I took my month-old 09 A4 Avant automatic back to the dealer complaining that it lugs (clunks, stalls) when I start from a not-quite-full-stop. To avoid this while in "D", I need to either think about the gas pedal and feather it just right, or:
a) come to a full, total stop
b) wait a second or two
c) push the gas pedal and go without the clunk.

I've never had a car that clunks like this on startup. Audi service told me this is normal for the 2.0 and 1.8 turbo automatics. Seems pretty crappy to me.

Is this normal? Advice on avoiding it?

It rarely does it in "S", just in "D". My solution has been to start in "S" and shift to "D" when I feel guilty about staying in low gears too long.

Neither my old A4 ('98 2.8L) nor my '04 2.7T allroad do this. Both are automatics with quattro.

 

some reviews state that a new 09 A4 feature is to disengage the transmission when you hit the brake

eg: http://autos.aol.com/cars-Audi-A4-2009/expert-review

 

I have an '06 A4 2.0T Q/A. It does the exact same thing when you don't come to a complete stop. If you perform a "rolling stop" the tranny "hunts" for the correct gear, slips through 1 touches on 2 and slams into three just as boost comes on. I think it needs some attention, but if we come to a complete stop the way we are supposed to it is OK. I have found this to be true in "d" or "s".

 

Our 09 A4 2.0T/Auto does the very same thing. I think I am getting better at feathering the throttle or something but it really scared me pulling into traffic a couple of times.

 

I find the "normal for an Audi 2.0T" effect almost completely gone when I use "S" instead of "D".

 

lol I have this same problem on my 09 a4, I was concerned about it but figured my dealer would just downplay it and tell me it was normal. I didn't notice this at first but after 5,000 miles I started seeing it happen more often. Maybe they will release a fix for it or something in the future?