haha, fobyulous i feel you man. i've been doing that for the lastmonth. luckily i figured it out before my starter was fried. i drove around for 15 minutesw/ some weird noise and i thought myengine was done because it has 170k miles on it but then i realized my headlights wouldnt work either so i looked at the key and pulled it back a bit.so everytime istart the car i have to pull it back. i had to explain that to the guy changing my oil too lol. i've been meaning to fix the problem but just haven't had the time. so i called the dealership and they said it was still an open recall so they are going to fix it for me at no charge. i'm really excited because i was really expecting to deal with the problem myself. good luck to anyone else with this problem.

 

Does this process also apply to a 2001 A6 2.7T? I replaced the ignition switch, but I am still having problems with sticky keyand column lock. I'm thinking maybe the cylinder has gone bad.