nyrobbie77

Hi all - I did a quick search and didn't come up with anything. '97 A8 Quattro.

The last two days we have had some freezing rain. I go out to the car after work and while the driver door unlocks, it will not open from the outside. I can open it from the inside, but even after doing that it will not open from the outside. What is strange is that both days, after the car has warmed up the door opens just fine from the outside.

Any ideas? I've since sprayed inside the door handle a little silicone spray to hopefully repel additional moisture.

On a separate note, I have a question about my interior dome lamps. Since I've had the car, if someone opens a rear door, doesn't matter which one, while the engine is running, the interior lamps cycle on/off constantly until the door is closed. The lights never reach full brightness during this cycling and the cycle seems to be constant. If the engine is not on, (not sure about key on/engine off) this doesn't happen. Is this some sort of "don't put the car into gear" warning or does it sound like some kind of short in the door harness? I can post a video if someone is interested.

Thanks in advance.

twentysevenlitres

Rear door issue sounds like an issue with the door latch microswitch. Not sure if this is serviceable or not (only fix might be complete latch replacement...).
The front door handle is probably just out of adjustment and the temp difference is taking it just out of range to operate the latch.
Mine has a similar issue in that the handle is a little loose and operates at the top of travel.
I need to check for sure, but I'm expecting to find a threaded bar of some description going through the inside of the handle...

Audimate

I had the same issue with my driver's door. Worked OK in the winter, but I would rip my fingers when it didn't open in the summer.
Solution: I sprayed " Superlube" Synthetic Lubricant with PTFE in every hole including the lock/open indicator button. Works immediately and been fine for several years.