Hey everyone, i have a 2003 A6 3.0 with the CVT. About 2 months ago, my car started having this weird shaking feeling when i drive. It feels like the car is losing traction or the transmission is vibrating or something. its really hard to say exactly what its like. When i accelerate from a stop it has a quick chugging feeling then it goes, and sometimes it has a bit of a vibrating feel up until about 35 or 40 mph then its smooth after that. Also this all happens only when i accelerate under 2000 rpms. if i accelerate harder than that, i dont feel any shaking or vibrating. i dont have any CELs on. I had my transmission fluid flushed and filled about a year ago, the car doesn't leak anything to my knowledge. I know its not the engine because i can rev it like crazy in park or N and it doesnt give any vibrating or kicking feelings. the transmission shifts smoothly from park to reverse and vice versa. no clunking feeling there. Any ideas? ive had people tell me it could be motor mounts, suspension, cv joints, axle issues....help please?!?!

 

I recently had something similar happen with my wife's 1999 A6. It would shake like crazy when you tried to accelerate, but if you revved it up in park or neutral, it was absolutely fine. After checking a lot of other things, it turned out to be the spark plugs. It had a set of NGK's that had only been in there for a little over a year, and they looked terrible. I replaced them with a set of Autolites (which was all I could find in town that night), and it's been running great ever since. I don't know if that's your problem, but it might be worth a look since it would be one of the least expensive repairs possible on an Audi. Good luck.

 

Would you provide details on the flush?

 

I replaced my spark plugs about a year ago as well. The flush i had done was just at a local transmission shop, they just replaced the fluid and filter. At the time they said everything else with the transmission was fine. Today in heavy traffic on the freeway, I was able to totally avoid the shuddering and vibrating by using the tiptronic and keeping the rpms in the 2-3000 range. So i have no idea whats going on. I might just start driving it in the tiptronic mode all the time!

 

Do you remember the $$$ you paid for the flush?

 

I see where your going with this, ZF trip's require specific specs/process when changing..hope your wrong for his sake.

 

CVT (front wheel drive)- I have a bad feeling..

 

Well, if i recall, the flush cost about 140$. give or take a few dollars. Maybe they didnt do it correctly? Is it crucial to use some of those German made trans fluids that cost a lot of money? I was thinking of taking it to a transmission shop in a few weeks when im out of school so that they could look over the trans and axles and all that stuff and at least tell me whether something in there is bad. Im wondering if maybe i should have a shop look at it and if it looks like it has to do with the trans fluid, then should i take it to the dealer to be sure they do it right? Im afraid of going to the dealer though because they cost so much and will probably come back and tell me some other bull that needs fixed when it actually doesnt need fixed.....

 

For CVT transmission the oil changes are crucial!
CVT ATF only!
every 40k!

For the price of the flush I'd be surprised the shop has done a proper job.

Google "audi cvt atf"- embrace yourself for horror stories.

I’m inclined to advise you to dump the car asap.
Cvt resolution could easily cost more than the value of the car.

Sorry and good luck!

 

Yeah, thats crossed my mind before. If there were serious tranny issues going on i would totally get rid of the car before its too late. The only problem is, the car is paid for and i dont really have the option to take on a monthly payment. Do quattros have regular 5 or 6 speed tranny? Do they tend to have problems like CVTs?