[bryana123]

I recently bought a 1997 A8 4.2 Quattro. It is in pristine condition. I've noticed that when slowing down from freeway speeds it downshifts a bit hard. I called the local Audi dealer and they told me that's a common problem and that I'll need to spend $8-10 thousand dollars on a new transmission!

Is this for real? Do I really need to outlay that kind of money for a new tranny?

I'm curious to know what this community thinks or if they have heard of this before? Or what my remedies may be above and beyond spending that kind of money.

Thanks!

 

[AllWheelGrip]

wow 8-10 thats to much money, thats not worth it
maybe you can look in to a used transmission
start your search here
www.car-parts.com
did the audi people acutally look at your tranny

 

[FastrNU]

I'd at least consider the fluid change, as AllWheelGrip suggested to me. My car did a similar thing for a while before it croaked. If you go to a dealer, don't let them talk you out of it like I did!

 

[dhegar]

Don't feel alone. I purchased a 2006 A8L W12 about 2 months ago. It has a random hard downshift problem. It happens when decelerating below 40mph but it is entirely random...doesn't happen every time. I may drive it for an hour and no hard downshifts and again I may drive it for 10 minutes and experience 3 or 4. When it happens there is a loud clunk and the car drops violently into a lower gear. I have had it to the dealer several times (5 days) and they can not duplicate the malfunction with their diagnostic equipment. Therefore they will not do anything to repair it...even though the service manager has experienced the hard downshift. The service manager tells me that Audi will not let them replace any components unless they show bad on their diagnostic equipment. I wrote Mr Johan de Nysschen, Audi of America, and received a "nothing" answer. I also talked with Annette Johnson in the Audi Executive Offices and the bottom line is that Audi is unwilling to try to repair the vehicle unless a component shows bad on their diagnostic equipment. So I have a $130k car with a bad transmission and Audi is unwilling to honor the warranty and repair it. At this point I haven't decided what to do next. Any comments?

 

[AllWheelGrip]

im sorry to hear that but its not Audi fault though they dont see the problem so they dont beleive its there, i think all u can do is keep bugging audi, does the problem happen even in tiptronic mode

and wow i wish i had your car with out the transmission problems

 

[dhegar]

Audi knows the problem is there. The service manager experienced it while he was driving and told them about it. I feel they should start changing components, one at a time, all the way to the transmission...if necessary. I still find it hard to believe that Audi is willing to leave me with a bad transmission on a new car and do nothing about it. I have asked several of the Audi people how they would feel if this had happened to them. I get no answers.

 

[AllWheelGrip]

i think its more of the dealership not audi
what area are u from and whhich dealer are u going to

 

[dhegar]

It's not the dealer...it's Audi. The dealer was ready to replace the MAF. The mechanic felt that was the problem but since it didn't show as being bad on the diagnostic equipment, Audi would not let him replace it. When I was talking to Audi headquarters in Auburn Hills MI today, I offered to pay the $700 to replace the MAF if they would reimburse me...only if it solved the problem. I told them that I had read of another instance where the MAF did not show as bad but changing it solved a similar problem. Their response: You can read anything in a forum. Bottom line...I got nowhere. Keep in mind the car is only 2 months old with 1400 miles. I live in the Tampa Bay FL area. Dealer is Crown Eurocars.

 

[Laseron]

This is unacceptable. I trust that you have started a documentation process. Maybe a letter from your lawyer mentioning a Lemon Law action will light a fire.

 

[BrianT]

A shop here in Vt works a lot of audi trannies. I had a long conversation with the owner on the subject.

On A8's, about 100% need trans service between 70K and 100K miles. Wear of the torque converter usually causes the filter to clog. This results in a loud whining noise at startup, especially on cold days as the pump in the trans cavitates. Once the oil is warmed up the sound goes away. Assuming it shifts fine, the only action required is a fluid and filter change. They charge $360 for this service.

If it tends to slip a bit or is slow to shift it may need a torque converter. This shop is the only one in the area that rebuilds transmissions for the audis. They charnge $1600 for this service.

If it won't shift or is stuck in a gear it needs a rebuild or replacement. This shop rebuilds the transmission for $3000.

Some have noted hard shifts and clunks as you describe. The owner told me one customer has that and has had it for 3 years now with no service performed. As such, it may not be anything to worry about.

I was told that the guts of the trans are equivalent to that of the A6. The added power of the A8 imposes wear and failure more often than in A6's as he estimated the A6 problems to be about 5% of the vehicles.

Audi states that these are lifetime units, no service required.

 

[AUDIONLY]

We have had many customers in with this complaint. Here is what we have found so far. 9 times out of 10 it is not in the transmission itself; but in the controller system for the transmission and also the Engine control unit. It is VERY hard to diagnose because it leaves no tracks to diagnose (and/or limp mode) with a computer. It doesn't necessarily set a fault code because the ECU and TCU think the inputs are normal and send this information to the valve body of the transmission to tell the transmission what to do. This situation becomes serious though when the transmission shifts too hard either accelerating or decelerating. What you are feeling is the clutch packs being engaged for a lower/higher gear before they are supposed to. What normally happens after that is that a part called the center support (more commonly referred to as the clutch cage) that holds the clutches cracks at the end due to high pressure and impact of the clutches and then the transmission dies. Even after we put a used or rebuilt transmission in; we are then almost always faced with finding out what caused the "ghost fault". Here are some of the more common problems:
The electrical connection on the transmission itself is located on the front bottom side just above the pan. It is very suseptible to penetration of oil and water especially if the car does not have the lower dust shield attached. The other common problem is the transmission control unit itself which is located in front of the passenger seat under the carpet. It is suseptible to moisture especially if the drain plugs for the cowl area and/or the a/c become plugged. They also short out very easily but most of the time not until they have warmed up. The first thing we do when we have a transmission problem come in is address these two areas. Of course it is easy for us because we have extra TCU's that we keep around. You will have a harder time because the dealer will want to sell you a TCU on a no return policy. Sorry for the long post....................Hope this helps. Kind regards, Peter

 

[vinsonrider]

Does anyone know the name of the shop in Vermont? I have an A8 with the same prob.

 

[karl454]

hey

brian, whast the name of the shop in VT that does the audi trannies???? thanks, karl

 

[audiday]

I recently bought a 1997 A8 4.2 Quattro. It is in pristine condition. I've noticed that when slowing down from freeway speeds it downshifts a bit hard. I called the local Audi dealer and they told me that's a common problem and that I'll need to spend $8-10 thousand dollars on a new transmission!

Is this for real? Do I really need to outlay that kind of money for a new tranny?

I'm curious to know what this community thinks or if they have heard of this before? Or what my remedies may be above and beyond spending that kind of money.

Thanks!

It is too much to spent on old car. I had my transmission dead on my 1998 4.2q ex-a8. In service they restored it. There are special restore packages. The procedure cost me around 2k usd.

 

[karl454]

where did u have the service done? karl