Problems with 2000 A4 B5 cluster

[zex]

I own a 2000 1.6 gasoline A4 Avant. The instrument cluster has 2 problems: the speed reading is completely off - sometimes it resets to 50km/h=0, 130km/h=0, etc; There are more dead than live pixels;
Additionally, I'd like to have a second fully functional key/fob.

For the car to be road legal, the speed reading must work properly. The speed sensor has been replaced, but the problem persists.

The car is worth very little, and it's given me a fair amount of grief/expense over the years, so I don't want to spend a lot.

From what I've read, it seems that the best option would be to buy a used cluster and get a cloned "Vagtacho VAG Tacho 5.0 USB Cable K+Can" off Ebay.
This way I could reset the total km count to match mine and make my own key for about 60€.
Am I missing something?

A couple of things I'm unsure about:
1-My cluster has a digital watch, but no on-board computer - like this

and I can buy one with OBD (larger LCD, easier/cheaper to find a pixel repair LCD) like this

Can this be done? Can one simply replace one type of cluster with the other and expect it to be plug-and-play?

2-My B5 being from 2000, should it have an immobilizer? I've read that in cars with immobilizers, a direct cluster replacement will lock the car and only an Audi dealer would be able to unlock it - is this applicable to 2000 A4 B5s?

3-Assuming I can replace the cluster and connect it to VagTacho, how could I make a fully functional key? Can I buy a second-hand key, replace the key blade with a copy of mine and program the car to accept this key's immobilizer and fob codes?

thanks for reading

[Rsniper4]

Here's my experience when I swapped the instrument cluster from my 2001 A4 with a salvage 2001 A4 -

The swap was easy and a direct match, but the mileage shown was that from the donor car, and the lcd screen had dead pixels just the same.
All my gauges and warning lights were working properly except the tachometer - it would be stuck showing 300 - 500 RPM below the actual engine RPM (I could tell by sound).
Luckily, this did not change the driving/transmission behavior in any way.
I ended up putting my original cluster back in since I didn't gain much from the salvage one.
Unfortunately with this limited experience I don't know if the 2000 to 2001 cluster is a direct swap.

It is possible to DIY replace the LCD screen (various guides around, and videos on youtube). If you have the necessary tools and steady hands, it should be pretty straightforward.
I attempted this on my salvage cluster, but since I didn't have the proper tools I damaged the electrical pins and just threw it away
Even if you don't want to replace the lcd screen yourself, it might be a good idea to take apart your instrument cluster because you might find whatever is causing your speedometer signal to intermittently drop.

I think your described plan would work to manually rewrite the mileage, but in case not, there are other various guides/methods around that should accomplish the same thing.

When it comes to security/immobilization , my experience would tell me that the instrument cluster does not play any role, and should not be an obstacle to get a new key programmed.

My experience is from the US, but I'd like to think Audi wouldn't change these features drastically between various markets.

If you have access to a Audi salvage yard/parts cars for 2000/2001, that would also be a cheap and efficient way to find out many of the answers you are seeking.
At the bare minimum, swap in a working 2000 cluster, assuming the false mileage wont be an issue, to make it legal.

[scaphan]

I swapped my cluster since I bought the lcd screen to do the repair myself on the original cluster but then bricked it by shorting it out whilst testing it!!

I’m in the UK and so the immobiliser is in the cluster. I had to get the pin of the cluster using the vag Tacho cable you mentioned. Then using the regular vag com (vcds) this pin unlocks the option to code the new cluster to the old keys so they worked.

Also vag tacho can amend the mileage but I didn’t do this since mine was quite close to the new cluster.

There were resources on forums that I used to do all this.


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