Audi A6 Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)

in Audi
I currently own a 2003 Audi A6 "CVT", which I love but I've been having some intermittent issues with what I can only describe as transmission issues.
It happens here and there but when accelerating, mostly from a stop my car will periodically, jerk as if it's slipping a gear or something ???
The dealer has already told me, while they cannot figure out the problem, that on average they replace more CVT transmissions than others.
Does anyone have ANY insight into this as an experience and/or a known issue ?
My car is well maintained (oil changes, maint., etc) by the book
Please advise.
TYTYTYTY.
It happens here and there but when accelerating, mostly from a stop my car will periodically, jerk as if it's slipping a gear or something ???
The dealer has already told me, while they cannot figure out the problem, that on average they replace more CVT transmissions than others.
Does anyone have ANY insight into this as an experience and/or a known issue ?
My car is well maintained (oil changes, maint., etc) by the book
Please advise.
TYTYTYTY.
0
Comments
I just got back from the dealer and they tried to update the trans computer but it did not work for me...try that first
Let me know what you discover if we have the same model
Thanks
CVT is another ballgame. Lots of quirks with this tranny. CVT does not have a torque convertor. It feels a bit weird off the line and people complain about the lag and jerky nature of the starts. Very smooth on the highway, but stop and go is irritating to some.
I would never own a CVT out of warranty or Audi Certified.
And when it says SERVICE on the top is shows "OK"...very strange to me ....Please HELP....Mechanic never mantioned anything about tranny failure.
let me ask you a question , How it your tranny broke down , i mean whats happend with it?
thnax in advance
Last year I leased a 2008 A6 with the CVT. I am on the third transmission in 6000 miles. the change of trannys happened after repeated confrontations with the dealer in Miami which denies any problems and treats the customer like an imbecil. The is still having the same problems. When complaining to Audi they send me to their lawyers...REAL NICE ! ! !
This has been the biggest nightmare
i logged on today to see if anyone was reporting problems with the a6 since the dealerships keep acting surprised when we keep bringing it in for service and contacting audi usa. imagine my surprise when i found this forum.
i have a 2008 a6 with cvt trans. i have had problems with it since the month after purchase. it has been in for service at 2 different dealerships a total of 10 times since purchased in Oct 2008. it is still not fixed and they do not know what the problem is.
maybe this is a case like toyota.
When I took my wife's car in for warranty service to remove carbon build-up on intake valves(another major problem with Direct Fuel Injected engines with no fix), the problem temporarily reduced to almost none. After afout 2k miles, they are back again.
Audi claim this is a CVT character, which I can agree to an extent. I had A4 as a loaner and felt similar shudder, but it was very minimal and almost unnoticable, and nothing like how mu A6 is acting.
I can't believe no one has taken any leagal actions. Keep us in the loop if anyone decides on any further actions.
After it "bucks" initially for a few seconds it settles down and drives fine. There is a little hesitation when starting off from dead stop, which I have read is "normal behavior" for cvt.
Does anyone else experience this extreme bucking behavior when starting car cold? If so, any solution?
The thing I find most annoying is the delay at starting from a stop. I have complained to the dealer and Audi several times but they insist that is just how the CVTs are. What's funny is that about 25% of the time there is no hesitation but more often then not there is. Audi was totally useless and the dealer can't do much without Audi's support. I can't believe that Audi can put out a supposed Performance car with these type of start up problems.
I also mentioned about bucking coming back again after it went away for few month preceding carbon build-up cleaning. They said it might've been related to the bad O2 sensor so they did not do anything about it.
We went out of town last week for 4 days so I left the car at airport parking and after I picked it up, I thought I was gonna crash into a wall due to severe jerking and bucking. The jerkings have gotten progressively worse following the repair work earlier in the week that I have to take the car back in AGAIN this week. I can not afford have my wife and my daughter be in this car.
This bucking feels like as though you are stomping on the brake, lighting fast, as you step on the gas pedal. It is kinda hard to explain.
I will keep you guys posted. We may need to find a lawyer that would make this a case.
I really want to sell it or do something about this.. I am not even sure it is just a lemon...
In addition, I also experienced the car trying to accelerate when i am at a complete stop and steeping on the brakes. I think it's not just getting the problem fixed at this point but could lead to an accident...
Anybody have suggestions?
**i don't think they can understand the pain of owning this car. PLEASE HELP!!
PS - i've also put about $1000-2000 per year into maintaining this gem of a car so let's not forget about that assumption.
The transmission just went out yesterday, and I'm trying to solicit advice on what to do. At this point, I'm thinking of giving up on the car and starting over. Sell it to a mechanic or something...I don't know. Any advice? Greatly appreciated.
I've read many forums that shares experiences on A6 CVTs and I have to tell you that this transmission is not the most reliable one out there. 82k miles on this transmission sound right. I heard CVTs are made for smaller displacement cars due to the fact that it can not withstand the tourque of bigger displacement cars. Audi kinda forced this transmission into 3.1 liter car, which probably is causing this short lifespan of the transmission. Transmission dying under 100k is just pathetic. Read up on them. Some are paying close to 10k for the replacement. With only 10k miles on the odometer, our car is jerking like a rodeo machine in the morning and too dangerous to have my wife and my daughter in the car.
BTW, my problem may not be directly linked to the CVT, but it is definitely making the situation worse. My wife's car is in the shop for over 10 days now without them being able to fix it.
He says that even if he replaces the transmission module ($3500), that is a temp fix and would only last a few months. Audi knows about these problems and wont recall the transmissions.. What mechanic are you all going to??? Any recs in LOS ANGELES???
Although my service guy is extremely knowledgeable and attentive, I just can't continue with this nonsense. I will never recommend 3.2 liter CVT engine.
Of course, 6 months later I take it back for another oil change (I don't drive it that much). I get a call a few hours later saying that the transmission needs to be replaced to the tune of over $8k, after parts and labor. Instead of paying my $100 deductible 6 months earlier, I'm now on the hook for $8k. Its possible that my transmission went from "just fine" to "needs to be replaced for 8 grand" in the span if 3,000 miles, but I highly doubt it.
Anyway, I have not fixed it because its not worth it and the car has been running ok for the last year or so (although I drive it infrequently). I have found a few tips that seem to minimize the shuttering and bucking:
The few times that it has bucked on me were when I shifted quickly and hit the gas. Waiting an extra second after shifting before hitting the gas has helped reduce the bucking. Also, I have found that the shuttering occurs when the car shifts at low RPMs. When I use the sport shift and shift at higher RPMs, I haven't had as many problems.
Anyway, these are probably specific to my situation but may help you as well. I assume many others are in my position and just want to ride it out until the thing just stops running.
Good luck with the lawsuit. I generally hate class actions, but would have no problem opting-in on this one.
Bought my 2002 A6 3.0 five years ago, and started noticing this problem about 2 years ago (60K miles). Getting progressively worse, and it's driving me nuts. LOVED (and still love) the car so much, but now feel like what's the point of getting a beautiful car that doesn't run as well as a 15 year-old Toyota??
I also have kids and am getting worried that I'll pull out into traffic to have the thing fail on me. Not good.
Also in Los Angeles. Still looking for a great mechanic.
In the meantime, who's got a GOOD LAWYER? Count me in!!
I received a 2002 a6 quatro with a little over 10,000 miles from my mom in law a few months ago. I've been looking over her repairs for the last 9 years and it has cost her over $10,000.00.
Three weeks after getting it, it started throwing codes for left and right bank lean. then left and right bank rich. mass flow, and even started kicking up the abs (esp) light. Also have the shudder on takeoff from time to time as well as hesitation.
Told a local mech. about it and he said "good luck finding a good Audi mechanic". However he did give me one good piece of advice..."Look for a loose ground". Before driving it again I cleared all the codes and shook all the wires I could find under the hood. It took two weeks before I started throwing codes again and the shuddering. (Hesitation has continued but I think I know what that is and will fix later).
Now all I have to do is find the one or two loose grounds and I think it will be fixed. Hope this helps. I know before I tried this I thought the car was going to fall apart right where it was.
Four long years, very dangerous driving situation. At one point, Audi offered us $2000 to go away and tell no one about this arrangement.
$40,000 for a car that broke 2 months after purchase and Audi is not responsible?
Hello Audi: Software only looks for what it's programed to find !
We tell everyone: do not buy an Audi, especially one with CVT.
This is not a manufacturer that stands behind their product and they do not care about driver safety.
The service rep told me the clutch packs in the transmission had gone out and quoted me, $7,500 for a new transmission and $2,000 for labor. He told me that so many CVT’s were coming right back after repairs that they no longer service them and now had a replacement only policy. All of this was in addition to the numerous other problems they found, broken control arm, worn out motor mounts, throttle alignment problem, etc but he didn’t bother to give me the total because he knew no one was going to pay $10-15k to fix a $9,000 dollar car.
77,000 miles. The previous owner was meticulous and so was I. It’s just beyond me how a car with a $37,000 sticker price could just be reduced to salvage like that.
Another common code thrower is what's called the "N80" valve, because it throws an N80 code on the technicians audi code reader. The culprit is a purge valve located under the hood, on the driver's side, in front of the strut mount. Google for exact location. That part was a 5 min swap out. the part was around $60, if I remember correctly.
Good luck
thanks,
Carl
My 2008 Audi A6 with CVT transmission and 44,00 miles shifts and drives well. The slight hesitation when starting up in gear is a minor problem. My main problem is a loud gargling sound from the transmission when under load (accelerating). At cruise it is almost unnoticeable The local dealer says the car has no codes and runs normally but admits hearing the noise. A local Volkswagon mechanic checked it and says the noise is coming from the transmission. As a safety measure the tranmission oil was changed (expensive). I still have the noise. My question is does anyone else have this noise ? I ask because in reading the forums no one mentioned the noise. A reply would be welcomed.
Jim
The problem do persists, not only on the A6 but on the A4 as well. I have a 2008 and the sound you mentioned is prominent, not only that, it also 'growls' and makes a howling sound when accelerating under load, along with the hesitation. kicking, jerking while picking up from dead stop. I finally took it in to the dealer for diagnose and they replaced the transmission - at only 39,000 miles!
I have recently bought an Audi a6 3ltr CVT transmission! the car wasn't expensive and it has 80000 miles on it. BUT I also have similar transmission problems, mine is fine when cold, no problem but when the box has warmed up about 10 miles it judder's at about 20 mph, once through that it's fine. I've just done 200 miles on freeways and it's great getting about 25 mpg. My thoughts are that as the problem only happens when hot,the oil thickness or condition could be a factor. I've looked at this transmission and there isn't a transmission pan like most auto boxes, is there a thicker oil that is available? Could an oil cooler be fitted, where is the oil filter if there isn't a lower pan. HELP!