Sep 6, 2016, 11:30 AM
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Trunk latch problem
Thread Starter
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 476
Likes: 1
From: NY
Trunk latch problem
The second it gets cold out the trunk latch stops latching. the electronics work fine and the solenoid works fine it just doesnt actually latch and the trunk wont close sometimes. Im not sure if this is common.... any input?
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2009
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From: NorCal, USA
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 188
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From: Western Washington
Have the same problem with mine ('07 S6).
Tried lubricating the latch, hoping problem was purely mechanical, but I found a new variant a few weeks ago - if the car is locked and I then open+ close the trunk, odds are MUCH higher the trunk will latch-then-unlatch on its own. This almost always occurs with (a) the advanced key in my pocket, (b) I'm closing the trunk from the left (drivers) side of the car, and (c) the car is starting out in a locked state.
Unlock the car, then return to close the trunk - voila!, the latching behavior is correct.
Which leads me to STRONGLY suspect this is due to a misfire of what I believe is the "protective" Advanced Key feature that won't let you close the trunk if (a sensor, I presume) believes the key is physically in the trunk, eg it falsely things the key is in there (vs in my pocket)
Hasn't bothered me enough to warrant it's own trip to the dealer...yet. Not sure how similar the circumstances are to what you're seeing?
Tried lubricating the latch, hoping problem was purely mechanical, but I found a new variant a few weeks ago - if the car is locked and I then open+ close the trunk, odds are MUCH higher the trunk will latch-then-unlatch on its own. This almost always occurs with (a) the advanced key in my pocket, (b) I'm closing the trunk from the left (drivers) side of the car, and (c) the car is starting out in a locked state.
Unlock the car, then return to close the trunk - voila!, the latching behavior is correct.
Which leads me to STRONGLY suspect this is due to a misfire of what I believe is the "protective" Advanced Key feature that won't let you close the trunk if (a sensor, I presume) believes the key is physically in the trunk, eg it falsely things the key is in there (vs in my pocket)
Hasn't bothered me enough to warrant it's own trip to the dealer...yet. Not sure how similar the circumstances are to what you're seeing?
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 262
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From: lawn gyland
Do an advanced search in the C6 section for "trunk latch", and you'll find a bunch of threads on it. I remember reading about the cold weather trunk latch issues a long time ago on the earlier C6 models. I think there was also a post by someone who figured out how to fix the problem by disassembling and modifying the latch mechanism.
Thread Starter
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 476
Likes: 1
From: NY
Have the same problem with mine ('07 S6).
Tried lubricating the latch, hoping problem was purely mechanical, but I found a new variant a few weeks ago - if the car is locked and I then open+ close the trunk, odds are MUCH higher the trunk will latch-then-unlatch on its own. This almost always occurs with (a) the advanced key in my pocket, (b) I'm closing the trunk from the left (drivers) side of the car, and (c) the car is starting out in a locked state.
Unlock the car, then return to close the trunk - voila!, the latching behavior is correct.
Which leads me to STRONGLY suspect this is due to a misfire of what I believe is the "protective" Advanced Key feature that won't let you close the trunk if (a sensor, I presume) believes the key is physically in the trunk, eg it falsely things the key is in there (vs in my pocket)
Hasn't bothered me enough to warrant it's own trip to the dealer...yet. Not sure how similar the circumstances are to what you're seeing?
Tried lubricating the latch, hoping problem was purely mechanical, but I found a new variant a few weeks ago - if the car is locked and I then open+ close the trunk, odds are MUCH higher the trunk will latch-then-unlatch on its own. This almost always occurs with (a) the advanced key in my pocket, (b) I'm closing the trunk from the left (drivers) side of the car, and (c) the car is starting out in a locked state.
Unlock the car, then return to close the trunk - voila!, the latching behavior is correct.
Which leads me to STRONGLY suspect this is due to a misfire of what I believe is the "protective" Advanced Key feature that won't let you close the trunk if (a sensor, I presume) believes the key is physically in the trunk, eg it falsely things the key is in there (vs in my pocket)
Hasn't bothered me enough to warrant it's own trip to the dealer...yet. Not sure how similar the circumstances are to what you're seeing?
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
Have the same problem with mine ('07 S6).
...This almost always occurs with (a) the advanced key in my pocket, (b) I'm closing the trunk from the left (drivers) side of the car, and (c) the car is starting out in a locked state.
Unlock the car, then return to close the trunk - voila!, the latching behavior is correct.
Which leads me to STRONGLY suspect this is due to a misfire of what I believe is the "protective" Advanced Key feature that won't let you close the trunk if (a sensor, I presume) believes the key is physically in the trunk, eg it falsely things the key is in there (vs in my pocket)
Hasn't bothered me enough to warrant it's own trip to the dealer...yet. Not sure how similar the circumstances are to what you're seeing?
...This almost always occurs with (a) the advanced key in my pocket, (b) I'm closing the trunk from the left (drivers) side of the car, and (c) the car is starting out in a locked state.
Unlock the car, then return to close the trunk - voila!, the latching behavior is correct.
Which leads me to STRONGLY suspect this is due to a misfire of what I believe is the "protective" Advanced Key feature that won't let you close the trunk if (a sensor, I presume) believes the key is physically in the trunk, eg it falsely things the key is in there (vs in my pocket)
Hasn't bothered me enough to warrant it's own trip to the dealer...yet. Not sure how similar the circumstances are to what you're seeing?
Good call! I can't imagine I would have had the luck of hitting the trunk button JUST after I closed the trunk.
AudiWorld Super User
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 10,552
Likes: 1,251
From: Long Island, New York
I lived through this problem a couple of years ago. Spraying the latch with silicone works for a a short period of time. The real problem is that the original latch design was defective and has since been redesigned. Audi replaced mine as a warranty claim a couple of years ago and with the redesigned latch I have had no problems.
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AudiWorld Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 257
Likes: 2
From: Milford NH
it is deffinatly a defect in the latch. If you are under warrenty, you should have it replaced. Mine does the same thing only in cold weather. It had nothing to do with the the advanced key. I need to get mine replaced this year.
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 65
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agree, nothing to do with advanced key - my 05 without that option had the same issue. I followed the advice here and sprayed a little silicone (alright, I was pissed, about 1/2 a can!), and never had the issue again. If under warranty, try to get the dealer to fix, but if not the solution is pretty simple!
