Hillbilly23

The only alternative now is something mounted on the dashboard which built in Nav systems were designed to replace.

I agree with your reasoning but a financial decision by who? Was it Trafficmaster, in which case they surely could have raised their prices. Or was it the manufacturers who decided they don't want to pay any more and therefore are responsible for the service coming to an end. I guess it will be difficult to find out which of the two is at fault.

Not that easy to reinstate the service as Trafficmaster no longer have a contract to broadcast the information over the radio. I find it hard to believe that VAG etc did not know about the switch off.

I think the manufacturers are well aware of the problem but unwilling to spend any time or money to fix it.😡

Just sent this reply - Dear Richard. Thank you for confirming the situation with Audi and other VAG Group vehicles. I guess the same will apply to Honda, Mazda, Chrysler, and Vauxhall and possibly other manufacturers vehicles. I was considering updating to a 16/17 plate A6 but as this will also mean no RDS-TMC it will mean a visit to the Volvo dealers instead as theirs and other cars using INRIX will still have this feature for another eight years. Kind regards - Neil.

This is the reply from Audi Executive Office I received this morning. Looks like RDS-TMC has gone forever.😡 03866452 AO Audi Executive Office <*****@*****.tld>     To: You Fri 02/06/2023 11:10 Ref: 03866452 Re: Audi A6 - YE59 FMP Dear Mr Powell Following your contact to Audi UK regarding the removal of Traffic master support from our vehicles it has been confirmed that this was removed by Traffic master themselves rather than by Audi. Unfortunately as they are a third party partner Audi UK has no influence over this decision and cannot influence it further. I am afraid there are no plans to replace this system, as noted in the owner’s manual for your vehicle the manufacturer holds the right to remove systems at any point. I am truly sorry that I have been unable to provide you with a more positive outcome in this instance and I will now be archiving your case. Please don’t hesitate to contact me on the details below should you have any further questions, I will be away from the office next week therefore my response may be delayed. Kind regards Richard Speight Executive Office Customer Relations Manager Audi UK Yeomans Drive Blakelands Milton Keynes MK14 5AN T: 0113 733 4243 E: *****@*****.tld

The man from Audi is ringing me today with an update. Thing is that the lack of TMC on VAG Group and other major manufacturers used vehicles will not be a good selling point in their showrooms. Why buy a VAG car and then have to use a phone or Tom Tom etc for traffic updates when you can get say a Volvo or a Ford on which the service is still received by the built in unit. If they refuse to fix the issue then this fact needs spreading far and wide.

I read somewhere that the Trafficmaster service had ceased because it was "no longer supported". I wonder if VAG Group and others decided not to continue paying for the service. If this is the case then I cannot see them paying to switch to the INRIX service so we are all being sent around in circles hoping we will get fed up of trying. As I never buy a car less than five years old it looks like a Volvo for me next.

If their Digital Support Team is like the Audi one they will tell you that they do not deal with RDS-TMC and direct you to a main dealer for a useless and expensive diagnostic check.😡

It would also help if more people contacted BBC Watchdog and similar. We need to get this in the news or nothing will be done about it. Lots of people will not even realise the function has gone until they run into traffic jams on longer journeys.

Same with Audi, VW, Honda and others.

I have contacted watchdog twice with no reply as yet.

I think the TMC LTN's (location tables) are actually in the maps rather than the firmware. This would mean that every time the maps needed updating whatever fix was used would need applying to the new maps. I think our main leverage is to get this problem more widely known as it could well affect VAG Group and other manufactures used car sales. I would be more inclined to buy say a Volvo with working TMC than a VAG Group vehicle without it.

Skoda Connect is a different entity from the one we are discussing here. It is the basic RDS-TMC that Trafficmaster used to supply that has been shut down. Yours hopefully may well be just a software issue.

Problem is that the person I spoke to seemed to think that as the service was supplied by a third party it is not their problem. However I did point out that as the maps no longer contain active LTN's that recognise the remaining INRIX RDS-TMC service then maybe £200 a pop is a bit steep.

Just had a call from Richard my contact at Audi Executive office. I explained our problems in detail and the possible way of solving them. I told him that vehicles using the NRIX service were not affected and that VAG, Honda and other brand car owners were very unhappy with the situation. He has promised to speak to the technical people and get back to me but he does not sound very hopeful that they either can or will want to fix it. The more of us that complain and the higher up the ladder our complaints get the more chance of some action. He was talking in terms of the service being obsolete but I told him that many of us still use it and that it is not obsolete for owners vehicles using the INRIX service which I pointed out will still be active for a good few years yet. Maybe people with newer cars than mine need to contact them.

We need to keep chewing their ears or nothing will be done.

I am still waiting for a reply from my Audi executive who has promised to investigate the problem we are all having.

A bit more progress to report - 03866452 AO Audi Executive Office <*****@*****.tld>     To: You Thu 18/05/2023 13:51 Ref: 03866452 Dear Mr Powell Thank you for your recent with contact with Audi Germany. As your email address which you have submitted on the enquiry is that of a UK address, Audi Germany have sent your details to Audi UK to respond on their behalf, as you would fall under the UK jurisdiction. As Audi UK's Director, Andrew has asked me to personally investigate the matters raised and ensure that you have a dedicated point of contact. I would like to assure you that, as a member of the Executive Office, I am empowered to act on Andrew’s behalf and will of course seek to bring your concern to a resolution. In order for me to progress your case in a timely manner, may I please request some additional information from you? Your vehicles registration or VIN number. Your full address with postcode. My details are at the bottom of this email should you need to provide any further information. If not, I will be in touch again within the next 48 hours, after I have reviewed your correspondence fully. Kind regards Richard Speight Executive Office Customer Relations Manager

This is interesting. The latest maps listed on the Audi website for my MMI3G Basic in my Audi have jumped from 4G0060884AM which was the 2023 version to 4G0060884AN which is also listed as the 2023 version. I am currently on 4G0060884AK which was the 2021-2022 version. Strange to have two updates for the same year. https://shops.audi.com/en_GB/web/zubehoer/p/navigation-update-4g0060884an-11?f=YEAR!2009&category=8052

Usually the changes are new roads and road layouts plus a few more POI (points of interest). The next maps should include new location tables to allow INRIX date over Classic FM to be used. Nobody knows as yet when these will be available.

I believe the Audi MMI3G that is in my car was fitted to Audi A1's until 2018 so I doubt a 5 year old vehicle could be classed as "end of life. I also doubt that (I assume) your 2016 vehicles could be classed the same. I have a 2009 Audi A6 and 2023 maps are available. I was going to update my 2021-2022 until I saw this thread and am now hanging on hoping for a version with working TMC.

Thank you for the explanation. Now I fully understand why the maps are the problem and not the software. It explains why people who go to France get their TMC from French FM stations without the need for software changes as their map LTN codes are already on the maps and set up to work with the stations sending the information.👍

I thought you had experimented by changing supplier in the firmware to INRIX and the messages came back but were wrong because of the Trafficmaster tables were not suitable. May have got this wrong but if we get maps with INRIX data how will the firmware find them unless it is switched to receive INRIX? Just asking as I like learning about this stuff.

Yes and they will try to recover any costs of sorting this out.