Check out my Horror CVT Story post.

 

yeah I saw that, I was going to say bad luck, but I don't think it is luck, I think their maybe some technical problem with the CVT's but its hard to say what. Probably worse for you as you are in Philippines, so you have limited choice for servicing; at least the car is still running.

I was hoping that I would get some people posting to say how their A4 had done 100k and all was ok or even 80k with no CVT issues, the problem is when browsing forums is that you tend to see all of the people with problems and not the good 'uns which is quite biased I think, hence the reality check!

 

Check this out I got it from AUDISSIMO
EDIT:

The main problem is that a multi plate clutch worns out abnormally, this is unwanted feature of the first generation CVT's. Obviously Audi has been made some kind of mistake about design torque. Audi says, that the first generation CVT is dimensioned for 280 Nm torque, in real, it doesn't manage even 210 Nm torque (which is in 1.8T). The CVT with 7-plate multi plate clutch is used e.g Audi A6 2.7 TDI, which generates 380 Nm output torque. Further information available in link below: Audi World Site > Company > Comfortable long-distance specialist: Audi A6 2.7 TDI with multitronic

 

Interesting, so I wonder if my car being 2.5tdi has the 7 plate or 5 plate clutch, as you would expect quite a bit of torque from the diesel. Also when do the first generation CVT's end and 2nd generation start, I guess they fixed the problems in 2nd generation (you would hope)

 

cvt

i also have a 2.5 tdi multi tronic with 60000 miles and wondered if the later boxes had been fixed has i haven't heard of any after 2004

 

My CVT juddering problem was fixed by proper flushing of the ATF and putting a new trans fluid. I had it done in a non dealer shop. The dealership recommended a transmission assembly replacement. They claimed the ATF was still fine. The replacement cost is around US$19,000 in our country!

 

Hi, I just wanted to post that I have a 2004 1.8T and it has the CVT. So far, so good. I have put around 15k miles on it. Currently, it has 52,000 miles. Keeping fingers crossed that it keeps working great.

 

Crap Cvt Trans

My 04 audi 1.8t A4 took a CVT trans crap at 79K-7,000 dollars later yes you heard me correctly $7,000.00-a refurb put in at local audi dealer. (Smart that I purcahsed additional warranty however they would not cover new CVT transmission however cost me 100.00 deductible). The mechanic showed me the gears and said they should be all shiney and not dull-then proceded to tell me should of purchased a quattro, the CVT's are crap. I was so pissed since I purchased the car from the same dealership with 78,*** miles. Point is before you by an AUDI make sure you know what your getting into.

 

CVT Should be Recalled

I have a 2003 A4 1.8T Convertible with 36,000 miles...

I had NO SYMPTOMS... nothing... the car has been maintained and treated immepecably.

Suddenly, the car started to shudder from a stop on a Monday. I called the dealer and they asked me if it was fine shifting manually. I tested it and ... yep... no shudder if I shifted manually. I setup an appointment for Friday (the earliest they could get me in).

The next day (Tuesday) , I am shifting manually and *** poof *** the transmission goes into neutral and I have to coast to a stop on the side of the road. Every light for every gear is lighted up and the car refuses to go into any gear including reverse.


NOTE: It died at exactly 35,999 miles.

I tow the car to the dealer and - fortunately - I had purchased a 5 yr, 90,000 mile extended warranty (the car is a 2003 with low miles).

The dealer tells me the transmission is no good, it needs to be replaced. The warranty company tells me that they won;t cover the repair until the dealer performs diagnostics on the transmission. The dealer refused further diagnostics.

So.... I tow it to AAMCO who the warrantly company said would perform the diagnostics. AAMCO says the transmission is bad (they thought it might be oil and it is not). However, the warranty company wanted AAMCO to disassemble the transmission and discover which part is bad. AAMCO (knowing that CVT transmissions are PROBLEMS) knew to look for parts first.

They had a warranty rep come out and they showed that there are no CVT parts availabale... ANYWHERE!!!

The warranty company agreed to pay for a rebuilt transmission and I was told it would take 5 days to get and another day to install.

After a week, I get a call... there are no rebuilt transmissions available!! The place who "claimed" to have one was still rebuilding it and they are waiting for a part from Germany to complete the rebuild.

I am told it will be another week.

The price for the rebuilt tranny (no labor)... $5,800.00


I have now researched and the person from the "dealership" who claims problems are rare is just flat full of it, or his dealership is somehow just blessed.

1. There are no parts available - they are breaking faster than they are making parts.
2. Rebuilt tranny's are hard to find - they are breaking as fast as they rebuild them.
3. Most transmission shops and dealers refuse to work with them (other than flat replacement) and - apparently - the mechanics and shops need special training and equipment.

In summary,

The CVT transmission gave me zero warning. It went out at 35,999 miles. There are no parts or easy to find replacements because the demand is so high. I have found several other forums where there are many, many similar claims.

Beware of the CVT and get a good extended warranty from a reputable company!

 

TrevorW can you "elab" on the shudder sound. I have 104,*** on my vehicle now and the trans CVT was replaced at 79,000 and I have always even with old transmission had a slight vibration if you will at idle. The other day I bought a set of wheel ramps to make it easier to do a oil change (easier than a jack) and when pulling up on the ramps I stopped and put in park however I was not all the way on the ramps- when I went back to pull the car up futher it was like it was locked in park and would not move. Went and got my friend and had him push the car from behind about 6 in and then I was able to put it back in gear. I hope i didn't mess anything up.

 

"CVT SHOULD BE RECALLED" I agree why would AUDI continue to produce a transmission that they know is crap and then turn there backs on there customers? Do we really need snowmobile technology in AUDI's? TREVOR W, Same thing happened to me where the warranty company would not pay until the dealer took the whole transmission apart to isolate the issue-huge risk but it turned out okay. My refurb CVt came out of canada and was sent to WI which is where my dealer in IL got the trans from. Funny thing is the mechanics at a dealer where they sell $120,000 Benz's and 60,000 Audi's are not trained to fix a CVT transmission- all they do is replace them. The guy who did mine told me AUDI wont even approve for them to just fix the trans it has to be replaced b/c there so technical. WOW build an expensive A$$ car with crappy transmissions and then limit what tech's can do to the vehicle in the United States, thus increasing your profit at the expense of your customer, way to go AUDI........we love you to

 

I just picked a 02 a4 3.0 quattro, its got 127,000 miles on and rides great, does this car have the same transmission? I saw someone mention should of got a quattro.

 

Get a Warranty if you don't already have one!!

I have an 04 CVT. My CVT crapped out at 42,000 miles. Total cost of repair, just under $7,000. One thing I noticed was about 1 week prior to the failure my car began to drop rpms when coming to a stop. It would feel as though (for a brief second) the car was trying to stall. It would only happen a couple times each morning and then go away once the car was warm. I took it into the shop and they said there were no codes, the coil packs looked fine and the throttle body was relatively clean. I was told to "keep an eye on it". A day or so later I started the car, put it in reverse and felt a little jolt and when I tried to drive away noticed there was a serious problem. Since the replacement of the tranny the RPM drop problem has gone away and not returned. The mechanic suggested that the RPM drop and transmission failure were not related. I on the other hand disagree as the only work done to my car was a tranny swap and the problem is gone. I've heard of others having similar RPM dropping symptoms upon stopping but they also said coil packs were at fault. This wasn't the case in my situation. To sum it all up, if you don't have one, GET A WARRANTY! Trust me, the 1 or 2 grand you'll spend on a warranty will far outweigh the financial and emotional stress accompanied by a CVT failure.

 

I have the same question with Carmelo 2680. Is the CVT different in A4 B6 1.8T Quattro?

 

If you have a Quattro you don't have a CVT and vice versa.

 

So, What kind of transmission does the Quattro have?
I am a newbie in this forum. Really want to get an Audi A4 B6, so I started to do some research.

 

Quattro models came with a 6-speed manual transmission or a conventional 5-speed automatic. I don't think they had any fancy names... The CVT doesn't have conventional gears (because it's variable) but it did have 6 preset "gears" or "drive ratios" to simulate shifting when the user shift option is engaged.

 

Thanks for the information. So, do you think that I should get a Quattro rather than the 2WD B6? What other common problems do Quattro have?
Thanks again.

 

Well, here's how I view it. If you have a warranty you should be covered no matter what you do. The problem is that if you have the warranty you still have to make 100% sure that you perform all the recommended service to the car or you will be held financially responsible for whatever could happen. Not only do you need to be sure to do all the service, which you'll have to pay for on your own, you'll also need to be sure to keep all your records to prove you've done the scheduled work as suggested in the maintenance book. So, if you usually keep very good care of your cars and perform service by the book whether you feel it's needed or not then either transmission should be fine. On the other hand, the CVT is well documented as having more problems so even if you are covered and something happens you'll still have to consider the time of being without a car (about a week in my case) as well as having to incur the cost of a rental during that time. The plus side about the CVT is that it is usually a couple grand cheaper and it's a really smooth ride. I drive about 40 miles to work each day and average usually over 31 mpg when traffic is normal, so I get about 400 or slightly more miles out of each tank of gas. I have heard that the quattro gas mileage is not as good but I can't imagine it's terrible. My wife had an 01 quattro before we got this car and we never had any type of problems with it and honestly, I couldn't say that it shifted any better or worse. So, in the end, it's really all up to what your preferences are. The quattro will obviously have its advantages in poor driving conditions but again I think that either way, if you're covered by a warranty and you make sure to keep your records you should be safe with either choice. The bottom line is no matter what you choose, be sure to get a warranty to guarantee yourself piece of mind which should help you to enjoy whatever car you decide to go with. Just remember, as you should well understand by now... I'll say it again anyway, be sure to get a warranty. One other thing, don't think that you have to pay what the dealer is trying to charge for the warranty. In my case, after my issue, I went back to the dealer and they wanted me to pay a couple thousand more for the same warranty that I got from a 3rd party. If you do choose to go with a 3rd party warranty company just make sure that your warranty is in place BEFORE you drive your car off the lot. I used warrantydirect and the process was very simple. The whole process took about 10 min. and a credit card and the warranty was active before I drove my car out of the mechanic's shop. One last side note, some warranties (depending upon the mileage and year of your car may take 30 days to become active so be sure you get all the details before you make your final decision. Hope that helps,

 

I am worried by this. I have a A4 Cab '04 plate, but I bought it brand new in July 2004. It is 2.4 V6 Sport one with Multi-tronic box. It has just had its 40K gear box oil change and has had all it services at Audi dealer near where I live.

Not wishing to tempt Madam Fate, I have not had a moments trouble or any of the symptoms I have seen on various Audi Forum sites <quickly touches some wood> with the gear box. I am not what you would call a Ms Daisy driver either. There is a busy junction near were I work that requires use of the Tipronic part of the box that I use 5 days a week to get out safely into the traffic! It has a sports mode which I also use fairly regularly. I do however follow the old rules with auto boxes. So when I am sitting at the lights, a busy junction, or in a traffic jam, I stick it in neutral.

It probably down to taste, but I test drove a number of auto box cabriolet cars back in 2004 (Saab, BMW, Volvo) and the Audi was far the best of the bunch.

Other than an strange fault that has developed with the radio today, and I have managed to break one of the hinges on the glove box door. The car as been faultless over the last four and half years.

Is there anyway I can check what Multi-tronic box has been fitted in the car? If I can confirm it is seven plate one then can sleep easier in my bed at night!

 

There's a pretty well known problem with the Multitronics... here's a couple of quotes from the "HonestJohn" website....

"What to Watch Out For.....
If buying a Multitronic, be suspicious of any bangs or jerks. Reports of problems with Multitronic electronics causing bangs when drive or reverse were selected and a low rpm vibration in 5th/6th. Multitronics MUST HAVE regular ATF changes. By 2005 reports of Multitronic failures were increasing. By 2006 Audi was offering 50% of replacement cost as long as the ATF had been replaced at 40,000 miles. Replacement boxes fitted with 7-plate rather than 6-plate clutches. By 2007 Audi was more reluctant to offer this goodwill. However, if the problem is only the clutch, then a new 7 plate clutch is about £2,200 fitted."

"Recalls......
December 2005: Dealer TSB to replace current 6 pack clutch of 2.5V6TDI Multitronic with a new revised 7 part clutch as there is a known problem with the Multitronic being unable to cope with the torque of the 2.5TD. (Not confined to 2.5TDI. Multitronics with all engines failing regularly and 6 plate clutches being replaced by 7 plate clutches.)"

 

Cheers. I'll keep me ears open! I tend only to use the numbered gears to pull away in heavy traffic, and I tend to knock back into Drive once I have changed to 2nd/3rd gear. So I may miss low rpm vibration in 5th/6th.

I do live in a dead end road so I use reverse every day. So I'll look out for bangs when then.

Thanks.

 

It's the MUCH higher torque 2.5 diesel where this is a significant problem (they don't even offer multitronic on the top-spec TDi's)... the lower spec 2.5 TDi's where they offer Multitronic are the 155PS and 163PS, so the troublesome ones around the 320-340Nm territory and they don't offer it on the 180PS which is around over 370Nm.

According to the Wiki entry - this generation of Multitronic is now recognised not to support over 310Nm.

So the 1.9Tdi 130PS is just the wrong side of borderline with around 320Nm.... but the petrols are mostly WELL within spec: a 180PS 1.8 20V Turbo has 235Nm and your 2.4 V6 (approx 165bhp) has 230Nm.... and the 3.0 V6 gettting close with 300Nm....

But the workaround is the 7 plate clutch upgrade which should cope with all B6 engines (up to 400Nm apparently - certainly in the new gear boxes, the 7 plate clutch can handle that much)....

 

Is the 7 clutch upgrade available for all B6 models, particularly the 2004 A4 1.8T Multitronic?

 

When I used the CVT regularly (on my '05 A4 cabrio - B6), my transmission failed around 42000 miles (luckily, still under warranty, so it cost me nothing)...so I'm afraid to use it now!