Hi all, great to have this forum ';~} - I'm a B7 lover, my Avant 3.0 TDI Quattro has been such a great car.

I'm hoping someone knows about using the metal (or the plastic emergency) key when the keyfob fails.

I had to open my car with the actual metal key today, soon after I did that - the factory alarm sounded, I tried re-locking but that didn't stop it, a minute or so later it did stop.

I dont know hopw to deal with that if I need to drive

2nd question - the key opened the doors OK and presumably made the car start-able / drive-able, but it did not unlock the tailgate.

Is there a trick to that tailgate opening please

thanks

Hi Neil, I bought my A4 cab 3.2 Quattro recently and it came with this problem. It’s a pretty easy fix. The boot release actuator had packed in. It’s a cheap replacement part and there are some videos of how to replace it on YouTube. I would imagine that your Avant is a similar but not identical fix.

I had to remove the boot lid liner and then swap out the the old actuator with the new.

Top tip: take photos of how the old one is connected up before removal, for reference. I could have saved me some time if I had done that!

Edited April 27Apr 27 by silverdagger

Thanks for the detail Silverdagger

Unfortunately it’s not that because I found the spare fob and it unlocks the tailgate. One fob “unlock” button press unlocks the front doors, a second click unlocks the rest.

I read the owners manual (Doh! RTFM) and apparently if the fob battery fails and the drivers door is opened using the actual key, that should unlock all doors, the fuel flap and the tailgate.

In my case using the key just unlocks the drivers door (and maybe the passenger side I didn’t check).

This could leave me in a very awkward situation unable to load or unload! Rather awkward with a mountain bike needing to go in the back far from home

I appreciate you trying to help. Enjoy your 3.2.