Do I have a gearbox problem?

[heywood100]

Folks congrats on a superb forum and sorry that my first post is a question.

I have a 2005 A4 TD(red)I with a multitronic box. 100,000 miles with a full Audi service history. I love the car but it has recently developed some problems.

1. When cruising in 6th gear at 1,800 RPM the engine pulses from 1,800 to 2,000 and back repeatedly.

2. When taking off from a stop the car shudders / stutters as if it is losing traction. It feels like it is slipping in gear. This is worse when the car has been driven for about 20 minutes than when I start from cold in the morning.

3. When I put it in “D” there is a faint clicking that does as soon as I put it in “N”.

Does this sound like my transmission / box is the problem? God I hope not as I really cant afford gearbox work.

[heywood100]

Really appreciate if you can give me some input.

Thanks.

I have used the search function

[avata_jo]

My CVT box had similar issues, until it eventually concked out completely. I'd recommend that you take it to Audi and have somebody look at it... You dont want to get stuck in "Limp Home Mode" if your control unit does go.

You may be lucky and changing the gearbox oil might solve the issue.

[heywood100]

Audi said they "thought" it was my box but nothing came up on diagnostics.

This seemed very lame to me.

Should there be error codes?

Also doe you need a entirely new box or is there a most likely component that needs replacing?

I have already had the oil changed @ €22 per liter.

I feel I need to "help" the dealer help me not get ripped off as I really really cant afford it now. Redundancies in my house alas.

Thanks folks.

Finally, if it died completely would I still have limp home mode?

[avata_jo]

I can only tell you what has happened on my car - yours may be something completely different...

I had similar symptoms to what you are experiencing now, until one day I parked my car on a slight gradient. As there was a car parked in front of me, I had to reverse up the incline to get out of the parking spot... However, my car decided to go into Limp Home Mode which then caused the car not to have enough power to reverse! Eventually phoned Audi Roadside Assist... As luck would have it the problem reset itself and the car worked fine for another month before eventually the Gearbox Control Unit had to be replaced (although car would still work OK most of the time, the dashboard kept flashing at me)

Possibly try scanning through older threads and see if anything else is mentioned in the meantime, or consider going to an independant Gearbox Specialist...

[heywood100]

If I am not getting any dash lights flashing does that suggest anything at all?

Should I get some dash warning lights if it were a bad Gearbox Control Unit?

[blackandcream]

Wife just reported similar sounding problems (I'm away in Scotland) with A6 multitronic. It had a new ECU a couple of years ago thanks to the old water leak via the pollen filter drowning the electronics. However this time the carpet is dry and there's fluid of some kind under the car when parked. It's presently in a (non-franchised) garage awaiting diagnosis. Fingers crossed!

If you have worries about the ECU lift the carpet under the pasenger seat and check for water. Common cause. Otherwise, are you losing fluid and / or have you checked the levels in the transmission?

Good luck.