Hi. My 2000 4.2L A6 Tiptronic tranny will not engage in reverse. Driving forward is fine. No service lights or anything. Took it to a local shop and he said the piston pops out and is to blame. He said this is common. So now I'm faced with going new, rebuilt or as he suggests, taking this one apart, resetting the piston and putting it back together with new seals, kits et al. Have any of you encountered this problem? The car only has 67k miles on it and I've only had it a month so you can imagine how pissed I am. He quoted me $5k for a new tranny, or $2500 for the resetting of the piston. I'm really torn on what to do so any and all input is welcome. I'm too vested into this thing now and besides, it's a beautiful car aside from this issue. Since I bought it for $4k under book (no way the previous owner knew this was gonna happen) I'm just gonna have it fixed and hope I am good for many years

One other thing I should note is that I had 6 people in the car (at a wedding, giving a ride to their cars...short trip) the other day, reverse worked fine at this time still and since the control box is under the passenger seat, thinking someone kicked something. Again....any input.

Thanks in advance!

 

I had this same thing happen to my 2000 4.2 tiptronic. Your mechanic is correct. I had a new piston put in mine. It cost me $2500.00, but works perfectly now. A new transmission is just as likely to do the same thing, so I would suggest fixing yours. Good luck.

 

a NEW piston or reset piston? My guy is saying it can be reset.

 

So I noticed that if i drive for a while and let the car warm up, the reverse gear works at about 75%. WTF???? Can a tranny slip in one direction and not in another? I'm more baffled than before.

 

If you are talking about the pistons in the valve body, and the mechanic is going to change the valve body I hope, not just one piston. I suggest getting the fluid flushed first, if that after a few hundred miles doesn't help, then pay the 2500.00. Give the new fluid a chance to clean up the valve body. You might even consider adding AutoRx with a fluid change. If the valve is just sticking sometimes, there is still hope for a cheaper fix.

Jeff

 

Thanks Jeffla!! I'm surprised (with all the experience on these forums) that more people haven't chimed in. I'm assuming this isn't a common thing since this is the case.

Do you think perhaps the warming up period does in fact affect the piston? Or just coincidence?

 

Update....I just had the tranny rebuilt for $3900. While I've got reverse, I've notcied after only having the car for an hour that there seems to be a computer issue recalibrating. Maybe I'm describing it incorrectly but it does seem like some start-offs from a dead stop are perfect and others are very hesitant. Once, I even had my anti-slip light come on with the check engine light, only to shut off after a few yards.

Does anyone know if the computer does a re-calibration and will self-correct or should I take this back to the mechanic? Since they aren't Audi specific, I thought i'd ask you all first.

thanks!