Resetting the service indicator on 2012 Audi?

keef66

No 1 son has my old company car, a 2012 Audi A3 1.6 TDi. We've just done a service and want to stop the thing warning that the service is overdue. It's possible to reset the oil change service message manually by pulling the buttons on the dash, but the infuriating Service Due! message remains. My wife's convinced the thing is about to self-destruct despite my assurances that it's just a message and the service items have been done.

Our local indy garage say they won't reset it if they haven't done the work (they did it once before FFS!), and I'm not even bothering to call Audi. Is there a reasonably cost-effective way of resetting it?

A bit of googling hints that it may be possible with a OBDII dongle and some software, but I have no idea which will reliably do this. And is there a way of avoiding buying some ropy Chinese rubbish that's going to fry the car?

darkhairedlord

keef66 wrote:

No 1 son has my old company car, a 2012 Audi A3 1.6 TDi. We've just done a service and want to stop the thing warning that the service is overdue. It's possible to reset the oil change service message manually by pulling the buttons on the dash, but the infuriating Service Due! message remains. My wife's convinced the thing is about to self-destruct despite my assurances that it's just a message and the service items have been done.

Our local indy garage say they won't reset it if they haven't done the work (they did it once before FFS!), and I'm not even bothering to call Audi. Is there a reasonably cost-effective way of resetting it?

A bit of googling hints that it may be possible with a OBDII dongle and some software, but I have no idea which will reliably do this. And is there a way of avoiding buying some ropy Chinese rubbish that's going to fry the car?

small dot of black electrical tape over the top.

Stevo_666

Found this after 30 seconds on Google...

https://youtu.be/pitqKCEmABI

sloppyschleckonds

Send it back to Germany, buy something British

keef66

Stevo 666 wrote:

Found this after 30 seconds on Google...

https://youtu.be/pitqKCEmABI

Which doesn’t work on a 2012 car. I’ve watched that and about 50 other YouTube vids. Audi appear to have made it impossible to reset manually. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of something affordable which plugs into the OBD socket...

I’m sure he’d love a Range Rover, Jag, McLaren or Lotus (do any of them count as British?) but the Audi’s hard to beat for economical motoring.

Stevo_666

keef66 wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

Found this after 30 seconds on Google...

https://youtu.be/pitqKCEmABI

Which doesn’t work on a 2012 car. I’ve watched that and about 50 other YouTube vids. Audi appear to have made it impossible to reset manually. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of something affordable which plugs into the OBD socket...

I’m sure he’d love a Range Rover, Jag, McLaren or Lotus (do any of them count as British?) but the Audi’s hard to beat for economical motoring.

Worth a try, I know a similar fix works on our Mazda (which gives you a DPF warning when it really needs a service - very sneaky as I wasted £80 on a forced regeneration before I figured this out). It's going soon...

Audis may be economical but they are p1ss boring to drive unless you have an R or RS. Life's too short to drive a boring car.

photonic69

Do a search for VCDS. It's software what reads and resets VAG group car error codes and service lights. You can get cheap import cables that sometimes work or best get a decent one from the likes of Gendan.co.uk. Very useful tool to have for modern VAG group cars.

keef66

He's had a couple of zippy Fiestas which were a hoot to drive but now economy is what he needs; they've just bought their first house with an eye-watering mortgage. That's why I'm trying to keep the servicing / repair costs down by DIY.

I've ordered a Carista bluetooth thing to plug into the OBD socket and the pro version of the app will apparently reset the service indicator.

mouth

A colleagues Audi, albeit a 2016 S5 had to go back to Audi to be reset. He bought the car from a Renault main dealer, who serviced it and couldn't work out why they couldn't clear the light. Audi refused to do it without completing their own £500 service, stating the car was under warranty and they weren't prepared to sign off on it without doing the work themselves. Eventually Bristol Street shelled out for an approved Audi service centre (they were referred there by the local Audi main dealer) to clear the light as a cost of £60, with no other work being completed. Maybe Audi were just protecting their warranty structure, or maybe they were fishing for work, I don't know, but don't be surprised if you cant clear it yourself.

darkhairedlord

Electrical tape over it. No need to worry about resale value on diesel audio, who wants to buy a baby killer?

jgsi

If you can wait until next week, I'll ask the service boss at my work if there is ny hack.
I'm part of the IT support for a big dealership and done enuff favours getting their sh i tty (not supported by us) VW diag machines up and running they owe me.

keef66

Just to confirm that the Carista plug-in OBD gadget + App cleared and reset it. £16 from Amazon.

You sign up to get a month's trial of the necessary Pro functions because you bought their gadget; just need to remember to cancel in time if you don't want to pay the £40 annual subscription.

In future if I need to do it again I can just pay a tenner for a week's access to the Pro functions. Still a lot cheaper than being held to ransom by Audi.

The next cheapest option was £225 for the VCDS software / lead the PhotoNic69 mentioned. If I end up buying an Audi when I retire I might invest in that because it does a whole lot more. Essential if you want to replace rear pads on a car with an electronic parking brake, or prime the fuel system properly after a filter change.