I have a 2001 A4 1.8T AWM,about 5 or 6 months ago,the car started to jerk when trying to shift into 4th gear.

I changed the Transmission control module once,being my mechanic at the time,claimed it was bad after trying to communicate with it via his scan tool with no success.

The car would not drive very fast at all,before i changed the TCM,it was very slow to pick up speed on my way to my mechanic,so he told me it was shot and i needed another one.

I don't know why it died,the position of the TCM is under the passenger side floor,which suffered from no water leakage that is the normal cause for a TCM to fail.

Anywho..so i found a replacement on ebay for 195.00 which worked after he installed it,no issues from then on.

About 3 month later,the jerking started,when trying to shift into 4th gear in my Automatic tiptronic 2001 A4 1.8T.

When i put the gear in drive,it shifts fine in 1st,2nd,3rd but when trying to shift to 4th,the car gives a slight jerk and the transmission kicks back down to 3rd gear,i can see the gear shift back down on the screen.

when the TCM tries to tell the tranny to go to 4th gear,it attemps to go into the gear but for some reason it can't so it goes in to limp mode somtimes,at which i would see the screen with all the gears light up,then i can't even drive the car,the rpms just reves up and i won't move forward,so at this point i would have to pull over to the side of the road and turn off the car and back on again to reset the car's ecu computer,then i can drive it fine.

At other times,it won't go into limp mode,it'll just kick back down to 3rd and i'll be able to keep driving,it just depends on what she feels like doing at any given time or perhaps it depends on how fast i am going?

So to avoid all this bull spit,i drive her in tiptronic mode,i tip the shift up 3 times and don't even bother with 4th gear,when slowing down in 3rd gear,the tranny kicks down normally as it should,from 3 to 2 and 1 at a complete stop.

I took her to the dealership where i bought her not even a year ago,feb 2010 is when i bought her,they are working with me though. The guy told me to bring it in and i did today and dropped it off,saturday they are going to have the same mechanic that i had change the TCM months ago look at it,he is a russian guy that knows a **** load about Audi's and works on them all the time and i am not worried about him trying to rip me off,he helped me out a few times.

One of the owners of the dealership was driving me back to my other car a1997 vw jetta and was telling me,he doesn't think its a tranny issue but a electrical issue but he said don't quote him on it,he isn't a mechanic but he said if it was a tranny issue,he knows a guy that will rebuild it for 1500.00!! aswsome price! he said the guy rebuild 2 cars for him and they work to this day,so i'm all set if need be.

So the hardest part of all this trying to diagnose what actually wrong with her,once i find out,i'll take care of her,i made a promise to my baby that i would'nt let her stay cripple.

 

anyone have an theory as to why and what is happening to my poor B5?

 

transmissions are pretty complicated things.

drop one under an Audi and it gets even more complicated. I'm inclined to agree with the dealership owner that told you it sounds like an "electrical issue".

let us know how it turns out

 

I'll do that,once i know,the forum will know.

 

Seems like (by the # of threads I'm seeing lately) that these tips really are garbage transmissions. Good luck to you.

 

The autos and the tips are garbage... but keep in mind that most people on here are here to complain about problems. They are not AS bad as it might seem from a forum. But they're still slushboxes.

OP, paying $1500 for a tranny rebuild is a bad option. Buy a used, working one or buy an already rebuilt one that was done by a REPUTABLE VAG shop or just buy a new one... ECS may have 'em. I know they have (or have had) the manuals at least. Other similar companies may carry them.

I do not trust many people with transmission rebuilds.

 

Thanks for the feedback dragonrage....however i have been told by many people over that past few months on the pros and cons of rebuilding a tranny,replacing a tranny with a used one or replacing with a already remanufactured tranny.

I would have to say that if my issue is indeed a tranny issue,i would prefer a rebuild,opposed to a used replacement,being that if i go to the junk yard and find another 10 year old 2001 A4 1.8T automatic tip tranny,who's to say i won't be back in the same situation i'm in now within a week or a month or a year?

Rebuilding my own tranny is the best option,being i know what i got,no need to second guess a tranny from a junk yard,i'll know all the parts within my tranny are rebuild and won't fail for another 10 years or so.

I also am concerned about the amount of money an already rebuilt transmission would cost,i've gotten quotes upwards of 4k,5k,6k is crazy!!

I am still not certain if it is the tranny that is causing the problem,it doesn't even feel like slippage,the tranny is kicking down,not slipping like my 1997 vw jetta does,when i fist drive her for the day, she slipps and i have to let off the gas until she grabbs the gear as to not have the jetta jerk violently but after i drive the jetta for say...10 minutes or so.

She never slips from then on,may need to change and replace tranny flulid in her,it did that when i first bought her but then i got more tranny fluid put in her,she never did it again until the last 6 months it started to slip when i first start to drive her,then she would not slip once the fluid gets hot or circlates?

I dunno...back to my 2001 A4 I will let you fellas know the verdict,when i get her looked at saturday. ^_^

 

4k?!

There's always a manual swap...

 

Nah...I don't want a Frankienaudi

 

Frankenaudi would be your best bet... The TIPS are just weak and it doesnt help that Audi tells people that it's lifetime fluid so they don't bother to replace the fluid at all....A 5pd swap will run you about 1500 if you shop around and DIY if not it's going to be expensive either way you go.....In my opinion if it is indeed the tranny and you don't want to pay the bill for a rebuild just get rid of it.

DRAGON- You're right about the forum factor....But in general that's what I hear....First thing I was told when I got my A4 was "nice cars but tranny's are trash (auto)" then 1 month later it took a dump lol....Im in the process of piecing my 5 spd swap and should have it done soon.