2012 S4 transmission issues...

[ctl15]

I realize there's probably been a million threads about this, but I've read through a lot and still can't really find an answer to my question. I bought a 2012 s4 with 65k miles a few months ago. I had a mechanic look at it who said all was good. It wasn't until I drove it home (dealership was a few hours away) that I started to notice some jerkiness when quickly going from brakes to gas. After examining this I realized what seemed to be happening is the car is just shifting late whenever I come off the brakes and switch back to the gas quickly (i.e. slowing down for a stop sign w/o complete stop, slowing down for a roundabout, stop and go traffic). Anyways, I took the car in for it's 75k mile service a little early and had the transmission fluid changed in hopes that would help. Still getting the jerkiness though. So last week I tried a method I read online for doing a transmission readaption which was to turn the car accessories on and hold down the gas for 10 seconds or so. I wasn't sure if it did anything but oddly enough the next few days it seemed to drive much smoother. I honestly don't think this was placebo as even when I try to avoid the jerkiness it can be difficult sometimes and during the last week since I did this I had hardly gotten any until last night and then today. Now it seems to be about the same as it was before again frustratingly enough.

I hate to think I bought a car with a bad transmission cause I know it's gonna be a fortune for a new one. I was wondering if having a third party TCU upgrade might help the issue? I'm pretty sure the TCU software is up to date on my car currently since it's a 2012. It just seems that the response is delayed from 2-1 for some reason, but I don't want to waste $1k if it doesn't help and worse yet if the transmission junks out on me. Also is there any official way to reset the TCU without a VAGCOM? Any opinions on this? The shifting seems fine overall except at low speeds when going quickly from a stop to back on the gas again. I'm not sure if this is "normal" (in the sense that it's not working optimally but seen as normal behavior for this transmission) or if this is a clear cut sign the mechatronics unit is failing?

[cval3]

This is probably not 100% correct, but partly the delay you are experiencing is due to the fact that when you are slowing down, then back on the gas quickly you're essentially "tricking" the DCT. As you know it is a dual clutch, it is basically guessing (albeit very educatedly guessing) on what your next gear will be and spooling that up. So if you are slowing to a stop going 3-2-1 but but go 3-2-3, it had 1 all lined preparing for the stop and you've jammed on the gas. It needs a second or so to get 1st gear out of the way and get 3rd back up and running. Again probably not 100% the cause, but definitely a contributor.

[Johnnycash]

its totally possible there are issues with the transmission.

most states have 30 day waaranty on used cars, but it sounds like you are passed that timeframe, but some states are different?

for me being new to driving a dct/dsg, i found that there is a learning curve associated with some of the different behavior and quirks of it...

put the car into manual mode and drive it normally shifting whenever you like, but as you slow down or come to a stop, do the downshifts your self at the appropriate increments ie from 5th gear at 40-50 mph into 4 and from 4 into 3 at 30 or mph, and then down into 2nd at around 20 mph or so, and let the computer down shift into 1st as you come to a complete stop.

see how it behaves doing that for a while

my experience has been that abrupt stops seem to bring on the more unrefined characteristics of the dsg, but if you do so with more grace and or shift manually most of that goes away, that is my experience at least...

tldr bring the car to a audi dealer and let a tech drive it and replicate the issue and see whats up.

[TomPaul10]

I bought a 2010 S4 with 41K on clock ( 3 days ago) and i do experience a subtle jerkiness, exactly as explained in your post. Exact. same. thing. I do feel Its just how the DSG is, i can also manipulate the jerkiness to having no jerk at all by very softly accelerating after a quick stop, have appointment with dealer on thursday.

[IbisB8.5S4]

sounds like typical dsg behavior when going from brake to gas quickly... the way a dual clutch trans works is that it predicts what your next step is going to be and prepares that step with the next clutch... so when you decide to "trick" it and hit the gas quickly instead, it has to think for a second about what you're asking it to do... same thing happens if you're in neutral, hit the acceleration even a little bit, then shift in to D trying to take off quickly... the trans will have to think for a second and then go..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj1Vk7SE-TI

take a look at that video and the really important info come on from about 6 minutes.

[cspcrx]

I have a 2012 and when i first got the car i quickly realized it shifts very differently then most autos. I have since adapted to how it wants to be run and it happens much less and runs much smoother.

[IbisB8.5S4]

essentially it's not an auto... it's a manual transmission that's automatically controlled... we still have clutch plates instead of torque converters.

[blackfunk]

There's a TSB for exactly what you're describing. It has a MAJOR effect on the smoothness of what I initially thought was the 2-1 downshift but in reality its the 3-2 downshift where you encounter the issue. I just tried finding the TSB but in my case they couldn't initially reproduce the issue so when I went to show them what was happening they kept the car and did the update so it was never in the service records that I received (they had already closed the case then kept the car at the last min). I'll call them later to see if they can give it to me.

[Silverrotor]

I had the same symptoms as described by the OP. This is for a 2011 S4. I went to the dealership and they updated the software to my transmission. It disappeared from there. I honestly thought I was in for a mechtronic replacement but the software update corrected it.

[BlownOne]

This is normal from what you're saying...I posted a thread about a month ago asking similar questions because I also thought the tranny was giving up the ghost.

Will

[MrFunk]

There's a TSB for exactly what you're describing. It has a MAJOR effect on the smoothness of what I initially thought was the 2-1 downshift but in reality its the 3-2 downshift where you encounter the issue. I just tried finding the TSB but in my case they couldn't initially reproduce the issue so when I went to show them what was happening they kept the car and did the update so it was never in the service records that I received (they had already closed the case then kept the car at the last min). I'll call them later to see if they can give it to me.

I had the same symptoms as described by the OP. This is for a 2011 S4. I went to the dealership and they updated the software to my transmission. It disappeared from there. I honestly thought I was in for a mechtronic replacement but the software update corrected it.

Well these are promising for the OP! I'd start with this approach.

[ctl15]

I'll try taking it into the dealer. Was just hesitant cause didn't want to get charged a rip off price for them to look at it and tell me there's nothing they can do lol. I wasn't sure if the TSB applied to me since mine is 2012, but I suppose it's worth a try. The jerkiness was quite bad today and even a little jerky from a complete stop (i.e. red light) so I tried the transmission readaption via holding the gas in accessory mode and oddly enough it SEEMS to have gotten better again. It also seemed to be idling slightly higher so I don't think it's just in my head. It's still rough but it definitely drives better after doing it, however that makes me question why it would get jerky again in a week.

I understand the DSG transmission is a manual and not going to be completely smooth due to the car doing it's best to guess which gear to shift into, but the jerkiness I have been getting seems excessive imo. Makes the car more of a headache to drive sometimes which is really a bummer. After I tried this supposed readaption method last week (couldn't find anything for the s4, but other dsg transmissions all seem to follow the same protocol for the reset), it was 80% smoother and I actually really enjoyed my vehicle more than I have since first getting it. Lesson learned on not test driving a vehicle before buying haha, but trying to make the best of this now and get it sorted hopefully. Has anyone had any luck with smoother shifts after the APR (or other) TCU tune? This might be my next option if the dealer doesn't help.

[doughboy17]

Don't confuse a tranny adaptation with a throttle adaptation (that sounds more like what you are referring to).

Regardless, I do not have an S4, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I have a 3.2L A4 Tip and had a readaptation performed on the tranny. The shop told me to "drive it like a robbed a bank" for two weeks, so the tranny adapts properly to my style of driving (i.e. on the gas, off the gas, on the gas ... [hole shooting through traffic]).

[TomPaul10]

i understand the functionality of the DSG, but nonetheless I reported the symptoms to the dealer as i do only have 60 days of warranty and then its all me, I'm reporting every little thing before it ends ( DSG hesitation as explained up top, and "sport differential overheating" are things already popping up )