Battery issues... what’s going on?

I have a 2018 A5 Prestige Quattro Convertible, which has been my dream car and my third Audi overall. It’s the first one I bought new, and I’m experiencing something I’ve never faced before. I’ve put 98K miles on it, and I really love her, but now I’m dealing with a frustrating battery issue.

I just drove about 372 miles over 7 hours, mostly on the freeway, using cruise control to keep it in that green battery indicator zone for fuel economy. After that, I took a break to snooze for about 2 hours, and I think I left it in Accessory Mode, but nothing was on—no heater, no inside light, no music.

When I went to start it, the battery was flat. This has happened a couple of times before under similar circumstances. I know I should’ve remembered to turn it off, but honestly, I was fighting sleep and just slumped over. What do you think? Could it be the alternator or something else?

That’s rough! It sounds like it could be a battery issue or maybe even the alternator not charging it properly. Have you had the battery tested?

Yeah, I’d check the battery first. Sometimes they just lose their charge after a while, especially with all those electronics.

I totally get it. I had a similar issue with my A4. It turned out to be the alternator. Hope it’s not that for you!

You should definitely get it checked out. If you’re not near your regular Audi specialist, just make sure the dealer isn’t going to overcharge you.

Reagan said:
You should definitely get it checked out. If you’re not near your regular Audi specialist, just make sure the dealer isn’t going to overcharge you.

Exactly! I’m trying to avoid being misled by the dealer. They always seem to find a way to bill for extra hours.

I’ve heard the dealer can charge a lot for electrical issues. Maybe look for a good independent shop nearby?