gpinkwater

Sometimes, when I turn the key, the car doesnt start. This will never happen 2 times in a row, but it is rather embarrassing and annoying. Any ideas? Do I need a new battery or is this a larger ignition problem? BTW, this happens about 1 in evey 10 starts.

JLM04A8L

I have an '04 A8L and this happens cause I accidentally hit the lock button on the remote after I unlock and open the door...All I do is press unlock again and car starts right up...If this is your problem then just press unlock before starting the car and no more of your embarrassing/annoying episodes.

Bunky

I sometimes have that same problem with my 04 A8L. Not as often as 1 in 10 times though, just every once in a while. I always thought that I might be putting the key in and turning it too fast, somehow confusing the computer.

Never thought about the battery though; mine is still the original and is certainly nearing the end of it's useful life.

Rowlie

Mine does that occasionally, though never when it's at the dealer for service. It doesn't seem to do it as frequently now as it did a couple of years ago, if that helps. I recall reading on this board somewhere that a similar problem was fixed by replacing a starter.

hellrell216

i have a 2004 a8 and my car would not start at times and the problem was the crank sensor had to be ordered from germany

jk06a8

Same with me 06 swb? Can't seem to figure why thought I turn key too fast

Brozee

I had the same problem this morning. I saw this on older threads before, few people linked the issue to it being a security feature just not working properly. The car doesn't analyze the key or has an issue etc. My issue is that I will put the key in and turn it or use the push button start and all electronics etc will work but then I get a almost dull noise and just turn the key off then back on again and it works perfect. Happens about every 1 in 20 starts if that. Not a big issue to me.

05SilverA8

Besides having the problem of the key not being recognized, I also had the problem with the Start Switch not working all the time. That was a simple solution, upgrade the start switch. If the key is not working you may want to see if your car is throwing errors with VCDS.

Brozee

It wasn't a problem with the button, my start button works perfect every time, I was referring to the engine lock issue.

How much did that new switch run you though?

4ringking

I have had a few d3s towed into the shop with that problem. First thing to check is your battery. Some of the 2004 and 2005 A8s are driving around with the original batteries. If your battery is 5 or 6 years old, it is time to change that thing out, even if it passes a midtronic test. That has fixed a few and the other item that is hard to diag and hard to get a fault for is the crank sensor or RPM sensor. I had two in the same week with a faulty RPM sensor, that would sometimes start, sometimes long crank and then start, and sometime crank and never start.