False Alarm Activation

[seventenths21]

Hi

I’ve had my 2018 S4 for around 8 weeks now (purchased approved used complete with 24month warranty).

The alarm has, as of this evening, triggered three times for apparently no reason. On each activation (three different locations) no more than 2-3 minutes have passed since locking the car before the alarm sounded; pressing to unlock stops it. On each occasion nothing could have come into contact with the car (twice in empty private home / office car parks) and I’ve checked all doors / windows etc are closed.

I’ve been preoccupied with some paint issues for the last month (so I put the first alert down to a one off ) and as such it was in a main dealer owned bodyshop last week (the second alert occurred in their car park just after I locked it) They scanned the computer for me and could find no error codes and apparently reset the system post paintwork anyway (they hoped this may flush the gremlin out - it did not). The third activation was this evening on my drive within a minute or two of locking - again no obvious cause

I can see various threads on here with similar but no conclusions- I think ideas that the main dealer can access the alarm memory as ascertain the cause of recent activations?

Has anyone else solved this issue ?

Thank you

 

[hellodave]

I had a similar problem and it turned out to be a known issue - Audi assist came out and fixed it with a software update.

Note that an AA guy scanned the car first and couldn't find any codes on his reader - it only showed up in the OEM Audi diagnostic tool when Audi Assist scanned it.

 

[SiPie]

I had exactly the same issue and it was fixed in the same way that Dave mentioned above.

 

[seventenths21]

Thanks both. Did you just phone Audi Assist and are they happy to attend vs you taking it into a dealship?

Regards

 

[seventenths21]

As a follow up I just spoke to Audi Assist , I was given the option of an AA vehicle today or a specialist VW / Audi one tmrw....so I've gone for the latter.

I will post a further follow up as it may help others.

 

[hellodave]

As a follow up I just spoke to Audi Assist , I was given the option of an AA vehicle today or a specialist VW / Audi one tmrw....so I've gone for the latter.

I will post a further follow up as it may help others.

Good choice. If it is a software fault the specialist patrol should be able to do the update for you.

 

[Void20]

May be related to TSB 2045767/6
via

 

[cuke2u]

I had that in heavy rain, a neighbour came and told me the indicators were all flashing, but audible alarm. The mod was applied in 2017 and it never happened again. You would think though a 2018 model would already have it applied from factory.

 

[seventenths21]

Evening

The Audi Assist (VW/Audi van vs normal AA) came at 9am today and was with the car for almost 1.5hrs. Essentially he checked all he could and found no faults logged (the last activation was a couple of days ago). The alarm activation memory reason for the last false alert said ‘lost communication’ (no idea with what!), he had no explanation for this. He was however able to download a software update for the ‘convenience control unit’ (if I am reading his hand written report correctly) - he mentioned the TSB update for wet weather a few years ago and I ‘think’ the update he applied was different to this

I would note my car is a Feb 2018 build (if the date on the log book page with the VIN number etc is the correct place to look?) and came from a main dealer approved used 8 weeks ago.

I’ve had the car 8 weeks and I think there have been 3 activations, so I will have to wait a month or so to conclude it is fixed, or not. If not fixed he said it will need to go the main detail (under warranty).

Thanks for all your comments.

My first 8 weeks of ownership have not been straightforward with paintwork defects, sat nav (sat maps) updates (and dealer confusion) , my daughter riding her bike into it and the alarm issue - but hopefully with the valeting I have booked for next week I can relax and enjoy it!

 

[SiPie]

Hopefully you’ve got it fixed now, fingers crossed.
The 2 years that I had my B9 S4 for weren’t straightforward either. False alarm activations initially, then thermostat housing failure one week into lockdown (incredibly common on the B9 S4). Then followed a gearbox selector issue caused by a faulty switch.
3 visits to the dealer which was unheard of in my previous 4 Subarus. However, none of this stopped me enjoying my time with the S4 though, a great car….if somewhat less than reliable.
Anyway to keep things consistent, 2 months into B9 RS4 ownership, and I’ve already had emission fault warning light and an exhaust pressure sensor failure, replaced under warranty..
Let’s hope a better experience awaits from here on in

 

[seventenths21]

Thank you for that. My previous car was a 3.0TDI A4 Avant B7, I had her over ten years and aside from the (at the time) normal inlet manifold issue it was bullet proof, hence why I kept her so long / for 150,000 miles! Changing cars, always stressful for me, as I like to things 'right'! I've got a 4motion Caravelle also, that's had all sorts of issues but I would not have anything else for family adventures.

The S4 is great but I've still to get used to need to rev the engine higher vs the low burst of the diesel I had before.

Yes I've read about the thermostat issues, I assume mines already got the rumoured updated unit (as she's 3yrs old / 24,000 miles) or it will need it soon! It came with a 2yr approved used warranty also.

I read your S4 to RS4 thread with interest as I suspect I will do the same in 2 yrs , I suspect that will be my last non-battery car.,..which will be fitting as I've always wanted one - I just could not justify the extra £20k to myself this time round against the S4 cost.

 

[SiPie]

Thank you for that. My previous car was a 3.0TDI A4 Avant B7, I had her over ten years and aside from the (at the time) normal inlet manifold issue it was bullet proof, hence why I kept her so long / for 150,000 miles! Changing cars, always stressful for me, as I like to things 'right'! I've got a 4motion Caravelle also, that's had all sorts of issues but I would not have anything else for family adventures.

The S4 is great but I've still to get used to need to rev the engine higher vs the low burst of the diesel I had before.

Yes I've read about the thermostat issues, I assume mines already got the rumoured updated unit (as she's 3yrs old / 24,000 miles) or it will need it soon! It came with a 2yr approved used warranty also.

I read your S4 to RS4 thread with interest as I suspect I will do the same in 2 yrs , I suspect that will be my last non-battery car.,..which will be fitting as I've always wanted one - I just could not justify the extra £20k to myself this time round against the S4 cost.

Ended up being around £30k for me to change for the right spec sadly….


….. still worth it

 

[Paul Golding]

Mine did the same thing from new, intermittently. It was always within a couple of minutes of locking and I just assumed something wasn't closed properly. It never occurred to me there was a fault When it did happen, I just held the unlock button on the key to get the windows to drop, and then put them up again.

 

[seventenths21]

I thought for the sake of anyone searching the web for this issue / the solution I would provide an update; 6 months have passed since Audi Assist attending , there have been zero false alerts since, so I consider this to be 'fixed'. Thanks for your help. The key was to have an Audi (not AA) van attend (which you can stipulate) and ask them to search for any alarm software updates.