B8.5 Service manual

[mgert31907]

Looking for recommendations for a quality service manual for B8.5 2016 S5. Planning on doing some mods myself and will need a trusty manual.

Let me know what your using.

[Jeff V.]

There's no printed book or DVD you can buy. The best thing I can recommend is a subscription to AllDataDIY.com. It's nearly the exact same content that's in the factory provided ELSA online systems the dealers use. It's not perfect, but it's the only legal way to get that info.

Even with All Data or a cracked copy of ELSA, the electrical troubleshooting stuff is non-existent beyond the schematics. Actual electrical troubleshooting is done with the factory scan tool ODIS software and what they call 'guided fault finding'. There's no aftermarket equivalent as far as I know. You really won't need it unless you're deep into electrical and computer problems though.

Get VCDS and an All Data subscription and you'll have pretty much everything you need for all but the worst problems. I'd assume a 2016 will have a warranty to cover those extremes anyway.

[mgert31907]

There's no printed book or DVD you can buy. The best thing I can recommend is a subscription to AllDataDIY.com. It's nearly the exact same content that's in the factory provided ELSA online systems the dealers use. It's not perfect, but it's the only legal way to get that info.

Even with All Data or a cracked copy of ELSA, the electrical troubleshooting stuff is non-existent beyond the schematics. Actual electrical troubleshooting is done with the factory scan tool ODIS software and what they call 'guided fault finding'. There's no aftermarket equivalent as far as I know. You really won't need it unless you're deep into electrical and computer problems though.

Get VCDS and an All Data subscription and you'll have pretty much everything you need for all but the worst problems. I'd assume a 2016 will have a warranty to cover those extremes anyway.

Thanks Jeff. I wanted this info for modding purposes. I am new to the Audi platform and this helps a lot. I wonder if Mitchell's on demand would do the same?

Definitely getting Vag-Com.

[MME1122]

I bought an erWin subscription for a day and just downloaded all the relevant things for my car: https://erwin.audiusa.com/erwin/showHome.do
I think it was about $25 or so. There is a lot to download, I probably didn't get all of it but I got most of the mechanical stuff I need. Like Jeff said, not much on electrical systems is available. Also the downside is without an ongoing subscription it won't be up to date, but its good enough for me lol.
The manuals do reference etka or elsa or part numbers, which is the parts database. That's really useful to have also but you have to find a cracked version. It's kind of difficult and my version stopped working after a couple weeks. I haven't bothered to try making it work again yet.

[Jeff V.]

I've just been using this for part numbers and exploded diagrams.

http://www.oemepc.com/audi

I just ordered a ton of bolts, seals and other parts when I changed out my starter and clutch. I also used it to order electrical connectors for a few other projects, like my facelift taillights. It hasn't steered me wrong yet.

[JettaGetUpandGo]

I bought an erWin subscription for a day and just downloaded all the relevant things for my car: https://erwin.audiusa.com/erwin/showHome.do
I think it was about $25 or so. There is a lot to download, I probably didn't get all of it but I got most of the mechanical stuff I need. Like Jeff said, not much on electrical systems is available. Also the downside is without an ongoing subscription it won't be up to date, but its good enough for me lol.
The manuals do reference etka or elsa or part numbers, which is the parts database. That's really useful to have also but you have to find a cracked version. It's kind of difficult and my version stopped working after a couple weeks. I haven't bothered to try making it work again yet.

I did the same. It was $35 for one day access. The manuals/wiring diagrams are downloadable PDFs and go pretty quickly. The TSB's must be individually printed or printed to PDF and there are a lot of them. In the 24 hour period I got everything on there for my Allroad, then repair manuals/wiring diagrams for the A4, A6, A7, Q5, RS5, and the B9 A4. I figured the others may be helpful for retrofitting things. The wiring diagrams for the Q5 have already come in handy.

The table of contents for each section has clickable links to jump to the page and they're searchable for (great for finding various components in the wiring diagrams). It was well worth the money and much cheaper than the Bentley Publishers repair manuals of years past.

[AWDfreak]

Factory-manuals.com. They offer genuine factory manuals in pdf. For my 2012 S5, I got a fully searchable 9000+ page pdf genuine Audi manual for about $70.

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Audizine mobile app

[mgert31907]

Thanks a lot guys for all of the information!

[Cinco80118]

Having a PDF "factory" manual for my 2016 S4 since early 2017 I didn't like the brevity of the section on replacing the brake lamp sensor, so I got another from ManualsOnline. It was worse. So I tracked down Chilton Publishing (they printed FSMs for my UrS4) and found their manuals can be accessed online through participating libraries. I'd been through the drill getting to Consumer Report through my local library, and found the Chilton Library through the Denver Public Library, free to all Colorado residences. It's great.