My gear indicator on the front display / cluster is always inverted solid red. I can't figure out why this is happening in my 2000 A6 avant 2.8. i read other posts about it when they have had transmission problems but nothing seems to be wrong with my tranny (hopefully). The tiptronic works fine as well, but it there is no indication of which gear it is in. Every once in a while it will just start displaying gears correctly but usually only lasts a few hours. Also it seems to work for a few hours after a VAG has been used. Any idea of what would cause this? Should i be worried? Any help would be appreciated. -Jared

 

anyone else have this problem?

 

Saw where someone ha a similar issue with an A4 that turned out to be the "gear selector switch"; but in their case they seemes to be having noticeable problems with the shifting as well.

see:
https://www.audiforums.com/m_78103/tm.htm

 

do you think it is just the cluster going bad or is it the transmission sending a fault code? what is it in the tranny that sends fault codes?

 

That display is sort of the transmissions check engine light. When there is a problem it will light up the prnd display in a different manner. I would check for faults in the trans control module. Also check the value blocks for the position of the shifter. If they dont match where the shifter is actually at, you need a multifunction switch. It is on the side of the trans and tells the trans control module what gear it thinks its in. I doubt you have an instrument cluster issue.

 

Can the faults in the transmission control module be read with a VAG COM? I remember when I had my car inspection a couple months ago they said something about it being, like you said, a transmission fault code, but they didn't say what fault it was, or suggest anything needed to get fixed. It doesn't really bother me as long as the trans is working properly, but if it would be a cheap/or easy fix I would get it done. Mostly I'm hoping it is not an indication that something major is, or soon will be, needed.

 

The vag com will read faults and data from the trans. It should be module 02. With the ecm being module 01.