2012 S5 - Flat spots in acceleration from gears 1-3

[dustinwc2000]

I own a 2012 S5 and I'm wondering if anyone else on this board has experienced the same issue I am getting when I accelerate from a dead stop and progress through gears 2 and 3. The car literally pauses for a second between each gear, almost as if all power was cut off, then it kicks into the gear but each time the odomoter bounces up and down while in this split second transition period. It isn't smooth at all and results in a somewhat jerky transition through the gears. I've taken into the dealership 3x now and even had an Audi specialist come out and look at it. He said that's just how this model runs, which to me seemed like a bs answer. Truth in engineering is their motto right? Anyways, wondering if anyone has noticed this same issue. It seems to only happen from a dead stop and the best way to describe the issue is a small hesitation between gears 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 where the odometer fluctuates up and down until the car finally seems to settle in that gear. Thoughts? Am I the only one experiencing this? I hope so because I am going to keep pushing Audi to fix the car because the experience is awful to date. FYI, I bought it CPO so they should have fixed this or at least been able to assuming this isn't some wierd quirk of how it was designed. Please help!

[Ancient_1]

I feel something similar in my 09. To me
I would describe it similar to the turbo lag you got on the older turbo cars.

[dustinwc2000]

It's not so much a lag, it's like the engine shuts off briefly for a half second and then turns back on again in the next gear. The RPMs also bounce up and down while in this transition period. It's odd. It's like the car doesn't know how to smoothly transition you into the next gear and it just feels jerky. I am going to take it back into the dealership again and see what they say. The odd thing is that I don't have this issue at all in Dynamic mode, only Comfort and Auto. And the car shifts smoothly when using the tip tronic controls.

[budman1]

My 2010 S5 tiptronic does the exact same thing.

The engine drops rpms (almost like it is hesitating) on the 1-2 and 2-3 gear changes if I accelerate in a normal or aggressive manner. If I apply very gentle throttle, the behavior is much less pronounced.

If I put the trans in Sport mode, the behavior totally disappears. Same thing when using the paddle shifters to 'manually shift'.

Very curious as to what your dealership is able to come up with. From what little research I have done online, it seems Audi considers this 'normal'.

[GKTS4]

Sounds like something specifically related to the automatic transmission. My 2012 is a 6spd and never has any sort of hesitation at any point regardless of gear.

Maybe check to see if there is an update available for the software controlling the tiptronic transmission?

[Workodactyl]

My 2010 S5 tiptronic does the exact same thing.

The engine drops rpms (almost like it is hesitating) on the 1-2 and 2-3 gear changes if I accelerate in a normal or aggressive manner. If I apply very gentle throttle, the behavior is much less pronounced.

If I put the trans in Sport mode, the behavior totally disappears. Same thing when using the paddle shifters to 'manually shift'.

Very curious as to what your dealership is able to come up with. From what little research I have done online, it seems Audi considers this 'normal'.

I have the exact same issue with mine and my research has also determined that this is normal. I've noticed that it's not so prevalent when the car heats up. Just kind of annoying when I'm at a busy intersection and I need the car to smoothly make the turn, I have to remember to drop it into sport or manual. Would love to learn more about this if anyone finds anything out.

Some weeks I just don't want to deal with it and leave it in sport all the time. Is this bad? Too much stress on the engine? Or can the car typically handle it.

I'll note that my A4 with the 8 speed had a similar issue that audi deemed 'normal' in traffic where the car would kind of buck and hesitate to find the gear at slow speeds. A mechanic said using a different tranny fluid would alleviate the situation. It worked a little bit, but the hesitation and bucking were still there. Can't remember if it was a more viscous fluid or less viscous.

Thanks!

[SLU_S5]

Pretty sure it's normal. Once tuned, your power band will feel much more linear.