Stopped at a red light, fortunately. Wanted to hang up the phone and, for whatever reason, pressed the stop engine button instead of the end call button.

Yes, the car DOES stop even if it's in drive, and there's no delay. It stops immediately. That could've been a very, very bad brain fart. I never would've reached for the key by accident, but the association of the phone "off" button with the engine "off" button is not that radical.

Actually, this is my second "oh *&#%^" moment this week. Earlier, I coasted forward in an intersection, waiting for an oncoming car to pass so that I could cross. I pressed the accelerator to skip across the road before the next car approaching. Well...the "safety" mechanism kicked in and stalled out the engine, thinking that I was making a hard turn or something. The effect was that I had no engine power as the approaching car bore down on me. I had the presence of mind to release the accelerator and jam it to the floor, which caused me to jet across, just barely getting out of the way, to the sound of a blaring horn. My C5 A6 never did that to me. But this one tried to outsmart me into what would've been a pretty bad accident.

I've gotten out of more problems by accelerating than by braking. Since cars can brake much more quickly than accelerate, your brakes are generally the last ditch effort in emergency maneuvers. No amount of steering does any good at 0mph. Audi really shouldn't make the presumption that stopping the car is always the safest thing to do.

I could just as easily have been turning off of a street that ran parallel to train tracks, thinking that I had tons of time to scurry across, but finding that my car felt like going to sleep. This was an almost identical situation.

Try to keep it in the back of your mind that if the darn thing won't go, back off both pedals, then stab the accelerator with all your might. Somebody's gonna get killed with that programming.

whenever i have to try to beat an oncomming vehicle on an intersection I always put it in tiptronic. That way I know the power is always there. ITs just a habit when im alone in the car or when the passenger is not prone to car sickness.

Again, the engine will not shut off unless you are going less than 5MPH and you foot is on the brake. Try it at highway speed, I have and the car will not shut off. In you situation the car was stopped(less than 5mph) and you probably had your foot on the brake. Also why would the car not accelerate when hitting the gas? In the countless cars I have driven I have never experienced this

I may be totally out to lunch here, but it sounds as though you were trying to power up while holding the brakes. If you stop the car using your left foot, the C6 assumes you are trying to override the accelerator. In the situation you describe, I believe the way to trail brake is to come to a complete stop. Let off the gas completely, then, while holding the brake pedal down ease on the gas until you're ready to go (SCCA start). Then, release the brake pedal (foot completely off the brakes), and punch the accelerator. I do this all the time when I'm trying to get off the line in a hurry. Otherwise, I use only my right foot on both gas and brakes.

Audi was burned by the "unintended acceleration" issue a few years ago (don't ever trust 60 Minutes!), and I think they finally have tried to preclude another accusation in the press from people running over their spouses and other incidents where someone claimed they were pressing as hard as they could on the brake pedal but the blasted car just kept on accelerating!

What the press never mentioned was that in almost every case, the person was a "two-footed driver" but they DID mention the proof of how hard they were trying to stop was the "cramp" in their RIGHT leg!

I made the same boo boo a couple of times before i.e. pressing the stop engine button when I want to end call while driving. So far the car did not stall or shut down. Perhaps I did not stop or have my foot on the brake.

It'll work in S,D or R. The manual didn't say anything about tiptronic, but I would guess that it does.

the problem with the partial stall is for real.

only when I take a hard left/right turn while light or completely off the accelerator.

As for LFB (left-foot braking), I always drive that way when I'm in an automatic. You have much more control and greater range of articulation...similar to when you keep your hands at 9 and 3, instead of 10 and 2.

Remember: On all US made cars, if the brake AND the accelerator are both held to the floor, the car should not budge if it's even close to well-maintained. The sudden acceleration problem was with people who DON'T LFB. With LFB, left=stop, right=go. With CBA (clutch-brake-accelerator), you may THINK your right foot's on the brake, but you're running over that useless, good-for-nothin'...ummm... making a mistake.

You have it exactly wrong by saying that LFB is more dangerous. In fact, if I were learning driving in this day and age, I would never bother learning CBA.

People who left-foot brake have been found to be more likely to press harder on the accelerator when under duress. They believe "with all their heart" that they were pressing on the brake, when all they were doing was resting their foot on it.

It's hard to confuse a brake pedal with an accelerator pedal when a person uses the right foot to press one or the other.

Sorry for complaining about the "sad pic." I kid you not when I say that I literally winced every time I saw it. Your car is almost mine's twin...actually I wanted the beige interior and would've gone for it, except for the birchwood interior.

is not known as signing off willingly on claims. So, right now there's a little tug of war going on between the shop and the insurance agency (Progressive).

I may have to get my company (USAA) involved to square this mess up. I hope not, because I'll have to pay the deductible and have my company go after the other. If they are unsuccessful, then I'm not only out my deductible, but also my safe-driver discount for a couple two or three years.

It's sad to think the guy who hit me was just not paying attention. He was at least 4-5 car lengths behind me when I signalled to turn left and he just ran into the back of me only swerving at the last moment into my left rear with his right front.

I wasn't sure about the beige/birch, but I really do like it. The platinum is a great interior too!

after 2.5 months in the shop. Boy am I happy. I hope your car gets done a little quicker, Tulsa. I know they were having lots of problems getting parts out of Germany for mine... BTW, I also have USAA. I agree with not getting them involved. My rates have already gone up, even though I was hit by an uninsured unlicensed motorist.

Good luck.

The shop called today to say the insurance adjusters (other guy's, not mine) were FINALLY out to look at my car and would have an estimate shortly. Hopefully work will start soon.