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Removing and installing entry and start authorisation control unit J518 — AUDI

Removing and installing entry and start authorisation control unit J518 on Audi: 10 steps. What to remove, in what order, and what to check after.

Workshop procedure for AUDI — the exact step sequence and torque figures, straight from real workshop data.

10 steps

🧭 Before you start

Fits: Audi A8 D3 (4E, 2002–2010)

  • Renewed: control unit

📋 Procedure

  1. To renew control unit, select the "“Replacement”" function for the appropriate control unit in "“Guided Fault Finding”".
  2. Remove driver's seat 72.
  3. Switch off ignition and take out ignition key.
  4. Remove lower A-pillar and B-pillar trim 70.
  5. Fold back floor covering.
AUDI? Steps differ between engine variants — check this job against your exact car before you commit to it. Check my car — free →
  1. If fitted, unscrew bolts (arrows) and lay retainer with wiring harness to side.
  2. Unscrew nuts (1) and (2).
  3. Unplug electrical connectors (3) and (4) and take out entry and start authorisation control unit J518.
  4. Install lower A-pillar and B-pillar trim 70.
  5. Install driver's seat 72.

Who makes these pages, and how

TorqFix was built by a mechanic — after a 2,700 km drive with five roadside repairs that no diagnostic tool could explain.

The figures on this page come from manufacturer workshop documentation and are shown as they are. The page is assembled automatically from that data — it is not written by an AI. The AI works in the chat, where it answers for your specific car. It writes nothing here.

Variants of the same model differ. Cross-check torque against the factory manual for your engine before final tightening.

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Workshop data on this page last updated 20 Sep 2026.