Yet another Multitronic nightmare begins...

[Aeronautical]

Hello

Having spent many hours trawling the forum and engaging with 2 gearbox specialists it still seems that no 2 Multitronic problems are alike.

My wife's A4 Cab ('53) 1.8T Sport (47K) is showing a number of transmission faults which appear to be getting worse, and quickly. Initially it was a slight jerk when pulling away (between 1st and 2nd) - almost imperceptible unless you were looking for it. The jerk has now become more noticeable, particularly so if the engine is under additional load (hill-start, wheels turned etc). There is also some engine rev fluctuation when at constant speed.

I took the car to a gearbox specialist and we went for a test drive. He diagnosed a clutch issue and recommended the 6 to 7 plate conversion (£1000+VAT which includes an ECU reset at an Audi main dealer) which he felt would cure everything.

There are no other symptoms, no warning lights on the dash and the gearbox oil was changed at 34K.

I am nervous about throwing good money after bad on a 7 year old car. Apologies for yet another Multitronic thread but I haven't found any posts that report the same gearbox faults I have outlined above.

[phil miller]

just a thought but is the carpet damp inside? at work we had a passat that done exactly the same thing and the gearbox ECU was wet, one new ECU and a recode by the dealer and it was all sorted, iirc the ECU was £650

[Aeronautical]

Phil

Thanks for the quick response. I have never noticed any dampness on the front carpets. I thought that ECU faults usually gave some indication by illuminating the transmission lights on the dash but I could be well off the mark.

[phil miller]

they dont always put the box light on the dash, there is about 6in of sound proofing between the carpet and the floor pan so you may not notice it right away

[Aeronautical]

An update. The car has been in Express Gearboxes since Friday. Latest diagnosis is that there may be damage to the drive chain. Likely to entail fitting a re-conditioned gearbox (~£2000 + VAT). Does this sound about? How often do the drive chains fail at 45K?

[Audidua]

I have 1.9tdi 2003 and had been at the mechanic for a 3 times in a last 1.5 year. At first they changed clutch plates and upgrade them from 6 to 7 and it was all right for 3 months when jerking started again. After that I went to mechanic again and I dont know what he did but 6 months after was fine and again started to jerk. My last visit to that garage was on 15th of July this year and the drive chain is changed and some big part with those conus plates where the chain is and gear sprockets and of course the gearbox oil. All of that is done within 35 000 km, and today I'm experiencing the same thing you are, car vibrates on take off and when I'm cruising on constant speed about 70-80km/h with rev counter on 1400 rpm it oscillates for 100 rpm every 2-3 secs even I'm holding a gas pedal with same intensity. Now I dont know what should I do? I payed about 1500€ by now to get it fixed but it seems thats not enough.

[manners1982]

Does anyone know at which point did Audi upgrade their multitronic gearboxes from a 6 plate to a 7 plate clutch system to prevent this problem?

[Audidua]

I think new system is built in A4 B8 and new A6 from year 2005 but dont take my word, not sure about it.

[Aeronautical]

Update #2. I have authorised the garage to crack on with re-conditioning the gearbox. Quote is £2496 (inc VAT) which I guess is a lot less than a new gearbox from Audi. Does such a radical repair mean that I am going to be free from these gearbox woes or should I shift the sucker as quickly as I can??

[Aeronautical]

Update #3. Well the garage reports all is fixed and the car is ready for collection. Pick it up tomorrow morning after parting with £2.5K for the privilege. Guess I will never know what work has actually been done.........