Omeletpants

He never touched the key fob as it was sitting on the front seat and he was belted into the back unless his arms grew 5 feet

irenesbob

I never suggested that he touched the key fob and that action resulted in the doors locking. I believe Audi and most (if not all automakers) allow front and rear passengers to lock all the doors with one click for their personal safety. Suppose you stopped at a grocery store and left your wife and/or kids in the car with the doors unlocked, expecting you'd be back in 3 or 4 minutes. Suddenly a gang of thugs comes buy and scares them; they should be able to lock all the doors quickly, not just the one near them that they can reach. For safety of the occupants all the doors should be able to lock automatically with one click. People with kids in the back usually set the child lock safety setting so the kids can’t unlock the doors from the back seat. They could fall out, etc. or inadvertently let bad people in. The back seat passengers can lock the doors without the key fob being in the car or in their pocket, whatever, so I was not addressing that function.
My concern was/is more the idea that by leaving the key in the car someone can do things like start the car, which they couldn't do if the key were not in the car. If the driver's door is open anyone can get in, push the start button and unless there is a key fob in close proximity nothing happens. But, the key does not have to be with you, just within the sensor’s effective range. Try getting in the car, then putting the key fob on the back seat, the same distance from the front/driver’s seat as when you have your boy belted in the back. With the fob in the back seat, even on the far right side, further away than the seat behind the driver, hit the start button and the car will start.
That is the issue I was highlighting: safety as the boy or any siblings get older and can move around in the interior if you leave the car. Take a look at some of your relatives and friends' cars and see - maybe Audi is the only auto maker that allows rear seat passengers to open all the doors. I doubt it - it is like a panic function to use when unsavory hooligans come near your car (or is that just me living where I do?)
I took your question much further than the issue you were asking about, so sorry if that bothered or confused you. It is my nature to think through any downside risk when it comes to the young and innocent, not that I like kids. It is just the thing adults are supposed to do. lol

cdbrawn

So lets take a unemotive logic check here & assume you have the comfort key.

I don't leave the keys in the car, and my insurance company wouldn't cover me if it was nicked while they were left in the car. It's the key, after all. The key cannot determine who is holding it. IMHO this is the cause of your problem.

Personally, I don't suspect it can determine if the individual pushing buttons is in the front seat or the back seat. As long as the key is in proximity, you can push buttons and they react. If you don't like it, take the key away from proximity.

What I have found out is that the car can generally determine if the key is inside or outside. It didn't let me lock the keys in the car when I was daydreaming and tried today, when I left them in it while it was being washed & forgot when I got home. If the key is inside the car, the car will start and run. If it's outside of the car, it depends on the proximity.

It was a pleasant surprise that I wasn't looking for in that it wouldn't lock via the door handle when the comfort key iwas still inside the car. As an one time electrical engineer, this is cleaver attention to detail for consumer electronics.

If the key is inside the car, it can't detect if it's my 5 year old, my 7 year old, my wife or I that is in their pocket / handbag / etc. This is common sense (or not) , it's electrical proximity / signal & antenna strength, etc.

My 6 year old could start the car if he could reach the brake pedal (not that he knows this) with the keys left in the car, irrespective of circumstance. I would not expect to stop this unless they are in my pocket along with the front door key & I was not near the car.

My advice is that with the unfortunate circumstance of a disabled child, you should not leave the keys in the car. Without any pretence of telling you anything, I would expect you would have to be more careful about everything, and that should include being careful about leaving any key in any car...

I went from an 2001 (Audi) to a 2013, and if we go back 12 years to the '01, it only worked if you stuck the key in and turned. Why change behaviour if it doesn't suit your personal circumstance. After 20+ years of habit with a key in the ignition, I still try and remove the (non existing) key from the A6 steering column sometimes!

snagitseven

Aside from the whole safety issue, I would think leaving the key in the car, even if in the garage, would make it easier for a car thief. There have been reports of thieves breaking into homes and looking for keys just to steal luxury cars from the garage. (I remember reading about someone on the AW Forum having that happen). Leaving the key in the car just makes it easier for them. Also, I'm not clear on what an insurance company would say about paying a claim in that case.

It seems to me that not leaving the key unattended in the car is a minor inconvenience and reasonable trade-off when measured against the manufacturer's safety and anti-theft design intentions.

irenesbob

Well put cdbrawn.
I think what might be going on here is that OP (in this case standing for omelet pants as well) is concerned about the inconvenience when he comes back to his car and it is locked. You and I seem to have read the details that OP provided as background and immediately focused on the question of whether one should ever leave the key fob in the car, especially with a non-adult in the car. He is likely thinking “you guys aren’t listening”, but maybe we are listening too much. His concern at the moment was about inconvenience, ours was the potential for injury or harm to his son and loss to this wonderful and expensive machine.

feralc

If that actually happens there is not need to disclose that "little detail", "the car was here last night and now is gone, how they did it I do not know my guess is they are good at their professions"

It is not like you need to have all keys to file an insurance claim, once I genuinely lost one of my last car.

MonzaA5

Leaving your keys in the car is a stupid idea.

Omeletpants

Why, the car is in my garage and I live in a remote area. Also have a security alarm on the house and garage

Interesting there is always some troll that is lurking and waiting to pounce on someone to insult them.

irenesbob

I just noticed there is no unlock button in the rear of my car. There is the handle and if you pull that you get out (not sure if the child safety lock is initiated), but there is no unlock button, just lock.
I get the OP's point given where he lives and keeps his car, but did not know he had that kind of location/environment based on the initial post.

Funny story: I was visiting my niece and she is one of those people who always leaves her car (a Subaru) unlocked with the key fob on the front console (she lives on a 24 acre sorta farm). Her friend was visitng with a 9 year old and we all were talking and having coffee. The friend left with the kid. Then my niece decided to go shopping, went to her car and there was no key fob. It turned out the 9-year old went into the car because it was unlocked, thought the key was a toy and had it in his pocket. Thank God for cell phones since my niece was able to call her friend before she had made the full 3 hour trip home.

wilfred2k5

Honestly, the keys should NEVER be left inside the car. That's irresponsible for both your insurance company and society. The person who makes joyriding possible is as much at fault as the person who steals the car.