A3 Multi-function steering wheel - Hah!

[TMP-Audi]

Hi All,
There have been quote a few threads about the lack of use the buttons have on the Multi-function steering wheel. I have another question, that I feel is going to let me down further...


On the tuner scroll wheel, regardless if you scroll or down, it does not move to the next station stored in memory sequence on the head display, rather it just seems to jump to stations I have not stored.


Below is an example of how you can store stations on the head display:


-Radio 1 Radio 4 -
-XFM Galaxy -
-K103 Classic -


If I am listening XFM and I scroll I should go to Radio 1 (or K103) however, it actually goes to a station I haven’t even stored (Radio3!), further scrolling then takes you to more un-stored stations and in the end you get lost and have to use the head unit to get you back to the above display.


Please, please tell me this isn’t how the Multi-function steering wheel works for the Tuner? I am hoping this is a fault?


Cheers,
Tim
57 A3 1.8TSFI S/back Sport

 

[consilio]

RTFM?

 

[TMP-Audi]

Very helpfull , but alas the manual is vague/incorrect in almost all uses of the multi-funtion steering wheel.

Tim

 

[cdb2]

Mine seems to always go to next channel in sequence unless that channel is faint (perhaps u r driving out of area) in which case it then goes to another. Perhaps yours is doing this?

 

[TMP-Audi]

Dont think its the signal strength - this happens even when stationary and stations sound fine.

Looks like mine is faulty then...anybody else confrim?

Cheers,

Tim

 

[Jo Sharp]

Have you got it set for traffic information? That might affect which station it changes to....?

 

[marcfairbrother]

Mine is the same. It doesn't sound like your's is faulty. I have driven an A3 fitted with navigation and the wheel did scroll through the stored radio stations. I have a concert 3 head unit, and it appears that when you use the wheel you scroll through all the available radio stations, and not those pre-stored. Hope this helps.

 

[mcmasman]

Same here, the scroll on the steering wheel does not correspond to the stored stations on the head display. Instead, the scroll is more like a scan, it goes to the next availalbe channel, regarless if you have that station stored or not.

 

[MarcQuinlivan]

have you got your radio set to FM1 FM2 or FMAS.

FM1 and FM2 are the presets, whereas FMAS scans for the available channels in the area. Is it possible that you are using FMAS?

 

[TMP-Audi]

Head unit is set to FM1 and traffic is off and still get the issue.

Thanks for the response guys, b$gger - sounds like a "thats how they all work Sir".

Last thought is Audi should reneame the 'multi-fucntion steering wheel' to 'volume steering wheel', because thats all it really does well.

Cheers,

Tim

 

[MarcQuinlivan]

Head unit is set to FM1 and traffic is off and still get the issue.

Thanks for the response guys, b$gger - sounds like a "thats how they all work Sir".

Last thought is Audi should reneame the 'multi-fucntion steering wheel' to 'volume steering wheel', because thats all it really does well.

Cheers,

Tim

and it doesn't even do the volume properly - I would have liked to see the mute function added when you press the volume button.

Just a thought - what happens when you turn the right hand knob on the head unit? As far as I can tell the left dial on the wheel replicates this function, so if the knob scans up and down the frequency then the dial should too. That's what it does for CD navigation anyway.

 

[KARL]

On mine when I scroll it matches the stations as stored and shown on the main screen

 

[MarcQuinlivan]

I'll check mine on the way home to see what it does.

 

[GeoffT]

I must admit that I am a bit surprised/disappointed at what functions can't be performed on the MFSW.

1) Mute. Surely pressing the volume up/down button could mute the stereo? Why have a button that presses as well as rotating, yet allocate it no function??

2) Mode button. Simply switches between stereo and phone (if fitted). It would be much better if it scrolled through all sources. ie Tuner,CD,Phone etc.

3) The left scroll button works the "wrong" way IMO. Up should be next track, not down. Also agree with OP that, when in Tuner mode, it should go through stored stations, not whatever random selection it goes through now.

It should only be a matter of firmware to correct or add all of these functions.

 

[S3Daz]

I must admit that I am a bit surprised/disappointed at what functions can't be performed on the MFSW.

1) Mute. Surely pressing the volume up/down button could mute the stereo? Why have a button that presses as well as rotating, yet allocate it no function??

2) Mode button. Simply switches between stereo and phone (if fitted). It would be much better if it scrolled through all sources. ie Tuner,CD,Phone etc.

3) The left scroll button works the "wrong" way IMO. Up should be next track, not down. Also agree with OP that, when in Tuner mode, it should go through stored stations, not whatever random selection it goes through now.

It should only be a matter of firmware to correct or add all of these functions.

I was also suprised that pushing the volume button doesn't mute, there should really be options in the DIS to set up the buttons how you want it would be so easy to do. I wonder if using VAGCOM you can change the function of the buttons?

 

[GeoffT]

I have just emailed Audi UK about these points, I will let you know what they say.

 

[mitch78]

:thumbsup:

 

[marshalld]

Might only be a minor detail, but you don't say which head unit you have. If you let us know we might be able to give you some help. I'm surprised nobody else asked earlier, maybe it's just me that isn't psychic.

That's a fair point mitch.

On mine (with RNS-E), pressing the volume button repeats the last Sat Nav instruction, or says something about route guidance not active when I've no active route planned.

 

[GeoffT]

I know you were asking the OP, but for reference mine is a 57 plate with Symphony II + and behaves exactly the same as the OP describes.

 

[MarcQuinlivan]

OK, I tested mine on the way home (Symphony II+) and moving the wheel dial up\down takes it to the next channel up or down the frequencies - not the next preset.

Out of curiosity I went into the menu and there is an option for "SEEK". I selected this and changed it from "Comfort" to "Normal". Went back to the main screen and turned the dial. This time the display visibly scrolled up the frequency to the next channel.

The "Comfort" option seems to just find the next channel without showing you the thought process behind it. it just displays the current channel in the middle, then to the left and right are the channels that will be selected should you scroll up or down.

I actually took my car back to the dealer to get the "MODE" button fixed as the manual stated that it should go through the functions Radio\CD\CDC. They enquired about it with Audi UK and were told that it is only cars with bluetooth preparation and that an leaflet would soon be issued with newer cars to explain properly.

 

[mitch78]

:thumbsup:

 

[GeoffT]

I've just checked the manual (I couldn't earlier as it is in the car an SWMBO had the car). It states that the MODE button should switch between CD,Radio & Phone. It doesn't - it only switches between Phone and whatever is selected on the stereo. To switch between CD and Tuner you have to use the buttons on the stereo.

Audi do seem to have dropped off a bit here, there is so much more that could be done to make the MFSW much more useful. Depending on my response from Audi UK, I might call into my dealer over the weekend and mention that it doesn't do as the manual says, and see if there are any updates available or in the pipeline.

 

[s3avo]

I've just checked the manual (I couldn't earlier as it is in the car an SWMBO had the car). It states that the MODE button should switch between CD,Radio & Phone. It doesn't - it only switches between Phone and whatever is selected on the stereo. To switch between CD and Tuner you have to use the buttons on the stereo.

Audi do seem to have dropped off a bit here, there is so much more that could be done to make the MFSW much more useful. Depending on my response from Audi UK, I might call into my dealer over the weekend and mention that it doesn't do as the manual says, and see if there are any updates available or in the pipeline.

Read Marcquinlivans post about the cd/radio/phone.
And IMHO the MFSW is for very lazy people so im glad that its doesnt work as it should

 

[MarcQuinlivan]

I might call into my dealer over the weekend and mention that it doesn't do as the manual says, and see if there are any updates available or in the pipeline.

Yes, my dealer told me an update is in the pipeline.... unfortunately the update is for the manual, not the radio!

 

[GeoffT]

Read Marcquinlivans post about the cd/radio/phone.
And IMHO the MFSW is for very lazy people so im glad that its doesnt work as it should

I did read Marcquinlivans post and mine does have bluetooth preparation. My manual still states that the Mode button switches between Phone,CD and Radio, which it doesn't.

And I AM a very lazy person, but a very picky lazy person

 

[MarcQuinlivan]

I did read Marcquinlivans post and mine does have bluetooth preparation. My manual still states that the Mode button switches between Phone,CD and Radio, which it doesn't.

And I AM a very lazy person, but a very picky lazy person

well in that case the MODE button should work, at least that's what my dealer said.

 

[MarcQuinlivan]

And IMHO the MFSW is for very lazy people so im glad that its doesnt work as it should

Not sure if the use of double smileys indicates that you are taking the **** here. If you are - well done and ha ha!

If not, then I'd have to disagree - it means you don't have to take your hands off the wheel to change tracks or adjust the volume (unless of course you want to mute the audio altogether that is!). As for the problems with using the left dial to change the stations, that doesn't bother me that much. I wasn't aware that there were stations other than Radio 2!

 

[GeoffT]

well in that case the MODE button should work, at least that's what my dealer said.

Well, the MODE button does work, but not as described in the manual. It simply toggles between phone mode and stereo mode. You cannot switch between Radio and CD using it which is what the manual says.

 

[S3Daz]

well in that case the MODE button should work, at least that's what my dealer said.

Well if your dealer said it, it must be correct, because they all seem to know what there are talking about

 

[Detector]

I was one of the first posters on this subject a few months back.

I had in my last A3 Symphony II with MFSW, at least the left thumbwheel worked the right way up, Symphony III with MFSW the only thing that works correctly is the volume control.

I persued Audi dealer & then Audi UK, even spoke the Audi UK customer servive manager after faxing the appropriate page from the manual listing what didn't work, his reply was that I was the first to mention it and basically tough, unless enough people complain they won't change it....quote.

I was at a main dealer yesterday and they are still the same, MFSW is in fact a single function steering wheel, how much was this tasty little option again ?

My basis for complaint was that whilst the previous model not having most functions available at least has some that worked correctly and I had taken this option based on safety at the wheel, not having to take your hands off the wheel or look away from the road was a big part of this.

I also know that these radio/Cd's are now Cambus ? controled therefore it shouldn't take a techie very long to re-program the steering wheel control functions and make the upgrade available.

 

[GeoffT]

I sent my email about the MFSW problems to Paul Hardwick at Audi UK , as he had answered some questions I had before ordering the car, and it bounced back as unknown address. So I rang Audi UK customer services and discovered he’s not there any more. Oh, I said when did he leave, because he emailed me not long ago? “He died” they said. GULP. Not a good start and tends to make my moans about the MFSW look a bit trivial.

Anyway, I explained the problems and the guy just says “take it to the dealer”. I explain that I know that there is no fault with my car as several others do exactly the same– just design faults in the firmware and I wanted to know if there were any plans to update the firmware. He took my number and said he would get someone from “technical” to call me. He gave me a working email addy (audicc@audi.co.uk if anyone wants to add weight to my complaint) which I have forwarded my original email to. He did say it was worth getting in touch with my dealer though, so I rang them as well. My contact there (the salesman who sold us the car 4 weeks ago) is no longer there either (I didn’t like to ask if he was still alive) so they put me through a woman in the service department. She couldn’t grasp that I didn’t want to book the car in, I just wanted to report the errors and find out if there was an update. She said she didn’t really know much about the MFSW and would get a salesman to call me as “they know more about how these things work”.


So far I have I haven’t had any calls. I will keep you posted.

 

[cdb2]

That's a new email address, I've always used customer.services@audi.co.uk

 

[GeoffT]

No reply yet from audi UK, but called in at the dealer today. Spoke to a salesman who confirmed that his 57 plate A3 also has all the same features/faults as mine. I asked if he had mentioned this to Audi, and he said no. He suggested I chat with the technical service guy, who said no-one else had mentioned it -yet the salesguy 2 metres away is fully aware of the problems!?

Anyway he connected the car up to the computer so that he could send all of the details to Audi, and he said they would get back to me.

He did say that the more complaints they get the more chance they will issue and update, so can I suggest that anyone who has the latest MFSW coding (with the upside down FF/REW left hand roller) and the other problems mentioned in this thread, report it to their dealers so that the faults get reported back to Audi.

 

[Detector]

As an aside, when I brought it to their attention I got the feeling they couldn't give a damn as 'I' was the only person to notice the problem, I reorted to Tom Peterkin ? customer service manager Audi UK.

 

[MarcQuinlivan]

When I spoke to my dealer in January they told me they ran it by Audi Technical in the UK, so it has certainly been mentioned to them before.

 

[s3mike]

I have just fired of a mail to customer services.

Would be very useful to have the mute feature and the mode button working properly. Also metioned the left hand wheel working backwards but I'm sure I will get used to that anyway.

I won't be holding my breath...

 

[JohnS3]

Why would you want to use the left hand steering wheel button to scroll "up" to the next track (or station) when the list you see on the head unit shows the next available track below the one currently being played?

I'm sure audi have got it right, scroll down for the next track and up for the previous one. Should we run a poll?

 

[GeoffT]

Why would you want to use the left hand steering wheel button to scroll "up" to the next track (or station) when the list you see on the head unit shows the next available track below the one currently being played?

I'm sure audi have got it right, scroll down for the next track and up for the previous one. Should we run a poll?

We are not talking about browse mode. We are talking about when a track is playing on a CD (in my case an MP3 track from a CD). There is only the name of the current track displayed, and you either want to skip to the next track or go back to the start of the current track. In most other vehicles with an up/down button arrangement (and apparantly in pre 2007 Audis) you would move up for next track and down for previous. In 2007 Audis this has been reversed. I have got used to it, but it is still intuitively wrong to most people. To be honest this is not really my biggest gripe with the MFSW. The lack of a mute facility, the inability to skip to next radio preset, and the inability to switch between tuner and CD on it are bigger annoyances IMO.

I think the MFSW could be way, way better than it is with some very simple changes to the frmware. This is why I'm trying to bug Audi into doing something.

 

[JohnS3]

Ahhh, it all makes sense now. I agree that the mute and CD/tuner features would be great additions.

 

[Detector]

Agree with GeoffT on this, my old Symphony II was fine (apart fron some buttons not functioning) so my question to Audi was why on earth reverse the direction when all other car manufacturers including all of the VW group have it the other way, I have two MkV golfs I run in our fleet and they have (free on SE models) MFSW with more buttons that are all programed & function the right way up. We at Audi on the other hand have little functionality and pay a premium for the pleasure only to be told "sorry not enough complaints to warrant a change"

Come on Audi just how difficult can it be to admit your customers might be right and get one of your highly paid technicians to sit at a computer for 10 minutes to find a cure to our woes