1.8T Quattro Shifting Question

[renold458]

So I've been driving my new (well used but new to me) 1.8T Quattro and I've always wondered if my driving experience is normal or cause for concern. Shifting into reverse has always been a slow endeavor for me regardless of whatever gear I am in, and getting out of reverse into drive is the same slow roll. Letting my foot off the gas pedal to coast a little before having to actually use the brake will cause the car to slow down (duh) but after a certain point the car will almost heave, lunging me forward a little bit is the RPMs die down before I fully stop with my foot on the brakes. Also, getting above 2000 RPMs almost to 3000 RPMs will sometimes cause the car to downshift twice? (for example, I'll see my RPMs drop from 2100ish down to 2000 and then to 1900) You can feel the car jerk slightly twice but then shifts upwards normally if you maintain/increase speed. I have no transmission error codes except for a bad temperature sensor (which for some reason I can't find a solution/replacement for and people have said they've driven their A4 with this forever) and this has been like this since I've gotten it, I just figured I'd ask because that slow down heave is starting to really annoy the crap out of me.

[renold458]

Bump ):

[chad99]

The auto quattros all do the slow from R to D and D to R, best to just wait a few seconds to let the trans do its thing.

They also shift a lot, but as long as it's not a hard shift or any signs of slipping I wouldn't worry about it

[renold458]

The auto quattros all do the slow from R to D and D to R, best to just wait a few seconds to let the trans do its thing.

They also shift a lot, but as long as it's not a hard shift or any signs of slipping I wouldn't worry about it

What dos a "slip" feel like? I doubt mine is doing that but I've never understood how I'd be able to tell that. I know hard shifting, my Nissan does it and my head almost goes through the windshield.

[Northern_B6]

Also, getting above 2000 RPMs almost to 3000 RPMs will sometimes cause the car to downshift twice? (for example, I'll see my RPMs drop from 2100ish down to 2000 and then to 1900) You can feel the car jerk slightly twice but then shifts upwards normally if you maintain/increase speed.

Completely normal as far as I know. It's been discussed here on the forums before. It's just your torque converter doing what it's designed to do.

[walky_talky20]

^Yep, this. The "double shift" you feel during moderate to heavy acceleration is the Torque Converter Lock-up clutch being engaged. Most noticeable in the 2>3 upshift, and to a lesser extent in the 3>4 upshift. The lockup strategy is slightly different when in Tiptronic or "S" modes, but probably not any less noticeable.

The "heave" on decel is just a downshift. Doing a "basic settings" or "kick down" adaptation on the TCU may help a little, but transmissions shift. It's what they do. The tiptronic gear ratios are not so ideal for the low-torque 1.8T (IMHO), so they tend to shift often and quite noticeably to wring out the power. Further, the shift program seems to be setup for economy/emissions, and as such makes the shifting more annoying than otherwise necessary.

[renold458]

Thanks for the info guys, I was just wondering because it acted different than my Nissan (besides the hard shifting). Now I'm at ease!