I recently purchased a 2007 A3 2.0T in an automatic transmission (I really wish I had waited to find one with a standard...) but that isn't the issue. I have two problems I'm experiencing with the transmission, and they are as follows:

A) When I put the transmission in sport mode or in the S-tronic automanual mode, I experience a pretty noticeable pull to the right as the car upshifts. There is no pull to the left when it downshifts, however. I'm not worried about being thrown from the road; I drive with a pretty firm grip on the wheel anyway (I learned to drive on BMWs, all of them required me to be very assertive with the steering wheel). I'd still like to know what's going on with my car. Any ideas?

B) When I begin to move from a standstill, there is a very fine line between where the accelerator barely makes the car crawl and where it feeds so much gas to the engine that the car lurches forward and jumps into second gear. This is especially problematic when starting on an upwards incline. The torque converter is not strong enough to keep the car from rolling backwards without my foot on the brake, and that may contribute to the sudden differentiation between too little and too much power. I also experience this problem on zero incline when trying to smoothly accelerate through first and second gears. Maybe there's a certain touch required for the accelerator I haven't quite picked up yet. Any advice from other owners experiencing the same issue?

Thanks everyone,
Happy motoring!

 

Sounds like you need the DSG Mechatronics upgrade. See other posts from me for description of the dramatic improvements that resulted. Totally changed my feelings about this car!

Don't know about the pulling to right - have you checked your tire pressures?

 

I understand the basics of car machinery, but I don't think I know what the gearbox upgrade exactly does. Sounds like you were very impressed, but what effect will it have upon my driving experience?

 

Rather, if I may reword my question, what does the gearbox upgrade do mechanically? I understand how it will improve my experience with situations that require finesse, I meant to ask what difference there was between my original gearbox and the upgrade. Thanks!

 

There is no torque converter in this car. It has an automated stick shift. The computer is trying to simulate a stick shift driver purely based on what you do with the throttle. The brake should hold the car in place on a hill until it starts engaging the clutch, but the engagement of clutch/release of brake might not be to your liking. You probably eventually have to find out just how much to press, just like a stick shift driver know how much to release the clutch to get a smooth start.

If you are coming from a slushbox background, then you will never be happy.

 

I'm pretty sure that this car has a torque converter, as I've tried testing to see when the car stops rolling backwards on a hill when I release the brake, and the car begins to creep back up the hill only after rolling backwards a good three feet or so. The important part is that it does catch itself, so there must be a torque converter, because I'm not feeding it any gas when it decides to catch itself and push itself forward.

 

The A3 in the US never came with a slushbox. If you perform manual upshifts at high RPM, you can see the RPM needle drop real fast when the clutch engages the next gear. If it was a propeller turning a liquid to turn another propeller, the change in RPM would not happen so fast.

I think the car has brake hold assist, where the car holds onto the brakes on a hill until you start accelerating forward. You engage it by tapping the brake twice.

 

Hmm, interesting... Thanks!

 

sjcoarton,

The DSG does NOT have a torque converter. It has two concentric clutches, as shown here (within the black cover in the center). The Mechatronics unit is the assembly at lower right.

http://www.holt.us/tdi/vw_dsg_cutaway_lg.jpg

Since you apparently didn't bother to search for the DSG thread I wrote previously , I did it for you. Here's what I said about the Mechatronics upgrade in August, 2009:

It took 2.5 weeks for the Mechatronics unit to get here from Germany and be replaced. The result is excellent! And I have no complaints about the time it required.

All of my previous complaints regarding the transmission/clutches have been resolved. The car is now MUCH smoother at low speeds and from a stop. Engaging reverse is also improved - not surprising since I suspect that most of the Mechatronic changes affect the clutch engagement control - so parallel parking is easier when trying to creep forward or back.

Interestingly, it also feels like the clutch engages more 'tightly' too. The car seems to accelerate a tiny bit quicker, even without a downshift, but maybe that is the result of driving the 2009 A4 Tiptronic (very nice, but still not as fun as the A3) while my car was at the dealer.

My wife agrees that the car feels significantly more satisfying and fun as either driver or passenger. She had previously complained (as passenger) about the jerks every time when starting off from a stop.

 

Thanks again, dfrost. This makes much more sense now. Much appreciated!