I just purchased the car, and I cannot find any documentation of the radio code in any of the manuals that came with the car. The radio (a Bose Symphony) is working fine right now, but I'll be needing to disconnect the battery someday for maintenance, etc.

Is there a way to retrieve the code while the radio is working, happy and not in safe mode?

2001 B5 A4 1.8T 5sp quattro

 

Nope. there might be a sticker on the radio with it. Also rumored to be in the trunk? But there should be a little tag somewhere (hopefully) with a 4 digit code on it

 

I highly doubt that sticker would be on the radio. I mean if the radio was stolen, then the thief would have the code right there to unlock it. If you have the manuals, there's one just for the radio and there should be a sticker there. You can call audi a few times and sometimes u get a nice guy to help you out with a code.

 

I guess I'll have to pull the radio and get the s/n off of it and call Audi. I was hoping there would be a way for the radio to display the code when it isn't locked in safe mode. Nuts.

I don't even really get the whole concept of codes on factory radios. It's not like someone can rip off this radio and plug it into their Civic.

Codes would be a nice aftermarket deterrent as any radio that was stolen from me had been an aftermarket unit. Nobody wants to steal a factory radio. (but I'm not a petty thief, so what do I know......)

 

I'm sure when the cars came out in 2000 or so the radio costs a lot more than it does today. people were probably stealing them because its out of an audi.

 

I never really worried about the Infinity systems that were in the Chryslers I have owned, and they were pretty good sounding systems. Even 10 or so years a go, about a hundred fifty bucks got you a nice Pioneer CD head unit that would be comparable to these "premium" factory systems. But then again, to a thief - free is free.

 

These A4 B5's with Nav was way ahead of its time,for a 2001 sedan.

It would behoove,a would be thief to steal a Nav from a B6 or a S8 and install it in a B5.

Check out this youtube video of the Nav working with music playing with track info on the LCD screen,while the Nav voice is talking.

 

This is the only way I know of to get it. I've had to call a coupla times between my two B5's and my girlfriend's MkI TT and they've been very easy to deal with. Nice people to talk to, very happy to help. You'll need basic info about the car like make, model, year, and VIN#, as well as the ID numbers on the back of the radio. There was two or three on the back of my GF's radio, so I just wrote them all down. Can't remember now which one I actually ended up giving to the AoA lady on the phone. If you don't already have radio keys, they can be had at AutoZone or Wal-Mart, as well as places like Amazon and eBay.