Audi Q5: DIY upgrade of the SUV's multimedia & headlamps

Being a hands-on circuit designer, I thought of a quick DIY solution.

BHPian OffRoadFun recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Recently upgraded built-in 3G MMI system and also the headlights.

Audio System:

The prestige trim of my 2.0T had Bluetooth connectivity only for calls and no navigation. Although it would have been desirable to get BT and integrated navigation (two main features I cared about most), it was not that big a deal breaker. I installed a magnetic mount on the dashboard and had a BT transmitter ensconced in a storage compartment behind the gear lever where there was a 12V socket. The BT transmitter was hidden as the box could be closed and with a youtube premium subscription, navigation could be displayed on the screen with music (if needed) running in the background. It worked almost perfectly.

BT is powered by a 12V socket inside the storage compartment.

There was only one minor issue with this, the power to 12V would be disconnected if the ignition is not ON and on this version of Audi Q5, once you turn off the engine, the ignition is NOT ON. That meant when I returned to the parking lot after a trip and want the music to be on via BT, the engine has to be ON till I am ready to lock the car. A minor annoyance with some engine sound.

Being a hands-on circuit designer, I thought of a quick DIY solution. All I had to ensure was to provide continuous power to the BT unit. I figured the fuse box on the front passenger side has extra fuses (from the internet) and those can be used to power the BT unit. Looked good. I ordered some spare fuses online:

The fuses have +ve and -ve nodes but how does one power up the BT unit which is designed to fit ONLY into a 12V lighter socket in the car?

I opened up the BT unit and its power IC was in the ARM.

From the internet, I could find the +ve and -ve supplies of its power IC and hooked up them to wires to connect to the respective supplies on the fuse.

All set:

I then connected the fuse connectors onto the spare fuse, next to the glove box. The BT unit will now sit completely inside the glove box with not one wire to be seen, a neater solution than before.

It worked all as expected except for one thing. I forgot one cardinal rule of audio power supplies: Noise isolation! The unit started picking up power supply noise and hence the audio quality became bad (=unacceptable).

Although I like DIY and tinkering with electronics, this effort was probably too much now and not worth my time. I could live easily with an early setup for a while.

One day I was driving to my farm and came across a scenic point and wanted to take a picture. Took out the phone from the dashboard and the camera was disabled as it became too hot there. While I was not navigating at the time using maps and it is still likely the phone will still be placed there most of the time, I decided maybe it is time to a splurge on integrated navigation.

I ordered an RSNAV unit which had good reviews online, they deal with Audi MMIs only. This was supposed to be from the US and one of my friends was just returning from there, right in time. The unit was shipped to his place but his visit to India was cancelled at the last moment! Well, I decided there is no hurry. I paid $720 for the unit (S4 version)

After a few months, I got the unit and could not hold my excitement so took the unit to EVO retrofits.

The person in charge saw the unit via mentioned a few LVDS pins looked like meant for 2G whereas mine was 3G MMI but said he will fix it anyways.

After a day, he reported all the functions are working well except that none of the native Audi MMI functions are working. Which meant I can't see the oil level, service interval etc. Complete deal breaker and disappointment after months of wait! We debugged with the seller and eventually realized they sent us a unit meant for 2G MMI! He was willing to send a replacement but for that, I had to send the unit first to his factory in China, without insurance and with a declared value of less than $50! No option! Paid for shipping (~ Rs 7k). The unit came back to India again via India --> China --> US --> India and a few more months. Frustrating. My only solace is I could live without it for "some" more time!

Took it to EVO retrofits once again who gave me some concession in installation fee this time ( ). It was done in a day and worked fine. Android Auto works flawlessly, the "call" (not music) quality is slightly poorer than before but I think it is a setup issue. Here is how it looks today (Ailun magnetic mount behind the unit):

What I like:

• Seamless Android Auto integration
• Bigger display esp for navigation
• Ability to use hotspot/WiFi - (features ii and iii were very helpful when we had to confine kids to the car for a couple of hours in our most recent farm trip where we had a sudden deluge of moths due to rains)
• Separate display for RPM and indicator of the actual amount of fuel left

A long convoluted path to installation. In retrospect, getting such kits from outside India directly is not the best way. It ended well finally, with some DIY and other learnings!

EvoRetrofits people were extremely patient, customer friendly and helpful!

Another update:

I simultaneously upgraded the headlamps. One of the lamps had died earlier a few years ago and I installed an aftermarket D3S lamp (35W) which claimed to be at least 25% brighter. It wasn't (actually dimmer than OEM) but two bulbs for $32 or something was not a bad deal. But recently I noticed especially on my trips to the farm incoming traffic on country roads (with default high beam) was "unfazed" by my high (or low) beam. I perceived this to be dangerous, to be honest so bought OSRAM Xenarc Laser night breaker lamps which claim to be up to 200% brighter than OEM.

At $205 (~Rs 16k), they are not cheap but the illumination is good as seen below and they pass the high-beam test on the highway mostly! The pics look slightly better than the actual (blame HDR) but still good I think without blinding the oncoming traffic.

Low beam:

High beam:

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Beautiful upgrades! I love it when people hold onto their cars for longer and upgrade crucial bits to keep the car "up to date". Your headlamp throw looks terrific! And the ICE upgrade is a must-have. Close contact has a 2014 Audi Q5 and it's truly irritating to not have Bluetooth audio streaming in that (calls are available). It's the only car in which I listen to the radio

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