Bad mechatronic in '06, concerned about buying an '11
 

With my original post on the D3/A8L we have with this bad mechatronic issue (thunk from 1st to 2nd when cold), and the fact that my letter to Audi President got movement from the dealer to replace the Mechatronic unit a year ago, and we still have the thunk from 1st to 2nd, AND we're considering a new vehicle, the big question is whether the new A8 is using a tranny from the same manufacturer. I can't seem to get an answer on this.

Our '06 has been great, but it's time to replace it. We like the new A8/A8L, and i know it's a different transmission, but does anyone know a) who made the '06 A8L trans and b) who makes the '11 A8L trans? And have they done away with the embedded mechatronic unit that seems to be the cause of these issues?

ZF manufactures audi's transmissions, they are fantastic quality. It sounds like you just got a bad one, i don't remember there being a mechatronic or computer problem with them. I believe the new models still get ZF transmissions, but i do know the D4 does use a newer design.

I found quite a lot of others with this same issue, on this forum and others, so I'm sure this was not an isolated incident.

So based on your info, it's the same mfr.....bad news for us I guess. Audi is a phenomenal product, and we moved from MB into Audi after 20+ years in MB's, but this trans issue really took us for a long (bad) ride.

Thanks for the input.

That is strange, i never came across one with any problems in a D3 trans besides one bad torque converter in my 5 years at the dealer. So you're thinking about moving to a different car company? Pity.

Yes, plenty of similar issues with the A8. Well documented, and corporate engineering knows about it. There are TSB's as well, mostly relating to the lame attempt at changing fluid to resolve, which does nothing.

We love the Audi fit/finish and performance, so it's still top of our list. We just don't want to incur the same issue in a new vehicle. No one would. Hope the supplier has made major changes to the trans by now.

See my PM regarding the thread from another forum, and some replies from others with similar issues.

Thx.

Looking at your link (in your PM) it would seem that you were experiencing a bad torque converter, thats the exact issue i replaced the TC for on another A8, worked like a charm. However that doesn't mean the design of the TC is good though....i mean there are other people experiencing the same issue on your audiworld thread. I have no idea if that issue would have been resolved in the new D4 chassis, im sure audi is aware of it. (they usually are)