[Macattack]

I have just ordered my new Q3 company car.It is due delivery next month (May). With it being a company car I didn't spec sat nav as I would pay for this out of my own pocket and basically never get it back. I have been researching purchasing the Sat Nav SD card on E-Bay for example. Is this possible and how do I get it activated?Apparently, the Q3 comes with Sat-Nav prep as standard and it seems crazy that Audi charge £500 for simply giving you an SD card and activation.Is there something I'm missing? Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Tedmunds]

There is no alternative to the dealer fit for SD card Sat Nav,trust me I 've tried!
The Ebay SD cards are only half of the kit needed you also need the activation pack.
Your best bet is to get your salesman to get you the best deal possible.

 

[reilsab]

I've been there too, i'm afraid for now there isn't any other option than dealer activated sd card. Some folk on ebay will tell you otherwise, one guy tried to tell me all i needed was his £60 card and i could use it in any Audi. Once the dealer has paired it to your car you can't even take it with you to another Audi or remove it for resale.

I'm sure if they made it £200 or so they would get more interest but that's not the German way, i always wondered what those barrels were for in the dealerships

 

[Del]

HiAs already said it has to be activated by a dealer, the process involves connecting your car to Audi's computers in Germany and the SD card will be activated and mated to the car.I'm afraid Audi have you by the short and curlies.

 

[Macattack]

Thanks for the reply's everyone.Bit gutted there isn't a "short cut" but still looking forward to getting it delivered.

 

[john rolph]

Try getting it as part of the deal, I did !

 

[Jules]

I just ordered the Technology pack as part of my Company Car - at least that way they pay for the Sat Nav updates too!

 

[levelspirit]

An interesting point raised by the last post by Jules; updates for the Sat Nav SD card.At over £500 for an activated SD card does that not include map and traffic updates for the life of the car? My 'under £200' Garmin does and it sits neatly on the dash between the console and the door pillar. It has voice recognition and all sorts of features that the Audi system seems to lack.What I notice on this forum is that when somebody asks for an honest opinion from somebody who has paid the £500 about how it functions etc. then there is silence!! Is it just that people do not want to say how silly they have been paying that money?Personally, I am wondering what that flip-up screen in the middle of the car is for. It works well for the parking sensors. However,the telephonebluetooth link, radio, media player functions are available on the panel directly in front of the driver and can be controlled from the multi-function steeling wheel which the central "gimmick-flap" cannot. The whole car seems to be designed around this flap. If it wasn't there the heating and A/C controls could be moved upto a place where you could operate them without looking down to a position behind the gear-shift. Maybe the electronic "hand-brake" could then be moved forward to a position where it could be found without fumbling about somewhere below the arm-rest near the top of one's left thigh!Possibly my first and last Audi; back to VW and Skoda who don't seem to have these issues.

 

[Gromit]

What I notice on this forum is that when somebody asks for an honest opinion from somebody who has paid the £500 about how it functions etc. then there is silence!! Is it just that people do not want to say how silly they have been paying that money?

Hi, welcome to the forum (I think)

If you were to take the time to read the many and varied posts on this forum concerning the SD SAT/NAV you will find - far from silence - a large number of positive responses from Q3 owners who find it suits them fine.

As regards the MMI screen, the truth is the complete opposite to your comments. The binnacle & steering wheel controls can handle the main functions of the Sat/Nav, ICE etc. but the full control set is only available via the "gimmick-flap" - using the bloody great knob and surrounding buttons sited immediately below it.

I suggest you spend a little while acquainting yourself with the car and consulting the documentation supplied therein - you'll find it's a lot more capable than you seem to think at present.

...or to put it more succinctly - RTFM, dear boy - RTFM!

EDIT: On the subject of handbrake siting, Audi COULD have fitted it on the driver's door panel, behind the sunvisor or possibly on the rear view mirror housing, but instead they chose to fit it where the handbrake has traditionally been sited in most if not all vehicles for the last half-century or thereabouts. Can't think why....

Edited by: Gromit

 

[arightpest]

I have used my iphone for years running navigon and i am very happy with its functions. I have not come across a factory sat nav that comes close to the functions offered by the stand alone on the market.
I can understand the benefits of a factory fitted system definitely neater but the cost of the fitted units are always silly money for what they offer. When i started looking for a new car i looked at the BMW Mercedes ford Honda Volkswagen ect i made a concerted effort to check the sat nav and unless you spent extra on the upgrades that came with bigger screens better software they were all pretty basic but still silly money.
I will only keep the car for three years so the cost was always prohibitive and me being a tight devil my phone and navigon will always win.
the pest

 

[Boxbrownie]

@Levelspirit, updates can be performed online with Audi connect, just log on and register with the Audi site and then you can access updates for maps, software etc and download them to SD card for transferring into the car, all very simples.
I found the basic SD card nav to be a bit, well basic (having had a couple of MB before with the MB Comand satnav) so I was well pleased when mine came with the HD Nav, works great so far and you can add your own POI like a aftermarket system.

 

[Boxbrownie]

I have used my iphone for years running navigon and i am very happy with its functions.
I will only keep the car for three years so the cost was always prohibitive and me being a tight devil my phone and navigon will always win.
the pest

So how much is the iPhone costing you over the next three years as opposed to a £15 phone from ASDA?
You could afford the HD system then

 

[levelspirit]

I agree with you 'arightpest'. There is no benefit in putting all your eggs in one basket and paying almost double what the better option would be!!!Comments from 'Gromit' illustrate exactly what I am saying. That is that the people who pay the greatest amount of money become most defensive about their decision. Operating a screen from a 'bloody great knob' site well away from the line of sight in the middle of the car is not helpful. Let's not lose sight of the fact that this is a car and I thought that it was designed for conveying people effortlessly around and not a means for transporting gadgets around. Why pay extra for a multi-function steering wheel only to find that it will not operate the bloody great knob?What about somebody telling me whether the very overpriced Audi satnav SD card comes with lifetime maps?

 

[levelspirit]

'Boxbrownie' whilst I agree with your (obviously frugal and pragmatic) comments about iPhones, I am not sure that I want to spend my life learning how to be a computer boffin downloading this and that and updating things. When I am asked to pay a massive amount of money for something then I want the supplier to do the work. The car does not have a computer in it and my PC does not have an SD card slot in it. Your suggestion requires me to spend more money on hardware. The Audi dealer must surely do something! Isn't it part of a standard service? You know, plug in the electronic diagnostic equipment and update the satnav SD card that is melded into the car.

 

[Boxbrownie]

If you have no SD slot anywhere....not even in your printer? Then the dealer can update the maps and software as you would have/could have had you access to Audi Connect system online, so yes there are free updates as far as I am aware according to Audi connect.
Don't forget also stand alone SatNav updates for life isnt always "for life"...I have two TomTom machines which are now pretty much useless as they are so far out of date as they are no longer supported by TomTom.......
And you call it the "better option" but quite frankly trying to peer at a 4" screen on an iPhone in the car attached to some kind of bracket is way off my "better option" of being able to see the detail on a 7" Hi-res screen in my line of sight, but luckily Audi have given you that option.

 

[Boxbrownie]

Oh yes......."computer boffin"??? Seriously it takes a few minutes to follow the instructions on the Audi Connect site, then put the card in the car and it updates......boffin? Nah.....

 

[Yorky]

Well said Gromit,why don't people read the manwel or as in my case ask you! But the comments were silly and not really in any way accurate. Waste of time. Edited by: Yorky

 

[MrAudi]

Anyone else??

 

[arightpest]

iPhone costs me £15 a month sim only deal already paid for my phone. My phones satnav updated regularly by navigon. i can use it as a phone play music/ audible books use it as a calculator it doubles as a wifi hotspot ect ect. I can sit in any car and use it for sat nav.
i don't tend to spend all my time studding the screen i listen to the nice lady voice for directions and then glance at the screen that sits in front of the flip up screen to confirm say a round about layout the screen zooms in to allow a better view.
like i said before the car goes back after three years i use a phone everyday that needs charging in the car so a cable and brackets needed so it doubles as a sat nav. It comes with speed camera warnings, lane changing advice,rerouting if the road is blocked. Does yours do all that.
Its not tidy but it does everything i need it to do and a 7" screen is all well and good but if it tells you sod all but basic roads and my phone tells me more i am happy.
I will still use it in my next car. You are happy with your set up i am with mine.
The Pest

 

[grumpycamel]

The car does not have a computer in it and my PC does not have an SD card slot in it. Your suggestion requires me to spend more money on hardware. The Audi dealer must surely do something! Isn't it part of a standard service? You know, plug in the electronic diagnostic equipment and update the satnav SD card that is melded into the car.

Actually the car does have a computer in it or should I say several computers. All have their little jobs to do but they are computers nonetheless. My PC (and most modern ones) do have a SD card slot so its not much of a bother.

I can sympathise with the notion that maps should be updated by the dealer but remember that it can be up to 2 years between visits to the dealer for servicing so you may want to update your sat-nav in the meantime. If you have time to take your car to the dealer just to have its sat-nav updated then its quicker and less hassle to do it yourself (unless you live next door to the dealer!)

I'd love the updates to be transmitted to my car as and when available or just to press a button and speak to a person who will set up my sat-nav instead of me having to do the task but Im afraid that such luxury is in cars costing far more than I can afford.
Edited by: grumpycamel