French Gearbox frustration!

[Clach]

Sadly, having looked (and asked) high and low about a remap, the two companies (out of the ten or so I e-mailed) that did reply to me both stated that my Automatic gearbox is simply not strong enough to support any power gains. (Vagcheck are due a mention here, very prompt reply).

Determined to find out why this is the case ,I recently found out that the Auto Gearboxes on most of the A3's up until 2002 were made by Renault, and are cr*p. - Taken from the words of a local Audi Mechanic.

I just thought i would share my frustration, and I suppose to warn other people in the future if they are considering buying an Auto A3 of this age.

The car still shifts, but I was really looking forward to some extra oommph!

Thanks for listening...

 

[A3_Turbo]

Seems really weird but if its not strong enough then that's fair enough.

Have to say ive never heard of an Auto 1.8T being mapped.

Maybe part-ex it for a Manual or an S3?

J

 

[Clach]

I wish I could, but the wife is American and can't drive stick. I managed to persuade her to go with the less than economical Audi 1.8T when the pug packed up.....

I was also wondering what other parts of the Audi are not Audi designed or built..disturbing really!

 

[AndyMac]

The only genuine Audi parts on an Audi are the engine block, bodyshell, panels & the interior. Everything else is typically made by specialist manufacturers in their field.
wheels - Ronal
fuel delivery - Bosch
Aircon - Bosch/Valeo
Filters - Mann
Lighting - Hella
ICE - Matsushita
etc etc
You're paying for the build & parts quality (apart from the car audio), not the sum of the individual components, which is why you can usually source most of the OEM maintenance parts cheaper from the original manufacturer.

 

[S3_Pricey]

that is unlucky, but you dont want to risk destroying the box. dont know what advice to offer, except perhaps teaching the misses to drive a stick? hope you find a solution tho man

 

[Clach]

Recent update:

I my never ending search to spend money on my A3, I approached (via e-mail) jabba sport and custome code - leighton buzzard - about whether they can remap my car, or offer any additional- and safe- alterations to up the performance of my car, and taking into consideration the auto tranny . So far no reply.

I am stunned by the lack of response from several (12 or so) national companies. Companies to respond where Vagcheck (said no, quick informative response), Revo (said no code available but to perhaps try the five hour trial) and Fontain - Revo- who said no)

Storm development
Awesome GTI
Jabbasport
Custom code &
AMD techniks, are among the companies who failed to reply!!!

 

[marriedblonde]

HAve you looked over the pond. Auto's are obviously a lot more popular in the states and the engine/gearbpx is the same as the Golfs...

Apr and Giac are 2 US companies that spring to mind.

J.

 

[Clach]

Good suggestion, are you sure they are the same Gearbox though???

Not even sure what kind of Gearbox I have...I have simply been told it is crap by an Audi tech, and was a joint venture with renault.

 

[Clach]

Ok, I called both of these companies. They both said they would need the ECU code - how do i get that- In addition to this, they said they would need the car for at least three days...Giac are located in the states (no way), and Apr are in Tauton and I am in Oxford....grrrrr! Neither, could confirm if the gearbox was the same as the golf, or even if they could peform the remap....

 

[Essflee]

Sorry to hear about your situation Clach, it sounds like your going no where fast... maybe you should scrap the idea all together. Sell the auto, buy your Mrs a cheap little Auto run about and pick yourself up a cheap 1.8T, you can pick up a pre-face lift quite cheap these days, Save anymore headaches !!

 

[A3_Turbo]

Might sound like a stupid thing to say but why dont you just call the companies?

Most of them are really busy and dont always get time to answer emails?

Just a thought.. Give Jabba a call!

J

 

[Clach]

Thanks for the support lads.

Firstly. I have invested over £2k in the A3 since June. It only has 55k on the clock, and (touchwood) runs sweet. Push come to shove I might indeed have to give up the idea, rather than running another car which we simply cannot afford.

Second, I e-mail for two reasons. First, when you e-mail I know for legal reasons as much as anything that they have considered their answer. (i.e. they have probably asked various people before answering). Second, I have also called companies and their reaction is always an 'off the cuff' positive reaction, but with absolutely no knowlege of the torque tolerance of my particular Gearbox. For example, I asked several companies, have you ever remapped a 1.8T with a standard Gearbox, each time the answer was no! Basically, I am not willing to play Guinea pig with my tranny....

Will keep trying. I suppose what I am most p'd off by is the lack of response from a genuine potential customer....

Cheers, Clach

 

[AndyMac]

Considering you're probably the only person in the world with an A3TS Auto it's hardly surprising no one wants to touch it

 

[Clach]

lol true! Although, I did see one online for sale. I had 170K on the clock, gives me hope for the future that kind of mileage...

 

[HTC]

The ecu code can be acheived via vag-com. I also think its physically written on it.

Anyone with ElsaWin and ETKA should be able to figure what gearboxes are on which vehicle. The gearbox code is written on the data sticker and in your service book. I would take a look but I won't have my info to hand for a while.

 

[Clach]

Cheers, if you do get a chance that would be great. On my service book the code says the gearbox is ---- EPC. Which probably stands for Errrr Peice of Crap..lol

 

[Clach]

RESULT...!

A positive response from a reputable remap company and Garage, Total Vag...a

"Hello,
Yes we can remap your car and it will be completly safe.I have spoken to custom-code to make sure that your auto box wont be an issue and they say that it wont.The good news is that custom-code have got a 30% discount on at the moment".

Regards,

Game on!

 

[HTC]

Excelent news. At least you have some comeback if the worst were to happen.

Custom Code are mobile too.

 

[Clach]

put put, into brrrrr

 

[Clach]

As lady luck would have it, I pulled into a shell garage today and they have an 1998 A3 Automatic on show for 4k. Just to see if it is just my gearbox that is a lumpy nightmare I took here for a spin. Yes, they are all crap!!!!

Disappointed in Audi, maybe the custom code remap will make the gear changes a wee bit sweeter....

 

[HTC]

You can only hope.

 

[mattosmond]

on the whole renault gearbox topic vag must have been doing this for a while because the vr6 auto corrados have renault auto boxes that are also complete sh!t..

Have you tried CCC tech who use upsolute? simon coe came and di my manual a3 1.8T today... what a difference... awesome...