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2012 A4 advanced key not fully functional after battery replacement
Hello, let me start by saying I'm fairly new to owning an audi and I'm new to this forum. I apologise if this is a common question but after an extensive search of forums, YouTube, reading the manual, and calling my dealership, I have not found an applicable answer.
2012 Audi A4 S-Line, purchased pre-owned certified in 2017.
I have two key fobs that I never take out of my pocket, which I absolutely love. Recently they both had low battery warnings shown on the small screen behind the steering wheel. I very foolishly replaced both fob batteries at the same time. Now I have a problem...
The keys work "manually" by pushing buttons to lock/unlock, and start the car by pushing the physical key in to the dash.
I have lost the functions of touching the door handles to unlock/lock and push start with key in pocket.
I assume they are just out of sync now that the batteries are replaced, they still operate the car, just manually. The dealership swears there's no easy sequence to re sync and of course wants me to pay for a service inspection, repair, etc. I have no problem paying for legit repairs or maintenance but this is ridiculous every time I need a battery.
If someone could help me understand how to resynchronize, I sure would appreciate it and if you're ever in Indianapolis I'll gladly buy you a beer.
Thanks in advance for any help with my problem, I absolutely love the car and my next one will be an Audi too.
When you press the brake and push the engine start button, what message comes up in the dash? Was it something about advanced key error, or no key found, or such? Just yesterday, I had the problem where the keyless functionalities would not work; trying to start the car yielded "no key found" message. Today, it's working fine. I did not have any low battery message prior, and had just used the keyless start to leave the house. Who knows.
I have replaced the battery in my key several times over the years; the key was always fine after the replacement. So whatever issue you're having is more than just replacing a battery.
First thing to answer is if the car already knows what is wrong. But that means doing a DTC scan, which requires a tool. Dealership always says "$125 to do a scan", which is bs. I bought the Ross-Tech cable and use my own laptop to do my own scans now. I change my own oil now but you have to have the tool to reset the 10k service interval message that otherwise never goes away. Or pay the dealership $70. The cable pays for itself quickly, and it's not worth the risk of buying a knock off cable. It won't make you a miracle worker of all problems, but it puts more information in your hands than you would have otherwise, and that can be useful when the dealership seems to be dicking you over. I had a problem with my system, but with the DTCs and some research, I determined I needed a new J393 module. $500 for the module from the dealership, or $100 for a used one on eBay (if you're not a stickler for details, i.e., part revisions are important, ...) that I had the dealership recode for 1hr labor. So it can go in various directions. Guess some of it depends on if you trust the dealerships; I do not. I use them only when necessary.
That said, if the issue does come down to a key related problem, you're likely going to have to have the dealership involved anyway. Any reprogramming involving the immobilizer, like the keys, needs a connection to some Audi database. VCDS (the Ross-Tech software) does not have functions for the Immobilizer V (that's roman numeral 5, not v) used in our cars.
When you press the brake and push the engine start button, what message comes up in the dash? Was it something about advanced key error, or no key found, or such? Just yesterday, I had the problem where the keyless functionalities would not work; trying to start the car yielded "no key found" message. Today, it's working fine. I did not have any low battery message prior, and had just used the keyless start to leave the house. Who knows.
I have replaced the battery in my key several times over the years; the key was always fine after the replacement. So whatever issue you're having is more than just replacing a battery.
First thing to answer is if the car already knows what is wrong. But that means doing a DTC scan, which requires a tool. Dealership always says "$125 to do a scan", which is bs. I bought the Ross-Tech cable and use my own laptop to do my own scans now. I change my own oil now but you have to have the tool to reset the 10k service interval message that otherwise never goes away. Or pay the dealership $70. The cable pays for itself quickly, and it's not worth the risk of buying a knock off cable. It won't make you a miracle worker of all problems, but it puts more information in your hands than you would have otherwise, and that can be useful when the dealership seems to be dicking you over. I had a problem with my system, but with the DTCs and some research, I determined I needed a new J393 module. $500 for the module from the dealership, or $100 for a used one on eBay (if you're not a stickler for details, i.e., part revisions are important, ...) that I had the dealership recode for 1hr labor. So it can go in various directions. Guess some of it depends on if you trust the dealerships; I do not. I use them only when necessary.
That said, if the issue does come down to a key related problem, you're likely going to have to have the dealership involved anyway. Any reprogramming involving the immobilizer, like the keys, needs a connection to some Audi database. VCDS (the Ross-Tech software) does not have functions for the Immobilizer V (that's roman numeral 5, not v) used in our cars.
Thank you very much for the info, I will be looking in to the cable!
05-28-2018, 03:27 PM
2012 A4 advanced key not fully functional after battery replacement
