myAudi

myAudi Review: 10 Free Years of Remote Services, a Shaky Link to the Car

Audi connect CARE: 10 Free Years, Then $150 a Year for NAV

Every new Audi comes with Audi connect CARE for 10 years, though Audi notes the plan applies to select 2026 models. It covers emergency call, stolen vehicle locator, remote lock and unlock, a vehicle status report and, where the car is equipped, remote start, along with car finder, geofencing, valet alerts and speed or curfew alerts. The Q4 e-tron is the exception: Audi's own footnotes exclude it from remote lock and unlock, geofencing and speed alerts. After a three-year trial, Audi connect NAV costs $150 a year; PLUS, with in-car Wi-Fi and Alexa, gets six months on 2026 cars, then $250 a year. Rivals charge for the same convenience: Toyota puts Remote Connect inside plans from $15 a month, and BMW sells Remote Engine Start as a paid ConnectedDrive Upgrade. Prices exclude tax and can change.

Audi Assistant and Digital Key: Which Cars Qualify

The AI Assistant sits in its own center tab, takes typed or spoken questions and cites the owner's manual chapter behind each answer. Audi limits it to the 2025–2026 Q6 e-tron, A6 e-tron, A5 and Q5 plus the 2026 A6, requires an active NAV trial or subscription, and warns its AI-generated answers may contain errors. Digital Key is limited to select 2026-and-newer models with the right hardware; on the Q6 e-tron, the first Audi to support it, it is standard and needs no paid plan. Phones with Ultra-Wideband unlock and start from a pocket, while NFC-only phones such as the iPhone 16e and Galaxy Z Flip 6 need a tap on the door handle and the charging cradle. Keys are shared through Apple or Google Wallet with lock-only, valet or full permissions. A June 2026 Play review with 11 helpful votes says every Android update breaks the key.

Calendar Access, an Empty Apple Label and the 4G Clause

Google Play's Data safety section lists name, email, address, phone number, user IDs, device IDs, app interactions and optional calendar events, and says user IDs may be shared with other companies. The App Store label from the same developer reads Data Not Collected, though its listing warns the iPhone app may use location while closed. Connected-car data has leaked before: in December 2024, Der Spiegel and the Chaos Computer Club reported that a misconfigured cloud at Volkswagen's Cariad exposed records from nearly 800,000 Group EVs, Audi included, with Audi positions accurate to about 10 kilometers; the exposure centered on Europe. In the U.S., Audi's December 2025 terms send disputes to arbitration, refund nothing on cancelled plans and require sellers to delete the car from their account. Every service also depends on 4G LTE, with no guarantee after a network shutdown.