4. Are they supposed to move horizontally on this car? We need the error. Scan with Vagcom

  5. If your MMI hasnt been updated since 2007, I would update. Check Audizine for details. I think there was a recent thread.

  6. Vagcom scan of errors needed

  7. Headlight washer covers. Try eBay

Please post pics and a quick intro in the C6 Members thread. Happy to have another v10 S6 on AR!

http://audirevolution.net/forum/index.php?topic=3097.0

#3

http://i.imgur.com/XM9l4Fz.jpg

Here’s a photo of the front bumper, you can see the mysterious object to the left of the headlight

#4

Awesome, thank you! Sounds like I need to get a vagcom then, I was really hoping to avoid that purchase if I could! Or is there another way to get access to one temporarily?

#5

If you buy Torque for your smart phone ($5), you can get a cheap bluetooth error code reader from eBay. I use this for basic error code reading.

Also, you can get a knockoff Vagcom cable from eBay. I have found though, that they are more trouble then they are worth.

Borrow one: Where are you located? Post here and in the regional section on AZ, to see if someone will let you scan your car for $20 or something reasonable.

Buy one: Even if you are cheap like me, you will not regret it. You dont have a warranty on your car, so you want to do as much as possible on your own. The cable will save you big bucks in the long run. After I got mine, the only thing I regretted was not getting it sooner.

#6

Seriously, thank you for all your help!!!

Which VAG-COM should I get? I’m presented with 3 different options on their website:

$349 - VCDS License with HEX-USB+CAN
$699 - VCDS Professional Kit
$999 - VCDS 2-Tech Professional Kit

#7

That thing is your bumper is weird. Doesnt look like an aftermarket radar/laser or parking sensor. Best bet might be to play ‘follow the wire’

#8

Definitely not the $699 or $999. Give me 10 min and Ill check their site. I am thinking of getting the wireless version myself, and I think it is about $500. BRB

#9

Cable
VCDS License with HEX-USB+CAN Unlimted VIN (All VAG) $349

WiFi
VCDS License with HEX-NET (WiFi/USB) Unlimited VINs (All VAG) $499
VCDS License with HEX-NET (WiFi/USB) 10 VINs (All VAG) $399

I personally would get the wifi units, but the cable is just as good if you dont mind using a cable.

The 10 VIN unit is fine if you are tight on cash. The unlimited VIN will retain more value if you want to sell it down the line, and plan to keep it for awhile. Plus, you could use it on any Audis you have, plus any of your friends, without worrying about running out of VINs.

#10

I also have a 2003 Passat, so I guess this kills 2 birds with 1 stone. Will post error info from the VAG-COM once I get it in a week or two. I probably won’t ever sell it since I’ll have a VW and/or Audi for a very long time I’m guessing, so the 10 VIN wifi seems like the way to go, thanks!

#11

Cool

Front bumper piece could also be a camera, although it doesnt quite look like any I have found either.

#12

You are getting a check engine light, correct? Just want to make sure before you spend the money on Vagcom.

If you dont have a continuous CEL, then you may not have any logged errors to pull

#13

That little nozzle in the front look like some james bond Shit! LOL Any random buttons or switches in the car?

#14

The tune you will have to actually go to an APR dealer or a jhm dealer. I believe the jhm dealers should be able to tell you if you have a APR tune as well. But you can’t see anything in vagcom to tell you it’s an APR tune that only works with the jhm tunes.

That thing at the front of the car. That looks terrible. Can water get past that

Part wise it’s hard to tell what’s going on with the car. The sold the car for some reason you hope it’s not because they found all kinds of issues.

The ECU’s and I think there are two of them. They are located under the rain tray in the inter firewall.

With a new car like this and also having a pasatt getting a vagcom will help tell you alot. That will also help us help you.

#15

I actually don’t have a check engine light at all, I just get a dashboard notification about the Adaptive headlights every time I start the car, and another one for the traction control every once in a while. Still think I should get a vag-com. The mystery thingy on the bumper is definitely ugly, but it is sealed. If it isn’t something james-bond-cool, I’ll look into removing and filling it. I found the ECU’s, but didn’t notice anything unusual about them visually. my nearest JHM dealer happens to be the JHM facility, so I might pay a visit soon. Gonna pull the air filters tonight to see if anything was done there. It seems odd to me that someone would put in a $2000 exhaust and nothing else…

#16

I also just took it to Les Schwab for an alignment and tire balancing today, and they pointed out the the control arms need replacing. Not expensive luckily, I think they quoted like $200. Brakes are new, tires are new.

#17

If the traction control light just flashes once in awhile, then that probably just means it is kicking in. When the wheels slip and the traction control starts working, the light for it will flash. You should be able to feel the difference.

Vagcom is something you will need anyway, so it wont hurt either way. I think there should be some warning in the logs, even if you dont have a CEL for the adaptive headlights.

#18

The traction control light comes on during normal driving, and stays on continuously til I turn off the car, then it’s gone next time I start it. It’s accompanied by an ESP fault message.

I can’t find any other mods on the car… stock (bbut clean, at least) air filters, stock suspension and brakes. I took part part of the bumper to figure out the James Bond thingy, and it’s definitely an LED of some sort, but the wire was cut and doesn’t go anywhere anymore. Wonder what the heck it was for? Well I’ll post some more once I’ve got some decent photos and a vag-com, thanks for all the help!

#19

No problem. Youll find that there are a lot of people willing to help over here, and the difference compared to other forums is that they actually know what their talking about LOL.

You should be able to pickup a code for traction control/ESP, considering the light is staying on until you reset the car.

That LED thing is weird. Anyway, will look better when you get it plugged.

Looking forward to pics!

#20

What are my options for the intake?

So far, the options I’ve found are:
-K&N filters for ~$50 each
-MSDS filters for ~$100 each
-Remove the flaps in the filter boxes

I would love it if I could find a bolt-on (preferably cold air) intake to replace all the plastic junk, does such a thing exist yet? Or has anybody tried modifying one for a different car to fit this car? Or made their own from scratch? I’m pretty handy, any of these options would be ok to me, I just hope there’s something I can change besides the filters and the flap.