Mitchfin

so I left town Friday (garaged Thursday night) and got home today and went to start my car and it was completely dead. I'm 99.99% sure I didn't leave any electronics on I left the car unlocked in the garage but I can't see how that would leave systems active, and I'm wondering if I should take it in to the dealer to check out or not

munsabin

That's weird. I left my unlocked (by accident, thankfully it was a private parking lot that wasn't being used except for ppl that went on the ski trip w/ me) for 4 days, exposed to -30 degree weather one night one of the nights, and came back to a huge snowstorm that basically covered my car on the last day. No problems starting it. It was awesome having to back out of the spot without having to move the snow... the rest of ppl there were like... fudge... can't do that.... gotta move the snow.

I have also let it outside in fairly cold weather over a 5 day period locked, and again no issues.

So... yeah, take it to dealer and have them run a check for anything that may be related to turning engine over. Doesn't sound right. Electronics I don't think would have a part to play in this, I'm pretty sure it's automated to turn things off completely locked / unlocked, if no use after a while w/ engine off.

VipinLJ

That is curious. My car has been garaged for 5 days now without anyone going near the car. I'll be checking on her tomorrow. I hope the battery isn't dead.

But it really is curious as to how your car's battery died. I've left cars garaged for more than a month continuously and nothing has happened!!!! I've never disconnected the battery.

Mitchfin

thats what is so weird is I've left it for over a week and it was fine. And I just finally got it started and it was really dead. After 10 minutes charging the alternator would only click. I finally took the spare out and hooked up the cable directly to the battery and it finally started. I hope the dealership doesn't cry TD1 for a faulty battery.

minmet

Hope just battery drain and nothing else although quite weird. Any chance one of the doors was not complete shut?
One thing strange about this car is, whenever I open the door, I hear all sorts of mechanical "noises". Don't know what's moving or preparing. Never had this kind of impression with any other car I had.

VM

I believe VAG cars have the fuel pump turned on when you open the driver's door... my mom's 08 New Beetle did that too.

I think the A4 may also boot up the MMI when you open the door.

HyperS4

Do you have any electronic devices hardwired to the fuse box? Maybe one of the interior lights was left on?

VipinLJ

I'm guessing these newer cars have a feature where the interior lights switch off after a few hours even if the door isn't closed properly and the car is locked? I'm saying this because my VW Polo sedan in India had that feature. I know because it happened to me once. The light goes off after a few hours to conserve battery power. Even if you purposely leave it on, it does. I asked a friend who was a service tech at VW and he said it was a feature. So if a VW has it, I'm hoping it's big brother Audi has it too.

And VM. MMI doesn't boot up when you open the door. VC boots up though. I believe mmi boots up only when you hit the start button to either go into acc mode or when you start the car?

SYMAWD

Yes, in newer Audis, the dome lights shut off so that they can't be left on. Also, being LED in the A4, they probably wouldn't consume enough power to make a difference.

superswiss

That is strange. It's basically impossible to drain the battery in these cars. The interior lights turn off automatically, same for the exterior lights and all electronics shut down. This is all regardless if locked or unlocked. I always leave our cars unlocked in the garage, sometimes for weeks when traveling and my wife's car a 2004 Beetle only gets driven about 3000 miles/year, so it spends most of its time unlocked in the garage. Never had a dead battery ever.

Sounds like a malfunction in the energy management system. Something didn't shut down properly.