Another Stronic gearbox malfunction

[stewie]

Car is in the shop after twice having to pull over with the gearbox malfunction error. Was on the way to work when the error occurred. Couldn't get the car to go over 19 mph, pulled over put in park and then put in drive. This happened twice on the same journey. Luckily I had just pulled off the highway. The latest info from the dealer was that the codes that were thrown indicated that the tranny overheated and reduced functionality to protect itself. They also wanted to know if I had chipped the car....go figure. The car is stock with no chip. They did reprogram the tranny when I had it in for the 5000 mile service because of an existing tsb. Car has 6500 miles on it now. Will post more info as things progress.

[SebGood]

Sorry to hear that. I've been through it recently... you've probably seen my thread. Seems like a replacement mechatronic usually does the job, but in my case it was an entirely new transmission. If you do get the new transmission, I'd be interesting to hear if you notice the changes that I did.

Good luck!
Seb

[stewie]

Hey SebGood I did see your thread. I can relate to the transmission behavior changes you were talking about. I noticed a big change in the transmission after mine was reprogrammed to remove the jerkiness as outlined in the TSB. I noticed that there was almost no difference in throttle response and transmission behavior between D and S mode. In S Mode the car used to stay in the powerband at around 2500rpm while in D Mode it stays at around 1800 - 2000 rpm. Now S Mode and D Mode are the same, the car stays at around 1800 - 2000 rpm. The car could not be shifted into 7th gear in S Mode now it can. There is a definite lag now in S Mode when I press the throttle while before the response was instant. I can safely say that the S and D Mode are pretty much identical. I was extremely annoyed when I got the car back and it behaved this way. I was hoping it would re-learn my driving over a period of time. It has been 1500 miles and it still doesn't behave the way it used to. I do not have Sport Diff or ADS to determine how they were affected.

[quattro.it]

That doesn't sound right. You should feel a very noticeable difference between D and S. I don't know for sure but S mode may not even allow 7th gear if it's anything like the way the Tiptronic is programmed.

[stewie]

There used to be a very distinct difference between D and S but after it was reprogrammed they are virtually identical. The tranny is definitely smoother but I am disappointed with how it performs now. Maybe it has something to do with what is going on with the problem.

The latest info from the dealer is that the tranny only got to 85 degrees when it went into limp mode. This should only have happened if the tranny got to 140 degrees. Audi wants to replace the valve body in the tranny so still in the shop until next Thursday at the earliest. They do not want the car to be driven until replaced so I am still in an Altima rental....oh joy.

[droidakty]

Pick up my car on March 18 (Build week 6 2010). No problems with my tranny. In D is shifts at 1800-2000 rpm. In S it shifts at 2500rpm or higher. Can't remember about not getting to 7th gear in S mode. I think it does based on the RPMs at cruising speed.

[jscaf]

hi guys... does anyone know for sure that the S4's being built right now have the update software and flash for the S-tronic transmission. I would assume that if Audi is encountering problems, they would update software in the newer build cars. Any thoughts. Mine was just built and I think sitting on a port in Germany.

[NWS4Guy]

hi guys... does anyone know for sure that the S4's being built right now have the update software and flash for the S-tronic transmission. I would assume that if Audi is encountering problems, they would update software in the newer build cars. Any thoughts. Mine was just built and I think sitting on a port in Germany.

They are all supposed to post Oct of 09. I have seen 2 come through with the complaint who had theirs checked and it didn't have the update for some reason.

[SebGood]

They are all supposed to post Oct of 09. I have seen 2 come through with the complaint who had theirs checked and it didn't have the update for some reason.

Not sure... but just to be clear, I got the transmission software updates installed at my 5,000 mile service. But that didn't prevent the transmission from needing to be replaced at 9,500. The dealer said the new transmission or at least the mechatronic portion is a new hardware rev, not just software.

[NWS4Guy]

Yep I remember you saying they told you the hardware was V2.

[stewie]

Car is still at the dealer. They have installed a new mechatronics unit but the car is in "lockdown" and telling them to replace the mechatronic unit. They are working with Audi to try to determine if the new unit is faulty. So 11 days and counting.

[Leo]

Pick up my car on March 18 (Build week 6 2010). No problems with my tranny. In D is shifts at 1800-2000 rpm. In S it shifts at 2500rpm or higher. Can't remember about not getting to 7th gear in S mode. I think it does based on the RPMs at cruising speed.


Forgive my ignorance, but isn't the shift point determined by throttle input, ie. the harder you push the gas pedal, the higher it will rev and thus shift at a higher RPM?

Can someone else confirm this?

[NWS4Guy]

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't the shift point determined by throttle input, ie. the harder you push the gas pedal, the higher it will rev and thus shift at a higher RPM?

Can someone else confirm this?

No, the DSG is a pretty advanced transmission that is very tightly integrated into the engine via the ECU. In "S" (or if you have Sport Diff or ADS it is Dynamic mode) the shift points with the same throttle input are much higher, and the shifting times are drastically reduced in order to make the shifts much harder and keep the car in the power band.

[1sadavant]

Car is still at the dealer. They have installed a new mechatronics unit but the car is in "lockdown" and telling them to replace the mechatronic unit. They are working with Audi to try to determine if the new unit is faulty. So 11 days and counting.

How many days until the lemon law kicks in?

[BlackS4TT(Josh)]

Man, a lot of problems with these cars already. Trans, rear diff, water pump... [:(]

[Leo]

No, the DSG is a pretty advanced transmission that is very tightly integrated into the engine via the ECU. In "S" (or if you have Sport Diff or ADS it is Dynamic mode) the shift points with the same throttle input are much higher, and the shifting times are drastically reduced in order to make the shifts much harder and keep the car in the power band.

I tried mine today using the same throttle input (let's say I was depressing the accelerator pedal ever so gently) in both Dynamic and Auto Mode - I agree that the shift points are higher in "S" mode, and indeed they do feel quicker (1800 rpm "Auto" vs 2500 rpm "Dynamic"). The point I was trying to address is that the shift point is not an absolute value (whether you are in Auto or Dynamic) but linked to throttle input.

[stewie]

Got the car back two days ago. Was in for a total of 12 days. New Mechatronic unit installed. The car is still shifting almost identically in S and D mode, there is almost no difference between them. I'm not convinced it will change as the car learns my driving style but we will see.

[NWS4Guy]

I tried mine today using the same throttle input (let's say I was depressing the accelerator pedal ever so gently) in both Dynamic and Auto Mode - I agree that the shift points are higher in "S" mode, and indeed they do feel quicker (1800 rpm "Auto" vs 2500 rpm "Dynamic"). The point I was trying to address is that the shift point is not an absolute value (whether you are in Auto or Dynamic) but linked to throttle input.

You are right, the only absolute value is redline, where it will always shift for you to prevent damage. The mappings for the shift points are what changes for the same amount of throttle comparing S versus D though.