I got myself a massive upgradein the form ofan A3 a couple of months ago and just found this board. I've been lurking for a couple of weeks and have been through the newbie thread (thanks Chef!) and several months of back posts in search of some answers, but didn't see anything. My old car ( '01 Grand Prix GTP)was such a mechanical disaster that I'm probably a little oversensitive to some things, but there is some stuff about my A3 that I'm curious about. The dealer, of course, says "can't repro" or "normal" when I ask, but I've built up a healthy distrust of dealers.

I have a '07 3.2 (to avoid comments I saw in some other threads - yes, the 2.0T is awesome, but I wanteda normally aspirated engineafter my last car, and quattro didn't hurt my feelings any either ), just for baseline. I've got just shy of 4K miles nowand I drove it gently for the first 1200 I had it (took delivery witharound 300which was higher than I wanted, but I also wanted out of my old car before something exploded and it was this one or wait months to order one without OpenSky), so I'd expect things to be pretty broken in.

Does anyone see these things with their A3s, or is it just my overdeveloped fear of "OMG, what is going to break this week?":

- Little slow to start off, feels like the brakes are held for a brief moment or something else is holding up the power, making take off slower than expected, then a jerk, and then normal perf. If you ease off the brakes a little bit before the light changes, the effect is less or not present.
-Sometimes in second gear when I am slowing down, it feels like there is an extra shift thrown in there, even though it isn't actually changing gears. I get this in D and in the "manual" mode.
-Moving along in slow traffic (<= 5mph), it sometimes feels a little jerky, even when it is warmed up.
(sorry this is transmission heavy, I lost one and was nervous about the second at 50K miles before, so I'm sensitive I've always driven autos, and some of this may just be me not knowing what to expect from the DSG.)
-Out of curiosity, when I open the drivers door after the car has been parked a while (around 2 hours or so), there is a motor that runs briefly. Opening any other door does not cause the sound, just the driver's door. Any idea what that might be? I'm just curious on that one, I don't think it is actually a problem.

I appreciate any answers/opinions/etc anyone might have. Thanks!

 

I can't help you as I am still looking to buy, but I thought I would bump this....

 

Right, hope this helps


- Little slow to start off, feels like the brakes are held for a brief moment or something else is holding up the power, making take off slower than expected, then a jerk, and then normal perf. If you ease off the brakes a little bit before the light changes, the effect is less or not present. Do you have hill hold on the car? it may be this, but mine has to increase the revs a bit before it takes off. You notice it more in reverse if reversing up hill slightly
-Sometimes in second gear when I am slowing down, it feels like there is an extra shift thrown in there, even though it isn't actually changing gears. I get this in D and in the "manual" mode. Not sure, the DSG box can get confused if you were changing up and suddenly change down as the 2nd cluthc is thinking I am going from 2 to 3 not 2 to 1
-Moving along in slow traffic (<= 5mph), it sometimes feels a little jerky, even when it is warmed up.
(sorry this is transmission heavy, I lost one and was nervous about the second at 50K miles before, so I'm sensitive I've always driven autos, and some of this may just be me not knowing what to expect from the DSG.) Not sure, but at low speeds the brake and throttle are very sensitive on mine
-Out of curiosity, when I open the drivers door after the car has been parked a while (around 2 hours or so), there is a motor that runs briefly. Opening any other door does not cause the sound, just the driver's door. Any idea what that might be? I'm just curious on that one, I don't think it is actually a problem. This is easy :-) that is the fuel pump priming the engine for speedy take offf - Warning if you ever stick diesel in it (heavens forbid) DON'T OPEN THE DRIVERS DOOR. Disconnect battery and call a mechanic so it doesn't get into the engine

What I would say is that the 3.2 is an awesome car and I love mine. I like the fact that it is a wolf in sheeps clothing and most people have no idea what you are driving and the 3.2 with Quattro means you are just that little bit safer in bad weather.

Drive, enjoy and don't worry. [sm=groupwave.gif]

 

- Little slow to start off

I just got a 2006 3.2 Quattro with DSG and wondring the same thing.

 

[quote]ORIGINAL: jasaudi

Do you have hill hold on the car? it may be this, but mine has to increase the revs a bit before it takes off. You notice it more in reverse if reversing up hill slightly
I do have hill hold, which is super helpful on some of the hills in Seattle. More revs does help with takeoff, as does letting it roll very slowly while the light is about to change from red to green. I guess I expected the hill hold not to be holding on flat ground, and I didn't want to just jam on the gas to overcome the issue until I understood it more (and because it is not the smoothest takeoff ever either).

Not sure, the DSG box can get confused if you were changing up and suddenly change down as the 2nd cluthc is thinking I am going from 2 to 3 not 2 to 1
Its not really changing gears at the time, seems to happen mostly when coming up on stopped traffic so my foot is all or mostly all of the way off the gas. The car gives a little bump like it is downshifting, but doesn't actually do so, and there weren't any shifts around then.

Not sure, but at low speeds the brake and throttle are very sensitive on mine
Ahh, a sensitive throttle and brake could explain it. Now that you mention it, it is throttle by wire and not a physical linkage on the A3, isn't it? Could be a problem with discrete values not being quite fine enough or maybe it is just that I haven't developed the needed delicate touch with my right foot. Given that approximately 60% of my body weight appears to be concentrated in my right foot, I'll just have to work on it.Genetic disorder, you know.


This is easy :-) that is the fuel pump priming the engine for speedy take offf - Warning if you ever stick diesel in it (heavens forbid) DON'T OPEN THE DRIVERS DOOR. Disconnect battery and call a mechanic so it doesn't get into the engine
Wow, really? That is awesomly cool. Now that you say it (duh), I always wait a minute after turning the key to Run before going to start becausemy old car made a similar sound when you turned it on. The logic being that if things are going to run, best to let them finish before cranking interrupts the power. I figured the Audi was just quieter, but probably not a bad idea to give things aminute to power up anyway.
Good thing the battery is in the back on the 3.2, I'm not sure how easy thehood latch would be to get to with the driver's door closed.

What I would say is that the 3.2 is an awesome car and I love mine. I like the fact that it is a wolf in sheeps clothing and most people have no idea what you are driving and the 3.2 with Quattro means you are just that little bit safer in bad weather.
I agree completely. There are not many cars that are as quick and fun to drivebut are still useful when you get to the hardware store to load stuff in. Quattro is good on some of the long sweeping on-ramps around here too. Just when you think it might start to understeer. . .ooops, no it didn't. The combination of practicality and fun is what reallymade me fall in love with the A3. There really isn't anything comparable on the market when you factor in interior quality and all the other touches. Thanks for the helpful response! Its good to know that at least most of the stuff isn't unique to my car, really sets my mind at ease.

/quote]

 

The power/breaking problem seen similar to mine. I have taking to the shop once for this, but of course it did not happen to them, thus i felt like they brushed me off as crazy. There are a couple of instances where this happens more frequently. I will be at a stop sign on a hill, (San Francisco hills are STEEP), foot on break, but then releasing to ease up. The car makes a clunking sound, a little jolt. It feels like I have lost power. The breaks feel like they are not working. I usually panic, and step on the gas, and the car peels forward. Another time is backing out of the driveway, with a very slight incline. If I have breaked, the car will do the clunking sound, jolt, as though power is lost, again the brake has a strange feel to it, then as quickly as this starts, it comes out of it and then drives fine. This scares me too much, and I think it could cause an accident. One more not to all this is we were on a road trip, had just gotten the premium gas about 50 miles back, when the car starting loosing power and sputtering. We stayed in Phoenix overnight and took the car in the next morning. We though possibly bad gas, but then the computer showed we had run out. At the time we had filled up, we still had over 1/4th tank left. The problem went away and has not happened since. I'm not sure what "hill hold" is, and if this problem is related. I have the 2007, Audi A3 2.0 automatic.
Is this normal performance for this car? I love my A3, but find myself avoiding certain instances that will trigger the problem. No fun if I have to be so paranoid. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

Hey, welcome to the forums! I hope you're enjoying your new A3! I also came from a GM ('01 Chevy Blazer, just shy of 100k miles) so I definitely know that constant fear of something breaking! That said, my A3 has been an absolute joy.

I haven't experienced the problem with the slow start, but I've got the 2.0T so my experience probably is not relevent on this one.

I have also felt the "extra shift" when decelerating, particularly in 2nd gear or when shifting down to 1st. I think this is just the motor "rev matching" for the shift. The DSG definitely has its quirks, and when I first got mine I has hyper-sensitive to anything it did. Now, after 6k miles, it's just second nature and I don't even notice it. I had a passenger ride with me last week who commented that it felt funny slowing down, I guess I'm just used to it.

Mine also feels a bit jerky in slow traffic, especially when I've just come from cruising speed on the highway. Again, I tihnk it's just a quirk of the DSG. The ECU tends to learn your habits, and I think if you're travelling at a high speed for a while or if you tend to accelerate quickly, then you get stuck in slow traffic, it throws the DSG for a loop. It's expecting you to do something else.

Drivers door issue, definitely the fuel pump, as stated by jasaudi. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if the 3.2 uses direct injection?

Hope you enjoy your car, and try not to worry too much about the quirks of the DSG. Soon you won't even notice it!

 

3.2 not FSI system(direct inject) in the 3.2 andmost 2.0 models have the break assist this is for all DSG systems. This is why you get that odd power loss feeling. You need to train yourself to slowly push on your breaks and leave your foot there when at a stop if you come of quickly then back on it engages it. I hated it at first becasue of the noise but it comes in great going up hills in traffic. The thump is the breaks releasing quickly.
Everyone is right about the fuel pump and the drivers door.
Regarding the jerking on the 3.2 it's not just a DSG thing a friends R32 does the same thing in first gear. After talking with Neuspeed and APR and EFI we found out that its normal for that engine do to its torque at low RPM's. So don't worry about it the DSG will learn eventually and in traffic you wont have to hit the gas just let off the break and the torque will pull you forward to about 5 mph.
Regardign the DSG transmission DO NOT WORRY about it. It is very much proven over the past few years and the amount of racing it was used in and still used in with Audi. Probably there best transmission ever.(except the new dry clutch coming for 2009)

 

Thank you both for responding to my post. I guess I should just practice on the hills when there is not the stress of another car behind me. It's nice to know that there is nothing wrong with the car. I had read also about the reversing on a hill. Today I was trying to parallel park on a hill going down. When I moved up to the car to start backing up, I put the car in reverse, when I took my foot off the break, it started going forward instead of back. I guess it wanted some gas before I was ready. These are some things I will need to get used to.
What is the fuel pump and door problem people are referring to? I have bluetooth, and when shut the ignition off and go to open the driver side door, loud crackling static come through the speaker, that has something to do with the door opening, and the bluetooth disconnecting. I had the service man check it, but of course it did not happen to him. He thought possibly my phone was not 100% compatible with the Audi bluetooth.
Thanks again for the tip!

 

The fuel pump/driver's door issue people are referring to is not really a problem, but it seems odd the first time you hear it. When you open the driver's door (when the car is parked and off) the fuel pump runs for a second to prime the system, assuming that you are about to start the car. Someone noted that if you accidently put diesel in your car, you should not open the driver's door because it will fill the system with diesel fuel. Much easier/cheaper to drain the tank than to have to flush your entire fuel system!

Yes, if you try to reverse up a hill the car will roll forward a bit at first. Be careful when parking on a hill. I've trained myself to brake with the left foot while shifting to R so my right foot is on the gas, ready to give the car some throttle as soon as I let off the brake. Minor quirk, but it could turn into a headache if you are parallel parking so watch out.

Not sure about the Bluetooth issue, since my car is not equipped with Bluetooth. I would assume it is either the car disconnecting from the phone as it senses you are exiting, or possibly the radio shutting off. I assume the Bluetooth connection uses the same speakers the radio uses?