i went to have my oil change today @ pepboys. when i got in the car and put it in reverse...nothing. it didn't catch gear. the guys at pepboys had no clue to why that was happening since when they to back the car out of the bay in reverse (it was fine then). so then i had to push the car out (how ghetto) position it right and drive out. then as i'm going home the car felt a little funny as if it was stuck in 3rd gear or something. i pull over and turn the car off, wait a little and start back up, now all the gears are highlighted, only way i can tell what gear i'm is is by looking down at the shifter. can this mean i'm low on transmission fluid? and this is all happening now that i'm about to go to CA tomorrow morning @ 5.

forgot to mention i have a 98 A4 automatic

 

Low fluid is a definite possibility.
Usually with low fluid you cannot create the pressure to downshift and get stuck in high gears if it is low enough. I would think you could get reverse though. Are you sure they drained the oil? Ha ha sorry thinking of a time when someone could not find the oil pan on my A6.

I think there is some kind of sensors or something in the shifter, my maintenance notes show adjusted shift linkage sensor like 4 times. That could possibly be something, but I have no clue on what it is.

My guess would be drastically low transmission fluid. Symptoms sound about right and I would think low fluid would trick the lights into believing they really were in all gears.

 

here are my problems as of now
1.) the Tiptronic feature suddenly stopped working
2.) occasional hard automatic downshifts when coming to a stop
3. Occasional hard shifts from reverse to drive
4. Car stayed in 4th on the high way and would not go into 5th

someone from audizine is having the same problems but with no results as of yet:
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...threadid=75337

 

Sound like someone at Pep Boys did not pay attention to what they touched. The reverse is mechanical so it will always be there except when someone mess up the tranny shift linkage. Low fluid will not cause reverse to go AWOL.

Get the car up on jacks and check around the tranny. Follow the shift linkage and make sure it is all good all the way up into the cabin. Also unplug the tranny ECU plug from the tranny and clean it good with electrical cleaner(non conductive kind). The tranny ECU plug should be on the driver's side. Make sure the lock ring is turned before pulling on it. After cleaning it good make sure you dry it with some clean air and make sure the lock ring is tight. Pep Boys may have messed up on the oil change and get oil all over the tranny plug.

 

That is definitely a tranny ECU plug problem. Make sure you clean it good.

 

will it be safe to drive with it this way...i have an 8 hour drive tomorrow morning?

 

If the plug is just contaminated it should drive fine except the ECU will run the car in 'limp home mode' after a couple of hard shifts. It will stay in 4th gear for limping home. If it is a turbo the ECU will also cut your boost to preserve the car. It will be fine for short trips but I would not take it on a long drive.

It is a very quick fix if you are able to put the car on jack stands. If not at least crawl under and see if the plug is loose or dirty. If you do not have access to non conductive electrical cleaner use a good degreaser(dish washing liquid etc) with a spray bottle, dilute it and clean it good. Leave it hanging so it will dry and hook it up the next day. You will find out very quickly if it is working.

 

where exactly is this plug located at, driver's side - where? anywhere near the trans drain plug?

 

No. If you look at the tranny pan from the driver's side, the tranny plug should be up on the side of the tranny pan. I can't recall exactly where it is but it should be fairly close to the front half of the tranny pan. Keep in mind this is up on the side of the tranny pan and not the bottom of the tranny pan. You should also see the shift linkage while you are down there. Check to make sure it is fine with no kinks or breaks.

 

Here's a pic of a tranny. Not your tranny but a ZF 5 speed Auto so it is close enough for what we need to do. Number 5 is what you are looking for. You would want to unplug that barrel looking plug at the end of number 5 and clean everything in the area. It is usually clipped to something closer to the front of the tranny.

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