Does anyone have an s-tronic ultra without problems?

[robes401]

Having ordered an s line s-tronic ultra avant I just wanted to check that there were some owners who've not had any problems with the gearbox!

Obviously you're going to get more reports of problems here as that's what the forum's for, but hoping that there are more happy s-tronic owners than ones with problems?! :-)

Rob


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[ha5smu]

Love my s tronic gearbox. Really smooth

[mattyholloway]

All good with mine! 5000 miles on the clock and couldn't be happier. Maybe I shouldn't of posted this the day before I've got to drive from Southampton to Huddersfield and back again!! Sorry to those who are experiencing problems with theirs.


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[rickerby]

Having ordered an s line s-tronic ultra avant I just wanted to check that there were some owners who've not had any problems with the gearbox!

Obviously you're going to get more reports of problems here as that's what the forum's for, but hoping that there are more happy s-tronic owners than ones with problems?! :-)

Rob


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Mines absolutely fine. Very smooth, seamless and responsive. Really suits the car. Lets keep things in perspective here, we have only had two reported problems. The old multitronic wasn't exactly a paragon of reliability!

[robes401]

Excellent. Thanks for the replies. Great to hear people enjoying the engine/gearbox combo! Looking forward to mine, but still got 3 months to wait!


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[fest0r]

Just to confirm, is the Ultra’s S-Tronic in someway different to the 3.0L S-Tronic?

[ha5smu]

Yes. A new one was developed for the ultra.

[chiefbadger]

Mine seems absolutely fine. Incredibly smooth changes and really suits the car. It is a bit slow witted when pulling away - i.e out of a junction, roundabout etc, in that it seems to creep for half a second and then suddenly feed the power in. You can work around it with a bit of an early prod on the throttle, but it's one of the few traits that is starting to bug me a bit.


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[blair77]

I have to say I was very impressed with how smooth and quiet the engine/box was. And the rest is history as they say :p

[mina08]

All good best auto box i have used, just make sure the oil is changed when it should be


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[phope74]

No problems here :)

[GARD99]

^^^ ditto :)


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[belly buster]

It is a bit slow witted when pulling away - i.e out of a junction, roundabout etc, in that it seems to creep for half a second and then suddenly feed the power in. You can work around it with a bit of an early prod on the throttle, but it's one of the few traits that is starting to bug me a bit.


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TBH that is the same on the 3.0 as well. Pretty much a combo of the auto gearbox and turbo lag. Just use launch control for a quick getaway (j/k).

[ukgroucho]

Mine seems absolutely fine. Incredibly smooth changes and really suits the car. It is a bit slow witted when pulling away - i.e out of a junction, roundabout etc, in that it seems to creep for half a second and then suddenly feed the power in. You can work around it with a bit of an early prod on the throttle, but it's one of the few traits that is starting to bug me a bit.


This is most likely turbo lag... until the turbo spools up and gets some boost going there is relatively little torque so the gearbox has little to play with (effectively you're starting to pull away, for that first half second, in a "non-turbo diesel"). With a single turbo it has to be a jack of all trades, small enough to spool up pretty quick at low RPM (and low exhaust gas flow rates) but big enough to push enough air to force induction at higher RPMs.
If you get the lap timer enabled (you need to enable the engineering menu in the MMI and then you can switch it on) then you can see the boost behaviour.

As you note an early prod of throttle - or hold the brake and a tiny bit of throttle, like slipping the clutch - will get some revs up and allow the turbo to create boost.

[ukgroucho]

TBH that is the same on the 3.0 as well. Pretty much a combo of the auto gearbox and turbo lag. Just use launch control for a quick getaway (j/k).
BiTdi is a bit better 'cos of the smaller first stage turbo - but there is still some lag. When I did my 0 - 60 mph 'tests' with Dynolicious running on iPhone (separate post here) the difference between a nothing to foot on floor takeoff and a "hold it at 2800 RPM with the brake on" launch was a good half a second. Some of that improvement was loosing the first stage turbo lag (the hesitant start), some was that the second turbo was also spooled up so torque and power were available in abundance.

[chiefbadger]

This is most likely turbo lag... until the turbo spools up and gets some boost going there is relatively little torque so the gearbox has little to play with (effectively you're starting to pull away, for that first half second, in a "non-turbo diesel"). With a single turbo it has to be a jack of all trades, small enough to spool up pretty quick at low RPM (and low exhaust gas flow rates) but big enough to push enough air to force induction at higher RPMs.
If you get the lap timer enabled (you need to enable the engineering menu in the MMI and then you can switch it on) then you can see the boost behaviour.

As you note an early prod of throttle - or hold the brake and a tiny bit of throttle, like slipping the clutch - will get some revs up and allow the turbo to create boost.

Interesting. I hadn't even considered that tbh as just so used to driving n/a petrol engined cars previously. I'm getting used to it now, just been caught a little short a few times! Hence my other questions about remap/chips in another thread.

I think the bottom line is that as soon as space is less of an issue in a few years, I'll be back to petrol. Hopefully the new S4 will be a corker!


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[ukgroucho]

You won't need to go back to petrol - pretty soon.

Audi understand the issue (as do BMW and others). Audi have been prototyping "e-boost" in a "maybe to be released" RS5 BiTdi and also A6 BiTdi (although reports seem to indicate the Q7 will be first to see this technology in production).
Basically the first stage turbo is primed by an electric blower that can spool up instantly - irrespective of exhaust gas flow. Performance off the line is, apparently "neck snapping".
Here is a test of the proto RS5 BiTdi Audi RS5 V6 TDI-e prototype first drive Review | Autocar (http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/audi/a5/first-drives/audi-rs5-v6-tdi-e-prototype-first-drive-review)
Whether it is a Bi-TURBO (or Tri-Turbo) is a matter of some debate as technically the first stage blower is an electric supercharger - but supercharging the S4 still did not stop Audi putting a 3.0T logo on the side of it - although there is some conjecture that this was 'cos the marketing guys had to complete the aesthetics before the engineers had finalised if they wanted to go with a turbocharged derivative or the supercharger. I've driven my brothers S4 a bit and can confirm that having that boost available from the get go makes a lot of difference... once my BiTdi gets going there is nothing in it, in fact the BiTdi may be quicker accelerating through some parts of the rev range 'cos it has more torque.

I saw one side by side road test with an A6 BiTdi and a proto A6 BiTdi where the first stage was an electric turbo not (e-boost). In a side by side 0 - 30 the e-boost car was a couple of car lengths ahead. Seems that that was not the ideal solution because of inertia issues in the turbos so e-boost is the next development

[rickerby]

Mine seems absolutely fine. Incredibly smooth changes and really suits the car. It is a bit slow witted when pulling away - i.e out of a junction, roundabout etc, in that it seems to creep for half a second and then suddenly feed the power in. You can work around it with a bit of an early prod on the throttle, but it's one of the few traits that is starting to bug me a bit.


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Cant say I've noticed this

[wja96]

BiTdi is a bit better 'cos of the smaller first stage turbo - but there is still some lag. When I did my 0 - 60 mph 'tests' with Dynolicious running on iPhone (separate post here) the difference between a nothing to foot on floor takeoff and a "hold it at 2800 RPM with the brake on" launch was a good half a second. Some of that improvement was loosing the first stage turbo lag (the hesitant start), some was that the second turbo was also spooled up so torque and power were available in abundance.

The BiTDi is a COMPLETELY different gearbox. It's an old-school torque converter gearbox and there are absolutely zero reports of issues with it in any application (Q7, Touareg, Cayenne with 3.0 and 4.2 litre Diesel engineS or the SQ5, A6, A7 and A8 BiTDi models.

S-tronic is Audi's name for DSG which is rapidly becoming a by-word for duff. The original six-speed S-tronics have about a 15% failure rate in either the clutch packs or the hydraulic valve controller (commonly referred to as mechatronic unit). I wouldn't touch the 6-speed cars with a barge pole. The 7-speed unit in the 3.0TDis is a very good unit, first introduced on the TT-RS, and there are very few problems associated with it.

the fact that within weeks of launch of the Ultra we have 2 separate reports of issues and a spares backlog from the factory says to me that the Ultra gearbox is failing in numbers and they can't keep up with the replacements. Watch this space!

[wja96]

Cant say I've noticed this

Exactly! The car with the pull-away delay is suffering from a mechatronic issue and it should be repaired.

[Nemo78]

Can't say I've noticed anything wrong with the box in the ultra?

It is slightly different to the S-Tronic in the S5 but otherwise it's fine (touch wood)

Which cars had the 6spd S-Tronic boxes?

[jpdw01]

I read the title and thought 'oh no, is there a recall or something'. Had my Ultra S-Tronic now for almost 8 weeks. No complaint about the gearbox (or anything else either). Only got a couple of thousand on the clock so far yet though. Gear box is so smooth... and to think I originally was looking for a manual....

[harrison87]

had my Ultra for around 6 weeks now and can only say 1 thing- I Love it!!!

[Johnny31]

Except BiTDi does not have S-Tronic... But the issue can still be many other things...

[Herbie1213]

wja96 you are correct in what you state. I have an A7 with 7 speed gear box which is just in the process of being replaced (See A7 transmission noise). Audi have stated that this type of gear box rarely gives any trouble. However the 6 speed version was a different issue. My previous Audi was an allroad and that always suffered a slight hesitation when pulling off quickly was a product of a heavy car, turbo lag and torque convertor losses.

[wja96]

The DSG/S-tronic is basically a normal manual gearbox (or even two manual gearboxes) where the gearboxes pushes the clutch in for you. There should be no delay in stepping off (my colleague has a 204PS allroad and it's very quick and smooth from a standstill). There is a known issue with the mechatronic units in the older 6-speed gearbox and low torque 7-speed box in small cars) not releasing the clutch properly and it causes a delay and jerkiness. I'm not aware of any issues with the newer 7-speed gearboxes for larger cars.

And the 8-speed gearbox in the BiTDi is totally different.

What is the one in the Ultra? 6 or 7 speed?

[robes401]

The Ultra is a 7 speed...

[wja96]

The Ultra is a 7 speed...

It looks to be the same DQ250 as the 3.0l cars so at least once they get the problems sorted it'll be reliable again.

Probably a duff batch of components or something. Remember the 1.8T ignition coils?

[chiefbadger]

I don't think the delay is from the gearbox in the Ultra. I think it's down to turbo lag or simply the engine management system limiting torque. The car pulls away, it just has very little power for half a second or so.

[fest0r]

Just to confirm, is the Ultra’s S-Tronic in someway different to the 3.0L S-Tronic?


Yes. A new one was developed for the ultra.


It looks to be the same DQ250 as the 3.0l cars so at least once they get the problems sorted it'll be reliable again.

:confused:

[wja96]

:confused:

Indeed. All the info I can find would indicate it's fundamentally the same gearbox with a MUCH longer final gear.

[andrewlerigo]

Had mine since 16/5/14 done 2500 miles and had no problems with S Tronic gearbox at all.

[ha5smu]

Done 5000 in mind with no issues

[cooperme]

I've got 3k miles on my 2 litre TDi S-Tronic gearbox'd Ultra Black edition avant (20inch alloys with s-line suspension). Never owned an auto before but I'm converted. Gearbox is supremely smooth - the car is a world apart (much better than) from my previous 2012 C7 2 litre Tdi (177) s-line avant on standard 18 inch alloys in terms of ride quality. In 'drive' with the drive select set to 'auto' it's very smooth although sometimes not quite as responsive as i'd like BUT this is completely solved by dropping it into 'sport'; it's just so ridiculously simple and enjoyable to drive by doing this. The manual flappy paddles also work very well. I haven't fully explored the drive select settings yet though (not really needed to).

I've noticed once or twice a bit of lag when pulling off a roundabout in 'drive', but this is first thing in the morning when the engine is cold so I really can't blame it. It would have been the same in the manual diesel when it was cold.

Fuel economy is better already than the old 177 TDi that was only really coming into its sweet spot after 50-60k miles, which is really impressive.