Hi, I'm new here! I have a 97.5 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8t with almost 200,000 miles and I am having a problem with my tranny. It will loose gears when its cold but when its warm it seems to slip if I brake too hard and it doesn't have the proper time to downshift. Also I was thinking it was my vss but my speedometer works fine. When I say slip, it will rev up sometimes as if its in neutral and it will catch hard sometimes. I NEED HELP

 

I believe its my vss because my cuise control doesn't work

 

A little hard to diagnose from here. There are clutches in an auto (sounds like an auto, you don't say) and at 200,000 miles it isn't unheard of to need a rebuild.

I would not assume that at all. There are many reasons for the cruise to fail. The module goes bad, the switch on the stalk goes bad, vacuum pump, etc.

 

If your speedometer works fine, chances are its not your VSS. Slipping auto transmissions when cold but working properly when warmed up is a classic sign of low fluid. While the transmissions are supposed to be "sealed" if you have a leaking output shaft seal, or any gasket leaks the fluid will find a way out.

 

I have a transmission service appointment on the 20th for $200 and I know what it costs I just don't have a vag com. My car needs scanned bad! Is that a good or bad price? They say they know Audi but not alot of people around me do! (that I know)

 

The one important thing they must do for your $200 is check/correct ATF fill. If they don't do at least that, then its a worthless trip.

Ask the mechanic how he will do this. He had better say the car is on the lift, checked to be level, engine running, and fluid pumped up into the fill port until it overflows, then plugged. Engine turned off afterwards. ideally, the temperature of the ATF would be monitored too, but the main thing is that the ATF fill is checked properly.

 

I'm getting a new filter and fluid, is that a good place to start? And I have no cel on which is good? I'm in love with my Audi, I drive it everyday so I know the tranny isn't that bad since it doesn't happen very ofter! Also my car is very slow at accelerating.. I don't know where to even start if I stomp on the gas it doesn't go as it should it still accelerates but its not alot of torqe behind it.

 

I'm skeptical of what you're getting for $200. The factory fill of that tranny is 10 Qts of ATF. The fluid must meet Esso LT 71141. The cheapest I see that stuff is $12/Qt. Maybe on a drain/refill it only needs 7 Qts X $12 + filter and gasket of $30 = $114 in parts...and those are cheapo parts at that. And it must be filled the way turbo510 describes except I think the temp is important too, that fluid expands quite a bit when it's warm.

If this guy is going to dump some Dexron II in it and call it a day ("...because all ATF's are red and pretty much the same, right?") you really want to run away.

Yes, I am trying to scare you. That's really a pretty good automatic tranny, but it wants very specific care. The fluid type and fill procedure is picky.

Read up on it and ask your guy questions. It's a ZF 01V. Here's a good place to start.

VWVortex.com - The 01V ZF trans thread!!

 

From all the people I have talked to I've gotten you have to fill it up while its running till it pours out then let the the tranny get to 32C then fill it up the rest of the way sound correct?

 

Sort of. It fills from the bottom, so you get it up on 4 jack stands or a frame lift (not a drive on). If your just checking You start the car and let it idle, then you pull the fill plug (the big one one with the 17mm allen wrench fitting) if nothing comes pouring out when you pull the plug (there will be a couple of table spoons worth of fluid sitting on top of the plug) then you add fluid thru the fill hole until it starts dribbling out. There is a plastic cap on top of the fill hole with 3 slotted openings on the side, you need to get the fill tube into one of those slotts withoug pushing the plastic cap off the top of the fill hole tube, it will pop off pretty easily if you push on it, Audi has a hook shaped fill tub they use to pump fluid in. After it starts dribbling out, go run the transmission thru all of its gears, and actually get the tires spinning in each gear (thats why you can't use a drive on lift) then check your fluid again if its not dripping add more till it does. You have to get this all done before the tranny fluid gets above 120 degrees F (40C). Once its full the second time put the plug in and lower it to the ground and check it out.

It's really a pain in the butt to do in your driveway especially if it cold out (thats when all tranny issues seem to appear) as the fluid doesn't want to flow down the little fill tube into the tranny. My sons 96 (I refer to it as the 1000 dollar Audi) has a leak some where and about once every year to year and 1/2 it needs fluid added as it starts to get sluggish engaging gears when its cold. After doing it the way the manual tells you to do it (and putting it up and down on a set of jack stands 3 times) and still having a little slip (probably still wasn't 100% full), I made up a pump rig with a hand pump, and a rubber chair leg protector (the black cap that goes on a wooden chair leg to keep it from scratching a hardwood floor). I drilled a hole in it put the tube thru it and I jam it in the fill tube hole after pulling out the plug and then I pump a quart of fluid into the tranny at a time. I figure its better to be slightly overfull, than low.

If someone is really going to change your fluid for 200 bucks its well worth it in hassle alone.