I've done some researching to see what I could find out on this topic. My car seems to be in "limp" mode. All gears on the dash are lit up, it seems to be lacking power from a stop, and once moving it sounds like it isn't going to shift. My guess is that it is only using 3rd or 4th gear. I don't know how long it has been like that because I just bought the car recently. I've read other threads where people with the same issue have tried replacing the TCM and it hasn't fixed it so I'm probably leaving that as a last resort. Is there a fuse or a relay for the TCM? I thought that would be a good place to check first. I looked at the panel on the driver's side but there are about 3 that say "transmission". I had to check all the fuses in the driver's side panel when I bought the car because some of them were the wrong amperage. So I'm wondering if something might have happened while I was pulling fuses that would cause it to throw a code. I took it to AutoZone and had them run the codes and I have 7.

P0102 - mass air flow circuit low input
P1392 - camshaft position sensor bank 2 open circuit
P1426 - tank vent valve open
P0705 - transmission range sensor malfunction
P1857 - load signal error message from engine contr.
P1519 - intake camshaft contr. bank 1 malfunction
P0116 - engine coolant temperature circuit range/performance

I just replaced a leaking coolant hose so that is probably why I have the P0116 code. Is there any way to clear fault codes without a vag-com? I ordered a USB cable for my laptop but it probably won't be here for about another week. I'm wondering if clearing the codes would get the transmission working again. I might be wrong about that but like I said I just got this car recently and I've never owned an Audi before so I don't know much about them. Any other suggestions on what to check? Thanks in advance.

 

i recently replaced my tranny and it was stuck in limp mode until the codes were cleared

clear the codes and go from there

 

Okay, thanks for the reply Lornnn. I figured clearing codes was a good place to start. Anyone know of a way to clear codes without a vag-com?

 

The only way I've heard of without using VAG-COM is to disconnect the battery for an hour or so.

But then you get the fun of entering your code for the stereo, and also possibly having to re-activate your remote key fobs.

You could also try going to AutoZone and asking if they'll clear them. It's illegal for them to do that, but some guys have been able to get them to do it.

 

I found someone with an OBDII scanner. They cleared the codes and the codes came right back. The car was still in limp mode. So I checked the 8-pin connector for the multifunction switch on the transmission. The guy who owned the car before me said the valve covers were leaking so he had the gaskets replaced. When I unplugged the connector for the multifunction switch, oil ran out of it. So I cleaned it up and it looked good. No corrosion. So I put some dielectric grease on the plug to prevent any future corrosion and hooked it back up. The car was still in limp mode so I had the codes cleared again. The only code that came back was the MAF. I'm not sure if it was in limp mode at this point. I didn't drive the car anywhere. Then the next time I started the car up, I found that it's still in limp mode. I found that the car side of the wiring harness not too far above the connector looks brittle kind of like it may have been hot at some point. So it is possible that there is a short there but I'm not sure. I haven't been able to look at it yet. It looks like I'm going to have to splice new wires into the harness to replace the bad looking part. Is it possible that the oil in the multifunction switch connector may have shorted something and killed the multifunction switch? Is there a procedure for checking a multifunction switch with a multi-meter? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Got a look at the wiring harness on the car side of the multifunction switch connector. It looks like it has been melted at some point in time. Although it doesn't look like it goes near anything that would be hot enough to melt it. At least 3 wires were showing bare copper and were shorted together. I was able to splice new wires in to replace the melted section. Cleared the codes again. It's still in limp mode and giving me P0705. Is it possible that the shorted wires killed the multifunction switch on the transmission?

 

The car has been out of limp mode for 3 days now so I think it is finally fixed. I took apart the console and checked the magnets on the shifter. It looked like they had metal shavings on them or like there used to be some kind of cover over them that had come apart. I took them out, cleaned them up, and put them back in. I then checked my fuses and found one of the fuses for the transmission was blown. I assume this was from the wires to the multifunction switch being shorted. I got the codes cleared again and it hasn't been in limp mode since. So hopefully that is the final fix to my problem.