Volume Knob Malfunctioning?

[Mscarn2014]

Hey there guys - I have a 2014 A6 with the Bose Stereo. For the past few weeks, my volume knob has been getting worse and worse in terms of actually functioning. When I try to turn it the volume up sometimes, it will skip DOWN 4-10 levels of volume unless I meticulously and slowly turn the volume up. Meanwhile, the volume rotator on the steering wheel works perfectly fine, so it MUST be the volume knob near the power button.

Has anyone needed to replace this knob? Im sure it's not easy as it'll likely require digging up the center console.

[TEX_A6]

Hey there guys - I have a 2014 A6 with the Bose Stereo. For the past few weeks, my volume knob has been getting worse and worse in terms of actually functioning. When I try to turn it the volume up sometimes, it will skip DOWN 4-10 levels of volume unless I meticulously and slowly turn the volume up. Meanwhile, the volume rotator on the steering wheel works perfectly fine, so it MUST be the volume knob near the power button.

Has anyone needed to replace this knob? Im sure it's not easy as it'll likely require digging up the center console.

Oddly enough, this exact same problem just started occurring for me in the past few weeks as well. Mine will usually skip all the way to zero when I try to turn it up with the knob. I haven't taken any time to correct the issue (just use the steering wheel rotator as you stated), but plan to do a little investigating this weekend.

[jsmonet]

I just had this fixed under warranty. They couldn't order the knob by itself so they replaced the whole unit


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[wangao0316]

Man I thought I am the only one who has this issue, I've been using the rotator on the steering wheel, car is out of warranty already when I bought it so....

[hitmanlol]

this started happening to me about 2 months ago on my RS7. Just had the dealership replace under warranty.

[ClaudeG]

Hmm... this started happening to mine after they did the MMI update. Will be taking the car back soon, but gotta flash back to stock, :( lol

[Mscarn2014]

Well glad to hear it's not only me. Unfortunate that the whole unit would have to be replaced though...

And it will jump to zero for me as well, but i found that slowing bringing up the volume and sometimes pushing the knob up a bit (towards the front of the car) while I turn it usually works for me. Will continue to look for a solution as I'm also way far out of warranty...

[infinitereality]

Same here, was like this since I bought the car the a year ago. The track forward/backwards sticks so something was spilled on it at some point, but always assumed that was the issue with the volume knob too. Guess it's actually a defect.

I also looked for purchasing just those parts, but like stated above you have to replace the whole console piece around them too.

[esimp2k]

Mine is at the dealer right now for the same thing and a bunch of other electrical gremlins. 2015 under warranty. Been there a week and half already but I have a 2019 q7 loaner.


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[MVR 155]

My S4 did this when it was new, mentioned it and it was replaced under warranty while I had it in for it's first service (first service was 5K miles on that car). The issue on mine was very minimal and not very frequent. No issues on the S6 so far.

[bahiaeternal]

I had the same issue on my 2016 A7. Dealer replaced the whole unit. It was like $800 i think. (under warranty)

[JaredA6]

I had the same thing on my 2016 A6. It would also mute about half the time i used it. They replaced the control board for the nob under warranty. I could have just dealt with it since i usually use the steering wheel controls anyways, but since i was in for other work I had them take care of it. I can look at my invoice and see if they it listed a part # if you need it.

[bryanb8]

I hate to say it, but console volume knobs of that Audi timeframe are not as stout as they should be. I had a 2014 S5 and had the same issues with the volume knob. By the time I got around to bringing it in specifically for that issue it was out of warranty. I wasn't gonna hold on to it for much longer, so I just used the volume on the steering wheel. As other have stated, the whole unit needs to be ordered instead of just the knob. Bummer

[infinitereality]

If I'm ever bored or have console out, I will pull apart the knob part (if possible) and see why it fails.

[Mark.in.tulsa]

Just had my 16 fixed for same issue. Luckily under warranty.
Replaced the whole MMI. Material cost was I think around 900 I saw on the invoice. Don't know what labor was.

[acamposac1]

Really didn't expect this to work, but I just fixed my knob. I took the control unit out of the car and disassembled down to the board. I then sprayed the knob liberally with some electrical parts cleaner. On the rear side of the board there seems to be a hole that travels into the knob, I made sure to spray in there too. Now it has worked perfectly fine for the past few days. Literally took no more than 30 min (and I was going slow and careful).

My theory is that they use a lot of lithium grease on the knob, and it eventually gets into it and messes things up.

[porksoda]

If I'm ever bored or have console out, I will pull apart the knob part (if possible) and see why it fails.

Take lot of photos of the part and part numbers written on it, probably can be ordered and soldered on easily. Unless it is attached to a pcb in that case it still can be replaced but a bit more challenging for folks who are not used to soldering and pcbs etc.

[Mscarn2014]

Really didn't expect this to work, but I just fixed my knob. I took the control unit out of the car and disassembled down to the board. I then sprayed the knob liberally with some electrical parts cleaner. On the rear side of the board there seems to be a hole that travels into the knob, I made sure to spray in there too. Now it has worked perfectly fine for the past few days. Literally took no more than 30 min (and I was going slow and careful).

My theory is that they use a lot of lithium grease on the knob, and it eventually gets into it and messes things up.

Any possible DIY for this? :D

[TEX_A6]

Really didn't expect this to work, but I just fixed my knob. I took the control unit out of the car and disassembled down to the board. I then sprayed the knob liberally with some electrical parts cleaner. On the rear side of the board there seems to be a hole that travels into the knob, I made sure to spray in there too. Now it has worked perfectly fine for the past few days. Literally took no more than 30 min (and I was going slow and careful).

My theory is that they use a lot of lithium grease on the knob, and it eventually gets into it and messes things up.

Any possible DIY for this? :D

Ya, what he said!! ^^

[Boyracer]

Holy crap, I was going to dismantle and clean mine as well, assumed there was something spilled on the buttons as a few are sticky. Having exactly the same problem everyone is having here, unbelievable!

[acamposac1]

Any possible DIY for this? :D

Not really planning on taking it appart again for photos, but basically:
Put car in neutral and activate the parking brake.

Pull out the volume knob...may take some force (be careful not to loose the little metal ring at the bottom of the knob).

Pop off gear selector leather cover from mmi control board (screw driver between where the leather meets the control board) to pop it out.

Pull the rear of the mmi control board up to pop it out (put your hand in where the gear selector boot was to get leverage).

Disconnect all wiring from the board, careful remove over gear lever not to scratch it up.

Now put the mmi control unit on your work bench with something under it to protect it. You will need a small torx bit to remove all the screws (including 4 hiding under the control unit held by 4 screws).
There are clips along the edges, undo these as you pull the rear plastic cover off. There is a socket with pins that tends to hold the cover to it...it eventually comes out with wiggling.

Now that the rear cover is off, remove the two plugs that you can see. The board should now be free.

Spray the volume knob everywhere with contact cleaner, including into the small hole in the back of the board.

Reinstall and test.

If you get a parking brake warning, cycle it and it should clear.



While this part is $900 new, a used one goes for $70 on eBay if you break something.

I used these two links as reference (the a4 uses the same knob, same issues):
https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...php?p=10545173
http://audienthusiasts.com/Project_MMILED.html

My knob said VN2408, which brings up nothing on Google just like on the a4 forums.

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[core5]

I’d like to add to this post for clarity. I took some photos of disassembly. There is a control module bolted to the bottom of the MMI wheel which has to be removed before the entire board and plastic cover can be unclipped

Unscrew 8 torx screws on the back:
IMG_2662.jpg


Then unscrew 4 additional torx screws under the control module.

IMG_2660.jpg

Now you can unclip the plastic cover on the back and access the board to clean the volume knob. I used CRC QD Electronics cleaner and sprayed both sides of the board around the volume knob

IMG_2647.jpg

You can also clean the buttons and edges in case there is trash in there.

IMG_2648.jpg

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[Smookes]

Electrical Cleaner works perfectly

Just re-apply every 6 months

[bozack]

the method of just popping the knob off from the top doesn't work on our models for the spray?

[Sima-Koya]

There is nothing dirty inside that causes it to fail.
The rotary encoder which is used for the volume knob has small electrical contacts that wear inside.
I usually replace these for new when repairing them.
That is why the electronic contact spray makes this better,but over time it will fail and stay on mute.

[goldenzrule]

Guess I'm not alone. Been doing it for a while with my 13 S6

[core5]

There is nothing dirty inside that causes it to fail.
The rotary encoder which is used for the volume knob has small electrical contacts that wear inside.
I usually replace these for new when repairing them.
That is why the electronic contact spray makes this better,but over time it will fail and stay on mute.

Do you have a part number for the encoder/pieces, or are you replacing the whole board?


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[Sima-Koya]

Do you have a part number for the encoder/pieces, or are you replacing the whole board?


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As a person who is enviromental friendly,I like to repair as much as possible,so i just replace the encoder,the board stays :).
To be honest,I cant find the part number for the encoder since I didnt order it recently.
I ordered 1000 pieces because it is used in many devices.

[Mine]

A quick search on eBay shows a few sellers have the volume knob. Roughly $55 and they are saying its simple. I pulled mine apart this passed weekend and wanted to look at the board to see what it need to solder the new one on. MMI Radio Volume Knob Shaft for Audi 2012-2018 for the search.