I am a Chevy guy who just purchased his first Audi. I was in a tight spot, found a very nice car, that had a very nice deal. It is a 1999 A6 Quattro 2.8. Outside needs a little help, but that's what I do. The car has 53,000 miles on it and purrs like a kitten. There are some issues with it, and ANY help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated. I am very mechanically apt, and have the space to do the work myself. I know I need a VAG-Com, too. Here are some issues so far:

1. Transmission shifts great on the street and the highway, but coming to a stop, you can feel it drop into first every time, some times it worse than others. Any thoughts?

2. This one's a little scarier: Tiptronic does NOTHING!! Nothing at all. Is this defeatable, or is it a sign of things to come? Also, turning 2800-3300 RPM's on the highway at 58-62mph. Normal? Or am I missing overdrive?

3. Shifting into reverse it "hits" pretty hard. Sounds like a typical tranny mount. Maybe?

4. Had a couple hair raising episodes with the brakes. It stops, but just leisurely. Thinking of doing brakes all around, or could it just be air in the lines? No lights indicating any issues with the braking system. Oh, yeah, have not been able to invoke ABS, it won't even get close to lock up

5. Sorry for the lengthy post.

6. I have already read about the dash LCD's going bad, and I definately have that problem. Works somewhat when its cool, not when its hot. I have read that you have to send them off to be fixed, can you do this and still operate the car? Only transportation

7. Suspension rides great, I see the outer tie rods have been replaced. Everything else looks factory. Thinking of redoing all of it (control arms, shocks, everything.) Have seen kits in ebay that say they're an S4 upgrade. Is it worth it, or just do standard stuff? Any reputable and inexpensive brands you would like me to check out?

8. I think that's more than enough.....for now

Thanks for making it all the way down here. You're help is very greatly appreciated

 

I do not know much about the transmission, but it sounds like you may have a controller issue. I understand they are under the passenger carpet and do not like getting wet.

One other thing new "Tip" owners should know: German (Audi) engineers do not think people have two feet. As you come to a stop, if you push on both the brake and the gas... even just a touch, the transmission will do a hard downshift.

The brakes should be MUCH better than you describe. While my 2.7t has larger brakes than yours (with other issues), when I just THINK about putting on the brakes -- it starts to slow down. (Just about.) If I put my foot on the petal it STOPS! Yours should be close to this as my larger brakes are more for heat dissipation.

Unless your brakes are very spongy, I would suspect a problem in the vacuum side of your booster. (Lack of assist.)

 

m000035, thanks very much for your advice. If I have a controller issue, would it not throw somekind of light, or warning? (again new to Audi) I am definately a one-footed driver, no brake and gas at the same time. And, my brakes are VERY spongy. Lots of pedal travel.
Again, I thank you for your help

 

Who drives with two feet in an automatic???? That is the reason you don't drive with two feet.

You have to scan it with the vag-com.
You can get the Vag-Com from Ross-tech and a manual from www.ecstuning.com. It's a DVD rom.
Then post them back here.
For now try scanning it for free at an Autozone and see what comes up. Keep in mind the generic scannners will not scan all of the codes so do not buy one.

Definitely check under the passenger carpet for water or signs of dampness.

From recent topics it could be the plastic thing in the gate. It has two magnets and that is how the TCM determines what gear your in. (something like you have never seen in a Chevy) That could be bad. Also there is a Range selector on the trany that goes bad.

Congrats, I have only owned Chevy trucks for the past 15 years. Start dusting off your tools the free ride is OVER.
It will be a nice car once you get it up to date on maintenace and have all it's little issues sorted out.

Stay out of the stealership if you can.

here are some links for the display;
check around on line there are others as well.

http://www.modulemaster.com/en/services/index.php

http://www.dnaspeedometers.com/aud.htm

 

Thanks very much Jackmup. Can you point me in the direction of getting into the gate to find the magnets? (My repair manual is on order) Can you access the range selector from under the car? I don't get back in the shop til Wednesday, (with the lift,) but if I can get to it in the driveway, maybe I can change out before then.

These cars will store codes without throwing a light? The Chevy's throw a light and keep it on through so many key cycles or disconnecting the battery.

It's been years since I had a good challenge, and always wanted something to tinker on, so I am looking forward to getting her in tip top shape soon.

Thanks again for your help

Oh yeah, any thoughts on the brakes?

 

For tiptronic info, check these out

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2810322

http://forums.audiworld.com/showthread.php?t=1719743

But based on the symptoms you are describing, it maybe a TCM issue. (and yes your are missing the 5th gear, if you are running 3300 rpm doing 62 mph.) As everyone else said, it is under the passenger side carpet.

 

My brakes also sucked bad when I just bought my 99 A6. When I went to change the front pads I noticed that the caliper piston had actually driven through the backing plate of the pad. It seems that the backing plate had corroded and the piston was just crushing right through it and the pads were hitting the rotor at an angle. Put the new pads on and my braking improved 10X better!

My ABS rarely kicks in but the car stops great. The car is VERY heavy so it takes some really hard braking to put it into a lock-up situation.

I do get an occasional hard downshift to first from my car but its only when I accelerate after a rolling stop. It I come to a complete stop I bever had an issue, but I do have over 174,000 miles on mine so I am really please it performs as well as it does.

 

7. don't buy the junk off ebay. I did and regret it terribly. The upgraded s4 parts are BS. I have around 10k on my new control arms and two have failed already. FCPGroton is who I bought from but all the ebay sellers pretty much sell the same no name OEM quality junk parts.

You've been warned.


1. It is common to feel the car shift down into 1st when coming to a stop, bad mounts accentuate this.
2. could be your tip magnets causing the no tip mode, but you do seem to be missing 5th as others pointed out.
4. my 1 year old ceramic pads were so glazed I could not stop no matter how hard I tried, even using two feet. It was scary. The final straw was when I saw a dog running out into the street while I was going 15mph. It took me maybe 30 feet to stop. I felt like I was in slo-mo I was stopping so slowly. Was going to buy new brakes but discovered they were just glazed. I did a bunch of hwy emergency stops and now they stop great again. Maybe your breaks are just glazed.

 

You guys are the best!! I really appreciate everybody's help. I have 3 Audi stealerships around me and they say they'll pull my codes for only $70. I think that sounds pretty reasonable. Transmission fluid and filter change $685!!! Ha Ha yeah right. I'll wait for my manual and do it myself.

Anybody got a picture of the range selector insides? My shifter does not respond to anything but P, R, N, and Drive. Picking the lower gears manually does nothing, along with the Tiptronic.

Thanks again

 

There are some pictures in links shown on my previous thread.

Also for the brake performance, I would say there is something fishy about your brakes. Although the car is almost a 2-ton behemoth mine stops on the dime. I say flush the fluid first replace pads and rotors if needed. BTW I use Hawk HPS pads and they work great. Everyone has their favorite setup... just don't go with an unknown ebay kit.