Help to replace A6 03 climate control unit - HELP!

[John C]

Hi - I would be grateful for any help in replacing my climate control unit:
A6 2003 Avant 2.5 TDI 163 Sport.

I have posted aspects of this problem before but now need some guidance on the compatability of replacing my defective unit with one from a breakers / salvage service etc as new from Audi I have been quoted £800.....

My part no is: 4B0 820 043AQ & I have seen many on Ebay from about £40 upwards which look the same and have a similar number. The only difference being where mine has the 'AQ' they have a different alphabetical code - which may correspond to the year of the doner car.

I have found my way in to removing my unit & my question is -
a) will any these be a straight swap - or must I find one with the 'AQ'?
b) is there any requirement to code up the 'new' unit to the cars computer to overcome any ant-theft measures on this model?
c) if it does need re-coding I have read this is an Audi job - is this so?

Any help & guidance will be much appreciated as this is an ongoing problem - and its cold out there!!
John.

 

[Staz]

Hi again John. Have you tried contacting a seller to ask if their unit is compatible? Or Audi? I'll be able to get onto my parts list this afternoon so if you can give me the other 2 digit codes I'll see what it comes up with.

Anti-theft coding for a climate unit? What makes you think that?

When it comes to coding I would assume the best approach would be to copy your existing coding (if there is any) and paste it in once the new unit is fitted. That's if the module is within the unit itself though otherwise I think no coding work would be needed. It wouldn't have to be a dealer job though John.

 

[John C]

Many thanks Staz for getting back to me.

I really seem to be in the minority with this particular problem! I have had feedback from one potential seller on Ebay telling me that his unit (listed as from a 97-99 car) will only fit that year.

Others seem to say that the ones they have listed will fit a '98-2001 A6. None, that I have seen are listed as a 2003, although they look identical & have a similar main part number to my part number - I assume that there must have been a model upgrade at 2001??

The full details of mine are: 0208/H018 5 PR 4B0 820 043AQ
(this seems to be the no they are listed as except the 'AQ' has other alphabetical letters = year of manufacture?)

BHB 17.07.03
B.H.TC 5HB 007 604-62

My unit is the one without heated seat controls.

Its an 03 reg car but I am told it has the 04 spec. I would be really grateful for any numbers or years of manufacture that will fit my car so I can buy with some confidence. The mention of coded parts - I think I read that many of the control modules are now coded to ensure that the vehicles cannot be stolen & cannibalised. Hopefully this unit isn't otherwise that complicates life more......

Thanks again for your help Staz! Regards - John

 

[Staz]

You should delete your chassis number from your post John. I'm sure it'd be ok but generally it's not a good idea on a public forum. I can't use it anyway with my parts list.

Ok the description for AQ is:

"Display and operating unit with control unit for electr. regulation of air conditioner"

It's the exact same description for AN also.

AP and AR are as above plus:

"...for vehicles with heated seat and backrest element"

Which is all as expected so far. By the way the 5PR part is the colour code which on ETKA is put at the end, i.e. 4B0 820 043 AQ 5PR. I'm writing this as I go along so it may seem a little jumbled when you read this.

The AN and AQ both have entries in the 'Model' column:

AN - PR-2T0+4A0
AQ - PR-2T1,2T2+4A0

The 4A0 means without seat heating controls, the same for both

2T0 - Without double-sized standard (DIN)
2T1 - Double-sized standard (DIN)
2T2 - Double-sized standard (DIN) for special purpose vehicles

All of this data is done for a 2003 model, just tried 2004 and it's all the same....and for 2002 then 2001 the model numbers are 4B0 820 043 B, C, F or G. These are the same for 2000, 1999 and 1998. Before that it's a different diagram with totally different controls. This all pretty much corresponds to what you've said already. The same diagram is used for 1998 to 2003 so I can't see any visual differences between the models.

I would say from all this you really need to get the same as what you have now John I'm sorry to say. There are four models for your year, two with heated seats, two without and of those only one is for a car with a double DIN stereo.

I hope this helps!

 

[John C]

Hi Staz

Thanks a lot for all of the info. I will try to get my head around what it all means.

It sounds like this will considerably narrow down what units I can use to replace mine....

I have put my requirements on to a few internet salvage centres who have not got back to me yet. So if anyone else out there knows of any good Audi salvage / recycling please let me know!

Regards - John