Q5/SQ5 MKI (8R) Discussion Discussion forum for the First Generation Audi Q5 SUV produced from 2008 to 2017

Can you leave the rear liftgate up, but power down the car?

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Old May 28, 2026 | 09:07 PM
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Default Can you leave the rear liftgate up, but power down the car?

If I leave the rear liftgate open [up] and park the car, is it going to let the car power down as if it was normally parked? Or will that kill the battery overnight?
For those who must know, this would let me attach a tent that cinches around the back and allows rear access. (Anyone know a good one?)
Or is there a "liftgate sensor fuse" I'd have to pull to turn out the light and make it happy and numb? Will the car accept lock commands from the fob for the doors? Or object to that too?
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Old May 28, 2026 | 09:41 PM
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The easy thing would be to just manually latch the rear lid with a screwdriver or whatever. Then the car thinks it's closed and and you can lock it and leave it. Same approach when trying to check for quiescent current draw, where you need to let the car sit 1-2 hours to go full sleep but then need to be able to access the fuses without disturbing anything.

Just make sure to "open" the rear lid to return the latch back to normal position before you go closing it in the morning.
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Old Jun 7, 2026 | 11:24 AM
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Default Oh duh! Thank you.

So, if I trip the latch, that tells the car it is closed? No mad-scientist attitude-sensor tilt devices hiding in the liftgate frame?
I've totally forgotten how simple these things used to be. I was suspecting the power lift mechanism had its own logic for position sensing, and nasty nannyware spying. Or, that if the car sensed the key fob next to the lift gate (which it does, to let you open the gate when the car is locked, same way the door handles sense it) the car would keep the lock system alert?
I can never figure out the menu setting about disabling the gate when the car is on. Might that affect it?
Never suspected they'd use a simple fifty year old switch design.

Best of all, I have a spare "REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT" ribbon that I can easily use to trip the latch. Makes it easy to remember.
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Old Jun 7, 2026 | 05:22 PM
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Not sure what CAR - central locking menu items you have. If you are referencing "rear lid lock", on mine, "off" means everything is normal, and "on" means the exterior release button for the rear lid is disabled.
If you have advanced key, whichever key most recently unlocked the vehicle, the "active" key, if that key is located in the luggage compartment, then the rear lid will be unlocked again. To lock a key in the luggage compartment, it needs to not be the current "active" key.
Simple to test. Go to car, open rear lid, use screwdriver on latch, press lock on key fob, see luggage compartment lights go out and alarm blinker on driver's door start. Then "open" the rear lid with the key fob so it releases the latch; then you can close it.
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Old Jun 7, 2026 | 07:10 PM
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So "off" means the handle will lock/unlock the rear gate the same as the door handles are, and "on" means the manual cargo gate handle is disconnected?
I'd have written that menu choice as "lock/unlock together with door handles" versus "open only with fob/driver's release."
If I got that right, I guess Audi used a cheap translator?
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Old Jun 8, 2026 | 05:19 AM
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There's nothing "manual" about the connectivity. It's all electrically managed. "on" just means the BCM2 is ignoring the release button on the outside of the rear lid. You want to open the rear lid, you have to do it with the key fob or the release on the driver's door. I'm not really sure what the use case is for that configuration. "I want to not allow opening the rear lid at the rear lid, even if it's unlocked; but I can still open it with the fob or the driver's door". You got kids getting in and out of the car and you don't want them messing with the rear lid?

The other option for single door unlock is just one of two states. Either unlock unlocks everything (all four doors, the fuel fill door, and the rear lid), though you still can't open the rear lid using the button on the rear lid if the above option is "on". Or unlock is 2-stage, one press is just driver's door and fuel fill door, another press after that unlocks the remainder.
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Old Jun 8, 2026 | 10:54 AM
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They're both security options. IIRC when fobs became common then fairly universal around 25 years ago, the first fobs simply unlocked ALL the doors. And there was a question--real or horror movie inspired--that if you were bejng attacked and ran to get into your car, the bad guys could open a second door and climb in at the same time. So the option to just unlock the driver's door came out. And since that only needs one extra line of software? It was easy to offer.

The bit with disabling the rear "handle" is more likely because a thief COULD ****** your bag as you are leaving someplace, but more likely because someone you just dropped off--or were picking up--could innocently open the rear hatch and your groceries, or enthusiastic dog, could tumble out. So they making sure the driver is able to supervise when the hatch will be opened.
If the fob is in your bag or pocket, and you're picking up someone with full hands, having the pull release on the door is quite handy. Echoes of the 1970 Cadillacs that always had the trunk release button in the glove box, so valets couldn't reach it.
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