McGriddle

Has anyone else noticed this?

My wife and I got out of the car after I shut it off, but I didn't yet lock the doors. As normal, the radio shuts off along with the car when you pull the key out.

Then, she got back in for a sec, and when she sat down in the passenger seat, the radio came back on.

I thought that was pretty odd, so I asked her to try getting back out to see what happens.

When she got out and I locked the doors, the radio remained on. I had to unlock the doors, get inside, and manually turn the radio off to get it to shut off.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is this normal or just a glitch?

S4-NH

hmm, I haven't tried that - in all my previous audi's the radio works with car off though... I'll try it tonight

perdido34

This hasn't happened to me, but can you actually turn OFF the radio? Pushing in the little round volume **** on the console mutes it, but it will start up once the key is placed in the rubber slot after the car has been shut off.

McGriddle

Sorry, to be clear, I meant that I had to turn the radio off manually (e.g. hold the off button for 3 seconds) to turn it off.

Otherwise, it was just really weird that the radio turned back on by itself when she sat in the seat without turning on the radio.

I didn't bother testing it again myself. Maybe I'll give it a shot.

Edit: Tried it a few times and couldn't get it to turn on by itself again just by seat sensors alone. Weird glitch or coincidence I guess.

Interesting note: I noticed that when you turn on the radio manually without the key in the ignition, you have to turn it fully off manually, otherwise, the radio stays on (if you only mute it) even after closing all doors and locking with the fob. The screen just stays lit. Also, when you turn the car back on, the radio remains off. In our previous A3, the radio would turn back on anytime the car was restarted as I recall.

AlA4

If you turn the radio on with the car off, it will automatically turn off after about 30 minutes. It's good to listen to the radio while washing the car.

Hobbes

Actually, it should only stay on for about 10 minutes. That time interval can be modified in the hidden menu once activated via VAG-COM.

McGriddle

Good to know... thanks!

drrick89

It's also a weird experience to exit the car while it's still running with the "automatic" key in your pocket. A key symbol appears in the display over the steering wheel, which disappears when you re-enter the car. But, I don't know what would happen if someone tried to drive off without the key. Does the car shutdown or refuse to go into gear? I hope so! Anyone know (No, I don't know what the manual says - grins)?

Chris

My understanding is that the car will continue to run -- but once the engine is shut off, it will not restart. I like the idea of it not going into gear, but if you drove off without the key (somehow) and the engine just shut down, that might be a potential safety hazard.

drrick89

So if you leave the car running, someone could jump in and steal it - even though you have the key in your own pocket? Jeepers, I guess you always need to turn off the engine when you leave the car for any length of time!