Hi There,

I have a 2009 A4 prestige with B&O sound system. I bought the car used (29,000 miles) in December 2010. I now have 53,000 miles on the car. I absolutely love driving this car and I really enjoyed the sound system...until last week when the audio output died (stereo, auxiliary, bluetooth, Nav). I checked all the fuses and none were blown.

I brought it to the dealer today and their diagnostics showed a dead amplifier. My service tech said he would try to get me a "good will replacement" since I recently went over 50,000 miles. He called me later and said the best they could do was offer a 15% discount since I wasn't the original owner.

The amplifier costs $1600. The 15% discount would basically cover the labor cost leaving me paying $1600 out of pocket. I asked if they could look for an amp from a salvage car and they said no.

This is my first Audi and as I said I have really enjoyed it but this is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Searching the boards I found that some others have had issues with B&O sound system but fortunately for them it was during the warranty period. How does an amplifier wear out in a car that is only 4 years old? I never abused the sound system and almost never listen to audio at high decibel levels.

In the end I know I will have to get this fixed because 1) riding around in a silent car is no fun and 2) it will kill the resale value. Any suggestions for a cheaper repair option?

Should I try a third party (non-dealership) shop? I don't know if they would be cheaper if they have to get the part from Audi in the first place (I don't think Audi would give them a discount)

Should I try a different dealership? I have been happy with the one I'm at and the other are far enough away to be very inconvenient.

Thanks in advance for any tips/suggestions.

 

You could try a local stereo shop to see if they might have one, but more then likely they wont, due to the fact that any factory interfacing will require that amp.

I work for a shop in Socal, and I know when we need to buy something like this from the dealership, we might get up to a 20% discount.

You might be better off trying a junk yard, maybe one the does VW/Audi only.

As far as the amp going out is a short time like yours did, its electronics. If they are will to give you a discount at the dealership and it your best bet, take it and install yourself, it a simple replacement. Only a few connections and bolts/nuts to hold it down. Location is in the trunk, on left side behind panel.

Good luck with your search.

Jason

 

Jason,

Thanks for the response. I had no luck finding anyone in my area that might have a B&O amp. Since the dealers discount basically comped the price of the install I just had them do the work. Expensive fix but at least I can listen to music again.

It wasn't a complete loss. While at the dealer I also told them that my car was beginning to eat oil (1 quart every 400-500 miles). I assumed they would identify a problem then I would have an independent mechanic do the repairs. The dealership performed the oil consumption test and to my surprise they did the repairs ($642) at no cost to me. They said since this was a "known issue" with the engine in these cars there was no charge for the work even though I was out of warranty.

Wiley

 

Wiley,

What did the dealer do for the oil consumption problem?

 

it is an easy install but i would love to see it work after that..
it requires coding and adapting and also component protection activated...

 

The dealership told me to come back if the "add oil" message came on again within 1200 miles of the initial repair. My A4 didn't even make it another 1,000 miles when the low oil warning came on again. At this point I had 55,000 miles on the odometer. I brought it back to the Audi Exchange and they performed the level 2 test which it failed. They then replaced the pistons at no cost to me. I asked to get the 55K service done at the same time. Greg, my service advisor, said that by replacing the pistons they would basically be doing the 55K service. All I had to do was pay for the filters (about $60) and spark plugs ($18). The engine rebuild took 3 days. 1 day into the process I got a call from Greg saying that the turbo charger was likely to die in the next 1-2K miles. They could replace it now for cost of parts ($1800) + 1 hour of labor ($175/hr) or I could wait and take my chances that the technician was wrong about the turbo charger. The labor is usually 3-4 hours. Since I was outside of my warranty this would not be covered. I went with option A. I have put about another 10,000 miles on the car since then and have had no issues.

 

I hae question regarding the B&O system in the S5. I was told by an audioshop that my subwoofer had blown and needed to replace it. So I bought another one from Audi, had it replaced and it's doing the same thing (not producing bass or sound) as well my front door speakers. I was then told that it was the amplifier that is bad? Has anyone experience this? Before i pay $1100 dollars for a replacement, can anyone reccomend some other option? BTW, granted the sub and front doors are not functioning, the system is still quite loud...just a bit flat. Any help would be great..

 

Hi, I just had the same problem happen to my S5... did you ever resolve the problem?
Rob

 

Same issue here.

First the sub went out. Now the woofers in the front doors work intermittently. My guess is that there was a bad run of B&O amps that made it out of the factory.

I'm planning to use an HD600 as a replacement for the speakers, and I'm going to add a sub/amp combo to replace the factory sub. Plan to pull the signal from working channels on the factory amp.

Really disappointed with the bad amp and Audi's poor response to the issue. They quoted me $1850 to replace the amp and sub. That amount will net me a better system from a 3rd party installer.

 

Same problem here. No way to buy a new Amp directly from Bang and Olufsen? Since my dealer once quoted me 100 bucks to fix the little plastic entry that opens and closes that you stick the FOB key into, I'm assuming the $1500 my mechanic quoted me is a huge markup.