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Audi A3 Transmission Problems
Discuss your A3 transmission issues here.
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I would be very interested in hearing if anyone else has had a similar problem.
--Paul
I'm still waiting to get the car back. Hopefully tomorrow. Interesting they have given me a replacement car and the passenger door can't be opened from the outside. Don't think I'm having much luck with the A3.
I've got a DSG with 2K miles. No problems yet (knock on wood) with any components of my car, but I'm trying to keep up on what problems other owners might have experienced.
Best of luck,
Paul
--Paul
The dealer's service has really been below average. The only loaner car they had was an old Buick Century! I have had to call them to find out what is going on instead of them calling me.
Any one else have this issue... It starts with the clutch pedal not fully releasing and then slowly gets worse until the doesn't engage period...
Thanks!
Nancy.
I really wish Audi would get their Quality Control act together. The cars are well designed, but keep comming up bad in reliability surveys. Their vaunted "turnaround" is yet to happen.
I hope they are treating you well, are giving you a nice free loaner car, and are fixing it promptly under warranty. If not, complain to your dealer and to AoA, and perhaps change to another service place, if that is an option for you. This is clearly a warranty issue - no questions about it, and they should be apologetic to you, if anything.
Audi clutches always have problems is a generalization I definitely wouldn't subscribe to. Likewise, it is too early to say whether there has been or has not been a turnaround in Audis quality control. Some indication point toward the former.
I looked up DSG and clutch failures in Europe, where these cars have been available for much longer, and have not found anything to support systematic or widespread failures. There was a batch of 2003 Passats, that's a long time ago and has been fixed. Some TDI owners have had premature (but not catastrophic) clutch failure, many of them because the users were not used to the high low-end torque of the engine and let the clutch slip excessively. I have heard about a few solenoid and/or mechatronic failures for both DSG and manuals, but I presume some folks were misinformed, and that applies to the DSG, only (four cases that I could make out, 2 of them in the US - still not very widespread).
Lastly, from what you are describing, it almost sounds like there was another or additional problem besides the clutch. As you stated yourself, the Audi's new clutches and transmissions are very smooth and easy to shift. With your initial description, it almost sounds like a linkage problem. Also, the fact that you could not get it into gear initially, and that it would not move out of first later, sounds like a linkage or transmission problem. In fact, it is not that difficult to shift without a clutch (except for some grinding if you don't rev-match perfectly) - so all of that does not sound like a clutch problem. Moreover, first gear is usually the most difficult to shift into. So perhaps your clutch disintegrated - but there may be another, underlying reason. At any rate, you don't have a "lemon" unless they are unable to fix it after several attempts, or your car is at the dealer for more than a certain amount of days.
Good luck!
so, it was much to my dismay when the 3.2 arrived this year with only the auto (albeit DSG) option. i decided to give it one more try. i will say this: when the DSG works, it is awesome...better than a manual in response. but when it gets confused (and it does a lot) it's downright dangerous. I am seeing the exact same hesitation i saw in my A4 and the scary thing is that this is happening in the DSG mode...and it's getting worse. the car now has around 700 miles. it seems that when you downshift to make a turn, the tranny computer gets confused and seems to be searching for the gear. so...although you hit the accel and expect to go, you don't... i've actually tried to alter my driving style to allow for the confusion lag time, but it is inconsistent and does not always happen (which makes it dangerous).
this will absolutely be the last Audi with auto i ever purchase. anybody out there considering this car, i recommend waiting until the bugs are worked out or until it is offered with a manual.
Perhaps the additional burden of the Haldex Quattro makes the DSG have more trouble deciding which gear to pick.
Do people with the 2.0 T notice the same thing with the DSG?
Incidently, Audi USA's having no interest in helping a customer on this is a disincentive to buy one.
And bmx43, please, stop calling the DSG an "automatic"...no torque converter, no automatic...it is an automated MANUAL transmission...nothing like the "automatics" you had in your previous Audis.
Sorry, I have to take issue with that comment. Checking Webster is says:
Main Entry: automatic
Function: noun
1 : a machine or apparatus that operates automatically : as a : an automatic firearm b : an automatic gear-shifting mechanism
2 : a semiautomatic firearm
3 : AUDIBLE
Nowhere in there does it speak to hydraulics as being a prerequisite for something to be "automatic". Said another way, if it can shift for itself without any operator intervention, then it is an Automatic Transmission, regardless of the mechanicals used to do the job. Thus, the DSG is in fact an Automatic Transmission, period, full stop, the end.
Best Regards,
Shipo
sorry, bud, it's a manual minus the 3rd pedal.
Yup, and in my book (and aparently others' as well), that makes it an Automatic. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
It's not a traditional manual, nor a traditional "automatic."
now, everyone's happy.
In the words of my twelve year old, "Peace Out!"
Best Regards,
Shipo
Recently, the DSG has developed a nasty habit of lurching / clunking on the shift. This occurs when the car is well warmed up (driven at least 10 miles - normal commute is shorter, so has not been a daily issue).
When warmed up, the DSG will shift hard when coming to a stop with light pressure, or when accelerating from a stop with light throttle. I am able to get it to not occur with heavy throttle / heavy braking from / to stops. However, while a possible solution for some circumstances, this is definitely not possible when trying to pull into our garage. Then, the transmission clanks pretty loudly, and lurches when it does engage. Not good for parking in a garage.
We're taking it in soon. Just wondering if anyone else has run into a similar problem. (if so, has it been solved? what solution?)
Thanks.
Your problem with "lurching" describes my experience exactly. My 2006 2.0T DSG (7K mi) had given me no trouble until coming off a highway recently to stop at a traffic light at the bottom of the off-ramp. Then I received this severe jolt, and the car "lurched" forward. "Damn, I have been hit" I thought. Except there was no-one behind me! From this point on, this bang and lurch recurred every time I had to come to a stop and remained in "D", like for traffic lights.
The DSG appeared to be trying to find neutral, couldn't, and then slammed the box into the nearest gear it could find. It instantly backed out of that gear, then tried again. This sequence was repeated about every two seconds or so. Once I applied some gas and moved off, things seemed to behave normally. Selecting "N" cured the "lurching", but you can't drive in neutral! Getting the car into a nearby parking garage was a nightmare! This symptom occurred in any of the "drive" positions of the shifter: R, D, or S. Not in P or N. I did not try the paddle shifter manual mode. Allowing the car to cool down for a couple of hours made no difference.
So I called Audi Roadside Assistance, which worked, and had the car towed to the nearest Audi service, about 20 miles away. That cost me the rest of the day, and the rental of a car to get me back home again, 140 miles away.
Next day I was contacted by that Audi service dept, and told "we can find no problem with your A3". So now what do I do? I considered this problem potentially dangerous, besides destructive to the gearbox.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Dover (NH) Auto World Porsche/Audi could find no "lurching" problem with my A3. They road tested it for about 50 miles, after "performing basic settings", and declared it good to go. And indeed, it has run sweetly ever since! But every time I come to a stop in traffic I fear a return of the lurching syndrome. This fear does detract from the experience of driving this otherwise delightful, responsive little wagon.
Meanwhile, we get the good fortune to drive a Pontiac Grand Prix for the past 25 days.
So for now, cannot tell you whether the new part (whenever it might arrive) may resolve the issue.
I'll just say that if you have a DSG, I hope your transmission doesn't try to adapt the way ours did
Another Audi forum has many other owners having this problem. search for audi a3 forums enthusiast avant
Happy to say goodbye to the Grand Prix, and hello again to the A3.
i have owned 5 audis. i will NEVER buy another audi with an auto transmission.
and also, the "no problems found" is the standard line from Audi. i have a lot of experience with them. they never ever admit there is a problem until they get sued. audi usa sucks.
Thanks!!!
If you do a web search for Audi forums, you should find several additional sites to which you can post to and possibly get answers from.
With a clutch pedal, it's certainly possible. But DSG's don't have one!!
I hate hearing of stories such as this which make a corporation and it's employees look like a bunch of greedy dishonest corporate scum bags and more evil than Satan himself.
Second, when driving, cold or hot engine, it tends to jerk into second when I press the paddle to shift up. Sometimes it happens into third as well. It doesn't downshift very well but it doesn't lurch or search like others have complained about either. It's more like it doesn't like being made to use the gears instead of me using the brakes.
Third, and sort of a side note, I only had 12,000 miles on the car, it had been to it's routine service and I had the oil light go on saying I was very low on oil. I happened to be passing an audi dealer so I drove it in, they checked the dipstick and found it to be bone dry! The guy added two quarts to put it in the middle of the stick and then told me I should be checking my oil more often. Why could my car be burning so much oil? There is no leak.
Does anyone have any idea what's going on here?
Fact of life, blown engines tend to use more oil than normally aspirated engines.
Fact of life, the VWoA 2.0T is typically a bit thirstier than most.
You should be checking your oil at least every other fill-up. As for make-up oil, do yourself a favor and buy a case of Castrol Syntec 0W-30 or Mobil 1 0W-40 and keep your engine topped off.
Hopefully you didn't do any serious damage to your engine as any engine failure will now most likely not be considered a warranty item as it is most probable that Audi now has it on record that you ran your car low on oil.
Best Regards,
Shipo