[s-cars] RF Remote Unlock (Not) and Keyholes

[Fifield, Douglas]

Listers,

Two questions, but first, an explanation.

I left my 95.5 S6 Avant at the airport carpark whilst skiing for a week in
Colorado.  Upon returning, weary and anxious to return home, the remote
failed to unlock the car.  No sounds, no light flash, nothing.  I then tried
to manually unlock the doors (and tailgate) using the key, but was unable to
get the key fully into the locks.  Not hard to understand because I almost
never use them.  Finally, I was able to force the key into the passenger
lock and open the car.  It started right up and upon driving home and
parking in the garage, the remote worked as usual.

Two other clues that may, or may not, be related.  My parking brake light
takes a few seconds to go off after sitting for some time (like overnight),
and sometimes when going over a bump or a dip in the road, the brake light
flashes for a second.

Question 1:  Why did the remote unlock fail to work?

Question 2:  How can I best repair the frozen keyways in the doors and
tailgate?

Awaiting the awesome wisdom of the list.

Douglas in MN
95.5 //S6Avant - mine
98 Mercury Mountaineer - her work sled
98 Toyota RAV4 - for sale
73 BMW R60/5 - lonely in the garage