How to reset, after attempted theft

[23e Heure]

Hi All,

Some scrotes tried to steal my 2013 B8.5 Avant this week.
I believe they got into the car using a relay box to mirror and boost the (keyless) keys.
The car was parked right outside the house, and the keys were on a shelf only 5 meters from the front door.

We don't keep valuables in the car, so there was nothing to steal from it.
There is no visible damage to the car, and at first the only way I knew someone had gained entry was because of course they'd emptied the contents of the glovebox etc to look for nickable items, before making off.

Here's where I need some advice and help.
I think they must have used something to try hacking the car computer to try and get it started.
The car runs fine, but there are warning lights on the dash display (see attached photo).

Can I just 'reset' the car's brain to clear these? If so, can someone advise how I do that?

Or do you think I need to have it checked out professionally, to make sure they didn't do anything dodgy to the computer?

Meanwhile... lesson learned on keyless car hacking: the keys are now kept securely in a old biscuit tin in the house, to prevent the relay box hacking method from working in future!

Thanks for all advice!

 

[AGL80]

Ooh. That’s lit up a treat.

 

[CarbonMike]

Cant help with the ECU issues but once you get it back up and running right be sure to remove the fuses for the OBD port.

Also id get it checked for how many keys are now programmed to start your car as you might find theres one more then there should be!

Id put money on them coming back and trying it on again.

 

[spartacus68]

Ooh. That’s lit up a treat.

As Jeremy Clarkson would say... "lit up like a Christmas tree on a council estate". You've been very lucky. You need to get the car scanned with VCDS and record all faults before clearing. Worth consider fitting a tracker for peace of mind.

 

[***DK***]

Sorry to hear another has had a break in.
If you havent already, well worth searching some of the stolen threads on this forum as I and others recently had ours stolen. There's good advice about how to try to secure the cars better.

Well worth getting someone to scan your car with vcds quickly and delete any added keys they might have programmed.

My thread is here with some info about how I think they took mine but there are others.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/to...9&share_fid=2376&share_type=t&link_source=app

 

[Stonefish]

You can check the number of keys coded in the MMI in the Car section. I think there should only be 3, two key fobs and the emergency key. They probably went in the glovebox looking for the emergency key.

 

[AGL80]

Phew. Mine has three and I was getting a bit concerned (but it’s not keyless).

I’ve two key fobs. Is the emergency in one of them?

 

[AndrewW]

Keyless relay is a possibility however I’ve seen recently how easy it is to open/start these without needing a key.

There’s decoders out there that will open the door in less than a minute and OBD tools which will disable the alarm in 10 seconds.

check the modules in the side of the boot to make sure everything is connected, if I remember correctly something needs to be disconnected back there to complete the hijack process so something may still be disconnected.

but yes VCDS scan will definitely point towards what may be wrong.

Id definitely look into aftermarket security (Autowatch Ghost or similar) as the OEM security isn’t up to much these days

 

[Stonefish]

Phew. Mine has three and I was getting a bit concerned (but it’s not keyless).

I’ve two key fobs. Is the emergency in one of them?

You should have another fob that has a plastic key and no buttons. Audi did used to keep them in a holder on the right side of the glovebox.

 

[Marky007]

Hi All,

Some scrotes tried to steal my 2013 B8.5 Avant this week.
I believe they got into the car using a relay box to mirror and boost the (keyless) keys.
The car was parked right outside the house, and the keys were on a shelf only 5 meters from the front door.

We don't keep valuables in the car, so there was nothing to steal from it.
There is no visible damage to the car, and at first the only way I knew someone had gained entry was because of course they'd emptied the contents of the glovebox etc to look for nickable items, before making off.

Here's where I need some advice and help.
I think they must have used something to try hacking the car computer to try and get it started.
The car runs fine, but there are warning lights on the dash display (see attached photo).

Can I just 'reset' the car's brain to clear these? If so, can someone advise how I do that?

Or do you think I need to have it checked out professionally, to make sure they didn't do anything dodgy to the computer?

Meanwhile... lesson learned on keyless car hacking: the keys are now kept securely in a old biscuit tin in the house, to prevent the relay box hacking method from working in future!

Thanks for all advice!

Is your car a s4 or something??? Are they going for 2.0 tdi sline these days???

Would never buy a car with keyless anymore myself seem so easy to steal

 

[23e Heure]

Thanks guys for all the helpful replies: Yep, I got lucky, and now I'll take extra precautions!

It's not an RS or an S. It's "just" a 2013 S-Line 1.8 TFSI Avant.

I never knew there was an emergency key till now. I read the responses to this thread, went straight out to the car...
...And lo and behold the emergency key was still sat in its holster in the side of the glovebox.
I also never knew you could start the car with just a plastic key pushed into the key slot on the dash! I had assumed the normal key fob we get with these keys had some kind of 'magic chip' in the them to activate the ignition when pushed into the slot.

What confuses me is: if they rifled thru the glovebox, why didn't they remove and use the emergency key?

@Stonefish:
You said that you can look up how many keys are coded in the MMI "Car" section. I just scrolled thru all the menus under "Car" and couldn't see this option.
Can you tell me where to go to find that displayed?

@AndrewW:
I checked in the boot. Any idea what I'm checking for? All cables look like they're connected. Except the red multi-pin connector, but that looks like it may be 'spare' for diagnostic until to plug into.

So I need a VCDS scan whatever happens. Never had to this before...
Is this something I have to go to an Audi Service centre for?

 

[AndrewW]

Sorry I'm not sure what the boot connections should look like, I can check mine tomorrow if no-one else knows however mine is slightly older so possibly different anyway.

VCDS is dealer-level diagnostics however is available to anyone, check the VCDS map on the forum to see if there's a member close to you with it that may be able to help you out. It may just be a case of clearing the error codes or it may be a case of seeing what has been damaged via the error codes and taking corrective action form there.

If you're anywhere near the north east I'd be happy to help.

 

[AGL80]

My third key is in the car too.

So someone could put the window through and use that to drive off? I’m going to check it in the morning (it’s hosing it down) without the smashed window part.

 

[AndrewW]

My third key is in the car too.

So someone could put the window through and use that to drive off? I’m going to check it in the morning (it’s hosing it down) without the smashed window part.

The 'key' stored in the glove box is supposed to be the adaptor to allow the small emergency key to fit in the ignition, however I suppose it's possible the actual key has been left in there at some point.

Definitely check, if the key part is in there then yes it can be used to start the car.

 

[AGL80]

Ok. The adapter is there but where is the spare key? Or where should it be?

 

[AndrewW]

Ok. The adapter is there but where is the spare key? Or where should it be?

When the car was new it would have been handed to the owner and not stored anywhere in the vehicle. However the three B8s I have had haven’t had one, probably long lost

 

[AGL80]

I bought it from a car supermarket and didn’t get one. The one previous owner was Audi, though, so annoyed it’s gone.

 

[Marky007]

There always missing had few Audi vehicles and never had 1 just the case my current b8.5 has neither...

 

[Dippy]

I also never knew you could start the car with just a plastic key pushed into the key slot on the dash! I had assumed the normal key fob we get with these keys had some kind of 'magic chip' in the them to activate the ignition when pushed into the slot.

The simple plastic key has a "chip" inside. It is one of the keys which is registered to the car when you check the number on the MMI.