I have a 99 A4 1.8T. I took it to a giac dealer to get a tip chip, but also asked them about a problem I've been having with the car. Under either fast or slow acceleration, the car will vibrate a bit, its intermittent. They said the transmission fluid needs to be flushed. I called a dealer and they said that its not supposed or cant be flushed due to it being a sealed system. Anyone know whats going on ? Thanks.

 

probably because they want it to blow up on ya. i've never heard of such a thing but i'm interesting in hearing what everyone else has to say.

 

Think about the flush... most everyone ignores their trans until it starts to slip or act up...so...they rush to have the trans "flushed" in the fervent hope that it will cure the problem. So, there is a very high likelihood that the last trans that was hooked to that flush equipment was failing and generating debris...which you may have in your trans now. Would you get a blood transfusion from an unknown source...???
Really, the trans is fine for 100K under normal use. If you are towing or driving in livery service or something harsh it might make sense to change the trans fluid sooner but it really is designed to go 100K.The trans oil does not get the contaminates from combustion like engine oil and such so it lasts a long long time if not overheated.

 

Dude there is a post like 6 threads down...

https://www.audiforums.com/m_98852/tm.htm

 

The car is at 95.5K now. I do put a lot of miles on it - 2k/month. The reason I asked is that my last car's transmission died at 101k miles, I had that car since 24.7k miles and dont recall having the transmission fluid flushed. I just didnt want the audi transmission dying on me. I was trying to see if the giac guy gave me the right diagnosis. Nightflight - what about beyond 100K?

 

I’ve been ‘collecting’ cars for over 35 years now, and honestly I have seen transmissions go well beyond 100,000 miles on the original fluid. As long as it’s not been overheated and burned, going 100k is ok. At that time it’s a safe practice to have a simple transmission service (NOT flush), usually involving changing the fluid with the recommended type by the manufacturer, changing filters and cleaning screens depending on the design. In our case, I would pay the 150 bucks, and have that done by a certified Audi/VW technician, and not some generic tranny shop..

 

You can get it flushed if you take it to the right place
I did mine myself about 5 months ago, you have to have the right tools
to check tranny temp whn to fill and and whn to stop
I did mine at 120K and the fluid was black, whn the orignal fluid is yellow
and it was a one owner car and the guy was old....
So if you sure its the tranny get it changed but have a look your mounts
and the Snub mount can cause vibration...

 

....I don't disagree fundamentally about the trans flush. If it is done correctly it is probably OK... The general advice in the design and manufacturing world to avoid a trans flush at all costs comes from the realization that most places do NOT know how to do it right and even if the boss does, the kid running the machine doesn't...so the ONLY way to be safe is to avoid it, period. My advice to never flush a trans stands.
There's many of the flush machines on the market. (there are a variety of different machines and they work in different ways)....I spent some time at the SEMA show checking out trans flushing machines at the AAAMA show, back flowing fluid thru the cooler lines in reverse fashion. This has the effect of flowing any debris out of screens and filters and into the works of the trans. Not a good idea.

 

So you dont belive in Tranny services ?
If you going to take it to the corner store Garage or the
back yard grease monkey who doesnt know how to operate the equipment
then thats your risk
Even car manufactor such as GM are coming out with the so called sealed tranny
but there still provide ways to service this units
Audi says there trannys are life time ??????????
what in this world is life time ?
I dont have the money to spend on rebuilding my tranny
so If I can make it last as long as possiable by servicing it
I should see many years befor I have to open her
So I say go ahead and get her serviced
by the right people

 

hey NightFlight ... how does this apply to manual transmissions? I'm at 98k and never changed transmission or differential fluids in a manual transmission Quattro. What should I be doing to see 200k?