Hoping some of the experts on here can give me some guidance. I have a 2000 A6 Quattro 4.2. I bought it last year with 206,000 miles on it. It now has 227,000 and the other day - after being out for most of the day - it suddenly started slipping.....the engine would race but the transmission wouldn't engage until it was near 3500 - 4000 rpm then it would do that from 1 - 4 (but not reverse). My fiance is a diesel mechanic for big rigs - he took it for a drive and said the trans was shot but see what happens the next day. The next day I drove her around the neighborhood and she was fine! I called the service dept at my local Audi dealer and he said it's shot.

I've driven her in the neighborhood several times in the week since it happened and it seems FINE! I took my kid out driving the other day and the car was running for about 40 min (though only about 20 of that was actually driving) and it was fine. I was ready to kick this mistake to the curb but my dad suggested that it may need a trans service....I had been told that these sealed transmissions were "lifetime" and weren't supposed to require service. I found a local guy who works on these small foreign cars and he was actually annoyed about the "lifetime" claim as he said even the owners manual recommends getting the transmission serviced. I'm considering taking it to him to give me his opinion but I'm very reluctant to put a dime into this car.

Has ANYONE ever come across something as odd as this? She's caused a lot of head scratching as usually a blown trans is just that - it doesn't start working again. Had it out for a few min today and I think it slipped from 1 - 2 but am not positive as it was a quick hesitation.

I bought the Audi because as people told me - 206,000 is half the lifetime of an Audi - at this point she cost me $235 a month to drive since it would seem I blew $3200 down the drain buying her.

Any comments, experience, etc would be helpful.

 

Automatic transmissions are essentially sorcery in motion. And I say this because essentially liquid is in a way connecting the output power of the car's engine to the rest of the drive train. Our common everyday knowledge of liquid and what it does doesn't allow us to think that it can make - or not make - our cars with auto transmissions drive and do what they do.

Check out this video for a brief run down of one of the most important pieces of an automatic transmission - the torque converter (TC):
My best guess is that there is something going on in the TC / related components that is causing this issue. Some may recommend that a simple fluid flush, refill and filter change will fix the issue. Others will caution you saying it'll actually get worse. Some will say that changing the fluid won't do anything. With the conditions you're speaking of, I don't see how it can get any worse (Assuming you're seriously contemplating getting rid of the 4.2)

If I were you, the first thing I'd do is check to see if fluid had been leaking out of the transmission so at least you can rule that out. Then I'd do a fluid swap, along with the filter and gasket. It's probably the least expensive thing you can do on your own. It's not the most scientific way of approaching the situation, but from a cost standpoint it's probably the most conservative way of going into the situation and assessing the problem.

After that you get into costly diagnostic work and big bills because then major components will likely have to come out of the car.