i summon one kim

Not everything is considered a user (driver) preference, apparently. Temperature display in Fahrenheit or Celsius is switchable, but the odometer readout cannot be switched to kilometers just like that. Daytime running lights (DRL) is mentioned in the manual as an option that can be configured by the dealer. Did you know that a U.S. radio cannot tune into all frequencies on the FM band?

This weekend Otto helped me get some things reconfigured:

• temperature display
• odometer readout
• daytime running lights

The radio still needs to be adjusted. The 2003+ Audi A4 models have more on-board diagnostic capable devices than a single K-bus can handle, so there are 2 buses. Unfortunately the equipment we had could only communicate with the first bus, and the radio appears to be on the second bus. In any case, there is supposed to be a country ID there (if its values were just known).

Read on for the details.

Temperature display

Press and hold the recirculation button on the climate control unit. Then press the temperature up (+) button for a couple of seconds to switch beween degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit. This affects both the climate control display and the outside temperature display in the instrument panel.

Odometer readout

You need an on-board diagnostics (OBD) tool to change the odometer display units. Select Instruments and click on Recode. You should see a 5-digit value (mine was 00263). The third digit is the “market coding” as follows:

0 – Germany, 24-hour clock
1 – Rest of World, 24-hour clock
2 – USA, 12-hour clock
3 – Canada, 12-hour clock
4 – United Kingdom (UK), 12-hour clock

We changed the coding to 00163, and the following changes took place:

• the odometer and trip odometer displays are in kilometers (was miles)
• the clock display is in 24-hour “military” style (was 12-hour style)
• the date display is DD.MM.YYYY (was MM.DD.YYYY)
• the fuel consumption displays are in liters per 100km (was miles per gallon)
• the average speed displays are in kilometers (was miles)

Daytime running lights

Again, you need an on-board diagnostics (OBD) tool to change the lights. Select Electronics and click on Recode. You should see a 5-digit value (mine was 00013). The last digit is the daytime running light setting as follows:

1 – RDW (Rest of World): DRL=No
2 – NDL (Netherlands): DRL=Yes
3 – USA: DRL=No
4 – KAN (Canada): DRL=Yes
5 – DAN (Denmark): DRL=Yes
6 – SON (???): DRL=Yes

I first tried 00014, but the DRL feature was then using the fog lights (not the low beams). I switched to 00015 and got the desired behaviour of low beams turning on when ignition power is on.