Originally Posted by Walter Prochorenko

If you search through the manual (2018 Q5) you will NOT find it where you would expect it to be (Opening and Closing - pages 30 through 36 which deal with the remotes). Instead, you will find it on page 79 Fig. 88 which deals with "starting the engine". And you will find that this "TOP SECRET" location is o
"in the left cup holder". Why can't Audi just make it simple and have the message s9imply say: Put in left cup holder? I guess one of the reasons why Audi makes things so complicated is to keep their service departments busy. It seems to work since our 2 closest dealers will only accept appointments at least 2 weeks away.

Originally Posted by RickObe

I agree that it was probably a one-time glitch. But could be a weak but not dead battery too.

Just to confirm, when you put key in "designated area", it was the area in the pic below, not the slot between the cup holders?

Originally Posted by Jim Herrod

Wanted to see if anyone else has seen this issue. The message "Remote Control Key. Hold back of key against designated area. See owners manual" came up with my wife's keyfob in the car. Placing it in the center console area, as instructed, didn't clear the message and the vehicle still wouldn't start. I went inside the house and got my own keyfob, and it worked. So about a half an hour later we tried it again with my wife's keyfob, and it now works. So bottom line, if I wasn't around with my own keyfob the first time, she would've been stranded.

I called the dealer, and all they said is it might be the battery in the keyfob and they will replace it for us. Problem with that is, her keyfob now works fine. So this is some kind of intermittent thing and we're not sure if we can expect this to happen again. Has anyone else come across this issue?