A6 MMI 3G radio/TP/TMC problem

[MFGF]

Hi all,

I have just taken delivery of an Audi A6 fitted with the new MMI 3G with MMI Navigation Plus (HDD based) and AMI. My car has an odd problem with radio reception, traffic bulletins and TMC which I'm guessing is a software issue. When I start the car and the MMI initialises, everything is OK - TMC enables and shows info messages, TP traffic bulletins interrupt normal radio/iPod playback, and all expected FM radio stations appear in the MMI display. If I drive the car any distance, however, things begin to go awry. If the radio is tuned to (say) Radio 1 on 97.9, it does not detect regional changes to the station's frequency, and eventually loses the signal as I move to a different area of the country. TP Traffic Bulletins also stop, and TMC disables itself. If I look at the list of other stations displayed, it still appears exactly as it did when the MMI initialised, so the car could by then be in Manchester but still show BBC Radio Oxford as being available. I have discovered that if I switch waveband to MW then back to FM again, everything rights itself - local radio stations appear, TMC re-enables, national stations (eg Radio 1) are back to normal reception, traffic bulletins start to come through again, and out-of-area stations disappear.

I have taken the car to my local dealer, but they seem quite puzzled by the problem, and have ordered some new parts for the car (radio boosters and a new rear window). Given the nature of the problem and the initial excellent radio reception, I'm not convinced that this will make a difference. I'm just wondering if anyone else out there has an A6 with the same spec and is experiencing the same problems as me (and in a perfect world knows what the resolution is), or is it just a glitch with my car?

Many thanks,

MF.

Edit. As of February 2010, Mark Chesworth identified a workaround whereby switching the Traffic Programme (TP) function to OFF in the radio setup allows the radio to self-tune as expected, and TMC to remain active. Obviously this is not a complete solution, as TP messages are often useful when not using the navigation system, but it is keeping me sane until Audi fix the software.

MF.

Edit 2. As of October 2010, Audi have released a Revision T software update CD which fixes the radio retuning/TMC/TP issues. Cars with this fix applied can now safely have the TP function enabled. The update also fixes the navigation voice prompt errors on cars with 3G navigation high and low ("now turn left" fix).

MF.