Timers and etron connect issues

RKD2 · Mar 12, 2016

I am currently stuck in an Audi vortex between the local service dept and the national customer service.

I haven't been able to communicate to my car through etron connect. The status only gets updated while the car is on. In other words, while parked I can't get status updates through the app or web interface and I can't push timer settings to the car.

Additionally, I notice that there is no option for me to set the timers through the MMI interface. According to the manual p 116, there should be a "charging & etron mode" submenu which is just not there. I do NOT have the Navigation option.

The etron specialist in national customer service says that Navigation is not necessary to have these features. He advised me to bring the car in to my local service dept to have it evaluated. However, now my car has now been sitting in the service dept for the past couple days, they want me to take it back because they say these features do not apply to me without Navigation.

Could someone without Navigation please confirm that these features (full functionality of etron connect, menu options in MMI to set timers) exist?

bruintoo · Mar 13, 2016

Your e-tron was not provisioned correctly probably. That's what happened to mine. It took 3 weeks to get it right. You NEED the Technology Package/Navigaton to set up scheduled charging with the car MMI Plus. I did not get the Tech Pkg/Navi and I can't do scheduling through the car MMI, only though the e-tron app. There are also other stuff that you can't do without the Tech Pkg/Navi like schedule auxiliary climate control and get extra metrics like percent of emissions free driving etc. But you can do those things with the e-tron connect app (if it works).

RKD2":46s2jxwn said:
I am currently stuck in an Audi vortex between the local service dept and the national customer service.

I haven't been able to communicate to my car through etron connect. The status only gets updated while the car is on. In other words, while parked I can't get status updates through the app or web interface and I can't push timer settings to the car.

Additionally, I notice that there is no option for me to set the timers through the MMI interface. According to the manual p 116, there should be a "charging & etron mode" submenu which is just not there. I do NOT have the Navigation option.

The etron specialist in national customer service says that Navigation is not necessary to have these features. He advised me to bring the car in to my local service dept to have it evaluated. However, now my car has now been sitting in the service dept for the past couple days, they want me to take it back because they say these features do not apply to me without Navigation.

Could someone without Navigation please confirm that these features (full functionality of etron connect, menu options in MMI to set timers) exist?

RKD2 · Mar 13, 2016

Thanks bruintoo, that info is really helpful.

Are you sure we are not supposed to be able to set timers through the MMI? The manual says "applies to vehicles with plug in hybrid drive" with nothing about Navigation/MMI Plus required. The rep said we should have it.

Can I ask which service location you had your etron provisioned correctly? I believe you're in So Cal? (I am too).

Will let you know if I find out more info.

bruintoo · Mar 14, 2016

NO. You need the Tech Package. That's why it's worded as "available" in the manual. There's an asterisk if you look closely. I got my car from Audi Pacific in Torrance. As for the service department manager, Brock Temple. He knows what to do with non connecting e-tron cars.
-Ben

RKD2":3to82lrs said:
Thanks bruintoo, that info is really helpful.

Are you sure we are not supposed to be able to set timers through the MMI? The manual says "applies to vehicles with plug in hybrid drive" with nothing about Navigation/MMI Plus required. The rep said we should have it.

Can I ask which service location you had your etron provisioned correctly? I believe you're in So Cal? (I am too).

Will let you know if I find out more info.

RKD2 · Mar 14, 2016

Great, thanks! Working with them now. Hopefully will have my car back soon. I did look at the manual more closely and you're right. Small footnote about only available in certain infotainment systems.

bruintoo · Mar 14, 2016

Hopefully, everything gets sorted out soon. My e-tron was the first car Audi Pacific sold and was a guinea pig of sorts for their service department.
-Ben

RKD2":vddsqg2i said:
Great, thanks! Working with them now. Hopefully will have my car back soon. I did look at the manual more closely and you're right. Small footnote about only available in certain infotainment systems.

RKD2 · Mar 15, 2016

Ok, I got my car back yesterday and now etron connect seems to be fully working. Unfortunately after all that, I find there is no reception in my garage. It would be really nice if there were a future firmware upgrade for the vanilla MMI's to allow us to directly set the timers. Probably wishful thinking on my part.

Thanks for your help. I did speak briefly with Brock, but wasn't able to find out if my service dept actually called him or used their technical support line.

I know what you mean about being a guinea pig. My car spent an entire week in service because it was delivered with a faulty hood latch. They made several calls to headquarters in Germany to make sure there wasn't a design flaw before getting the go ahead to replace it. I'm pretty patient knowing the car is a new model, but it's been frustrating dealing with Audi's poor communication between their own departments. Really loving the car though.

bruintoo · Mar 15, 2016

That's good news. The thing with e-tron connect service is it's dependent on Verizon Telematics which is I think 3G (or even 2G!) and if the signal from Verizon is weak data won't get updated. In the parking garage at work where I use ChargePoint, signal is non-existent so I can't terminate or start charging using the e-tron connect app. Luckily, the ChargePoint app works like a charm so I can control charging (especially helpful since they charge by the hour and it doesn't care if the car is drawing power or not).

RKD2":1dl72dyc said:
Ok, I got my car back yesterday and now etron connect seems to be fully working. Unfortunately after all that, I find there is no reception in my garage. It would be really nice if there were a future firmware upgrade for the vanilla MMI's to allow us to directly set the timers. Probably wishful thinking on my part.

Thanks for your help. I did speak briefly with Brock, but wasn't able to find out if my service dept actually called him or used their technical support line.

I know what you mean about being a guinea pig. My car spent an entire week in service because it was delivered with a faulty hood latch. They made several calls to headquarters in Germany to make sure there wasn't a design flaw before getting the go ahead to replace it. I'm pretty patient knowing the car is a new model, but it's been frustrating dealing with Audi's poor communication between their own departments. Really loving the car though.

jerry3561 · Mar 15, 2016

I really don't know why people are continuing to experience these issues. The e-tron has been on the streets since late 2014, albeit I only took delivery in January 2015. Audi has had plenty of time to sort out their e-tron connect application and appears to have failed miserably.

RKD2 · Mar 15, 2016

Yes. I didn't even mention the trouble I had getting my login info for the etron app. The dealer was convinced it was an option that I didn't have. They thought I was talking about audi connect and knew nothing about etron connect. It was up to me to set up a conversation between the etron rep and the dealer so they could register me. This was less than 2 months ago.

jerry3561":2zt7l7g6 said:
I really don't know why people are continuing to experience these issues. The e-tron has been on the streets since late 2014, albeit I only took delivery in January 2015. Audi has had plenty of time to sort out their e-tron connect application and appears to have failed miserably.

RKD2 · Apr 14, 2016

Well after all the trouble I had getting etron connect functional, it no longer works. I had it working for two weeks until the car developed an unrelated fault that required servicing again (3rd different problem, car has now spent 25 total days in service over first 3 months). Sometime during this last service, the etron connect stopped working, no updates from the app or over the web interface while at the dealer. This happened in early April.

I mentioned the problem to the service department before they returned the car and they couldn't figure out what's wrong. Apparently they contacted headquarters in Germany and are waiting for a fix. I got sick of waiting and took the car back while they figure out a solution. It has been almost two weeks now and have heard nothing. I still love the car but am so frustrated with Audi.

hangtime10 · Apr 14, 2016

Hearing all the frustrations being experienced from many folks, I suppose we Canadians are fortunate to not have the e-tron connect app available to us.
Although, I'm sure many of us would've like to try it out. There seems to be a lot of info provided when that app works properly.

RKD2 · May 11, 2016

Another update. The service dept brought in a local representative for troubleshooting and they ended up swapping the communications module. It fixed the problem, and now my etron connect function is working again.

So now there's a new problem. Over the weekend, the check engine light came on again. I suspect it has something to do with charging the car using pre-set timers, since I had this happen previously the last time I had etron connect working (brought the car in for servicing where it stayed for two weeks while they did the troubleshooting). I was getting ready to take the car in for servicing yet again, but the warning disappeared the next day after I charged normally without timers.

Will try charging with the pre-set timer in a few days to see if it comes back again.

bruintoo · May 12, 2016

Wow. Are you still using Pacific Audi's service department? I just got my 5K service from them, and everything, knock on wood, is working fine.
-Ben

RKD2":3m5mx2lh said:
Another update. The service dept brought in a local representative for troubleshooting and they ended up swapping the communications module. It fixed the problem, and now my etron connect function is working again.

So now there's a new problem. Over the weekend, the check engine light came on again. I suspect it has something to do with charging the car using pre-set timers, since I had this happen previously the last time I had etron connect working (brought the car in for servicing where it stayed for two weeks while they did the troubleshooting). I was getting ready to take the car in for servicing yet again, but the warning disappeared the next day after I charged normally without timers.

Will try charging with the pre-set timer in a few days to see if it comes back again.

RKD2 · May 12, 2016

No, I'm at the Mission Viejo location. I'm at 2K miles... hoping I can finally get all the problems worked out at some point!

Timers and etron connect issues

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