s5blitzer

Question about my incoming S6. I understand that the S6 does not have the start/stop feature like in the A6s and if this is tied to the engine shutting off when the door is opened, why is this happening?

snagitseven

There is no documentation that I've seen that ties the two features together. Someone may have been guessing.

s5blitzer

I must have misunderstood someone earlier in the thread indicating this to be the case. Thanks for the clarification.

daytonaaa@gmail.com

well i have a 2013 A6 3.0 TFSI and that doesn't happen to me at all !!
either i leave the key in the car or take it out , ENGINE will remain running.
i think that is a safety feature in all US A6s.
i live in Qatar.

ironlungs

This will be a non-issue. I picked up my new A6 in November and 2 weeks later, the sales advisor from the dealership picked it up from my place of work to take it in for a MMI update. I asked her specifically what the updates included once I got the car back and this is her response:

"In addition to the owner’s manual update this also included the following adjustments:

1) The engine and ignition will no longer shut off automatically when exiting the vehicle.

2) If the engine is off (due to Start –Stop) when the door is opened, the ignition will shut off to prevent battery drain.

3) The parking brake will not activate when the ignition is switched off. (A6/A7/S6 Only)


So, the short answer to your question would be; yes, this was part of the software update. From now on, you will need to engage your parking brake if you wish to activate it by manually lifting up the switch as it no longer automatically engages. As I recall, that was one feature that you did not care for. Seems we have been able to take care of that for you!"

I was particularly pleased by not needing to disengage the brakes every time I drove.

So in short, once your dealership updates your MMI, the engine shut issue should not be a problem any longer.

Nyuni

What is the MMI software version that incorporates these modifications? Is there a TSB to reference?

John Simcox

I also think this a geography issue as my UK car also remains running with the driver's door open. Also by accident I recently tested the security of the car. My wife was driving the car and I had the key in my pocket as a passenger, I got out of the car and she drove off with no key in the car. She even turned the engine off using the stop/start button (as opposed to the stop/start system) whilst waiting at a level crossing and restarted the car and drove all the way home still with no key in the car. We only realised the situation when she went to lock the car and found she did not have the key. It is clearly not safe at all to start the car and then leave it unattended with the engine running.

I have now done some more playing with this. I can't fully replicate what happened when my wife drove the car, but if the car is running it is perfectly possible to drive off without the key and no warning displays on the dash to tell you that there is no key, nor does the car stop some distance down the road. I then tried restarting the car without the key (actually wrapped it in tin foil so it would not communicate with the car), but did not open the driver's door. This displayed the "no valid key in the car" message in the DIS and the car failed to start. It would seen that she was just very lucky the car chose to start without the key in it. Note this applies the standard key and not the advanced key.

I think the lesson learned for all of us is that you need to be very careful to ensure that the key remains with the driver of the car at all times otherwise they could get stranded if they are separated mid journey

zabaa

I have same problem, engine off when I open drivers door... Anybody knows, what I have to do if I want to this switch off? somethingg with VCDS(but what)???

Thanks!!

snagitseven

I've not seen a Vag-Com mod to change this behavior. A dealer can disable it with this TSB:
TSB 2031850/3
(57892599 Perform SVM Update)

BTW, it would be useful to others when you are looking for help to enter your location in your avatar and car model, year, engine and trim in your sig.

A6S4

My dealer says there is no "fix" to this and no way to get into the codes to overcome the auto-off "feature" on exiting the vehicle. I'm communicating with Audi of America to see what information they may have, but initial discussion today returned no further information. Supposedly it is a safety feature. Yet, it was not continued on the 2014 through current model year. If it were a safety feature, then why was it discontinued? That would be like deciding that seat belts did not need to be included as standard features one year -- despite the decision that they are safety features.
Anything you have further on this -- despite the age of the thread -- would be of great help to me (and keep my wife happy with her car).
Thanks in advance!