A mate of mine has just got himself an Audi A4 (1997 R reg), with a 'Concert' :( radio fitted, but changing the battery has resulted in him being locked out of it. he has no 'code', and Audi want to charge him

no code in the instructions in the owners handbook...? if its the original radio the "destructions" should have the code inside the front cover.

if its like the symphony that used to be in my octy, then the code is supplied to the radio via the ecu. Leaving it for a short period after reconnecting the battery usually sorts it. if not and you have no code then a decode will be the only way, the audi dealer is not the only place to go though. Most independent car stereo places will do this as long as there is proof of ownership.

I once heard that if you left the HU in the freezer over night it would 'forget' and reset itself to '0000' or whatever.

More likely that this is one of those urban myths put about by someone with an irrational hatred of car stereos.

Check the spare wheel well in the boot. On VW's they are stuck in there at the factory and removed by the dealer and stuck in the handbook. Not all are removed from the wheel well, it may still be there (It will have the serial number of the radio also on the sticker).

Dougal

Check your local yellow pages for radio decoding people !!!!!

Should cost you around