Well the end of the month came and they got the replacement TCU. Install took a day but they wanted to keep the car overnight to run the calibration sequence. Still no loaner! Audi is a bunch of a-holes who could care less about keeping a customer happy if they already have their money. I'm sorry I paid cash up front for the car. I'll be selling it in the spring while it is still under warranty. I'll never buy another Audi for as long as I live!

Oh, yeah. The transmission works great now. Just like new. But for how long?????

 

i went thriough the same problem with the 2008 A3. The ttransmission did get fixed. replaced some module ouitside of the transmission. It started to happen again and we took the car back to same dealership who claimed there was nothing wrong. we got the car back and it seemed to be fine with an occatioinal hickup. i then had the revo remap to the 3.2 and that made things right with the car. acceleration and tourqe.The car is perfect. no hesitaion and or tranny problems.audi advocate sucked but we did get the loaner. the bummer was the tech at audi was stealing my car after work and packed on 4 hundred miles. damaged my 19 inch rim on the passenger side. It was a big mess that audi would never admit to. but they replaced all 4 rims and tires and made 1 car payment upgraded my service pkg.i have a 2002 tt aAND 2007 gti.

JOHN

 

I had the same problem with my 2008 A3 starting this past July/August. From stop/neutral, it would jerk hard (twice) before taking up drive, unless I finessed the throttle just right. Took it to the local dealer who said it was normal for the S-tronic transmission. Well, just today (Dec. 18th, 2009), I got a letter in the mail from Audi noting that certain 2007-2009 S-tronic transmissions have a faulty bushing in the "mechatronic" unit which wears prematurely, and this causes jerking. They are going to have a "diagnostic tool" developed and available at dealers by late spring 2010 to determine which cars need to have their mechatronic unit replaced. Also, they are extending the warranty on all S-tronic gearboxes to 10 year / 100,000 mile. I'm glad they're finally acknowledging the problem, but now I'm really pissed that I have to wait until late spring to have it fixed. I think I'm going to call my dealer asap and demand they get it fixed since I already have a documented complaint. Many, many thanks to those out there who took their compaint further which helped to prompt Audi to take this action!!!
-Dago

 

It seems Audi may be ready to deal with this problem.
The service manager at my dealer told me this morning that Audi may be issuing a recall for this tranny (likely just the part, not the whole tranny). As others have said, I will be glad to have this problem fixed, but wonder what damage it has caused in the interim. (if you have felt the abrupt "clunk" you know what I mean).
The dealer is diagnosing the problem today, and will likely be ordering "back-ordered" part for me. In the mean time I will be calling Audi Customer Care to report the issue - I suggest we all do (again if necessary) to ensure that they move forward with the recall.

Otherwise, I really like my little 3.2 - just bummed it is a clunker.

 

For us, in the A8, it's been about 8 months since the new tranny was put in, mechatronic and all. The car still has some jerkiness going from 1st to 2nd only when cold/first start, and on slight incline. Otherwise no problems and not bad as it was in the beginning. I still believe Audi knows there are multiple problems, yet they believe the tranny will not implode from this, so they suggest just ignoring it.

Still disappointing, and will soon be looking for a replacement vehicle. Still like Audi, but with this issue, not really sure we want to be back in the same boat a year later.

Anyone know if the new A8 for 2011 will use the same 'mechatronic' crap?

 

I am from Canada. I got the official recall letter from Audi that the mechatronic has to be replaced and the warranty of the transmission has been extended to 10 years / 160000 km or 100000 mi . I am not sure if the US Audi will do the same or not.

 

Wow, I was just coming to this forum looking for information about and A3 that I am looking at. 2008, A3, sline, paddles, don't know if it has the s-tronic or DSG tranny, but

the issue I noticed when test driving the car was a hesitation, and a bit of lurching between first and second gears. Also, the down shift from 2 to 1 coming to a stop was a bit rough, I've driven and owned many audis and hadn't noticed this before.

So, could THIS be the issue? I thought the DSG issue was only on the 3.2 version and not the 2.0T versions.?

 

The A3 has the DSG and is basically a VW GTI re-skinned. That car does have the same DSG and Engine sits sideways as well. Unlike the A4 where all the motors fit front to back in every package. I love my DSG but be warned of possible issues. I would not touch the car unless it is a Certified car that gives you a 100k warranty. A3's are nice because they are about 3-400 pounds lighter than an A4 and if you like Auto's, it will be much quicker. I hate my A4.

 

"S-Tronic" and DSG are the same thing - the only 'automatic' transmission offered on the A3 with any engine. (3.2's only came with DSG.)

I'd say that the 2008 you drove still has the earlier Mechatronics version.

Read my earlier posts to this thread regarding the Mechatronics upgrade results. It's a great transmission after the upgrade, but it is still not quite as smooth as a Tiptronic (conventional automatic) as used in other Audis and VWs, because there's no torque converter in the DSG to smooth transitions, or reduce power and gas mileage either.
2wdBlazer's advice is pretty accurate - glad mine's a CPO car.

 

Just came back from the dealer with the spanky new mechatronic installed in my A3 3.2.
Although I still wince when the car shifts from 2 to 1, there is NO clunk. I repeat, no clunk.
Fingers crossed and breath still held, but it seems to have done to trick.
No talk of extended warranty, so I guess I will have to deal with what ever damage was done at a later point.
- there is hope for these clunky 3.2s, you just need an ethical dealer.