Facelift New Car, New Questions, New Stress

Nirmal Ramjee

Nirmal Ramjee

Registered User
Joined
Jun 4, 2018
Messages
43
Reaction score
23
Points
8
Location
London
Hi All

Finally, after waiting 3 weeks, I picked up my new car over the weekend. :yahoo:

3
2
1


I had a few questions that I hope people could help me with:
  1. I tried everything to get the mirror dip to work when reversing, but I am failing dismally. Do I need to have folding mirrors for me to have this available?
  2. When I put the car into Park, and remove my seat belt, the electronic parking brake does not engage. Is this behaviour correct?
  3. Has anyone been able to get the boot kick working on the S4? We tried for at least 8 min at the dealer and finally the said its because the car is lower, therefore its not as great. I mean not the end of the world, but worth understanding if there is a trick. I do know that in the normal A4, there is a huge hole under the bumper, but with the S4 bumper, that hole is now only 5 cm in diameter.
  4. Is it worth getting OBDEleven to activate lane assist? The car has the camera on the windscreen, and reading other forums, it seems like that is all you need to activate lane assist.
  5. How does the "Driver Easy Access work" or is it only linked to having Memory Seats? I have the option ticked but nothing happens when I start/stop the car.
Last point, I had a restless night knowing that no matter what I do, there will always be people in this world who don't give a crap. Coming home last night to my parking spot in the basement, I found that my car neighbour had given me just enough room. Something I never really cared about with my old Golf. After spending 20 min parking the car, and coming back downstairs to move it closer to the pole, I had bad dreams about him opening the passenger door and hitting mine. Maybe its just new car syndrome, but I don't think he is going to care much dinging my car. Feels like a ticking time bomb waiting to happen though. And yes, he does have enough space to his right, but chooses to be as close to me as possible.

You know the first thing I am doing when I get home is going to be looking for dings.. :search::cower:

4
 
  • Like
Reactions: tickedon, f1nny, rasA4 and 5 others
  1. I tried everything to get the mirror dip to work when reversing, but I am failing dismally. Do I need to have folding mirrors for me to have this available? - I don't think so, I'm pretty sure it can be activated using OBD11but seems to be a bit hit or miss.
  2. When I put the car into Park, and remove my seat belt, the electronic parking brake does not engage. Is this behaviour correct? - Yes, you have to manually engage it. Sometimes even with the auto handbrake like I have there are scenarios where it doesn't automatically apply for some reason. You may find that if you pull up and just put the car in park then turn it off it will apply if you have the auto handbrake.
  3. Has anyone been able to get the boot kick working on the S4? We tried for at least 8 min at the dealer and finally the said its because the car is lower, therefore its not as great. I mean not the end of the world, but worth understanding if there is a trick. I do know that in the normal A4, there is a huge hole under the bumper, but with the S4 bumper, that hole is now only 5 cm in diameter. - I don't have the hole in mine I don't think. I'm also not sure if the kick to open is available with the saloon? It also requires the advanced key with keyless entry, so depends if you have that or not.
  4. Is it worth getting OBDEleven to activate lane assist? The car has the camera on the windscreen, and reading other forums, it seems like that is all you need to activate lane assist. - Up to you, I believe it can easily be done but since you won't have the stalk button, you won't be able to turn it off on the fly so you'll have to see if it's worth it for you. Personally I'd say no because I switch mine on and off all the time and wouldn't want to be stuck with it on all the time.
  5. How does the "Driver Easy Access work" or is it only linked to having Memory Seats? I have the option ticked but nothing happens when I start/stop the car. - I think that it's mainly for the memory seats but I'm pretty sure the bolsters on mine (I don't have memory seats) deflate when you're getting in and out to make it a little easier.
Hope those answers help a bit!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Thundercliffe81 and Nirmal Ramjee
Daggerit said:
  1. I tried everything to get the mirror dip to work when reversing, but I am failing dismally. Do I need to have folding mirrors for me to have this available? - I don't think so, I'm pretty sure it can be activated using OBD11but seems to be a bit hit or miss.
  2. When I put the car into Park, and remove my seat belt, the electronic parking brake does not engage. Is this behaviour correct? - Yes, you have to manually engage it. Sometimes even with the auto handbrake like I have there are scenarios where it doesn't automatically apply for some reason. You may find that if you pull up and just put the car in park then turn it off it will apply if you have the auto handbrake.
  3. Has anyone been able to get the boot kick working on the S4? We tried for at least 8 min at the dealer and finally the said its because the car is lower, therefore its not as great. I mean not the end of the world, but worth understanding if there is a trick. I do know that in the normal A4, there is a huge hole under the bumper, but with the S4 bumper, that hole is now only 5 cm in diameter. - I don't have the hole in mine I don't think. I'm also not sure if the kick to open is available with the saloon? It also requires the advanced key with keyless entry, so depends if you have that or not.
  4. Is it worth getting OBDEleven to activate lane assist? The car has the camera on the windscreen, and reading other forums, it seems like that is all you need to activate lane assist. - Up to you, I believe it can easily be done but since you won't have the stalk button, you won't be able to turn it off on the fly so you'll have to see if it's worth it for you. Personally I'd say no because I switch mine on and off all the time and wouldn't want to be stuck with it on all the time.
  5. How does the "Driver Easy Access work" or is it only linked to having Memory Seats? I have the option ticked but nothing happens when I start/stop the car. - I think that it's mainly for the memory seats but I'm pretty sure the bolsters on mine (I don't have memory seats) deflate when you're getting in and out to make it a little easier.
Hope those answers help a bit!
Click to expand...

Thanks for your responses Daggerit.

The Auto Handbrake is a pain. It would make sense to engage automatically when you turn the car off - like my Golf used to do. For a company spent on making everything safe, you would think this would be in the top 10 items. Maybe something OBD11 can sort out?

The hole for the boot kick on on the right, as a small black hole. The car comes with keyless entry and on the specs, says that it has the auto boot option. I mean its not a must have, I can always hold down the boot button to open the boot. Just like to make sure that what I pay for is there and works. If you know what I mean. :icon thumright:

Ahh I never noticed the bolsters with regard to Easy Access. I too do not have memory seats so that could be it. I will try it again tonight.
 
Nirmal Ramjee said:
Thanks for your responses Daggerit.

The Auto Handbrake is a pain. It would make sense to engage automatically when you turn the car off - like my Golf used to do. For a company spent on making everything safe, you would think this would be in the top 10 items. Maybe something OBD11 can sort out?

The hole for the boot kick on on the right, as a small black hole. The car comes with keyless entry and on the specs, says that it has the auto boot option. I mean its not a must have, I can always hold down the boot button to open the boot. Just like to make sure that what I pay for is there and works. If you know what I mean. :icon thumright:

Ahh I never noticed the bolsters with regard to Easy Access. I too do not have memory seats so that could be it. I will try it again tonight.
Click to expand...

It's possible that you might be able to activate the auto handbrake with OBD11, I don't think I've heard of anyone doing it personally though. Doesn't mean it can't be done!

The sensor for the kick runs the length of the diffuser so I don't know what the hole is that you're talking about to be honest, I'll have to take a look on mine when I go home! The cars come with keyless start, but standard spec doesn't have the keyless entry. I don't even know if the kick to open is an option on the saloon though as on the Avant the tailgate is motorised and will open and shut with a kick but the saloon would only be able to open? Don't know for sure.

EDIT: Looks like the advanced key is only an option with the Comfort Pack. So if you don't have the auto handbrake, B&O system and reversing camera as well then odds are you don't have the advanced key/kick to open boot.
 
Last edited:
Congratulations on the new car. Looks great. This was instead of an S3 that was delayed?

As for parking dings, if you suspect your car park neighbour of any future marks then retaliate with a sledgehammer. Harsh but fair.

Also, look up door dent protectors - I did a quick search and came across some products like "Door Shox", "Ding bats" and "doordefender" on Amazon.com. There must be loads of similar things out there that can be used when parked.
 
Congratulations on the new car - looks very stylish.

The situation with your parking neighbour is difficult as people can get very territorial about 'their' space.

To be fair to your neighbour, whilst he is not parked centrally he is in within the confines of his marked space and, up until recently, you've both been used to your narrower VW Golf being parked in your space and it didn't really matter. It's not clear from the picture but does anyone park on the other side of your neighbour and if so do they park right up against the post so that your neighbour has to leave that gap to ensure he can get to his driver's door?

Whilst there are undeniably many people who don't car about denting another car I think the situation is a bit different here, not least because it would be pretty obvious who it was if you have any paint transfer of the same colour and both parties park in the same place every night. It might not be as nice as your new S4 but your neighbour's car doesn't look too shabby either.

Maybe it's worth leaving it a few days to see if you neighbour automatically adjusts his parking position to compensate for the arrival of your new (wider) car. If it remains a problem your could try asking him nicely if he would mind moving over a couple of inches but there's always a danger of a conversation like that going spectacularly badly if it comes across as inferring that 'my car is better than your car' or the suggestion that your decision to buy a wider car places an obligation on him to use his own property in a different way.

Good luck and try to enjoy the new car without worrying too much about the inevitable first dink or dent on a new car.
 
1) Yes the folding mirrors are required. But also the mirror adjustment setting on the door must also be set to the passenger mirror then adjusted whilst the can is in reverse.
2) The gearbox will go into park when you turn off the ignition, the EHB should also engage, but a bit hit and miss.
3) It's like kicking a ball, once used to it you will not forget how to do it. However I don't think it runs the length of the diffuser as mine only works on the left hand side.
4) Trouble is if you activate lane assist it will always be on, as far as I understand.
5) Memory seats are needed.
 
Dings and dents happen, they are part of car ownership, as annoying as they are.

They can be repaired, and usually quite cheaply too.

You can't change what might happen by worrying... so save yourself the bother and try not to worry about it.... if the inevitable happens, it can be fixed.

Enjoy it!
 
hi have a 18 plate saloon with keyless entry and start comfort pack. mine does open the boot with your foot but its temperamental sometimes it works sometimes not bit of a gimmick really.
 
Daggerit said:
It's possible that you might be able to activate the auto handbrake with OBD11, I don't think I've heard of anyone doing it personally though. Doesn't mean it can't be done!

The sensor for the kick runs the length of the diffuser so I don't know what the hole is that you're talking about to be honest, I'll have to take a look on mine when I go home! The cars come with keyless start, but standard spec doesn't have the keyless entry. I don't even know if the kick to open is an option on the saloon though as on the Avant the tailgate is motorised and will open and shut with a kick but the saloon would only be able to open? Don't know for sure.

EDIT: Looks like the advanced key is only an option with the Comfort Pack. So if you don't have the auto handbrake, B&O system and reversing camera as well then odds are you don't have the advanced key/kick to open boot.
Click to expand...

Sorry I have not been very clear. The car comes with the Comfort Pack, so it has all mentioned. I will try and take a picture tonight when I get home to show the hole I am talking about.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Daggerit
Nirmal Ramjee said:
Hi All

Finally, after waiting 3 weeks, I picked up my new car over the weekend. :yahoo:

View attachment 169253 View attachment 169254 View attachment 169255

I had a few questions that I hope people could help me with:
  1. I tried everything to get the mirror dip to work when reversing, but I am failing dismally. Do I need to have folding mirrors for me to have this available?
  2. When I put the car into Park, and remove my seat belt, the electronic parking brake does not engage. Is this behaviour correct?
  3. Has anyone been able to get the boot kick working on the S4? We tried for at least 8 min at the dealer and finally the said its because the car is lower, therefore its not as great. I mean not the end of the world, but worth understanding if there is a trick. I do know that in the normal A4, there is a huge hole under the bumper, but with the S4 bumper, that hole is now only 5 cm in diameter.
  4. Is it worth getting OBDEleven to activate lane assist? The car has the camera on the windscreen, and reading other forums, it seems like that is all you need to activate lane assist.
  5. How does the "Driver Easy Access work" or is it only linked to having Memory Seats? I have the option ticked but nothing happens when I start/stop the car.
Last point, I had a restless night knowing that no matter what I do, there will always be people in this world who don't give a ****. Coming home last night to my parking spot in the basement, I found that my car neighbour had given me just enough room. Something I never really cared about with my old Golf. After spending 20 min parking the car, and coming back downstairs to move it closer to the pole, I had bad dreams about him opening the passenger door and hitting mine. Maybe its just new car syndrome, but I don't think he is going to care much dinging my car. Feels like a ticking time bomb waiting to happen though. And yes, he does have enough space to his right, but chooses to be as close to me as possible.

You know the first thing I am doing when I get home is going to be looking for dings.. :search::cower:

View attachment 169256
Click to expand...

Nice new S4 bud. Especially with black pack In reference to your neighbour, a lot of the worry and anxiety can and will be relieved if you just have a chat with them. You're both obviously aware of the concrete pillars at either side. Maybe your neighbour has this worry more so. Unless they're a giant duechebag.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Lovely looking S4, enjoy!

It looks like you have to have minimally spec'd the 6XE option of the folding door mirrors to get the mirror dip on the passenger side, it's a bit mean to option this feature at the price point of an S4

6XE
Door mirrors (folding) Electrically folding, adjustable and heated with built-in LED side indicators and kerb-view function for passenger side
 
Congrats @Nirmal Ramjee on your new car, real shame a car of this level doesn't have folding mirrors. you see likes of fords comes as standard! crazy
anyway i managed to fit folding mirrors to my car as mentioned earlier you will need change the mirror knob and the surround trim. managed to also get the mirror dip with OBD eleven. i recommend getting the pro version as this enables you to do long coding.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Thundercliffe81
Yes but ford cut corners in other areas so you can have those folding mirrors for 'free'. It's swings and roundabouts. Either you can have one of the finest interiors of this class of car, or you can have a ford's version. Plus there are some who like having the choice of not having folding mirrors..
 
With the lane assist being activated with OBDeleven it does stay in all the time. A little trick I use is press traction control once and it turns off lane assist and puts it into sport traction which is great fun in the wet.
 
With the foot operated boot try one swipe from the left of centre towards the left exhaust tips. If you try again too quickly it will just ignore it, at least that’s what I’ve found
 
  • Like
Reactions: DaveW
cuke2u said:
Yes but ford cut corners in other areas so you can have those folding mirrors for 'free'. It's swings and roundabouts. Either you can have one of the finest interiors of this class of car, or you can have a ford's version. Plus there are some who like having the choice of not having folding mirrors..
Click to expand...
Cannot compare ford with Audi.
Audi all the way for me that’s why I bought another. Just got fed up pushing the mirror in every time i had to parked on the road, then i see little fiestas parking along side me with folding mirrors annoyed me.
probably not annoy others each to their own.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tickedon and cuke2u
rasA4 said:
Cannot compare ford with Audi.
Audi all the way for me that’s why I bought another. Just got fed up pushing the mirror in every time i had to parked on the road, then i see little fiestas parking along side me with folding mirrors annoyed me.
probably not annoy others each to their own.
Click to expand...

I guess we could retrofit the folding mirrors but at £750(compared to £250 from factory), it feels like daylight robbery.
 
Nirmal Ramjee said:
I guess we could retrofit the folding mirrors but at £750(compared to £250 from factory), it feels like daylight robbery.
Click to expand...
Yup £750 is, lucky I paid less than half that.
 
BigAardvaark said:
Mine's to the right. About a foot maybe a foot and a half from centre. Works every time, two swipes of a foot (think "kick kick"). Doesn't work on the left. Are you guys sure?
Click to expand...

I literally just kick the centre and it opens every time, I don't do any left to right sweeping or anything. Granted you have to get really close to the diffuser to get it to work I've found.
 
You can enable the auto parking brake with VCDS or OBD11, I had to do it on my 2017 S5, its not on by default.

As others have said, the sensor for the boot kick is across the entire bumper and not reliant on a hole, I notices when I had the rear bumper off for adding the side assist radars.

Lovely looking car @Nirmal Ramjee, congrats!
 
Nirmal Ramjee said:
Really?? Where did you get them done?
Click to expand...
I’m only quoting the actual door mirrors bought them used from a well known auction site. Had to buy the folding mirror knob and surround to accommodate the extra holes, which added another £45 odd.
You need to check if you have the correct door modules otherwise they’ll need changing,
I already had keyless entry.
No labour as I installed it myself. I wouldn’t recommend it if you haven’t pulled things off cars before.
 
Last edited:
Nirmal Ramjee said:
I guess we could retrofit the folding mirrors but at £750(compared to £250 from factory), it feels like daylight robbery.
Click to expand...

With things like the folding mirrors when Audi fit them they use mirrors with motors in for the folding, hence the £250, when you retrofit you replace the entire mirror, wiring, led's etc with new ones, hence the cost is so high.

I ended up with a spare set as I bought the kit and then also bought the 360 camera kit, the 360 camera mirrors were folding too so my spare ones ended up on eBay and the only bit I used from the kit were the trim and switch, I ended up worse off but that was my mistake.

After changing your mirrors you end up with a spare set minus mirror caps and glass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cuke2u and rasA4
For the boot opening the ignition also has to be off. When I first got the car I'd left the ignition on and couldn't understand why the boot opening wasn't working.
 
RichardMMM said:
For the boot opening the ignition also has to be off. When I first got the car I'd left the ignition on and couldn't understand why the boot opening wasn't working.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, I've never tried that! Is that the engine is running or that the keys have been left inside the car because it's running, and therefore not close enough to the boot for it to activate? I'll have to experiment later...
 
Daggerit said:
That's interesting, I've never tried that! Is that the engine is running or that the keys have been left inside the car because it's running, and therefore not close enough to the boot for it to activate? I'll have to experiment later...
Click to expand...

The ignition has to be off, it doesn't matter if the engine is running or not.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Daggerit
I enabled easy entry and the seat bolsters 'deflate' to allow fat people easy access to the seat. You should hear a funny sound every time you open the driver door if you've selected the seat bolster to be nice snug.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rasA4
Daggerit said:
That's interesting, I've never tried that! Is that the engine is running or that the keys have been left inside the car because it's running, and therefore not close enough to the boot for it to activate? I'll have to experiment later...
Click to expand...

Its definitely that the engine has to be stopped, I often leave the missus in the car if I have to run into a shop to grab something and even though I have the keys in my pocket if she has locked the doors and the engine is on I can't get it till she unlocks it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Daggerit
Very nice car. I’m puzzled as to how have you’ve got an S4 registered on a 68 plate when apparently cars that aren’t WLTP certified coudn’t be registered after 31st Aug.
 
Time for my week end update.

Today I managed to get away from work a few hours early. Got home, threw the laptop bag down and went straight to the basement to have a play around with the settings. Could also be the fact that my obdeleven came yesterday. I am sure everyone has had that new car feeling where you just want to take it for a quick drive.

Anyway, let’s start with my car neighbor. Had a quick chat and we agreed on the space between the cars to allow easy access to the driver doors. So all we needed was a good chat, and a promise to take him on a drive soon. :friends:

So onto obdeleven: I did a few quick updates that I wanted. The sound when locking the car, activating travel lights, Dimmed DLR’s with indicator lights and few others. I had a few questions if anyone has tried these before:

1) I have enabled the “Acceleration Display” which shows the G Meter on the virtual cockpit, but it does not seem to do anything. It says it works with S and RS cars, but just stayed in the middle when I went for a drive. Has anyone got this to work?
2) I could not get the lane assist to activate, has anyone get this right? It keeps saying that I need to turn on the ignition, but it is on. :concern:
3) Any other suggestions on what I should activate with the obd11?

cuke2u said:
I think that Audi-Sport member DJAlix will do retrofits cheaper...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the hint @cake2. I spoke to DJAlix and I am going to get them installed with him. I don’t think I am comfortable not having them so rather just get them installed.

DarkyUK said:
You can enable the auto parking brake with VCDS or OBD11, I had to do it on my 2017 S5, its not on by default.

As others have said, the sensor for the boot kick is across the entire bumper and not reliant on a hole, I notices when I had the rear bumper off for adding the side assist radars.

Lovely looking car @Nirmal Ramjee, congrats!
Click to expand...

Thanks @DarkyUK! Do you have instructions (or a link) to the obdeleven settings to activate this?

RichardMMM said:
For the boot opening the ignition also has to be off. When I first got the car I'd left the ignition on and couldn't understand why the boot opening wasn't working.
Click to expand...

I figured this one out after walking up and down to the car. The car has to be locked for it to work. Now I have got it down to a fine art. :thumbs up:

Wakes said:
I enabled easy entry and the seat bolsters 'deflate' to allow fat people easy access to the seat. You should hear a funny sound every time you open the driver door if you've selected the seat bolster to be nice snug.
Click to expand...

Ahh thanks @Wakes ! Seems like I need to use the bolsters more to get this benefit. Not too much of a hassle if nothing happens with this function.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Riko0073
The way I see it is that his/her wing mirror is probably just over the line (would need some goal line technology to be sure). They're prob not doing it on purpose... more that they're trying to avoid the concrete post... but some people just don't have any awareness and are oblivious of others situations.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
New owner questions
Replies
25
Views
2K
/dev/null
D
E
New owner questions.
Replies
6
Views
918
TripleD
TripleD
Candell
New owner questions
Replies
11
Views
1K
Candell
Candell
C
New Member New Car
Replies
5
Views
771
Sandra
Sandra
S
New Member New Car
Replies
59
Views
3K
scotaudiavantman
S
Top
Back