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Hello everyone!

Im a new owner of a RS4 B7 Saloon thats got 60000km or approx 37000 miles on it. I am extremely happy with it so far but last night something weird happened while i was shifting during high rpm. I have searched the forum and tried to find anyone with the exact problem im having but no go. So ill try making my own thread.

I was doing a rolling start in 1st gear, then went up to 6000+ or maybe even 7000+ rpm at some point and tried to get into 2nd. But the shifter sort of stuck and i could not get it into 2nd. It even stayed that way when i stopped the car for a bit. Then after rolling the car in 1st gear it just worked again. This happened during just 2 runs. It also happened once when i was shifting from 3rd to 4th gear. Then 10 minutes later i tried again and it worked perfectly with the same rpms. It also worked today again with high rpms. I did change the way i released the clutch and throttle a bit. Still im nervous it might be something wrong. I have read alot about people having problems shifting but not with the shifter absolutely stuck like mine did. I dont have any other problems with it. Nothing during lower rpms or speeds.

So any input on this or anyone noticed the same thing? Am i just to new to this car and cant shift properly?;)

Firstly check for any leaks around gearbox. Then I would do a gearbox oil change and examine the oil thats been flushed out for any metal particles. Make sure however you put in exactly the right amount of oil, do not overfill. Check car spec for oil quantity and grading. I think from memory GL4+ fully synthetic, 3.4L, but double check for yourself. Same oil can be used for the rear diff. A 5L can will be suffice for both.

Could possibly be the often commented on clutch problem where it doesn't fully release when doing a high rev change, making it seem like a gearbox problem?

Worth checking whether the clutch return pipe has been changed for the newer larger diameter one by a previous owner.

Thanks for the answers!

The problem with clutchrelease sounds like it could be worth looking into. Since ive only encountered this twice last night and both between 1-2 and 3-4th gear. And today ive done 15 tries and cant get the same issue. If there was something actually wrong with the gearbox shouldnt the issue be more frequent?

I will have Audi change the oil in the gearbox and diff just to be sure. And also ask about the clutch return pipe. Is that something thats very expensive to replace or maybe even easy to do by myself?
The oil change cant be more than 140-180$ at an Audi dealership..

On second thoughts would be looking down the clutch side of things. At high revs, the issues are prominent. Begs the question, what happening then. I would ask Audi to investigate. Could get expensive if having to change many a part. Could be simply that your clutch needs replacement.

If you ask Audi to look into it I'm pretty sure youll end up paying for a new gearbox or clutch or both.

The return pipe is not an easy fix, it's a clutch/gearbox out job, good chunk of labour involved.

Mine had similar issue,wouldn't change at high rpm,the friction plate material had split along one of the wear recesses,wasn't worn out more a failure,and after having new Audi clutch fitted the pressure plate failed 23months and 9000 miles later!

Did all the return pipe blah blah first.the clutches in the rs4 are same fekkin size as what's in my a4 tdi!! There lies the problem!

I was at Audi today with the car. I spoke to 2 mechanics who followed me out to the car and took it for a testrun. Both of them agreed they didnt feel or notice anything wrong with it. So either i did something wrong shifting gears or its a problem hidden somewhere thats going to return sooner or later i guess. But 37000 miles aint much so hopefully its me whos the fault here;)

Thanks for all the replys!

lengster1 wrote:the clutches in the rs4 are same fekkin size as what's in my a4 tdi!! There lies the problem!

Clutches don't care about power they care about torque. And this is comparable to the TDIs which do in fact use the exact same clutch, so it's all good really.

I'm going to replace mine with a Sachs unit though rather than the OEM LUK. The pressure plate on the LUKs seems to be a bit hit or miss when it comes to developing issues.

JCviggen wrote:

lengster1 wrote:the clutches in the rs4 are same fekkin size as what's in my a4 tdi!! There lies the problem!

Clutches don't care about power they care about torque. And this is comparable to the TDIs which do in fact use the exact same clutch, so it's all good really.

I'm going to replace mine with a Sachs unit though rather than the OEM LUK. The pressure plate on the LUKs seems to be a bit hit or miss when it comes to developing issues.

Good luck with the Sachs set up they have had their share of disasters. when you check out the clutch replacements available and you want an everyday clutch feel ie no clutch chatter, not too heavy, and does not have the bite of Sanchez the best advice is stay OEM, if all working as employed it will handle the load

The clutch return pipe is not a box out job, fixes some faults not others,

R1RS4 wrote: Good luck with the Sachs set up they have had their share of disasters

I've not seen many people use the OEM replacement Sachs. The SMFW "uprated" one yes. But not the one for the stock DMFW?

JCviggen wrote:

R1RS4 wrote: Good luck with the Sachs set up they have had their share of disasters

I've not seen many people use the OEM replacement Sachs. The SMFW "uprated" one yes. But not the one for the stock DMFW?

Could you send me the link for that set up using a SMFW, would be interested to see that

When I checked this out a couple of months back I could not find anything that was any better than the OEM setup

irishmike wrote:The return pipe is not an easy fix, it's a clutch/gearbox out job, good chunk of labour involved.

Didn't make the blindest bit of difference to my issues. Audi removed 50% of bill value and admitted incorrect diagnosis when I had mine done, minor victory?