Mysterious cargo lid openings, and other weird things
 

Yesterday we were on a long trip, and we had three instances of the cargo lid opening on its own. The first time was after leaving a gas station. The second time was after a stop at a rest area, and the third time was while the car was parked and I was walking behind it. At first, I thought it was just my wife doing wifey things and hitting her FOB by accident (we had both FOBs with us). But after checking things out, and realizing how long you need to press the "trunk" button to open the lid, I am skeptical. Also the third incident made me think perhaps something else was going on. During the third instance, I had the only FOB, and it was by itself in one pocket of a pair of loose fitting shorts.

So then I thought there might be something caught under the car that triggered the "foot opening" feature of the lid when a FOB was nearby. I checked under the car and found nothing, except this weird streak of soot on the gas tank. I don't quite know what to make of either thing. Thoughts?

EDIT: Now that I look at it some more, it looks like the soot might be coming from at little hole at the narrow end of the streak. Also, that thing looks like a skid plate rather than the tank itself. Perhaps soot is covering the "foot opening" sensor and causing it to trigger when a FOB is nearby and the car is on but in park. I think I need to investigate some more...

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...3283355c2f.jpg
Soot streak--back of car is at bottom
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...e072833623.jpg
Trailer hitch at right

I have the same problem with my Q8. I am told that the button on the key fob can be depressed while in your pocket. I actually found a key fob cover to stop the problem on Amazon. This is not a new problem and it is pretty amazing Audi can't make workable key fobs!!

That is not your gas tank that is the muffler and the soot is coming from a weep hole designed to drain moisture. That is normal. The gas tank is above the rear axle.

There are a couple of other threads on the hatch opening issue.

That's a big assed muffler. Thanks for the info.

OBD11 stopped my mysterious openings completely....

My Q is relatively new but how are you pressing the hatch button 2x simultaneously in your pocket? The button is pretty flat. Maybe because it’s in the center of the fob it’s possible?

At the 12 month service, I had the dealer change the coding to require the button to be depressed for the maximum time (5 seconds I think). Have not had a single random opening since.

Thanks for the tip!!

When I changed it using OBD11, I had to set it to 4000ms (4sec) - anything higher than that would cause the lid to unlatch, but not lift open, so you could walk up behind it and lift the lid by hand (no keyfob needed). Not the desired effect, but it may be helpful if parking the car in garage, since even if the lid will get activated, it will not lift open. Just an FYI.

I just inadvertently opened the tailgate with key fob last night. Not an issue but it could have been.
I have a hitch mounted bike rack mounted and I keep it in the angled position so if the trunk opens no harm done... but if I had bikes on the back it would be a different story.

I would like to ask the local dealer to see if they can change the key fob setting, would be nice to know you have to hold it for 4 / 5 seconds, more or less no inadvertent openings especially with bikes on the back.