Clutch A not adapting after Clutch Adaptation Reset

[aartr]

Hi all,

After performing some major ignition related work on my '08 B7 A4 the engine is back to normal but I noticed RPM slipping when going up a hill at highway speeds. I ran a gearbox adaptation reset which seems to have resolved the issue, and I'm not experiencing any problems at the moment. However, when checking the adaptions I'm noticing that Clutch A refuses to adapt, even after driving both highway and surface streets for ~250 miles and all other clutches are looking dandy.

I'm just checking in here for advice on how to go about this. Should I try resetting the adaptations and going through the Adaption Drive Sequence in the VCDS article again or just leave this as-is, as I'm not experiencing any issues? I'm also considering doing a transmission fluid service as I'm not sure when the last one happened.

[Cyrik]

What kind of work did you do on the car? Anything involving the transmission?

I've never had to do a clutch adaptation on the auto trans due to slippage. Sometimes when it's cold out and I first start it and drive down the road sometimes it'll slip a bit more than normal but when warmed up there's virtually no slippage. The car should handle any sort of adaptation with clutch values automatically but I'll admit I don't know too much about the subject.

How many miles on the car? Trans fluid service could possibly help... Not to jump to conclusions but if your car is slipping when fully warmed up your torque converter might be toast...

[aartr]

What kind of work did you do on the car? Anything involving the transmission?

I've never had to do a clutch adaptation on the auto trans due to slippage. Sometimes when it's cold out and I first start it and drive down the road sometimes it'll slip a bit more than normal but when warmed up there's virtually no slippage.

How many miles on the car? Not to jump to conclusions but your torque converter might be toast...

She's around 130k miles now. I had misfires and cold start issues so I ran a full carbon cleaning, installed remanufactured injectors and replaced the spark plugs + coils and got the car back to running at full power again. I think the increase in available power caused me to notice RPM oscillating up and down from 3000 to ~2800 RPM when accelerating under load at highway speeds. After the gearbox reset I haven't seen the issue again.

I also live up quite a steep hill and at slower speeds and high power I haven't had this issue. It only happened in high gears at highway speeds, so I'm not entirely sure it's the TC.

[Cyrik]

It only happened in high gears at highway speeds, so I'm not entirely sure it's the TC.

That's a totally fair assumption, fair enough. Again not trying to jump to conclusions. I just know that when the car starts slipping like crazy it's the TC. I also have RPM's bouncing up and down (~200 RPM) but only when trying to maintain speed and if the trans is still cold (if I'm not mistaken it's due to a possible mis-calibration from factory and only became noticeable as the platform aged).

If you're unsure when the last trans service as done (if done at all) it definitely wouldn't hurt to try and see if things improve. In most cases this service helps with rough shifting but could help alleviate some of the minor problems you're having with a small amount of slipping. You can use Redline fluid or the OEM ZF Lifeguard fluid. As always look up a guide for it. Good luck!

[aartr]

That's a totally fair assumption, fair enough. Again not trying to jump to conclusions. I just know that when the car starts slipping like crazy it's the TC. I also have RPM's bouncing up and down (~200 RPM) but only when trying to maintain speed and if the trans is still cold (if I'm not mistaken it's due to a possible mis-calibration from factory and only became noticeable as the platform aged).

If you're unsure when the last trans service as done (if done at all) it definitely wouldn't hurt to try and see if things improve. In most cases this service helps with rough shifting but could help alleviate some of the minor problems you're having with a small amount of slipping. You can use Redline fluid or the OEM ZF Lifeguard fluid. As always look up a guide for it. Good luck!

Appreciate it! I think I'm gonna get a transmission service done. I'm slightly worried about the 073 measuring block. Going to be honest and say that I don't understand too much about the gearbox, but the clutch A numbers look off compared to others here.

[Cyrik]

Let me get back to you on this and I'll post my block values 73-77 so we can compare. I had my trans service done for a second time around 10-15k miles ago (about 160k on the car now). Note I tuned my car last week so the car has only had about that much time to adapt.

[aartr]

Thank you so much! Really nice of you to take the time.

I just dropped the car at a transmission shop for a fluid service and explained the clutch adaptation situation. They’re gonna take a look as well and I’ll let you know what happens.

[Cyrik]

Here are my values (much different from the looks of it) went for a drive earlier for some lunch so this is operating temp (not sure if it matters at all)

[aartr]

Just got the car back from the transmission fluid service. Reset the adaptations and drove around for ~45 minutes. Again all but the A clutch received 3/4 adaptations. The shop didn't notice anything strange and said things were looking/feeling good when they test drove it.

I'm guessing I'll just have to wait a bit longer and see if the adaptation will happen after more miles driven

[Older_not_Wiser]

It could also be that Clutch A is working perfectly and there is no reason for the TCU to initiate an adaptation.

[aartr]

It could also be that Clutch A is working perfectly and there is no reason for the TCU to initiate an adaptation.

Interesting! I've driven the car a few hundred more miles and still no adaptation for clutch A. The car is shifting well and I saw the Quick charge time value for clutch A change from 0 to 12ms, so at least it's doing something. I'll just forget about the adaptations and enjoy the car working just fine.

[aartr]

A quick follow up: I've just gotten back from a 1000+ mile roadtrip and the car has finally gotten some adaptations on clutch A! Just took a lot of mountain driving apparently