Yesterday I drove to an appointment, and all was fine with my 2011 Grand Sport (A6, bone stock, 53k miles). About an hour later, I was ready to go. I opened the hatch, opened the passenger door to get a bag, put it in the back, and closed the door and hatch. I made a very short phone call while walking around the car.

I got in, started it up, rolled down the windows, and glanced at the panel. That’s when I saw the orange Theft Deterrent car/padlock icon was lit (steady). No other lights or issues. The AC was cold (but I turned it off), gauges were all normal, and the windows had operated normally when I started the car. I drove back home - a trip of 15 miles in about 20 minutes. No issues with the car during that time.

I got out of the car, closed the door, and walked far enough away to trigger the tail light acknowledgment that the security system was armed. I got back in the car, and it started normally. No orange light.

I replaced the battery last summer. The key fob battery is about 18 months old. The car is stored in my garage, and was last driven in the rain more than a week ago, but I drove it three times after that with no issues.

Any idea what happened and what I should do next to ensure it doesn’t happen again? I don’t want to get too far away from home and find myself stranded!

Thanks,
Steven

 

This afternoon, I went back out to the garage, and the car started and operated normally. So I shut it down, and replicated my steps from yesterday. Opened the hatch, opened the passenger door, closed passenger door, and closed hatch. Then got in and it started and ran normally. Shut it down two more times, and same positive results.

Could this be as simple as a weak battery in the fob? I intended to change those a while back, so I’ll go ahead and do that now.

But any explanation as well as suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven