ACC and Front Assist not available ?

[Mence]

Hi all.

Hopped in the car tonight and when starting, got a message flash up on the Maxidot saying 'ACC and Front Assist not available'

I checked on the Infotainment and while the ACC isn't active which I knew, it states the Front Assist IS active!

Might be worth mentioning that when it went in for its oil change, one of the recalls they sorted was changing all the steering column stalks, don't know if there may be a connection?

So, have I accidentally knocked something or turned something off or is it a fault?

Cheers!

[Greg R]

Could the radar unit at the front be obscured by leaves or rubbish?

[JoseDB]

Normally this is because of some obstruction to the radar - where you parked super close to a wall or something?

[Mence]

That was possibly the case when I first stated off as she was parked quite close to the garage but while out I parked it in a regular parking space and got the same message when i restarted.

[JoseDB]

Presume you have checked a damp leaf hasn't got stuck to the radar?

[Mence]

Yep, been out there and carefully cleaned everything.

Interestingly, on the infotainment it warns you of the problem and on the image of the car it has the steering column highlighted.

As mentioned earlier, my stealer changed all the steering column stalks as part of a recall so it makes you wonder....

[JoseDB]

It is possible the ACC stalk has a loose connection I guess. Take it to them to check

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[sworrall]

sounds like your stalk as above so back to the dealer but I did get the same when a big wet leaf got stuck to the radar.  bloody leaves!

[Mence]

That's my thought guys, I will book it in and report back...

[Mence]

Booked in for the 22nd...

[Mence]

Sorry for the late update.

Ok, dealer took a look and diagnosed it as the sensor (in the lower grill) is out of alignment. I quizzed him on how, and it could be anything, flying debris on the motorway, a kid with a football etc. etc. etc.

Because it's not a fault it's not covered under warranty so I need to get the sensor realigned at my own cost.

My dealer doesn't have the equipment to do it so I will trundle off to my local Audi dealership who does have it and enquire how much.

[Greg R]

What? Seriously? The radar is mounted on the front, of course it's going to get hit by stuff occasionally... Surely it should be robust enough to deal with it... Id be on to suk about that

[TomLux]

Not sure how a football or anything larger that 5cm diameter could hit the sensor since it's recessed into the bumper. Sounds a bit fishy...

[JoseDB]

I suggest you get it in writing that if the alignment doesn't fix it they will reimburse you for the cost you paid Audi. Sounds to me like they don't really know what the problem is.

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[sworrall]

Sounds like a cop out to me and I'd argue for them to pay if it looks secure. Pity the Skoda dealers still can't afford to get the diag/calibration equipment for this stuff :(

[Pinsharp]

I also had the stalks changed at a routine service. Now the rear wiper is not working from the stalk and I have a nice squeaky steering column! Back to the dealers next week. I would go with the ACC stalk being fitted incorrectly.

[Mence]

Cheers guys.

Pinsharp, that's my thought too, admittedly the lower grill has a bit of flex in it but it doesn't show any kind of impact damage at all and I'm sure if something had hit it while I was driving, I would be fully aware!

My thoughts are still with the stalks being fitted incorrectly, everything was fine up until then!

I am busy this weekend but will go back to have a chat next week.

[mannyo]

The sensors do go out of alignment, a number of factors can influence this. Sometimes the car will think the sensor is out of alignment when its no because all ACC faults must be cleared by re-running the basic settings.
 
Removing the steering wheel and disturbing the slip ring is one such case,
having a wheel alignment done by someone who does not know what they are doing is another, very common problem on the Audi forums.
Obstruction of the sensor is another.
 
If the steering wheel is removed for whatever reason, the the whole ACC needs recalibrating anyway because of the slip ring issue. The reason it stops working is for safety, it no longer has the reference points it was aware of so pops up the alignment error. The ACC system has very tight tolerances, its to stop you running into the back of a car and as soon as the system thinks the smallest of things is wrong it will throw an alignment fault.
 
Using VCDS you can clear the alignment fault, but it will return straight away unless you run the full basic settings and reset the alignment angle. I did this on my Audi which has ACC after replacing the front grill to remove an alignment error, its been fine ever since and nothing has been touched.
 
Edit: You can try simply clearing the misalignment angle with VCDS from the cruise control module, it will then attempt to relearn the correct values from scratch. To reset misalignment angle go to – Basic settings - 3. Reset misalignment angle, the alignment error will return after about 30 miles it cannot get values in tolerance. The article linked to below shows how to calibrate an Audi using VAS, you cannot use the latest VCDS because it no longer supports full ACC Calibration for safety reasons.

http://www.audi4ever.com/v2/blog/details/25254/ACC-Calibration--Adaptive-Cruise-Control--A4-A5-Q5--Distronic/index.html

Edited 20 February, 2015 by mannyo

[Gabbo]

I suggest you get it in writing that if the alignment doesn't fix it they will reimburse you for the cost you paid Audi. Sounds to me like they don't really know what the problem is.

 

 +1 for this.

I'm sure as soon as you ask for it in writing, they will change their comments.

I would also ask them to write down the possible causes for alignment being lost & how you can prevent it from happening again.

This will probably then lead them to the cause suggested by MannyO anyway...

[Mence]

News breaking, Friday night, on the M25 on my way home I noticed the dash was showing the two little cars symbol signifying I was to close to the car in front!

Looks like the front assist is working again but for how long is anybody's guess! :(

[Orville]

Perhaps it was hit by another football when nobody was looking?

What seems most likely is that alignment was barely within spec when new, and that the slightest bit of wander brings things in and out of focus. I would definarely press the Dealer in to fixing this under warranty, or call SUK and seek there advice. "Impact damage" rarely fixes itself.

[TomLux]

News breaking, Friday night, on the M25 on my way home I noticed the dash was showing the two little cars symbol signifying I was to close to the car in front!

Looks like the front assist is working again but for how long is anybody's guess! :(

Nah, I got that one all the time, I don't think it has anything to do with ACC :peek: