Hi all, I bought a 2012 Q3 yesterday, the MMI was working great and then as we were driving my partner said ‘does it close down’, I said I didn’t know so he tried and of course it closes and has a little button. When he lifted it back up, the MMI was black and we can’t figure out how to get it back on. We stopped and were out for 2 hours which we thought would kick start it but nothing. Any tips? 
 

Have tried holding the volume button down for 15 secs and also a few other button combos! 

Welcome Ruby and sorry to hear of your issue. 
Did you buy it from a dealer? If so, you need to return it without fiddling with it. It should not be for you to sort it out. 
Regards,

Gareth. 

Hi, I bought it from a long term family friend who has sold us all of our cars for decades. He sold it to the guy back in 2013 and it’s only done 35k miles so it’s a really good buy. When it arrived the MMI worked perfectly so I do think it’s an issue with a button or needing a reset perhaps - I’ve read the manu but can’t find the exact issue. Family friend is a car dealer - but he did it for me for no commission as a favour and lives miles away. 

Edited July 12, 2025Jul 12 by Bristolaudiowner13

4 minutes ago, Bristolaudiowner13 said:

Hi, I bought it from a long term family friend who has sold us all of our cars for decades. He sold it to the guy back in 2013 and it’s only done 35k miles so it’s a really good buy. When it arrived the MMI worked perfectly so I do think it’s an issue with a button or needing a reset perhaps - I’ve read the manu but can’t find the exact issue. Family friend is a car dealer - but he did it for me for no commission as a favour and lives miles away. 

I know how this sounds but we’ve trusted him for decades and it is a really good car - just not sure what’s going on with the MMI! 

Well Ruby, trying to sort it out rather than getting your trusted car dealer friend to sort it, must obviously be your choice. 
I think if I was the ‘dealer friend’ I would at least want to know about it, and be offered an opportunity to be involved in sorting it out, but….. 

Regards,

Gareth. 

Hi Gareth, 

 

Thanks, I already have let him know but it’s his birthday and he’s on holiday so I’m not expecting a reply until next week. I was hoping to resolve it myself in the meantime. 
 

Thanks

If you've done a factory reset on the MMI and that's not fixed it then it needs a diagnostic check to see if any fault codes flag up. 

The mmi may just need an update