Yesterday when I got off the interstate I noticed that down shifting became more difficult. Felt like there was more tension than usual. On my commute home the shifting seemed fine until the end of my commute before I arrived home down shifting became difficult again. I have no idea why this just started and I'm afraid that it is something major with my transmission/clutch. I also am afraid that if I take it to a dealer they will give me the worst case scenario. Is there any fluids or codes I can check to determine if this is simply something minor?

 

How exactly did it become difficult? Were not able to put the car into a lower gear? Engine acting different? A little more information describing the problem would be helpful.

Jason

 

Hi Jason, thanks for responding. Let me see if I can provide more details. I had no issues with the engine it was running normally. I was able to shift into all gears. What I noticed is that when I shifted there was a lot of tension compared to what I'm used to. Normally, shifting is very smooth. It felt almost like what happens when you don't have power steering and it is extremely difficult to turn the wheel. The good thing is that I was able to change gears. This also occured after the car had been running for 20 mins on my commute. It was towards the end the drive that shifting became more difficult. I'm thinking that I may just go have it serviced today.

 

Thanks for providing more info. The first thing that comes to mind is fluid level.

Have you noticed any puddles under the car where you park it? Low fluid will often times result in "notchy" shifting. It could also be linkage related - something could be out of alignment or loose. The third possibility I thought of could be the clutch/throw out bearing.

Definitely update this thread once you take it in for service.

Good luck!

Jason

 

I am not familiar with the workings of an Audi clutch, but from the general principal of operation, I'd say one possibility is the clutch is not fully disengaging when you press the pedal. If so, I might just be an adjustment.

I could be completely wrong about my next statement but it was applicable to manual transmissions from the 1960s. Not sure about today. When upshifting, the gears are already spinning fast enough so the synchronizers do not need to do a lot of work to go to the next gear. However, when downshifting, the synchronizers have to speed up the gears to align them for the lower gear. If the clutch is still spinning gears at one speed, the synchronizers have to overcome that extra force.

Try double clutching* to see if that helps.

Press the clutch, move to neutral, release the clutch, blip the gas, press the clutch, move to the lower gear, match revs, release the clutch.