I recently did the clear corner mod for my newly acquired S4 and now that I’ve done this mod four different times (twice for myself, twice for friends), I felt it was long overdue to write-up my process and share some tips. It’s not a tricky mod per say, but it does require you to take the bumper off so it does take some time and patience to line up everything back up when you’re done.

The basics are pretty easy – remove headlights, use a hair dryer or heat gun to loosen the glue, pull the headlight lens off, remove the amber reflector, replace with a clear reflector (optional), then put the headlights back on & reset the glue with the heat gun and reinstall everything. The devil is in the details, so we’ll get on to that next…

Also, if you want to change out any bulbs in the headlight housing (DRL, City Light, Turn Signal, or the Xenon bulbs themselves) now is the time to do it as it’s really hard to change the bulbs with the headlights installed, but super easy if they’re already off the car. Likewise since you’ll have the bumper off, it’s a good time to replace the grille or plasti-dip it, or to replace the side reflectors, since all of those items will be easily accessible.

Step 1 – Remove the front bumper

Oh, the B7 and that pesky front bumper. If you’ve had a B7 and modded it all, chances are you have removed the front bumper before. If you haven’t, it’s not that hard, but the first time is always the hardest. This thread on Audizine has a really good write-up on how to remove the front bumper, so check it out. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the comments below, but I’ll get on to the good stuff for now…

Step 2 – Remove the headlights

It’s only three bolts, and two are really easy to get to. The middle one is the easiest and you’ll remove it completely. The screw closest to the grille only needs to be loosened but does not need to be removed completely. It is easy to get to as well. The bad news is the third one is accessed through a hole in the top of the fender and is super difficult to get to as you can’t see what you’re doing and working in a very tight spot. You’ll need a long extension with a T25 torx bit at the end that is skinny enough to fit down that hole, and then you’ll need to try to line it up so that the bit catches with the screw and you can then ratchet it out. You don’t need to remove it completely, just loosen it enough that the headlight can slide out like the side nearest the grille. The headlight will then pull forward and come out. Remove the wiring harness so you can work on the headlight on a work bench or table.

Step 3 - Separate the Housing

First you’ll remove five metal clips that hold the lens from the rest of the headlight housing. Two are located on top as shown above in blue. There are three on the back as well. These pop out really easily with a flat head screwdriver. Hold on to them as you’ll need to reinstall later.

Next, use a hair dryer or heat gun to heat up the glue. Do not overheat to the point of melting anything, but give it some solid heat all around the seal. Once it seems nice and warm, start to pull apart from one end. You may need to pull for 20-30 seconds before the seal is broken but then they’ll pull apart very easily. The glue will stretch so try to keep the glue out of the housing…Audi provides copious amounts of glue so you won’t need to add any extra to reseal the housing, you’ll just need to reheat the seal and you should be set.

Note: some people bake their headlights in an oven to do this. I don’t recommend that as you may melt the housing and your heating everything, rather than only the glue. Using a hair dryer or heat gun lets you concentrate the heat where you need it without risking overheating or melting other components that do not need heat.

Step 4 – Remove the Amber

There are a few methods to remove the amber reflector, and I call my method the goldi-locks method as it’s not the easiest but not the hardest either, it’s somewhere in-between and a good compromise IMO. The easiest (but most dangerous) method is to remove the amber cap with brute force by hitting it with a screwdriver to pop it out. You have to apply a LOT of force to do this – watch this video to see. I strongly recommend against this as you risk breaking the headlight housing. The other method is Phil’s method (fly300kts) and it’s definitely the most careful route but requires a lot of patience and time.  Instead, what I’ve done is use a dremel to break the amber housing, and then it just falls out – this way you don’t risk hurting the housing, but it’s still a quick & easy method. You’ll want to use compressed air or an air gun to blast out any shavings from the amber reflector out of the headlight housing, but otherwise it’s a very easy & relatively risk-free method.

Step 5 – Install Bulbs & Reflectors (optional but recommended)

You can replace amber reflector with a clear reflector, which I think looks really nice and completes the OEM look. Likewise, I recommend replacing the turn signal bulb with a “chrome” bulb that still lights up orange but looks clear. If you reuse the OEM turn signal bulbs they don’t light up orange and instead look like a normal halogen bulb, which kind of looks off.

You can buy the clear reflectors here: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/447054-EURO-CLEAR-CORNER-LENSES-NOW-AVAILABLE-FOR-PURCHASE!

And you can buy chrome turn signal bulbs here:

Step 6 – Reinstall Everything & Enjoy

First plug the wiring harness back into the headlight and test that everything works right (e.g. you screwed the bulbs in correctly).

Next, install the headlights first and pay close attention to how they line up with the fender. If the headlights aren’t lined up correctly, you won’t get the bumper to line-up either. You may need to loosen the bolts and then re-adjust once you have the bumper back on.

When installing the bumper first put the middle section on and make sure the bumper height adjusters on the crash bar haven’t moved and the bumper sits properly on them. Next press the bumper in and tighten the three screws on the top of the bumper first. Check for fitment and adjust as necessary, then tighten the two 10mm nuts inside of each fender. Lastly, finish up the remaining screws & bolts and you’re done!

That’s it…enjoy!

B7 Audi Clear Corner Mod is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog

The truth is, they’re not that hard to make – they just take a lot of time, or more specifically, a lot of sanding.

To make grilles like I have that will fit the B7 S-line or S4 bumper and accommodate your shiny new S6 LEDs, you do have a few options as I discuss here. I think buying the S6 lower grilles and shortening them yourself is the easiest, whereas the other options require you to know how to lay fiberglass well, or they require you to go completely custom with mesh which is hard to make look OEM.

To make shortened S6 LEDs like I did, you’ll need the following equipment:

1. S6 Lower grilles. Part number 4F0-807-681-F-01C & 4F0-807-682-F-01C (left & right). They cost about $60/each from the dealership.
2. Bondo – you can get a 12oz can for about $6 on Amazon
3. An assortment of sandpaper – from medium to very fine. A kit like this (Amazon link) will have everything you need.
4. Exterior Mounting Tape (heavy duty) to mount the grilles. It is about $5 on Amazon.
5. Super Glue – I recommended Loctite Super Glue Professional Control as its easiest to use and has a good drying time (not too quick, not too slow). Available on Amazon for about $5.
6. Plasti-Dip or Paint – I recommend Plasti-Dip, as I’ll explain later. About $6/can on Amazon.
7. A dremel (optional, but highly recommended) – this will speed up the process drastically, saving you a ton of hours. The Dremel 200 is fairly affordable at $55 (again, on Amazon) and is supringsly handy around the house. You’ll need it to modify your bumper to fit the S6 LEDs as well, so you might as well pick one up. Avoid the cordless one, it runs out of battery way too quickly.

Total cost is about $140 for all of the supplies (without the Dremel) or $195 with the cost of the Dremel factored in.

Once you have everything you need, it’s pretty simple from here:

1) Chop off the rear mounting points

You won’t need these, and they’ll get in the way and prevent the grilles from mounting correctly against your bumper. You will see them protruding out of the back of the grille, and they’ll come off easy with either a dremel or a hand saw.

2) Cut out about an inch in length

Cut out the extra length from the end nearest the middle of the bumper – it is the flatest section and will be the easiest to mold back together. Start from the top and go through all three horizontal bars, making sure you have very straight cuts.

Then, make the same cut about 3/4″ down, so that you take out a 3/4″ section in total from the overall length in between the two cuts.

After you finish cutting through, your grille will look like this:

You’ll probably end up needing to shorten it even more, but start conservatively. By only taking 3/4″ out at first, you leave room to take out more later, but if your first cut is too big, there is no going back really. After taking out a smaller section, go test fit it to your bumper and see how it looks by holding the two pieces together. Depending on how you mounted your S6 LEDs, you may only need to take a little more out, or you may need to take a lot more out.

2. Test fit, sand, test fit, and sand until the length is where you want it

As mentioned in step 1 above, keep sanding a little off the length (or make a new cut through it) until the length is exactly where you want it. Try to sand or cut in straight lines so the two pieces mate up to each other smoothly.

Once you have the length you want, press the two pieces together and make sure they mate up flush. You might need to send the ends so that they are flat and even to ensure that they’ll mate up to each other completely and there will be minimal bondo needed.

3. Super glue the pieces back together

Once you have the desired length, use the super glue to hold the two pieces back together. Let the super glue fully dry before proceeding to the next part.

4. Add bondo to fill in the cracks

Now that the super glue has been applied, fill in the cracks where you made the cuts and reattached the pieces back together with bondo. Follow the instructions on the can of bondo exactly and don’t try to do too much at once – it dries very quickly, so it’s best to work in small batches. Let it dry a full 24 hours before you start sanding. I probably used too much, but its best to have too much and sand down to a completely smooth finish then to not have enough.

Step 5 – Sand the bondo’d area until smooth

You can start with your dremel tool using the cone shaped sanding extension, then switch to sand paper once you’ve got the majority of the excess bondo off. Keep sanding and sanding until there is barely any bondo left, just enough to fill the crack and that’s it. Then switch to the very fine sandpaper until it’s completely smooth to the touch. You can leave a little extra bondo on the underside of the grille as it won’t be visible and will add a little strength.

B7 Audi S6 LED Retrofit Part 2 – Custom Lower Grilles is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog

The brake lights on my B7 (2005.5-2008) Audi A4 went out several weeks ago – I delayed and delayed replacing them, figuring it was a difficult process. I’m happy to say it is simple as pie, takes only about 5 minutes, and all you need is a flat head screwdriver! This is a super easy replacement that nearly anyone can handle

• Skill level: Beginner
• Tools needed: flat headed screw driver (a smaller one)
• Also applies to: 2005.5-2008 B7 Audi S4, 2005.5-2008 B7 Audi RS4
• Time needed: 5 minutes
• Parts needed: two 7506 bulbs. I used these Sylvania Silverstar bulbs which are 20% brighter, but any 21 watt 7506 ST bulbs will work.

The process is super simple – there is just one screw to remove, using your flat head screw driver, then you gently pull off the light, remove the old bulbs and replace them with the new ones. I recommend replacing at least two bulbs at a time, as if one went out the other is likely not far behind…

Step 1 – Remove the cover located in the trunk

You can remove the cover using your flat head screw driver – open your trunk and you’ll find it right along the edge of the tail light. Pry it off from the top – it’s connected at the bottom, so don’t pry from there, always go from the top.

Step 2 – Remove the screw holding the tail light in

There is only one screw holding in the tail light, which you can see once you remove the cover in step 1. Turn the screw to the left with your flat headed screw driver and it will come out with ease after several turns. You’ll notice I changed screwdrivers, that is mostly because the screwdriver in the previous photo was too large, and I had to switch to a smaller one.

Step 3 – Remove the tail light assembly

This step requires you to be gentle. Use your hands and slowly pry away the tail light from the body of your car. Be sure not to pull too hard from the inner edge – the outer edge of the light has two connectors that you don’t want to break. Pull a little from the inner edge, then pull a little from the outer edge, then repeat and repeat until the light pulls away from the car enough to grab from the center.

The two clips holding it in (that you do NOT want to break) are the two holes in the body which can be seen above, and the two prongs sticking out of the tail light, which you can see below:

Step 4 – Remove the tabs:

Once apart, disconnect the wiring harness and then remove the black backing from the headlight housing by pushing the tabs in, which will then expose all of the bulbs. Just push in the two tabs (one on top, one on bottom) to remove the bulbs from the brake light assembly:

Step 5 – Replace the bulb

The bulbs twist out by turning them to the left about a half turn. In my case, it was easy to spot the burnt out bulb as it had turned black (see the upper right corner), but like I said, you might as well replace them both.

Step 6 (Optional): Clean

While you have the tail light off, you might as well clean. I used a spray detailer to remove the dust behind the tail light to keep my car looking extra clean:

Step 7: Install the bulbs, Test & Reinstall the tail light housings

Put the new bulbs in by aligning the nubs and then turning them a quarter turn so they’re locked in place. Before you screw the tail light back in, give it a quick test. Hitting the lock button will light up the tail light, so you don’t need to even get in your car to do this. Plug the brake light housing back into the car and just let it rest on the ledge, then hit the lock button and confirm everything works.

Once finished, reinstall the light by pressing in the two prongs along the outer edge, then tighetening the screw from inside the trunk. Once the screw is tight, replace the carpeted cover and you’re all done!

There you have it – you can now replace your burnt out tail light bulbs in under 5 minutes, costing you only about $6. From what I’ve read, the dealer charges anywhere from $40-80, so that’s a great deal and only requires minimal effort.

Audi A4 Brake Light Replacement is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog

If you’re anything like me, the battery died on your first key fob a long time ago, and then you switched to your second backup key fob and now its battery has run out too – so it’s well past time to change the batteries.

You could have the dealer do it, where I’ve heard estimates range between $80-150 per key…or you could do it yourself for about $5 in under 5 minutes. Needless to say, I took the later route, and I’m here to tell you it’s very easy to do – simply press in two tabs on the key, pop off the back cover, replace the battery, and then press the rear cover back into place. You’ll also need to re-program the key, which is as simple as turning the car on/off 5 times.

This article applies to any keys that look like the one pictured above, most notably the B7 platform Audi A4, S4 or RS4, which was produced from 2005.5-2008. Other Audi models from this date range also share the same key, and the instructions should apply to those models too (although reprogramming the key for your car may differ slightly), however I can’t confirm which other models this applies to.

Supplies Needed:

1. 1 CR2032 Battery (per key fob) – I purchased a 5 pack on Amazon for $5 which allowed me to replace the batteries on both of my key fobs as well as have a few extras for down the road, but you really only need 1 per key.
2. A small flat-head screwdriver – those for eyeglasses work great, but any screwdriver should be fine. A pen would probably work if you’re in a pinch, but be careful not to do anything that would leave a mark or print on the key.

Step 1 - Press in Tab Where Key collapses

Step 1 – Press in the tab located along the side of the battery where the key folds in using your small flat head screwdriver. You’ll want to press it hard enough that the back cover starts to pop out.

Step 2 - Press in Tab on bottom of key

Step 2 – Press in the second tab, located on the bottom of the key. You’ll want to press hard enough that the rear cover is pretty much completely popped off, and then you can simply just remove the cover with your fingers.

Step 3 - Pop out back cover, replace battery

Step 3 – Replace the battery, making sure the positive side of the battery is facing up.

Step 4 – Pop the rear cover back on the key fob, which can be done just by pressing the key back together (no tools needed)

Step 5 – You will probably need to reprogram the key. To do this simply insert your key into the car’s ignition, then turn it on/off 5 times (do not start the car, just turn it to the ON position right before a full start). This will reprogram the key.

Troubleshooting:

• If you do not see a red light when you press lock/unlock on the key fob, either the battery is installed incorrectly, the battery is dead, or there is some other issue with your key fob (e.g. water damage) preventing it from sending a signal. Replace the battery and be sure to have the positive side of the batter facing outward, and then order a new key fob if that does not work.
• If a red light appears when you hit lock/unlock on your key fob, but the doors do not lock/unlock, you need to reprogram your key to the car. The reprogramming process may vary by your specific model, so if you do not have a B7 platform Audi A4, S4 or RS4, try Googling the instructions for your specific car.

Audi Key Fob Battery Replacement – Audi A4/S4/RS4 2005.5-2008 Model Years is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog

Stock Grille (L) and DIY Black Out Grille (R)

“The best mods in life are free” – Benjamin Franklin

Okay, maybe he really didn’t say that…but had he been alive today, and drove a B7 Audi A4, he totally would have.

While you could buy a grille for the tune of $2-300 from Audi or an aftermarket vendor, you can create your own Black-out grille re-using your stock chrome one for just the cost of a can of spray paint, making it possibly one of the cheapest mods you will ever do. It also drastically alters the look of the car, creating a more aggressive & sporty look. I did this to my car within weeks of buying it, and have since done it for several other local Audi owners to help them really transform the look of their cars.

The total cost of materials will run maybe $20 depending on what you have lying around.

Supplies Needed:

1. 2 cans of  PlastiDip – check out DipYourCar.com for a grille kit
2. A thin flat head screw driver
3. Tools to remove your front bumper

Step 1 – Remove the Bumper

The only tricky part of performing this mod is removing your bumper. This thread on Audizine provides really great instructions on how to do so, although I do intend to eventually create my own guide here too. The trick to removing your bumper is having the right tools – invest in a wobble socket adapter & a 10 mm deep socket and things will go so much quicker and easier.

Step 2 – Remove the Grille from the Bumper

Once you have your bumper off, you can remove the grille from the bumper by removing the screws behind the grille. There are a total of 11 screws – 4 along each side, and 3 along the bottom – I have highlighted them with red dots in the picture below. You’ll need torx bits to remove them. Once all of the screws are out, the grille will simply fall off.

To remove the grille from the bumper, remove the screws located where each red dot is

Now to the fun part – removing the grille surround and painting it. Here’s the step by step:

Step 3 – Remove the grille surround.

Start by prying out the bottom or sides – leave the top for last. There are an excessive amount of tabs you need to pop out – take your time doing this and be very patient as you do not want to break very many of these tabs otherwise you may not be able to reinstall the trim surround properly again.

Tabs along the outer edge of the grille

Use a very thin flat head screw driver to press in the tabs, and begin prying off a side. You will see there are two sets of tabs you need to press in, one along the outer edge, and one along the inner edge.

Tabs along the inside of the grille

Eventually, you will have an entire side pulled off, like this:

Lastly, remove the top edge. This is probably the hardest part, but will be easier once the rest of the grille is loose. Be patient and make sure you press in every tab…once you’re done, the outer chrome surround should just fall off. Here is a picture of the inside of the grille so you can see what the tabs look like, and visualize how you’ll need to angle your screwdriver to disconnect the tabs:

Step 4 – Paint the Surround

Once your grille is off, go ahead and paint it. I’d recommend sanding the entire thing using fine sand paper to remove any chips & imperfections, then hitting it was some very fine sand paper to make sure it is ultra smooth. Once sanded, spray with your paint of choice. I used Krylon Fusion which is made specifically for plastics, and this seems to have held up well. Other people commonly use Plasti-Dip, a plastic like material that sprays on like paint, which also works well. Plasti-Dip is a little harder to work with, but it does leave a really nice and OEM looking textured finish which is really nice.  You may also choose to paint the filler plate and/or chrome Audi rings to match, depending on the look you’re going for. The chrome Audi rings just pop out from behind the grille once you press in the tabs, much like the outer surround did.

Paint the surround any color you'd like

While the surround is drying, you can reinstall your grille back into the bumper, and reinstall your bumper. You may want to give the surround a few days to drive to ensure it is fully chip-resistant, and luckily you don’t need to remove your bumper to reinstall the surround.

Step 5 – Paint the Filler Plate

The filler plate is the middle section of the grille, which may or may not have a license plate holder depending on where you live and how your car came equipped. This section is easily removed, and the grille & bumper can even on the stay car! There are simply four T25 bolts holding it along the bottom of the filler plate – remove these and the middle filler plate section will come right off.

To paint it, follow the same steps as the surround – prep it and then use your paint color & type of choice. Pictured below is Krylon Fusion in Matte Black – it was still drying when I took this picture, so it looks a little more glossy than it will once its fully dry.

Step 6 – Reinstall the grille surround piece & filler plate

Once the outer surround is fully dry, it will just snap back into place on your car or off, resulting in a finished product like this:

While you’re at it, you can also remove the rings and paint those black if you’d like, or any color you want really.

Once you’ve painted everything you want to, you’re all done. Install it, stand back and admire your hard work! Here is my car below after painting the outer surround as well as the filler plate – I chose to leave the chrome ring as-is so that they’d really pop against the otherwise all black grille.

DIY: Black Audi A4/S4 Grille is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog

My new error-free B6 Recaro Seats after installing a B7 pressure control module. Nick gives this mod a thumbs up!

I recently acquired a set of beautiful platinum grey Recaro seats out of a B6 (2001.5-2005.5) Audi S4. While these Recaros easily bolted up to the stock mounting locations in the floor and the wiring plugged right into the B7 wiring harnesses, an airbag warning light appeared on my dash after installing my Recaros and driving home.

The airbag warning light occurs because B6 A4 & S4s do not have a pressure control module in the front passenger seat (this part is often referred to as pressure plate, or even a bladder, although it is really a hydraulic system). This module is essential to the functionality of the B7 Airbag system, as it determines if someone is sitting in the passenger seat and will activate/deactivate the airbag system for the passenger side accordingly. If this sensor isn’t found, a warning light is triggered which disables all airbags in the car – not good.

To fix this, you’ll need to swap the pressure control module from your original B7 A4 seats into the B6 seats. You must also swap the seat buckle from your B7 seats, since the pressure control module plugs into the seat belt buckle and the airbag system checks for both a seat belt & the pressure control module to enable the passenger airbag.

If you have Recaro seats from a B7 Audi S4 or RS4, the install is plug and play as these seats already have the pressure control module – simply follow step 1 below to remove your A4 seats, and do the reverse of Step 1 to install your new seats. If however you bought (or are interesting in buying) a set of Recaro seats from a B6 Audi S4, the process requires a few more steps, which I’ll cover in detail below. This DIY will cover the entire process, including seat removal and install if you’ve never done it before (super easy!)

• Skill Level (1/10, 10 the hardest): About a 5 if you are patient
• Time Required: 3-5 hours depending on skill level & familiarity
• Tools Required: Triple Square (or T-50 Torx bit and Channel Locks if you don’t have one), Socket Wrench, Wire Cutters, Wire Connectors or Soldering Iron, Electrical Tape, VAG-COM cable or access to one, flat head & Phillips screwdrivers, loads of patience

I strongly recommend reading this DIY all the way through before starting so you fully understand what is involved and why everything needs to be done and how it all works! Also, I recommend not cutting any corners when doing this – the system is VERY sensitive. If the wiring has any kinks in it, the pressure control module isn’t secured and lying flat in the factory location, or anything else is even slightly off, you’ll still have an airbag light out. It took me several attempts before I finally got the airbag light to go away because I cut corners and did not mount the ballasts & pressure control plate securely and left the old wiring in too – cutting corners does NOT save you time with this mod…be thorough and meticulous!

Step 1: Remove your B7 A4 Seats

Removing your seats is quite simple. There are four bolts that hold it in place along the sliding rails on the bottom of the seat. Two are in front, and two are behind the seat. Move the seat all the way forward to get to the back ones, and all the way back to get to the front ones. Use a  triple square to remove the four bolts holding the seat in. If you don’t have a triple square,  a T50 Torx Bit and a socket wrench will work too if you don’t have a triple square – just be careful not to strip the bolts (some stripping is probably inevitable, so just be careful). Remove the bolts all of the way and then raise the seat as high as it will go, center the seat in the middle of the tracks, and adjust the incline of the seat so that it is fully upright or even slightly inclined making an acute angle – this will make it easier to get in and out of the doorway as well as easier to work on once out of the car.

The location of the bolts holding the seat in (x4)

Once the seat is totally unbolted, tilt it back and disconnect the wiring harnesses. There are three or four plugs to pull out, depending on if you have heated seats or not. Be careful and do not tug the wires directly as you don’t want to pull anything out of the harness.

Lastly, you’ll have to detach the base of the seatbelt from its anchor point on the seat itself. Remove the plastic cover and you’ll see the seat the seat belt ends in a metal fixture which snaps over a bolt – it’s actually a simple mechanism. To remove it, simply pull the tab outward and push the metal clip downward and it will slide off the circular bolt. The picture below should help illustrate what it looks like:

B7 A4 Seatbelt Removed from Seat Anchoring Point

Step 2: Removing the Seat Belt Buckle from your B7 A4 Seats

Now that we have the seat out of the car, it’s time to start disassembling it. Start with removing the seat belt buckle, as the more stuff you get out of the way, the easier it is to get the pressure plate out later.

To remove the seat belt buckle, use a triple square to loosen the bolt. If you don’t have a triple square, use a set of Channel locks to loosen the bolt – this will put some small dents or bite marks into the bolt (see below), but the bolt is hidden from view once installed anyway. Once the bolt is out, also unplug the wiring harness (which plugs into the pressure control module and will be critical for later) and you can completely remove the seat belt buckle.

Loosen this Bolt to Remove the Seat Belt Buckle, and unplug the harness

So far, so easy! Now on to the fun stuff!

Step 3: Removing the B7 Pressure Control Module (Pressure Plate)

This is scarier than it sounds, but you’ll be partially taking apart the bottom of your seat to get this out. Once complete, no one will be able to tell you ever touched your seats yet alone took them apart.

Start by removing the storage compartment under the seat, as it really clears up a lot of room and you’ll be thankful later. It is held on by four torx screws, I think they were approx T20 but I can’t remember at the moment. If you don’t have torx bits, a set of hex keys or allen keys should do the trick. Their mounting locations are as shown:

Now that you have that out of the way, time to (partially) remove the seat cover off of the bottom of the seat. Start with removing the two metal clips on the bottom of the seat:

Remove this strap...

Next, you’ll see that the fabric is stretched on all four sides of the seats – you only need to remove the front edge and one of the side edges to have enough room to pull out the pressure plate. Leaving the back and other side edge attached will help you put the seat back together and save a lot of time, although you can take off more if you really want (I took off three edges before realizing I probably only needed to take off two). At the end of the fabric it is capped off with a rubber fitting that runs the length of the bottom of the seat along all four edges. That rubber fitting stretches over black metal prongs on the bottom of the seat, which holds the fabric securely over the seat cushion. To remove the fabric, you’ll have to pull the rubber fitting off of the metal prongs one by one, and it will simply come loose. This is easier to explain by a picture – I pried it off using a flat head screwdriver, although some popped off just using my hands:

The fabric ends with a hard rubber fitting that connects to the base of the seat

After prying it off, you can see the black metal prongs that the rubber fitting at the end of the seat fabric hooks onto:

Remove the rubber fitting from the black metal prongs/hooks along the bottom of the seat

The front comes off by either snapping the rubber fitting off the black metal prongs (like above for the side edge) or by removing three torx screws that you can see when you remove the storage compartment.

Once you have the front and side edges removed, you can pull the cushion and fabric far enough back to expose the Pressure Control module:

The pressure control module - exposed!

Removing the pressure control plate is pretty easy, there are three black tabs you need to pop out (two pictured above, and a third one near the back of the pressure control module), you can remove these by pushing them through from the underside of the seat. To remove the red plastic anchor into the seat cushion foam  you can either rip it out, as I did, or be gentle about it and try to get it out otherwise – you won’t really be able to reuse that mounting point regardless.

When removing the pressure plate, all you need to pull through is the hydraulic hose and the plug/sensor at the end of it.  That sensor has a connector that connects to the wiring harness which has a ‘do not disconnect’ sticker on it.  Go ahead and disconnect that and just pull the plate through with that hose and connector only (note: do this at your own risk. If you want to be absolutely cautious, pull all of the wiring through in tact, however you can disconnect this cable without any permanent problems or issues).  From here, you can re-assemble the top portion of the donor B7 seat and now focus on removing the wiring from beneath your B7 seat.

An important point to remember is that the plate system is hydraulic, and filled with fluid. If you try to cut or disconnect the hose or sensor, you can permanently damage the plate/system and it may not work again. Only disconnect at the point where the factory harnesses plug in to each other!

Once you pull it out (with all wiring still attached) it will look like this:

The pressure plate removed

Next, you’ll want to remove the rest of the wiring for the pressure plate – from the harness you disconnected from the pressure control module’s hose, all the way down to the black harness that plugs into the ground of the car. To do this, you  should unwind all the fabric tape to gain access to the wiring, although another option is slicing through the tape to ‘split’ it open.  This is much more dangerous, as you run the risk of cutting the sheath.  Once the wiring is free, it can be separated from the rest of the wiring pretty easily.  You will also need to unscrew the control module/ballast for the pressure control plate wiring, and the two harness connector mounts can pop out as well.

A word to the wise: It is critical it is to pay close attention to the wiring on both the donor seat and transplant seat. This way you can mimic the same mounting points and route the wires the exact same way. Make mental notes (or take pictures) so you can trace every wire and where they are mounted on the bottom of the seat, what holes or passages they go through, etc. The system is VERY sensitive, so installing it as close to factory spec as possible will ensure minimal issues and allow the system to work as it should.

Step 4: Preparing the B6 Recaro

First, start by removing the old seat belt buckle and the old airbag wiring harness.

Next, remove the storage compartment for easier access to remove the old wiring and install the new wiring. It’s the same process as before, there are four bolts that can be removed using hex keys or a torx bit and then the storage compartment will come off.

Once the storage compartment is off, you can then remove all of the old wiring very easily. You’ll want to take out the wiring for the old black plug that went from the seat belt buckle to the black harness on the floor of your car. It is not necessary and best to get it out of the way to avoid any mistakes or problems down the road.

And now, we’re ready for the pressure control module transplant surgery. Take a deep breath, it’s time to take apart those lovely Recaro seats you paid a pretty penny for.

Step 5: Installing the Pressure Control Module in the B6 Recaro Seat

The leather Recaro fabric removes the same way as before – disconnect the rubber fitting at the end of the fabric from the metal prongs on the underside of the seat. You really only need to remove one side of the seat, and the front edge of the seat – you can leave the back edge and one of the side edges still firmly attached.

The side edge removes the same as before, use a flat head screw driver to pull the rubber fitting off of the metal prongs. The front edge can be removed by removing 3 torx screws behind where the storage compartment used to be. If you can’t get to those, it will pop out of place if you pull on it, although you may weaken the clips or tear the fabric if you’re not super careful.

I only needed to remove the front and side to have enough room to squeeze my hands under the seat cushion to feed the wiring through the hole in the seat and place the pressure plate in, and attach it to the mounting points on the bottom of the seat. There are three mounting points, two toward the front of the seat, and one in the middle toward the back of the pressure plate.  MAKE SURE IT IS SECURED AT ALL THREE POINTS! The pressure plate is VERY sensitive, and you need to make sure it is lying securely in place and will not move around!

The pressure plate installed

You will also need to cut a small 1″ slit in the white cloth to pass the wiring and hose through it. Be sure to place the pressure control module ON TOP of the cloth, so the cloth will protect the pressure control module from getting snagged on the metal base of the seat. Since the pressure control module is hydraulic, a snag in the plastic could cause the liquid to leak, which would then ruin the system.

Woohoo! The hard part is done. Now let’s put your seat back together so it looks normal again. Once you’ve made sure the pressure control module is secured and lying flat without pinching any wiring or anything, simply reattach the edge of the seat to the black metal prongs, and snap back in the front of the seat…and voila, no one could probably ever tell you did anything to the seat!

Step 6: Wiring & Installing the Recaro Seat

It’s pretty simple from here. The new pressure control module plugs into two places: the seat belt buckle and the harness on the floor of your car. If you haven’t already, install the b7 seat belt buckle, and the smaller harness of the pressure control module will plug in to the wiring coming off of the seat belt buckle.

Next, clean up the wiring with electrical tape and secure the pressure control module wiring by taping it to the other wiring going into the ground (the green, red, and yellow harnesses). I have created a diagram on where I mounted everything on my seat – however, your seat could be different, and I may have parts of this wrong. If you wired it differently please contact me and send me a picture, I’d love see other options as I didn’t take very good notes and had to kind of guess where everything was supposed to go. Either way, you’ll want to make sure to follow factory wiring and mounting locations as close as possible, and make sure the hose coming out of the pressure control module isn’t pinched or bent, as this will make it impossible to recalibrate the system.

Wiring Instructions for B7 Plate on B6 Seat

Also, the brown harness clips in to a factory spot too:

Brown Harness Clip

Once everything is prepped, taped, mounted and secured, it’s time to put the seat back into the car. Angle the seat into the car headrest first until you’ve got the entire seat inside of the cabin, and then tilt the seat backward so you can access the wiring under the seat and plug it into the harnesses on the floor

The harnesses on the floor appear as below:

The harnesses in the floor of the car

The black plug is where the pressure control module will plug into

The green plug is for heated seats

The red plug is for powering the seat (reclining, lumbar, etc)

The yellow plug is for the seat’s airbag

The green, red, and yellow plugs should all be the original B6 Recaro wiring – you shouldn’t have touched nor altered those in anyway. The only wiring that is different now is the harness that will plug into the black plug on the floor!

The black harness coming from the B7 pressure plate will look somewhat like this:

The black harness from the b7 pressure control module

You’ll notice that there are three active posts on one side of the harness, and only two on the other side. You’ll want to make sure that the side with three active posts (the copper looking contact points) plugs into the harness on the floor along the side nearest the middle of your car, and the side with only two active posts plugs into the side facing the door jam. I did this incorrectly the first few times and got faulty wiring errors when reading the codes in VAG-COM.

Once you’ve plugged it all in, it should look like this (only prettier, as I used a ton of electrical tape, haha)

The B6 Recaro Plugged into the Car

Before you go and bolt the seat back into place, let’s test everything and re-code the seats (if necessary) to make sure there aren’t any more changes that are needed. Personally, I had the plug in the wrong way, so I had to try it both ways before it finally worked

Step 7: Checking Fault Codes & Applying the Basic Setting to calibrate the Pressure Control Module

It is possible you wont need to clear any fault codes and the airbag light will have gone away by now, if you used the same pressure control plate that was previously installed in you car and the car was never turned on with the seat removed. If the car was turned on with the seat removed from the car, the airbag light will stay until it’s cleared through VAG-COM. Additionally, if the pressure control module came out of a different car, you will also need to clear the fault codes in VAG-COM and also re-calibrate it (apply the basic setting) before your car can recognize and use it.

With everything plugged in, insert your Ross-Tech VAG-COM cable into your car and fire up the VCDS software. I do not know if hacked “eBay” VAG-COM cables will work for programming the airbag module, but I highly recommend using authentic Ross-Tech cables regardless – this is not a corner you want to cut, and the $349 purchase price of this cable is well worth it in the long run. A big thank you and a strong recommendation for Ross-Tech.

Once you have VCDS open, go to Application 15 – Airbags. Check the fault codes – you’ll probably have a bunch of them. If one of them reads “01044 – Control Module Incorrectly Coded” be sure to go into your coding and reset the coding first. My airbag coding is set to: 0032607 which should be the same for pretty much any North America B7 Audi A4 WITHOUT rear side airbags.  For a full set of coding instructions and what they mean, visit the Ross-Tech Wiki.

Regardless, you’ll want to clear all of your codes before proceeding. If the airbag warning light goes away after you cleared your fault codes, great you can go ahead and bolt your seat back in place and you’re done!

If not, we’ll need to apply the basic setting to it recalibrate it.

To apply the basic setting, follow these instructions:

Basic Setting

Seat Occupied Recognition Control Module (J706)If the Seat Occupied Recognition Control Module (J706) or the seat itself have been replaced, the basic setting has to be performed.

[Select]
[15 - Airbags]
[Security Access - 16]
Enter 30475, to enable the basic setting.
If you are having problems performing this security access, contact us.
[Do it!]
[Basic Settings - 04]
Group 001
[Go!]
Activate the Basic Setting.
[ON/OFF/Next]
The reset has been performed.
[Done, Go Back]
[Close Controller, Go Back - 06]

After applying the basic setting, go ahead and clear your codes one last time. The airbag light should now be gone permanently! At this point, pat yourself on the back and go on a nice long road trip to enjoy your super comfortable Recaro seats! You’ve done it!

To be extra sure everything is working properly, sit in the passenger seat with the car running and buckle your seatbelt. The central display should now say “PASSENGER AIRBAG ON”

Troubleshooting:

If you’ve followed these steps to a T and are still having problems, here are my suggestions on problem areas to troubleshoot:

• The black wiring harness that plugs into the floor: Try plugging it in the other way, experimenting with which side the three active contact points are on (facing the middle of the car or facing the door jam). It can physically be plugged in either way without problems, so this is easy to connect incorrectly. After plugging it in a different way, go through Step 7 (Coding & Recalibrating) again.
• Follow all of the wiring to make sure there are no shorts or bad connections – it is likely that you may have had to cut a few wires to remove the wiring from the b7 seat if the wiring was really tangled – I know I did. If you cut any wires and re-attached them, double check all of those connections!
• Check your coding – make sure that you aren’t getting a fault code for Incorrectly Coded and set everything back to factory
• Make sure the pressure plate isn’t getting pinched anywhere, or that the wiring coming out of the pressure plate isn’t bent or getting pulled on before going through the bottom of the seat
• If the passenger airbag is always on, even when someone isn’t sitting in it, it could be that the pressure control module isn’t lying flat, or the hydraulic hose coming out of it leading into the ballast is pinched. If the plate or its wiring is getting pinched or has too much pressure applied to it, you can’t calibrate it properly and the system won’t work right. To fix this check the pressure control plate is mounted securely and flat and make sure the wiring coming out of the plate is not getting pinched or caught on anything.
• Make sure you’ve removed all of the old wiring you’re not using and that all of the pressure control module wiring is mounted to the bottom of the seat securely at the factory mounting points.

Disclaimer: Any information in this post is purely for entertainment purposes only and I am no way liable for any damage you may incur to your car or your body. Any modifications are performed at your own risk. Obviously, the airbag system is a critical component to your car’s safety and can be quite costly to replace, please take the utmost care when altering anything to do with the airbag wiring system.

How to Install B6 S4 Recaro Seats into a B7 A4 with No Airbag Warning Light is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog

Based on the popularity of my LED Interior Lighting post, and by popular request in the comments section, I decided to write another guide for LED License plate bulbs on a B7 Audi A4, S4 and RS4. They definitely look awesome, and are a relatively cheap mod at ~$30 total. Best of all, installation takes merely a few minutes and all that is required is a small screwdriver in most cases.

The trouble with this mod is that the with some B7 models (any A4, S4 or RS4 from 2005.5-2008), the installation of these bulbs sometimes causes a Light Out error. Personally, I installed mine and never had any problems with a bulb out error message or flickering issues, and I’ve talked to countless others who have never had problems either, but there are more than a handful of examples of those who have posted on Audizine who did encounter problems.

There are many theories as to which models or trim packages throw the Bulb Out error and which don’t, but from everything I’ve read, it’s mostly just luck of the draw/random. Many believe that if you have the multi-color information display in your gauge cluster (the LCD screen between your speedometer and RPMs) you are more likely to have an bulb out warning message, although Bulb Out errors do occur for the non-color version (those with only red colored pixels only).

Regardless, here are my recommendations – IMO it’s worth trying your luck as you can always revert back to the OEM halogen bulbs if you get a bulb out message, learn to ignore the bulb out message in your gauge cluster, or install an extra resistor to avoid this (more on this below). A few others have reported flickering issues with LED license plate bulbs, which can also be fixed using resistors.

For bulbs, look for a 39mm Festoon bulb that has a BUILT IN RESISTOR, or plan on purchasing your own resistor or load balancer to eliminate any issues. The built-in resistor is critical, as it will greatly reduce the chances of a bulb out message. The two options I’ve seen with the best reviews and success rates are

Option 1 - Buy “Error Free” LED License plate bulbs. Note they are not always error free for B6/B7 Audis due to our electrical systems, although they are less likely to cause errors than the typical 39mm Festoon bulb:

• 42 Draft Designs – this is what I’ve been using for ~2 years without problems. They say on their site not to use these bulbs for a B7 A4, but that’s just so they’re not liable to accept returns in the case you get a bulb out error – essentially, you must assume all risk they might not work or work but product codes.
• TunerDomes – their bulbs also include built-in resistors to help prevent error codes. I haven’t tried these personally but know a few people who run them. Like the 42 Draft Designs bulbs, a lot of people are running these successfully without any codes or errors, but a few here and there have reported error codes or flickering – again, it’s really kind of luck of the draw….(read a review here on Audizine from user Quattro)

Bulb Installation: lift up your trunk lid, remove your license plate for a little extra wiggle room, then remove the two screws holding the light cover in. You’ll probably need a specialty screwdriver like the ones used on eyeglasses as its a very small screw. Then pull out the old bulbs and snap in the new bulbs. Be sure to test it before re-installing the light covers, just to make sure the bulbs are making contact (you may need to bend the contact points of the base) as well as to see if you get any bulb out errors first.

Resistor Installation: if you need to install resistors, you’ll need to remove the liner of your trunk to access the wires. There are two screws that come out using a Phillips screwdriver, pictured below. One is below the trunk release handle and the second one is in a similar location on the opposite side of the trunk. Once the screws are removed, then there are four clips on the top edge and four clips on the bottom edge which will release when you firmly tug near each clip.

Once the trunk liner is pushed to the side, install the resistor. You’ll want to tap the brown wire and the purplish-gray wires that are furthest to the left of the harness. I found easiest to remove the harness to install the resistor first.

I find it works best to strip part of the brown wire and gray/purple wire first so the resistor makes good contact, as I find the red-plastic splicers don’t always cut all the way through. It doesn’t matter which wire you attach to which, just make sure the resistor bridges the brown wire and gray/purple one. Warning: the resistor gets VERY hot VERY quickly so don’t touch it once you’ve turned the lights on. I mounted the resistor using 3M double sided tape and then plugged back in the harness and turned the car on to test that the lights still turn on and no error warnings – success! If you still get a warning, go back and check our connections and make sure the exposed wires are lined up correctly within the red plastic splicer.

Disclaimer: I’m not responsible if you buy any bulbs and they don’t work, nor any damage you may cause to your car while working on it. Any modifications you perform on your vehicle are done at your own risk. That being said, there isn’t too much of a risk of causing any damage here, except you may be out the cost of LED bulbs in the event they flicker or cause a bulb out message.

LED License Plate Bulb Options for a B7 Audi A4 & S4 (2005.5-2008) is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog

034 Motorsports Turbo Inlet Hose versus OEM Hose

With hot summer temperatures here in Arizona, I noticed my boost to be much lower and the car felt more sluggish overall – I read reviews on the 034 Motorsports Turbo Inlet Pipe from a few other B7 Audi A4 owners and thought I’d give it a whirl – it’s definitely worth the $75! While the differences are subtle at first – a slightly more noticeable spooling sound and possibly spooling a few hundred RPM sooner – the real difference is when the car has been running a while and the engine bay gets super hot – I’ve noticed less of a loss in power after long drives or track days, which is AWESOME and worth the $75 itself. The 2.0 FSI tends to have really bad heatsoak in our cars – you can run the car for just 5 minutes and its already hot enough in there to roast a chicken. Anything to help the engine breathe easier when it gets so hot is worth it in my eyes.

You can see in the picture above that the new product doesn’t have all of the bends and accordian style tubing the OEM inlet pipe does – it’s also silicone which is less prone to collapse and flex in high temperatures than the cheap rubber/plastic compound used by Audi and is a more efficient design. It also looks a lot nicer!

Install was a snap – you only need a screwdriver and some pliers, and it shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes even for novices. Make sure your engine has cooled down first before attempting to do this, there are a lot of very HOT parts in this area! In the pictures you’ll see my Carbonio Intake but the instructions are the same for an OEM air box as well. As always, attempt this at your own risk and I’m not responsible for any damages or problems, I’m just providing this install guide as a reference only!

First remove the plastic air intake from the grille to the airbox so you can access everything.

Then remove the OEM clamps on either end of the OEM plastic inlet pipe. Be careful not to drop ANYTHING in the piping as that will go directly into your turbo then get shredded up and spewed into your engine!

No pipe at all - don't drop anything in the hole!

Next grab the new silicone pipe, install one end to the turbo and the other end to the air box and secure the hose clamps – I opted for the hose clamp upgrade and its definitely worth it – the OEM hose clamps are a pain to deal with. You’ll thank yourself when you go to change your air filter out…

This pipe works with the Carbonio airbox just fine, you just have to install the pipe first with the Carbonio loose and out of place – then adjust the Carbonio to tuck under the fender and hood only after you’ve got the silicone inlet pipe fully fastened and tightend on both ends. Once you’ve got the Carbonio fit back into place, just insert your air intake pipe back on and you’re done!

And last but not least, a picture of me really testing this thing out at Inde Motorsports Ranch in Willcox, AZ in about 85 degree heat. It’s an amazing 2.5 mile course with off camber turns, elevation changes, etc. I think the improved inlet pipe helped sustain performance as the engine temperatures grew hotter and hotter and most importantly I had a lot of fun!

034 Motorsports Silicone Turbo Inlet Pipe Install & Review is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog

Here are the installation instructions from Carbonio on how to install the Carbonio carbon fiber intake for a 2006-2008 B7 Audi A4 with the 2.0T FSI Engine.

Download Link: Audi B7 A4 2.0 FSI Installation Instructions

The install is pretty straightforward and should only take 1-2 hours maximum. It is a pretty easy DIY and could be performed by a novice. You don’t really need any special tools – although you definitely want to wait until the engine has cooled down completely before digging around in there!

The end result is a more aggressive sound when accelerating, slightly better airflow, a cooler looking engine bay (carbon fiber is pretty, haha), and a slight woosh noise (almost sounds like a blow off valve) when you switch gears or let off the gas. This is a result of there being no sound deadening in the airbox so you can hear more of the noises and changes in pressure. I’ve actually had people ask what blow off valve I was running because it sounded so nice, and I explained I had no blow off valve and that I was running the stock diverter valve, and it was really just the Carbonio Intake that resulted in the noise.

Before the Carbonio Intake I ran the EvoMS (Evolution Motorsports) Intake for the B7 Audi A4, and it was even louder than this one – too loud, in my opinion. I ended up selling it and switching to the Carbonio Intake and I’m very happy with that decision.

While you’re here, also check out my review on the APR Stage 2 upgrade for my car.

Carbonio Intake Installation Instructions for Audi A4 B7 2.0T is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog

I recently installed a set of Audi RS4 & RS6 pedals and Dead Pedal to replace my stock pedal set on my automatic transmission Audi A4. The Dead Pedal & Gas (Throttle) Pedal are from the RS4 and the brake pedal is from the RS6, but they match nearly identically and you can’t get the RS4 in automatic so this is your only OEM choice for Automatic drivers. The standard A4 pedals are made of black plastic (or rubber?) that doesn’t necessarily look bad, but the upgraded pedal set on the RS4 and RS6 are finished in brushed aluminum that look really sharp and provide a nice contrast and add a nice detailed touch to the interior. While the RS4 pedals do have more pronounced grip areas, this is mostly a cosmetic upgrade to give your interior that OEM plus look.

Installing the OEM pedals was pretty easy – while many aftermarket pedal sets require drilling and using screws, the OEM RS4 pedals slip right over the gas and brake pedals without the need for any tools or alterations.

The RS4 Dead Pedal is also a direct install, simply remove one screw to remove the existing black plastic A4 dead pedal, which then slides right off. The RS4 Dead pedal will then slide on (see pic below) along the edge of the black plastic, with the top tab being tucked behind the bottom of your dash assembly, and the bottom clipping into a mounting spot along the bottom edge. You can then replace the one Phillips screw, and the RS4 dead pedal is now firmly mounted at four points – the screw, the top tab, the bottom clip, and the vertical edge nearest the door.

The RS4 Dead Pedal slides in along the black plastic and clips in for a snug & direct fit in my Audi A4.

The RS4 gas pedal can be installed by aligning the medal edge nearest the center of the car first, then stretch the plastic along the left edge and corners to cover the rest of the pedal secondly – the medal edge will not flex or move but obviously the plastic is more pliable, so this is probably the easiest way to do it, although you may want to play around with it trying other edges first if you don’t have success – this was the only pedal that took me a few attempts to get secured properly. You can tell when it is attached correctly because the pedal cover will not move or wiggle whatsoever. For the RS6 brake pedal, you will remove the existing black plastic cover first, then the RS6 pedal cover will go over the brake pedal pretty easily. Be sure to double check your gas and brake pedals for a sturdy fitment – you don’t want them wobbling or moving when you need to accelerate or brake heavily.

And that’s it! A simple 20 minute DIY that requires only a Phillips screwdriver, and I think the end result is a very nice detail that will set your interior apart from other A4 an S4 cars.

I was a bit worried this would be a mod you’d never be able to see – but here is a shot at eye level and you can see the pedals are visible and provide a nice little visual touch:

PS – Can you spot my next interior mod? Look closely at the steering wheel and you’ll see some Big Paddle Shifters – more to come on that, but they’re awesome!! You might also notice my trim is missing, as the carbon fiber masters over at oCarbon are crafting a special set of carbon fiber trim for me

Installing RS4 Pedals on an Audi A4 Automatic – DIY & Pics is a post from: Nick Roshon on Nick's Car Blog