Odd sound

[RjmRS4]

After weeks of emails back and forth with the dealer we finally agreed on a refund. Still not happy as was left over £2k out of pocket. Anyway have a brand new S4 in order. Did look at other RS4s but just worried it might have other issues. Is a shame as it’s a great car to own and drive.

[innercry666]

Update on the visit to Audi last week. Did the usual test drive with the Master Tech and not a huge amount jumped out in terms of obvious issues mainly due to the traffic and driving conditions. However, they did do an adaption reset on the gearbox where the mechatronic unit has all of it's parameters wiped and it has to relearn them.

After that the gear changes in the higher gears were smoother and it held higher gears for longer but the clunky shift from 2-1 was still there. It has now also developed something odd as well. Once the car is stationary and the park brake is on , if I press the brake there is a mechanical vibration from the gearbox / lever. It can be felt through the lever and it happens every time. I planned to ring Audi today but was up to my neck in it so first thing tomorrow now. I have emailed my contacts at the dealership and updated them but surprise surprise have had no response.

There is a also a whining noise developing from what sounds like the front diff as well when driving. It never used to occur but is steadily getting louder around the 30mph mark.

So after this I started doing a little more digging on the tinterweb regarding issues with this gearbox and this particular one, the DL501 S-Tronic Gearbox has had numerous issues mainly put down to the failure of the mechatronic unit. A lot of B8 S4 owners seemed to have the initial issues but the RS4 seems to also suffer even though the mechatronic unit is different. The gearbox starts to exhibit the clunky shift from 2-1. Chris Harris documented his issues on Piston heads:

https://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph ... leet/29983

The stand out item from the article is the technicians report:

The technician's report read as follows:
"I confirmed the customer's complaint of clunking gear shift when coming to a stop. This is more apparent when the engine and transmission have reached full operating temperature. I carried out a clutch adaption reset on the transmission and retested for around 30 miles. The clunking reoccurred. I then checked transmission oil level and quality which was OK. I attempted to recalibrate the clutch bite point parameters, however the transmission would not allow this due to a fault with the input shaft. In cases like this, we usually recommend replacement of the dual clutch pack and mechatronics unit (valve body and electronic control unit ) together, however, in this instance I would advise a replacement complete transmission unit to be fitted to avoid the possibility of any further problems arising from this issue."

Apparently there is a new test that has been devised by Audi to check gearbox issues whereby they take a small sample of the gearbox oil and test it for coolant contamination from the gearbox cooler. Apparently the test has only been issued within the last few weeks. If the car fails the test then the gearbox needs to be replaced under warranty.

I will see what the dealership say tomorrow. Unfortunately I don't have much confidence in Audi, despite the car being covered by warranty they seem to try and kick issues either back at you or into the long grass (ie out of warranty). I've seen it before with friends and colleagues who have had problems with their Audi's and I've alo experienced the same on the previous A4 that I bought brand new. It's completely unacceptable to be told there isn't an issue when there clearly is.

If I could get the gearbox repaired outside of Audi I probably would as the time and effort to get Audi to sort issues is painful. Watch this space.

[innercry666]

I should probably also add that I took the car for a 'test drive' at the weekend to see how the car performed 'under load' and the gear changes whilst in manual mode were horrific - the car would lurch every time a gear was changed up or down, but down seemed worse. The car would get very destabilised whilst doing so as well - definitely added to the experience but not in a good way!