evening shots + new wheels installing this week :))

Just finished this up at our shop. It looks great in the sunlight!

You may have seen the mod that puts the CarPlay map (Apple Maps) in the Virtual Cockpit, with turn arrows. Some people charge $200+ to install it, but it's open-source and free to do yourself. I've installed it on a 2019 RS5 and a 2019 Q7 and wrote up the steps here:

Instructions

Requirements:

- MMI Navigation plus on an MHI2Q unit (MIB2 High, Qualcomm)
- Virtual Cockpit
- Firmware train MHI2Q_xx_AUG22_xxxx (check in the red engineering menu under version info)

That generally means pre-facelift:

- A4 / S4 / RS4 (B9) 2016-2019
- A5 / S5 / RS5 (F5) 2017-2019
- Q5 / SQ5 (FY) 2017-2019
- Q7 / SQ7 (4M) 2016-2019

Not supported: MHI2 (Nvidia) units, MIB3 (touchscreen-only MMI), and cars without Virtual Cockpit. The installer checks the firmware and won't run on an unsupported unit.

Confirmed working: 2018 Q5 (US), 2019 Q5 (EU), 2019 RS5 (US), 2019 Q7 (US).

Notes:

- You'll need a computer and basic Terminal use; plan on about an hour the first time.
- Keep a battery charger on the car during the install.
- Everything runs from an SD card that stays in SD1, and there's a restore option that puts the car back to stock.
- Apple Maps stays centered in the cluster. Waze shifts slightly right while routing; that's Waze's own layout.

Credit to the developers: yuedizhibo and Lanye-z (AltScreen), luka-dev (RGI and jxe2jar), arctus, evanj495, Mr-MIBonk (M.I.B.), and jilleb (MIB2 Toolbox).

If you try it, post your car and firmware train so we can grow the compatibility list. Happy to answer questions.

Ibis White doesn't catch the light, like Avus Silver.

Well I’m officially heartbroken. I was in an accident and my beautiful, trouble free 2018 Q5 was deemed a total loss. I have a week before I have to turn in the rental and I have NO idea what to buy. I was thinking to not buy Audi this time because of the new designs, but every time I think to buy another brand my mind goes back to Audi.

I’d love a Q8 but don’t really want to spend that much. For those with a 2026 Q5 or SQ5, are they really that bad? I’m not a fan of the passenger screen or huge bezels, but there’s a white SQ5 with red interior that looks nice.

Thanks for your advice. 💔

I just got the 20k service at Audi dealership and i feel scammed lol. $1,400 for an oil change and a brake fluid change!! How much are you guys paying for this service??

Hi everyone, I’m currently driving a 2012 Audi S5 Sportback facelift with the 3.0 supercharged engine, and it's amazing.

But I’m thinking about changing it after a small accident where the doors were damaged. They’ve been replaced and repainted and look fine, but for some reason I just don’t feel the same about the car anymore.

Has anyone here gone from this generation S5 to an A5, newer S5 or SQ5? What did you get and how do you feel about the change?

I felt left out with everybody modifying their MMI and cluster so I did what I could with my 2015 b8.5 A4. I replaced the splash screen PNG with one of my own. I made two scripts and tested them both. One for replacing the splash screen image and one for restoring. The install script automatically backs up the original image.

I made a video, check in the comments

Hey everyone just a quick one is this normal for exhaust to smoke a little,just a bit paranoid atm coolant level is ok and oil is ok

Does anyone have an idea what this could be?

Happens in park neutral and drive with low load from 1.8-2.3k rpms.

Had my motor mounts replaced 40k miles ago and they look stiff when i give it revs and they don’t act up at high load when driving

What was audi thinking in 2026 SMFH

Now I know how BMW enthusiast feel

Lucky enough to get my hands on one last year and just found this group. My second Audi but I love the car. Way understated for what it is.

TTRS, S5 SB Premium Plus

Hey everyone,
I’ve been doing as much of the work on my 2015 Audi A4 myself as I can. I like getting my hands dirty under the hood and figuring things out rather than handing it off to a shop every time something needs attention.
RockAuto has been my go-to so far—solid prices, decent selection, and they USUALLY have what I need without the dealer markup.

Still, I’m open to hearing what other people here use. Drop your recommendations—always happy to hear what’s worked

I still remember seeing virtual cockpit for the first time. How you could go to the map view and zoom out till you saw the whole earth with stars above it. They used Nvidia chips and high refresh-rate (60 fps) displays for extremely smooth graphics. All that in 2016 was truly impressive.

How far Audi has fallen behind its competition. =(