[StlRamsFan]

A couple of things I noticed. Number one, without the key, you can't lock the doors. I dropped my wife off and went to park the car. The keys went with her in her purse. After I parked, the car wouldn't lock. Is that normal? Also, with the key in hand, touching the passenger front door does not engage the door locks when exiting. Is that normal?

 

[Ourob0r0s11]

The car not locking without the key present is "normal" across all Audis, but I've always thought that was a particularly odd way of handling vehicle security, or in this case lack of it. As for the passenger front door, it should work to lock your vehicle like the driver door does. I know there's a lock setting in the MMI that determines whether all the doors unlock or just the driver door when you touch the handle, but I don't think this effects/prevents locking the vehicle with the passenger front door (not 100% sure on that). Do note that both back doors do not have the locking/unlocking sensors in the handles, the molding that appears to be sensors are just for consistency and cost sake.

 

[StlRamsFan]

I actually think with car off, door lock switches are inactive.

 

[DampDuffer]

A couple of things I noticed. Number one, without the key, you can't lock the doors. I dropped my wife off and went to park the car. The keys went with her in her purse. After I parked, the car wouldn't lock. Is that normal? Also, with the key in hand, touching the passenger front door does not engage the door locks when exiting. Is that normal?

Yes, it is normal that you CANNOT lock the doors from OUTSIDE without the remote control key nearby. They can be locked from the INSIDE the vehicle, but when the door is opened the doors will unlock.

By leaving the window down slightly you can reach into the car from the outside and lock the doors by pressing the power locking switch......and leaving the windows slightly open may give your dog some air to breath while you are out looking for your wife's purse, and it also allows someone from outside the car to unlock the car and let your dog out if it's too hot. (Hey, I'm looking for positives here!!).
Of course without the remote control key nearby the power windows won't work either. >

Regarding unlocking the car with the remote control key present, YES, you should be able to open EITHER front door regardless of the MMI setting....but if you are counting on the sensor to do the work the person opening door must have the remote control key on their person or VERY close to them. If your wife has the remote control, she can open whichever door she is close to, but if she is on one side of the car with the remote, and you are on the other side without the remote....you will NOT be able to open the door you are next to.

Of course two OLD-FASHIONED manual clicks on the unlock button on the remote will open all doors regardless of the MMI setting and regardless of the which end or side of the vehicle the person making the manual clicks is standing....

 

[DampDuffer]

I actually think with car off, door lock switches are inactive.

Oh, they're active with the ignition off, but only from inside the car with all the doors closed, or with the key, remote, or sensor from the outside.


Remember, if the doors are locked while inside the car, they will unlock when a door is opened.

 

[cstargio]

2015 Q3 Doors Lock Randomly With Key Inside!!!

I never said anything about the doors "not locking". This thread is entirely about the DOORS LOCKING RANDOMLY. Meaning specifically that a human has to do nothing to get the doors to lock. The key simply needs to be inside the vehicle for the doors to lock, on their own. It has happened to me 6 times now (the first time a surprise, all other times I was monitoring the car's behavior). It typically starts with the "no key identified" indicator followed by the doors locking on their own.

I have it on video so if I can ever figure out how to upload a video here I will but I will upload on it on YouTube. I think it might be a defect. In order to determine if it is or isn't I need to find more people experiencing the same issue. Remember I am only saying that this is could be an issue with the 2015 Q3's. I am not talking about any other years or Audi makes.

**No car should lock by itself with the keys inside.** The service technical at South Coast Audi confirmed that they should not. He also confirmed that the door locks are NOT ACTIVE when the doors are open.

Of course I have scheduled it for service. As I await my appointment you can be sure I will not be leaving my keys inside the car with the doors closed (i.e., pumping gas, etc.). If you own a Q3 I would caution you not to as well.

 

[cstargio]

YouTube Link to Q3 Random Locking (Hope it works!)

https://youtu.be/MNBRZFziKec

 

[rnlabas]

I never said anything about the doors "not locking". This thread is entirely about the DOORS LOCKING RANDOMLY. Meaning specifically that a human has to do nothing to get the doors to lock. The key simply needs to be inside the vehicle for the doors to lock, on their own. It has happened to me 6 times now (the first time a surprise, all other times I was monitoring the car's behavior). It typically starts with the "no key identified" indicator followed by the doors locking on their own.

I have it on video so if I can ever figure out how to upload a video here I will but I will upload on it on YouTube. I think it might be a defect. In order to determine if it is or isn't I need to find more people experiencing the same issue. Remember I am only saying that this is could be an issue with the 2015 Q3's. I am not talking about any other years or Audi makes.

**No car should lock by itself with the keys inside.** The service technical at South Coast Audi confirmed that they should not. He also confirmed that the door locks are NOT ACTIVE when the doors are open.

Of course I have scheduled it for service. As I await my appointment you can be sure I will not be leaving my keys inside the car with the doors closed (i.e., pumping gas, etc.). If you own a Q3 I would caution you not to as well.

Thanks for your comments and observations - I think you MUST have an issue somewhere for this to happen. Only someone playing a 'trick' on you with the other remote should otherwise make this happen. In that case, the second remote would override the first's 'command' to not lock. You can test this easily with both remotes though. I'm supposing you know/have the second remote in hand or far enough away that no one or pet or anything could possibly provide a locking instruction whilst your key was in the car ...

Also, since the 'No Key Identified' shows while THAT key is in the car, I wonder if its battery is low or dead and hence the car does NOT even recognize it. When you do replace the battery and still get this message, you MUST place the key next to the steering column (there's actually a little pad on the right side of the steering column where a key might ordinarily fit for this specific purpose) so the car can now re-read the key to recognize it. Otherwise the car cannot sense that a programmed key is indeed within it - THAT's essentially what that message is telling you. btw, this can happen (low battery) even if that same remote just let you unlock and enter the car. Remember that independently of the above, once you unlock a door, and have not opened the door, within about 30 seconds or so the car WILL relock itself for security. This is to prevent someone from sneaking into the car if you have unlocked it from say 30 feet away and NOT entered,

Meanwhile, we are VERY interested in what the solution turns out to be so we can categorize it to help others. At least I'm glad to see that there aren't another dozen or so folks here with the same issue.

 

[cstargio]

Thanks Roger! The other key was about 20 miles away when I took the video so it's safe to say that there was no one playing a trick on me .

The service manager said a low battery in the key fob will not cause the doors to lock randomly nor will it cause the "key not recognized to show". So, yes, there is definitely an issue. I'm traveling now and will likely not get the car in for service for a couple weeks but as soon as I know more I will update the thread.

 

[cstargio]

Hi all,

I just spoke with the man who sold me the car. Apparently they were able to replicate the issue in a 2016 Q3, remembering that the issue is that the car locks itself if it is opened then shut and the key is not recognized. So far they know this only happens on the A3 and Q3 line because both have an MMI different from all other lines.

They are now looking for a solution, likely a software update.

In the meantime, if you have a Q3 or A3 it is suggested you do not open the hatch / doors, set the key inside the vehicle and then shut the hatch / doors for whatever reason (run back into the house to get something, fill up with gas, etc) because the vehicle might not recognize the key and lock itself. If your spare key is not nearby this is a big, big problem. Trust me.

Best,
Cyndi

 

[rnlabas]

Hi all,

I just spoke with the man who sold me the car. Apparently they were able to replicate the issue in a 2016 Q3, remembering that the issue is that the car locks itself if it is opened then shut and the key is not recognized. So far they know this only happens on the A3 and Q3 line because both have an MMI different from all other lines.

They are now looking for a solution, likely a software update.

In the meantime, if you have a Q3 or A3 it is suggested you do not open the hatch / doors, set the key inside the vehicle and then shut the hatch / doors for whatever reason (run back into the house to get something, fill up with gas, etc) because the vehicle might not recognize the key and lock itself. If your spare key is not nearby this is a big, big problem. Trust me.

Best,
Cyndi

Cyndi -Thanks for this update - I suppose that this behavior is actually part of the security function I mentioned above ESPECIALLY if the key is not recognized, and may/may not be easily fixed with software (I'll check).


btw, I beg to differ strongly on the advice of your service manager about a low battery not causing a "Key Not Recognized" message as this is one of the A3/Q3 exact behaviors to indicate a low battery. Other Audi MMIs issue a "Remote Low Battery" message in addition...

 

[9242]

Here is a weird situation that happened to me to add to this. I recently went away for a short trip. Car was in the garage and wasn't used for 8 days. Came back and noticed that it was locked....LED blinking on the door panel. No one was home, so no one would have touched the sensor on the door or the key.

Remember reading that after so many days, the car will start shutting down circuits to keep the battery from draining but never remember reading anything about the locks activating as a security measure.

weird!

 

[dipaola]

That's very weird ralfo