J. Patterson

Yes and yes. Doors still lock with key fob ( if it’s working) and inside lock button. I never use the keyhole lock but I just checked and mine locks all doors and chirps the alarm. I suppose you could unplug all four but you need VCDS or Carista to identify which is faulty. Do any of your lock buttons lock the doors?

markdevlinn

So if Im understanding this correctly its the door handle proximity sensor that goes bad and then can cause the parasitic draw. Would removing the door handle and simply disconnect that that location be enough? If not then it looks like there is two options, one being taking off the entire door panel and making the disconnect there, or the removing pin 15 as described in the other thread posted above. Does this sensor live in all 4 door handles? Is that what that little square is on the door handle? I've never used it really nor have I in my 2021 f150. What about the truck, does that have anything that can fail as it relates to proximity sensors?

J. Patterson

Reiterating 😉. The button is for locking all doors. They fail and can drain the battery. The unlock sensor is inside the handle. They also fail and can drain the battery. Unplugging the cable inside the door panel disables both for that door and stops the battery drain. Fortunately you can still unlock the door with a double pull of the handle while you have the key in your pocket ( if your key is good and the car “sees” it.) You cannot remove the handle to access the wire connector. You either have to remove the interior door panel or disconnect the proper wire at the wire harness entering the door. Removing the door panel is not difficult with proper trim tools and I chose to do it that way so as to insure I didn’t mistakenly get the wrong wire. Also this is easily reconnected if I buy a new handle. ( I won’t unless the drivers door fails.)
Do read through the main thread. It’s all there thanks to contributions of others.
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...ndles-3031705/

Johnny Q7

not sure if you got this fixed.I also had a parasitic draw but didn’t have the automated door open so I didn’t have the handle door handle sensors.One potential culprit is the rain sensor connected to your rearview mirror.When I checked my windscreen on a cold day from the outside the windscreen itself was hot where the rain sensors is

Johnny Q7

'10Q7TDI_Prestige'

Nice video link...and such a great idea to use a FLIR camera to look for hot-spots created by electrical grounds/faulty bits, etc.

NOTE: The linked video above depicts a 2006 Q7, so that's a bit of an outlier age-wise. The door handle proximity sensors and/or handle mounted locking buttons are very common battery drain issues on all Q7s.

I'm definitely going to check my windshield-mounted sensor for 'heat' now, but it doesn't seem to be a common issue. However, the gel pad that mounts directly to the windshield glass (where the rain sensor sits on top of) does appear to be a fairly common failure point though, especially when the windshield has been replaced by a glass shop, and they improvised or didn't replace the gel-pad with correct item, etc.

Here's a thread indicating symptoms of intermittent or failed automatic wipers related to the gel sensor mounting pad, which is also one of those fairly common Q7 problems we don't hear much about:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...ement-2981860/

markdevlinn

Now that I’m looking at the door handles, how would I know if I have the proximity sensor or not? I don’t have that little square on the handle.

I’ll check the rear view next

'10Q7TDI_Prestige'

The proximity sensors /external buttons incorporated into the door handles are equipped with as part of an upgrade option called the Audi Advanced Key system, along with other related receivers, sensors, actuators, etc. Lower trim levels and/or especially on earlier model years may not have this option equipped, although in the later model years it seems like most, if not all Q7s sold in North America came with this option equipped/bundled in to be more 'luxury' oriented and remain competitive.

markdevlinn

Yeah this is the premium sline so it most likely has it.

markdevlinn

One thing I noticed after charging it all night last night, is if I leave the car unlocked it doesn’t drain. But if locked it will drain….