k guys i am new to the forums, so hello but have a big problem(s)
k i have a 1997 Audi A8 4.2 with what seems to be a bad TCM. i looked into it and thats what i found.
about a week ago i could not afford to finish the TCM problem so i traded this guy for a jeep.
well the guy says the tranny is bad on the A8 so he wants his jeep back, he did some work on the A8 for me so i said ok.
I have the car back and there are some problems, electrical problems which i HATE!
My main information screen only works when a door is open or i hi the "test" button, and little icons appear for a few seconds. other than that nothing
the guy that i got it back from is a complete idiot! and i found out who worked on the car is a salesman for and auto lot not a mechanic, so neither of them know ANYTHING! i am pissed but dont know what to do!
if i could get some help from u guys it would make my year, LITERALLY!
I am a full time college student that doesent have other resources other than u guys, so please give me any advice u can.

thanks a ton guys!

oh and Email me back i'm not sure how to navigate this forum yet, still learning, so until then respond to my email if you could please
flannigan1313@yahoo.com

 

Well unfortunately there isn't anything we can do short of diagnosing it with a vagcom, which you probably don't own yet. www.ross-tech.com
How do you know the car has a bad TCM? Did you read the stickys about faulty transmissions in D2 A8's? Does it have trouble engaging reverse? I would have never recommended an A8 to a college kid unless you have a rich daddy.

 

NO i did not test it yet, i'm looking for n e one who would have a vagcom in my area. and no no problems in reverse. it goes into "safe mode" where its in 4th gear, but reverse is fine. do you know of n e where i can get a TCM for less than $500? i also had a question about my information screen on in the dash? do u know how i can fix that? maybe reseting the ECU by unplugging the negative battery terminal? please let me know i need ur help

 

www.shokan.com sells used audi parts, if they have a matching part number then you can pick one up for less than $500 probably.
I couldn't tell you whats up with the dash display without the fault codes to go with it.
You also need a vag to code the used TCM so unless you buy one of those your pissing in the wind.

 

Hey, thanks a lot, i think im at the stage of rebuilding a tranny, or finding a used one. i found one is WA for only $500 he said it shifts fine but goes into a lint mode? do you have any information on this? he said when it goes into lint mode the shift lights on the dash all light up and it has trouble shifting.
if you could help me out at this point in my situation that would be great
Thanks again,
Erik

 

Limp mode, its a safety procaution to keep the car in third gear so it won't damage things. That trans probably had a faulty TCM, but i couldn't say that for sure unless i diagnosed it in person. Diagnosing transmission problems on these cars isn't as simple as checking fault codes. I would check with shokan to see if they have any used D2 transmissions as well. You might also find someone to re-build your transmission (ZF) which would be the best thing to do, but you might have a hard time finding someone that will actually do it.

 

well it seems that my car is doing this as well..... thats where i got the TCM idea from

 

You're just spinning your wheels, you need to have someone diagnose it rather than shot gun it with parts and hope it fixes it. If you can't afford to have it diagnosed or re-built, you should cut your loses and sell it now before you waste your money, as an A8 isn't a cheap car to repair.