Hi all,

This is my first post to the forum as I am a recent Audi owner. I just got a used 2002 Audi A4 Quattro with the 3.0 V6. Has 139,000km.

It has a few issues which aren't to big of a deal, but there is one thing I need to figure out with the transmission.

When I turn the car on, everything is normal. The gear indicator on the dash just lights up with whatever gear i'm in. When i put it into drive, it seems to shift normally and the tiptronic mode works.

The problem occurs when I put the car into reverse (too bad I didn't back up during the test drive, haha). First, there is a bit of a delay every time I put it into reverse before the gear really engages (maybe about 2-3 seconds). As soon as it engages into reverse, all of the gear indicator lights on the dash come on. Once this happens, the car's shifting behaviour feels different. When going forward from a stop, it acts like it is taking off in second gear, slow to get moving. Tiptronic mode won't work at this point either. If I turn the car off, then on again, it will go back to normal as long as I don't put it into reverse.

I bought a cheap bluetooth OBD2 code reader recently and plugged it in under the dash. It gives me stored P0421 and P0441 codes, but nothing to do with the transmission. From the forum-searching I've done so far, I've read that all gear indicator lights coming on should throw a code. Is there a different place to plug the reader to get transmission codes?

I've also taken the shifter assembly apart to make sure the magnets are all there. It looks okay and everything seems to shift normally until the car is put into reverse.

Anyway, I'd REALLY appreciate some advice on how to diagnose/fix this. I don't think I want to invest any time/money in fixing anything else on this car if I'm going to need a new/rebuilt transmission right from the get-go.

 

Congrats on your car! Hope to solve it very soon!

 

You need to use an OBD reader that will see the TCU (Transmission Control Unit). It's not the shifter, it's the transmission. However, if the fluid has never been changed in the trans, it's probably over due. I fluid/filter change would be my first order of business. If they manages to fix the issue, I'd drive it and do another fluid/filter change in a couple of months as it will get more fresh fluid into the trans since it's impossible to complete drain the system with it in the car. The torque converter will hold a couple or three liters on its own at rest.

 

Thanks for replying guys.

Today, I had a new problem where the car would not shift out of first gear. The only way to get it home was to put it into reverse so the dash indicators would go off and subsequently put the car into 'limp' mode which allowed me to get home in 3rd/4th gear. Ended up dropping it off at a euro car specialty shop for a diagnosis since I don't have a vag-com scan tool. Will post the results.

 

Unfortunately, it does sound like a bad transmission issue. Could just be the TCU itself though.

 

Heard back from the shop today. The scan tool reported "Transmission Range Sensor Improbable reading" or something. Anyway, it points to the Neutral Safety Switch/Multi function switch after all. Looks like Ebay has some cheap ones for around $50. Will stick one of those on and let people know how it works out.

 

friend, sorry to hear that, hope you can solve the problem soon. best wishes.