A4 revving issue while at low speeds?

[stevengrande]

Audi of Nashua is a great dealership from a service standpoint. I'm 10 mins from them and always hanging around asking questions. One of the good ones for sure!

[wildcat333]

Awesome, Jeff!

[Slewnior]

They got it done so quickly I didn't get a chance to ask questions, or better yet have them check the alignment to see whether my excellent local indy miss-fired when finding things in spec after a complaint by me of front tire wear looking dead on for a toe-in problem. He says he has the right equip, blamed the tires, said all front end parts are solid --- but 3k in on a new set of all seasons suggests to me that hint of a noise that made me look closely at the tread in the first set and found inside tread wear. grrrrr.

This is my wife's car. Wish I had something nice to spend time thinking about and tinkering with.

FWIW -- I had read this was a 10 hour job for the TC. These guys logged it at 6.3 out of their equivalent of a flatrate book , I assume. another 1.4 for testing, driving, blah blah. Cost me nothing, but thought it might be useful for those who are facing the work without warranty.

[KingHuds]

Besides the annoyance, does anyone know if leaving the TC problem is liable to cause further issues? Kinda hard to drop the $4k just to fix a bit of RPM fluctuations when its cold.

[esm]

Besides the annoyance, does anyone know if leaving the TC problem is liable to cause further issues? Kinda hard to drop the $4k just to fix a bit of RPM fluctuations when its cold.

I agree and would be interested to know.

[LoKisSpYdR]

Besides the annoyance, does anyone know if leaving the TC problem is liable to cause further issues? Kinda hard to drop the $4k just to fix a bit of RPM fluctuations when its cold.

An upgraded torque converter from 517 is around $1400 installed, includes flush and fill and TCU flash, or $600 for the DIYer, although you'll spend another $300 on trans fluid, filter, etc.

[KingHuds]

An upgraded torque converter from 517 is around $1400 installed, includes flush and fill and TCU flash, or $600 for the DIYer, although you'll spend another $300 on trans fluid, filter, etc.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...17-Didn-t-help!

That post has me hesitant about the 517 TC.

[LoKisSpYdR]

That's one guy vs the dozens on this forum, not to mention all of the S6/RS6 guys and all of the BMW guys with ZFs that Sam helped with his TC. Also, 517 didn't do the install on that guy's car, and he didn't have the TCU flashed with the upgrade (not the latest Audi update, there's an actual upgrade flash). I have done a lot of research on Sam and his trannys/TCs and 99% of the reviews are positive.

Camoto's Review (note that he was stage 3)
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...w-B7-A4-6HP19A

[hanszuko]

Hello. New member here, but just wanted to see if anyone has ever had an issue similar to mine. I just picked up this 08 CPO A4 (automatic) with 38,000 miles on it.

While driving in drive at a steady speed of approx 30 mph, the tachometer revs slightly up and down. I keep my foot steady, and am not accelerating or slowing down at all. I can visually see the tach move some (about 300 rpm's) up and down; and I can also hear a slight engine noise while it does this.

Any ideas? Is this normal, or should I get this checked out? Solutions?

Thank you.

Hello,

I I have exactly the same problem but what is different is that when the engine is cold everything works normally, the rpm does not fluctuate.

when the temperature reaches 90 ° C begin rpm fluctuations in single upshifts until 70k / h.

It will also be the torque converter?

Thank you. Greetings from Chile.

[Slewnior]

Audi of Nashua is a great dealership from a service standpoint. I'm 10 mins from them and always hanging around asking questions. One of the good ones for sure!

Another note to just say again who good this dealership is to work with. Mentioned in an earlier note on this thread that an indy here has been futzing with alignment on this car since last fall when we reported feathering on the front tires. Problem reappeared after a new set of tires were installed, 3k miles in we had feathering again. They realigned, 3k miles in last week, feather reappearing on the tires (swapped rear to front at the first alignment).

Gave the indy one last shot last week, no charge to me, claimed everything was withing spec. Went to Nashua yesterday, really treated me like a decent human being with a modicum of intelligence, showed me how far off the indy's alignment was, mentioned that agressive treads like I have on the new set can be a problem, aligned the thing for $140.

Now, off to the indy with the report in hand asking for the charges back and seeing what they want to do about the trashed, noisy tires with 6k on them before I take them to small claims court.

Great dealership. Wish it wasn't 2 hours away!

Jeff

[JBell]

Just wanted to say that I started having this issue with my 2008 B7 a couple months ago. The rev would go up and down by 100 RPMs, or so, but only when it was cold out. Took it by the dealer and they confirmed that there was slippage in the torque converter. Apparently there's a TSB out there on it. Luckily, I still had some time left on my CPO warranty and everything was covered for the repair.

Don't know how much it would have cost but it sounded pretty labor intensive as the SC informed me that they had to remove the transmission to be able to replace the TC.

[wildcat333]

I'm starting to get similar issues again with rpm fluctuation 100-200 RPM's. Only when very cold and when car is not warmed up. I'm at 68,000 miles now. Was at 38,000 when the issue first happened almost 3 years ago exactly. Love it...

[Stathik]

does it idle like that while stopped or in neutral? Mine did that and audi could not figure out what it was. ended up being the PCV valve

x2. And it is covered to 120k miles and didn't have to pay $180 for the service charge

[Hypn0t1q79]

I'm starting to get similar issues again with rpm fluctuation 100-200 RPM's. Only when very cold and when car is not warmed up. I'm at 68,000 miles now. Was at 38,000 when the issue first happened almost 3 years ago exactly. Love it...

I have been noticing it with my car as well. But I haven't gotten the chance to look further into it.

[typeslone]

I'm starting to get similar issues again with rpm fluctuation 100-200 RPM's. Only when very cold and when car is not warmed up. I'm at 68,000 miles now. Was at 38,000 when the issue first happened almost 3 years ago exactly. Love it...

I have the same issue also. The fluctuation is about 100-300rpms also, only when the motor and tip trans are cold, and only at mild part throttle (25% or less). If I give it more throttle, it does go away. This only happens in the winter time, in the summer time I get no fluctuation at all. This winter its been a lot colder than normal in NJ so its been much more noticeable. It normally goes away within 5 or so minutes of driving. I have about 130K on the car now, I bought the car with 80K, its always done this.

[M1GHTYHEALTHY]

[Sigh] I noticed this on my way into work this morning. Unfortunately for me, I bought my car from a used car dealership last Sept. so no coverage for me!

[wildcat333]

Welcome to the club.

[M1GHTYHEALTHY]

I got a "needs torque converter to fix driveability issue." $2,916.60 + tax.

[B72011]

Do some searching......you can find places that rebuild em for much less---then pay indy shop to install. I bet you can knock at least a grand off that total.

[Alex4947]

Does any one know if this is a known issue for Audi? I have a 2006 A6 4.2 and I have had my car in to 8 different shops no one has ever come to the conclusion that it was a TC. I have to be honest regardless of what it is going to cost I am glad to hear someone else had the same issue and that I am not going nuts and hearing things! :)

I just cannot wrap my mind around this being an issue at less then 50k on the clock.

UPDATE:

I picked up my car today. The newly installed torque converter did the trick! They installed it, did a 60 mile road test, checked the computer, and everything was good. I drove it 1.5 hours home tonight with all sorts of driving (city driving, highway, and sporty acceleration) and it is driving perfectly. The RPM's no longer fluctuate where it used to (always when shifting from 4th to 5th around 40 mph) in drive.

It had been in the shop for almost two weeks, which sucked. BUT it made me truly appreciate the car again. It is so much better than the Q5 loaner in my opinion.

Rune, and any others with similar issues: I hope this thread helped. Feel free to message me or reply to this thread for any questions. I wish you the best of luck with your repairs.

NEW TORQUE CONVERTER FTW!!! CPO FTW!!!

Now time for the mods listed in my signature!!! WINNING!!!

[topoguide]

I had this issue at almost 150k on my '08, but only on cold mornings. A transmission fluid change fixed it right up. The mechanic said everything was in great shape inside (likely due to mainly fwy miles by po). - Tranny fluid should be changed every 50k mi from what I have found. It is only a lifetime fluid if you want a short lifespan for your tranny.

[wildcat333]

I had this issue at almost 150k on my '08, but only on cold mornings. A transmission fluid change fixed it right up. The mechanic said everything was in great shape inside (likely due to mainly fwy miles by po). - Tranny fluid should be changed every 50k mi from what I have found. It is only a lifetime fluid if you want a short lifespan for your tranny.

Any idea how much fluid change would cost?

Also - I believe they changed all fluids when I got my new TC. I don't know the mechanics that come with installing a new TC. Can anyone advise if they would have had to put in new transmission fluid when installing the TC?

[szaer]

Any idea how much fluid change would cost?

Also - I believe they changed all fluids when I got my new TC. I don't know the mechanics that come with installing a new TC. Can anyone advise if they would have had to put in new transmission fluid when installing the TC?

There's a nice DIY on it. I think they said ~300-400$ for the parts. Unsure about if you got a shop to do it. I was going to do this at my next oil change ~ 2000 km away, as I have the same revving issue and transmission isnt as smooth when the car is cold.

[topoguide]

Wildcat, yes fluid should have been changed with the tc as the trans had to be drained.

Did they use the Audi fluid? It is very spendy, but all the Audi only mechanics I have talked to (plus research) say to only use Audi fluid or you will shorten the life of the transmission.

Also, cost for parts depends on the model year. The fluid is different for different years/vins. Make sure to buy from Audi based on vin. The mechanic I went to quoted me $400, but without the vin the fluid was quoted wrong and the final parts cost was $450... so he ate the cost of labor.

As for the diy, I could have done it.... but it looked like it was worth it to me to pay $100 in labor for someone else to do it as it turns out to be an all day process once cooling time is figured in.

[wildcat333]

Wildcat, yes fluid should have been changed with the tc as the trans had to be drained.

Did they use the Audi fluid? It is very spendy, but all the Audi only mechanics I have talked to (plus research) say to only use Audi fluid or you will shorten the life of the transmission.

Also, cost for parts depends on the model year. The fluid is different for different years/vins. Make sure to buy from Audi based on vin. The mechanic I went to quoted me $400, but without the vin the fluid was quoted wrong and the final parts cost was $450... so he ate the cost of labor.

As for the diy, I could have done it.... but it looked like it was worth it to me to pay $100 in labor for someone else to do it as it turns out to be an all day process once cooling time is figured in.

Audi Dealer did it under CPO warranty. Thanks for the reply. It was changed at 38k, and I am at 77k now, so I should be good for a bit.

[vtwinjunkie]

thanks everyone for all the great info! I have an 08 as well with 62k. I will most def keep an eye out for these issues.
Aside for some strange cold trans conditions with shifting my car has been a good since 30k miles (changed fluid with OEM audi at 50k)

[DeepBlue]

I'm starting to get similar issues again with rpm fluctuation 100-200 RPM's. Only when very cold and when car is not warmed up. I'm at 68,000 miles now. Was at 38,000 when the issue first happened almost 3 years ago exactly. Love it...

In the same club as you. Any updates on why it's recurring?

[B7OrangeA4]

Just recently started having this problem slightly. I've been going constant speed and the rpms would fluctuate up or down by 50 at most and at start up according to my boost gauge I'm sitting at -16 in hg also at idle with the occasional -10 in there on start ups. I don't think it's the n80 as in boosting fine all the way up to 19-20 psi. I'm also flushing all my fluids, putting in new plugs end of this week/next week. Which leaves me to believe it's the pcv. If been planning on buying a 034 catch can would that fix the issue?

[Tenedorr]

Hi all I a, having the same issues as described, rpm pulsing under normal easy driving conditions. Under acceleration it either goes away or it's not noticeable. One problem I have that I wonder if any of you also share is under nearly WOT it seems to lose power completely. It doesn't feel like the tranny is slipping it feels more like im flooding out the engine or something, it just dies until I let off the gas pedal then everythings back to normal. Idk if it's rich or lean, I'm going to take a peek at the plugs and see what they look like shortly. I have replaced hpfp, lpfp, plugs, coils, fuel filter. I did drive it for a few weeks in limp mode. Any ideas?

[wildcat333]

Update:
I have rpm bouncing again in cold weather on cold start - about 100 rpm bouncing under similar situations - when at around 42 MPH once it shifts from 4th to 5th gear. Love it!! Will deal with it indefinitely because it doesn't really affect the car in any way besides making me extremely pissed off. And it doesn't do it during the warmer months.

[javo2999]

Update:
I have rpm bouncing again in cold weather on cold start - about 100 rpm bouncing under similar situations - when at around 42 MPH once it shifts from 4th to 5th gear. Love it!! Will deal with it indefinitely because it doesn't really affect the car in any way besides making me extremely pissed off. And it doesn't do it during the warmer months.

Just skimmed through this entire thread and I'm surprised your having this issue again so soon. I guess this is just another reason to live with it, I swear I think I spend more time looking at the RPM gauge while driving then the actual road. I hope once the weather gets warmer it goes away completely, it has subsided considerably from the weather in Dec to Feb. On a side note, have you ever noticed that once it stops fluctuating that the RPM will dip when you accelerate it after holding I.E. 2500rpm 120km/h? I have made a thread with a link to a Youtube video showing it occurring, wondering if anyone else is having this issue as well.

[wildcat333]

@ javo2999 - No - my RPM's do not dip when accelerating like in your situation.

[c@@kieMonsta]

Sigh... My '07 3.2 w/71k miles has this same issue. Fluctuates for the first 5 minutes of driving when it's cold. I haven't checked the tranny oil level yet.

[wildcat333]

Sigh... My '07 3.2 w/71k miles has this same issue. Fluctuates for the first 5 minutes of driving when it's cold. I haven't checked the tranny oil level yet.

Welcome to the club.

[c@@kieMonsta]

Welcome to the club.

I'm wondering why it being cold causes this? This morning, it was much warmer then the previous, and so it didn't fluctuate at all.

[LazyUmp]

My 08 also seems to be having the same issues. Although, mine makes a horrible noise when cold. When the RPMs drop the car makes a rattle-snake like hissing sound. This goes away once the car warms up.

Edit: I've noticed my RPMs bounce also when the engine is warm. The hissing sound is most notable going up hills.

[Milabrega]

Just posted a separate thread with the same question to only find this one! The fluctuating RPMs do not bother me, however. Good to know that after TC was replaced the issue did come back eventually. I'l just keep driving mine, we'll see what happens)

[Cobra351]

I have a weird issue, that I believe may be similar to this... when slowing down from about 5mph to a full stop, the RPM drops just a hair, and the car feels like it'll stall- but it never actually does. I have no codes on VCDS or OBD 2. I was thinking vacuum leak, but wouldn't a CEL be thrown? It's a Quattro Tiptronic.

[Okedokey]

CVT? Normal.

[Cobra351]

CVT? Normal.

Whoops, sorry. Should've specified- Quattro Tiptronic, 137k miles. I read that it's most likely the torque converter- people have changed their torque converters even, and the problem will come back soon anyhow. Just wasn't sure this was the case for me.