stanj

From my experience, there are 3 settings:

0: Everything off. That's where you insert/remove the key.

1: Ignition on. That's where the radio / power windows etc. come on, and where the car drives.

2: Starter. That's how you start the engine.

Some cars have a 0.5 position, where the radio runs, but for instance not the heating blower etc. None of my listed cars had that position.

DukeLeto

Hm, maybe we are talking about the same thing then. I have indeed experienced 4 positions on all cars.

0. Everything off

1. Battery on(all electric devices work except A/C which is only ventilation)

2. Engine on

3. Engine start.

T.

stanj

In my cars, there is no difference between 1 and 2, from a key position perspective. Your #1 is not what people would call Acc - the AC doesn't blow in Acc as is known from Japanese cars for instance.

My Audis had only three key positions, not 4 as you suggest. I experience it every day at least twice =)

DukeLeto

The AC only acts as a vent, it does not blow cold air. I don't know how the AC works in a Japanese car. There are differences in the key position though.

What would people call Acc then?

T.

bhvrdr

There is

1. = off

2. = all accesories and blowers on

3. Start and engine running

On other cars like the GM cars they even turn the key backwards instead of farwards to get to the acc position. This position does not engage the blower unit and fans as it does on our cars. But, yeah if we turn our car all the way off we basically have an acc setup bc we get radio and nav, etc until you open the door.

cheers! Mike

stanj

As soon as I turn off the ignition, even before opening the doors, the radio and nav go out. The windows & sun roof work for 20 minutes, or until you open the door, whichever comes first. To run the radio you need to explicitly turn it on.

This is in direct contrast to Euro models, where acc power is retained until the key is removed from the ignition. Thus, you turn off your ignition but the radio is still playing. That's the way it should be, I think, but it confused the hell out of US customers who are used from US cars to the radio turning off immediately with the ignition. As a matter of fact, the 96 A4 (first year) worked this way in the US, and was changed in the 97 model for this reason. This in turn made it impossible to have an aftermarket radio that could be run without ignition. I spent a quality Sunday installing a "power override" switch in my 98 A4 to get around this, as I wanted to power my aftermarket MD player even w/o ignition.

Another such instance of recent adaptation to US customer idiocy is the fuel cap. Now why on earth do you have to press a button to unlock the fuel cap if it worked forever without it, by just pressing on the fuel door? But again, people are used to pressing a button, so now we have this system that requires you to perform an extra step that's completely unnecessary.

DukeLeto

Hm, so that's why I get out of the Touareg at the gas station, try to open the fuel cap, then I get back inside, press a button, then I go back out while everyone's looking at me as if I'm crazy. They got the 'fuel cap button idea' for the Euro Touareg from the US version. Lovely. If I were in the US I'd sue them, heh heh.

T.