HELPPP, how to manually put car into neutral

[Jimmy_s4]

I’m praying to the Audi gods that someone here can help me out. So I lost my only key to my b8.5 s4 (I know I messed up so pls save the negative comments). I have a new key waiting for me at the dealership but the car is currently in my driveway with about 2.5ft of space on both sides, tow truck company told me it’s not enough room on the sides to slide in the dollys to roll it out. And the service advisor at Audi told me there’s no way I can manually put my car in neutral but I’m here to double check that. Does anyone know how I can put this thing into neutral so I can roll it out of the driveway safely? I couldn’t find any videos online that were specific to my year/model. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[fastboatster]

Is it unlocked? If yes, then this is not a huge problem, you can remove the coin holder/cigarette tray in front of the shifter and depress the "button" which releases shift lock solenoid with allen key. There's a dropbox service manual link shared on this forum, called 8K service manual or something, and you can find this info either in stronic or "stronic service" docs.
If the car is locked, I'm pretty sure tow people know how to open the windows from the outside, so shouldn't be a problem.

[Jimmy_s4]

The car is locked right now. Audi has my new key so I’m going to go pick it up and use it to open the door and try that method. I appreciate the help man

[LYKUNO]

Is it unlocked? If yes, then this is not a huge problem, you can remove the coin holder/cigarette tray in front of the shifter and depress the "button" which releases shift lock solenoid with allen key. ...

According to the owner's manual, even if the car is unlocked, you still need to have the key. Here's a copy/pasted section of the "Selector lever emergency release" (verbatim from page 98 of a 2014 manual):

Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
If the vehicle's power supply fails, the selector lever can be released in an emergency.

* To access the emergency release mechanism, remove the ashtray insert "B" using the release switch "A" >fig. 108 .
* Loosen and remove the cap in the ashtray mount.
* You now have access to a pin. Using a screwdriver or similar object, press the pin down and hold it in that position >fig. 109.
* Now press the release button and move the selector lever to the N position.

The selector lever can only be moved from the P position if the key is in the lock and the ignition is switched on. If the power supply fails (for example, the battery is discharged) and the vehicle must be pushed or towed, move the selector lever to the N position first using the emergency release.

That last paragraph is a bit confusing, as if the battery is dead, it would still seem that, as long as the car is unlocked, you would be able to access the ashtray insert and push the release button as required to move the selector lever from the P to the N position. That said however, if the steering wheel is locked and cannot be released, pushing the car forward or backwards in a straight line would be challenging.

[fastboatster]

I didn't have the key in the lock and the ignition was off (actually the battery was completely disconnected) when I needed to move the selector lever from P to D to connect the selector lever cable to the trans when I was messing with my trans.
P.S. the car was left unlocked before I disconnected the battery so Idk. That said, I'm pretty sure the car doesn't need to have a key in the lock to release the selector lever, it's a pretty standard feature probably mandated somewhere so that the cars could be easily towed away when needed.

[Frankracingza]

Can move selector without the key but you cannot release the handbrake , but a new audi key should be programmed to the car already

[Jimmy_s4]

so I got car in neutral. Anyone know how to unlock my steering wheel so I can get it out of my driveway properly?

[LYKUNO]

Perhaps you can borrow some car dollies, the kind used to roll vehicles around in tight spaces (e.g., a garage). Alternatively, and probably not fun would be to disconnect the coupling on the intermediate shaft. The steering wheel would stay locked but the front wheels would be able to be moved (I think!). Here's a pic of the shaft:



A reputable towing company experienced with moving cars would likely have the dollies and can assist you. Keep us posted!