I recently bought a used 2004 A4 1.8T (not the quattro) with an automatic transmission and I have had it inspected by a mechanic to make sure everything was good. I noticed that when I start driving sometimes when I come to a stop the car jerks as if the transmission downshifted to early and when I release the brake the car acts like it is in nuetral. Similarly when I try to accelerate after the hard stop it sometimes feel like it takes awhile for the gear to catch so the car can accelerate, for example when I press on the accelerator it only increases the rpm of the engine and the car does not move and when it finally does the car lurches forward pretty abruptly. This happens during normal city driving usually while stopping and starting at traffic lights. I have also noticed that when shifting from reverse to drive the same pause also occurs where if I were to press on the accelerator it only increases the rpm but does not accelerate the car. All of this occurs when I have to stop and start a lot or when the car as just been started after being parked overnight. The problem eventually resolves itself after driving for 10 to 15 minutes. I was wondering if anyone may have any insight as to why this is happening? I thought it may be that the engine may need to warm up more of that when I stop I am not holding the brake long enough for the car decelerate while switching to the accelerator. However, I am not sure as I have never driven an Audi before. When I took it to my mechanic, who works for an Audi dealer, he said that the car looked good and that the "harder" stop and slow gear change was kind of a characteristic of Audi's turbo. Please let me know if I need to elaborate anymore and thanks for your help.

 

Im interested to see the reply's on this...

Ive got a 2004 A4 1.8t and have a similar issue...
i dont have the acceleration problem however...
basically what happens for mine is as Im coming to a stop.... right as Im almost stopped I'll drop from 1100rpms to 800rpms which causes a small lurch.... it doesnt happen all the time though...

 

Did you guys know that the CVTs (what you have) has a lot of problems? Some guys here have gone through more than 2

 

so you think that it DOES sound like the tranny? I was doing some research on how to change the filter and fluid to see if i can prolong its life as Im not sure if it was ever done before... Im approaching 100k miles

thanks

 

That would help.. If it wasnt a CVT I'd say it was a little low on fluid.. but I dont know how the CVT would react to that.

 

So if it is the CVT that is causing the lurch while stopping is there any way to fix the problem that is cheaper then getting a new transmission, like a different turbo or chip? Also is it possible to put in a different transmission, other than the CVT into the car?

 

I just bought a 2002 A4 3.0 FWD with the CVT and am having this same problem. It is currently being looked at to by a mechanic to diagnose. If anyone has any idea, please chime in. And please not just a bunch of people saying the CVT's are junk, get rid of it. That is not an option.

 

I'm interested to hear what your mechanic has to stay what is going on with your car becuase when I took my car to my mechanic he told me that it was just the way the car drives.

 

My mechanic told me the same thing today. The dealership I bought it from is going to pay to have an audi dealer look at it. Have you read edmunds review on the 02 A4 3.0 fwd? Our problem may not actually be a problem.......

 

sometimes my car does this. I wonder if it could be a fuel related issue and while you slow down the fliter might be clogged or pump might not be gettin enough flow and thus starving the engine and the sudden jolt you get is the engine trying to compensate to stay on. Just my thoughts. but i doubt im right.