I picked-up a 2002 (new body style) Audi A4 1.8T Auto a few months ago and have been having trouble with the shift points - specifically between 2nd and 1st when the trany is downshifting at almost a complete stop. This occurs in Drive and in Triptronic (when the shift is automatic due to low RPM's.) The Dealer stated that the problem is with the transmissions software and gave me what they called a temporary fix while I wait for a new version of software. The temp fix was unhooking the battery and wiping all learned memory from the trany. The car still lurches while downshifting - just a bit - when I stop.

I guess I am frustrated more than anything - I bought this car for the driving experience, everything else about the car is incredible. Any thoughts or suggestions? Others with the same issue? Thank you.

 

the dealer told you the problem is in the software? Why didnt they reflash the software? What do you mean a "new version" of the software is coming?

 

The dealer told me that there is a bug in the current version of software that controls the trany. They state that they are working on a new version to download into the car that will fix the cars lurching issues. I am concerned that the lurching may be causing physical damage to the car in the meantime. It also puts a damper on the joy of driving - everytime I stop it feels like the car behind me taps my bumper very slightly. Thanks for any help.

 

Yeah... I'm a bit perplexed by the dealer's "excuse", too. This is NOT a bug issue or we'd have heard more about it from all the 2002 A4 Tip owners out there. I'd press for a more definitive answer. I'm with brrman - a reflash should have resolved the issue.

 

Are you still under a warranty of some kind? Granted I am a complete cynic about anything a dealer says, but be careful they don't just keep putting you off until you're out of warranty. I'm by no stretch of the imagination knowledgeable on auto tranny's. It sounds to me like they are trying not to get into giving you a new torque converter or fixing the tranny right. I'd get a second opinion on this if I were you. Keep us posted. I'm interested to hear how this resolves. Here's hoping it's in your favor!

 

Thanks for the words of advice. I do have warranty for two more years - I only have 23k on the car, this makes me feel a little better about the issue. I have contacted, not that this means much, audi corporate (customer service for owners) and they knew what I was talking about regarding the software - they did state that there would be a new software version in the future for me, sometime. I expained to them my concerns that something physical may be wrong, caused by the software or not, and they have my concern/complaint on file.

Extra bit of information: When I went in for my 20k maintainance, there was a recall flag for the car - they put a new version of software in that controls the trany at that time. But, as you can tell by my current issues, there is still a problem and am awaiting resolution.

For a lehman as myself, what does Reflash the Software mean? Thanks.

 

The dealer has a unit that "resets" the software to manufacturer's specs - much like when you have to to do a reformat of your computer when it crashes. It's a simple procedure that the dealer can do in a few minutes.

 

By the way... Welcome to the forum hakes!

And... If you're not familiar with this forum's jargon, please click the START HERE! link. There you will find a forum vocab list, an Audi forum terminology list and an Audi lexicon list. They should be very helpful to you if you're not familiar with the jargon.