Had my first, "OMG, this is going to be expensive moment," with the Audi. Headed out on a quick errand night before last and the main control screen (MMI) was dead. Hmm... hit the power button, the logo flashed for a few seconds, then it went off again. Uh oh.

Did some reading and found that everything runs through the Bose amplifier unit in the driver's side rear wheel well. Seems that the rear washer supply lines can leak and the fluid drips right on top of this amp! Sigh. A new amp is $1100 or so from the dealer while used ones go for $400-$600 on eBay. One guy offers a repair service for $360 on eBay.

Being a DIYer, I pulled the amp and opened it up. There were just a couple of spots on top of the case suggesting there had been some liquid there, but not much. Once inside I found evidence of where a few drops of fluid had pooled on a corner of the board. I hosed it down with contact cleaner and gave it a light brushing with a toothbrush. Put it all back together and it powered right up!

Now to figure out where the washer fluid line is leaking. Most sources suggest they get brittle and break right at the hatchback hinge. There's a TSB on it. Keeping my fingers crossed that the amp was truly fixed by the scrubbing. At least I'm confident that actually was the source of the problem. I bought a plastic "for sale" sign for $4 from Ace Hardware to act as a umbrella over the amp until I get around to tracking down the leak. Amazing that such a tiny dribble could have such expensive consequences.

Update... a few hours later. Drive the car 30 minutes and all was good. Parked it. When I came back, the MMI was down again. Grrr.... will try another cleaning tomorrow before I start hunting for a replacement amp. :(

Audis are gorgeous cars. They look so cool inside as well. Every bit of these maintenance things scare the bejesus out of me. And I have a 944.