Hi All,
After disconnecting the battery connectorand reconnecting;the radio when into "SAFE" mode. This issue here is that I purchased the car used andthe sellerremoved the radio code card. Only discovered that now. I called the dealership and it would cost $110 just to retrive the radio code. Not sure if there is another way to get the radio code. Could I retrive thecode with the VagCom software?Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

If it's not on any of your manuals or anything, then it'll be tricky. I got mine by calling the dealership that had performed the service contract for the previous owner and they had it in their records, but before that, I went to another dealership and the guy I spoke to said he'd do it for free. Obviously, that will depend upon the length of your eyelashes, etc, but if there's more than one game in town, it won't hurt to call around.

 

VagCom won't do it. Try to get a hold of the previous owner or get a girl like Sineo to work her magic. If not, you've only got 8,999 possible combinations. Hold FM 1/2 and DX until 1000 shows. Then use 1,2,3 and 4 on the presets to type in the thousands, hundreds, tens and ones spaces of the combo you wanna try. Then hold the FM 1/2 and DX buttons again. If it flashes "SAFE", try again. I suggest starting at the bottom and working up. Should be fun. Buy a case of beer and have some friends over. You can offer the guy who cracks it $50 bucks. That might speed things up.

There is always aftermarket headunits, just be sure to get the dash shim.

Have fun.

Cory

 

Hopefully you have fixed this by now. However on my Audi you only get three attempts tries to reset and then have to leave the ignition turned on for two hours before you can have a another three attempts. I was told by my local dealer it was a free service by Audi and they did mine for nothing. All they do is remove the radio unit and get the serial number from the rear and look it up in a database and code it. Takes all of 5 mins so I would complain to Audi about the "lack of customer service from the dealer". If you have the tools (ebay $5-10) to remove the radio there are several sites out there who will decode the radio serial number for you. My local Dealer is McDonald Audi Denver, they won;'t give you the code over the phone for obvious reasons but you might get them to post it to you (just guessing there).

Depending on the radio you have this site may help for $20
http://www.car-audio-accessories.co....adio-codes.php

 

I removed mine with two nail filers. Its not hard to figure out. If you want buy the tools though. They're cheap enough and it could save you some trouble in the future if it happens again. Good luck!

 

Damn that dealer is really boning you! I got mine done with my A6 for $60 at the dealer.

 

I have taken out my stero many times and disconected my battery as well and have never had this problem???? Maybe I am just lucky.

I would do as suggested and try to get someone to get you the code for free but if you continue to find that you are going to get charged a $100 + for a code I would think about using that money towards an upgraded aftermarket deck.

 

My 01.5 s4 Avant came without a manual, hence no radio code. When I took it in for an oil change at University Audi here in Seattle they cahrged me $35 to pull the radio and call in for the code. Not too bad IMO. Now I can pull the battery and see if I can get my airbag light to reset, a job they were going to charge me over $100 to do. Woo Hoo!!
Not sure if they would do that over the phone, not likely, but if you are around Seattle it is not a bad price.

 

My 2000 a4 battery went dead and lost the radio. Bought used so no codes. went to ebay and bought a new in the box oem radio for 80 bucks with the codes. Maybe it might be cheaper to go to the stealer, but I'm stuborn. So now I have a used in geat working order radio with no code,,yet. for sale
DAve

 

CHECK THE TRUNK, some codes are located on a sticker in the spare tire well. You might get lucky and find it in there.

The dealer wanted $100+ to get my code for me. I called Audi of America customer service to complain and, not suprisingly, recieved information that contradicted what the dealer told me. Its a giant scam in my opinion that dealers can get away with charging $100 to customers who just want to listen to the factory radio...Audi should not give the dealers a monopoly on the codes.

Your best bet (after not finding code in trunk) would be to get the serial number using TJP's nail filers trick, then use an online resource to get the safe code. Else, goto dealer and bend over.