Kevin Maloney

I just took delivery of my '09 Prestige 2.0TQMS (Black on black w/ 19" wheels), and love it. But I find that the cigarette lighter ports do not work unless the engine is running, despite the owner's manual stating otherwise. I miss being able to sit in my car and use my laptop, or charge the laptop or phone in the trunk when I am away from the car, as I could with all of my prior A4s. Anyone else find this to be a problem, and is there a way to fix it? Thanks!

BMWBig6

I just checked, the power ports work if the ignition is in accessory mode ("ON" without engine actually running). Just keep the key in your pocket and your foot off the brake when you press the "START" button. That probably won't help you if you want to walk away from your car though.

Kevin Maloney

I realized that they work with the ignition in accessory mode, but that necessitates shutting down additional accessories such as the HVAC, Also, in the past I always heard that it was harmful to leave the car in accessory mode for any length of time, but that may no longer be the case with the advent of electronic ignitions, which clearly dates me.

Thanks for the input!

snagitseven

Actually, I'm glad that the newer Audis won't keep power to the accessory outlets unless the car accessory mode is on or the engine is running. I once left a bunch of stuff stupidly plugged in to the outlets in my old A6 for a few days and it killed my battery. (I forgot to flip off an aftermarket switch I bought for it and my wife's allroad).
At least now, when I walk away from my A4 for a few days, I can't repeat the mistake.

Mobilehavoc

+1

need_TQM

It would be nice to have the option to configure at least the one in the console either way.

Charging a cell phone for 30 min while you are out of the car (i.e. eating lunch) isn't going to kill the car battery, but would be very convenient if you cell is near dead.

Leaving the ignition on while you are eating lunch to charge the cell phone seems like a really bad idea :-)

Mobilehavoc

Eat lunch in the car?

Blake P

That exact thing happened to me the other day and I was really hoping I could charge my phone while I was out of the car for a bit.

BMWBig6

A worse idea!!!

Just had a thought, is your phone (or other gadgets) compatible with the Audi Collection solar charger? You could leave this in the car as long as you want.

Austin A6 3.2

While this is a good idea for your case, Audi probably turns them off to prevent battery drainage, since they and the car have no knowledge about your intentions (i.e. only using the charger for 30 minutes). I am sure a lot of people would complain to Audi if they drained the battery by leaving their nav system or phone charger plugged in over night or over a weekend.

You can't please all the people all of the time ... in this case I think Audi made the best choice for the majority of users ...