Had my a3 sportback 2.0tdi s line, 6 speed manual a week and just had to have it recovered due to the following issues: when changing from 2nd to 3rd the geartsick is not springing to neutral in order to smoothly go into 3rd, instead intermittently goes towards 1st also when the gearstick is pushed from neutral towards the right hand side, towards 5th and 6th the gearstick fails to spring back to neutral, anyone know of what the cause may be or aware of any issues? This is my first audi and I'm very disappointed !
New A3 sportback gearbox problems
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Never heard of anything like this before or had anything similar on any of my four A3s. Just a random failure I guess, shame it had to happen to a new owner so soon but I'm sure the dealer will look after you 
dieseldoug
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Clamp screw for gear lever selector may have come loose, easy fix but not nice to have on a new vehicle.
Keep us posted if anything else is found wrong with it but hopefully nothing bad.
Doug
Keep us posted if anything else is found wrong with it but hopefully nothing bad.
Doug
Thanks for the replies, should hopefully hear from the dealership today so will keep you updated.
I honestly could not say if this is a new gear box, this is my first audi so unsure as to which gearbox is used. Service from the dealer so far has not been brilliant , phoned them today and they still haven't had it in the workshop to diagnose, I appreciate they will be busy but thought that in view of how new it is they might try and redeem themselves and the Audi brand!
pluves1
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Did you tell them that? Remember you are at inconvenience here and they should be bending over backwards to help you. Keep things polite but, I wouldn't be happy not knowing when I'm going to get a brand new car back that has an issue after a week.
Yes told them I appreciated that they were busy but felt disappointed that after a week I had my brand new car recovered, I even spoke with audi uk to express my concern, they promised to get back in touch within 24 hours which has been and gone as of 12:00 this afternoon!
pluves1
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Not sure what it is about some Audi dealerships but, they sometimes take the mick judging by some experiences of others on here. Personally whenever I buy a new car I make sure I see the manager and whilst the salesman and manager are in front of me ask them the following. If anything goes wrong with this car you promise to get it sorted and not leave me in the lurch? Only works if they are still there but, there is nothing like seeing the face of the manager when you go back in with an issue. I had cylinder head issues with our S3. Made sure that I got regular updates from service dept and that the courtesy car we were given was up to scratch or comparable with what we had. So we were given an A5 and then a Q5 if my memory serves me right. Oh and the cars next service wasn't paid for by me and neither were the roof bars I got for the car.
Not sure if this is a new gearbox but the 8V gearbox felt tighter on my test drive compared to my 3 year old 8P but difference might just down to age of the gearbox
At first I thought it might just be me, but as mentioned the gear lever is sticking and not springing back to neutral, even if stationary just going through the gears, I was having to physically feed the gears into place with force, not to mention I was neatly rear ended when it decided to stick when changing up to third from second on the way to work!
They should be bending over backwards. They should also have loan cars on standby for eventualities like this. Unfortunately, they're usually driven by some of the staff as 'free perks' of the job who are then reluctant to give them up. Some of the dealers I've used provide cracking loan cars whereas with others it's like getting blood from a stone.
If it's only a week old, I'd threaten to reject the car. A gearbox fault which renders the car undriveable is pretty major. Give them a firm time limit to come to an agreement with you and provide a decent courtesy car. Unfortunately, you've got to be pretty assertive to get what you want. I had a gearbox issue in my last Audi which meant the box had to come out in the first month. It took them 4 days in all to (mis)diagnose it. They gave me an SE spec car first which was OK for the day, but once I knew it was going to take longer, I politely requested an equivalent car and they upgraded to an A6 S-Line.
After 4 days I started getting annoyed and threatened to reject the car... amazingly it was repaired by the end of the day!
If it's only a week old, I'd threaten to reject the car. A gearbox fault which renders the car undriveable is pretty major. Give them a firm time limit to come to an agreement with you and provide a decent courtesy car. Unfortunately, you've got to be pretty assertive to get what you want. I had a gearbox issue in my last Audi which meant the box had to come out in the first month. It took them 4 days in all to (mis)diagnose it. They gave me an SE spec car first which was OK for the day, but once I knew it was going to take longer, I politely requested an equivalent car and they upgraded to an A6 S-Line.
After 4 days I started getting annoyed and threatened to reject the car... amazingly it was repaired by the end of the day!
I was offered a car via roadside assistance however they stated they wanted £50 fuel deposit, as a matter of principal I stated that under the circumstances I did not agree that I should be providing any deposit, I was more than happy to pay for fuel but only as I use it, was just told well that's how it works! Dealership have told me that they have no courtesy cars until at least the 21st of the month. Some may think just pay the£50 however on a week old car I would have expected that they would be going out of their way to help me, as I pointed out to them if my car was in for service they wouldn't be requesting a fuel deposit on a courtesy car.
Some do ask for a fuel deposit, simply as so many customers take the car full and return empty! Usually it can be done by credit card, so a simple in/out transaction which shouldn't cost you anything. I'm usually more concerned with the £1000 dealership insurance excess!
How they deal with this really depends on the nature of the fault. Has it made the car undriveable or is it just an inconvenience? If it's not driveable, call Audi UK and kick up a fuss. It's up to them to provide a car then. It is annoying to have a fault on a brand new car, but unfortunately it does happen. We all have higher expectations of new cars as we expect them to be perfect. Sometimes the dealership staff don't share our high expectations though.
How they deal with this really depends on the nature of the fault. Has it made the car undriveable or is it just an inconvenience? If it's not driveable, call Audi UK and kick up a fuss. It's up to them to provide a car then. It is annoying to have a fault on a brand new car, but unfortunately it does happen. We all have higher expectations of new cars as we expect them to be perfect. Sometimes the dealership staff don't share our high expectations though.
It's undriveable due to how the gearbox is functioning and the fact I was nearly rear ended that's why the RAC towed it back to the dealership on Sunday. I appreciate the £50 is to ensure that there cars are not abused and fuel not paid for by customers, but my argument is based on the principal that the car is so new and in theory dangerous dud to the gearbox issue,
Update just received from the dealership: tech believes that something may have collapsed in the gearbox, audi HQ now want the full report before they will decide if they want the gearbox returning for full investigation or if they will let dealership strip the gearbox and investigate. I don't think that Audi HQ will want the box stripping at the dealership however I may be wrong, either way don't think I will be seeing my car for a while!
I don't think the dealership will strip it either. Most likely is they'll authorise it for exchange and give you a new gearbox. The faulty one will be returned to Audi for investigation. Hope they sort it ASAP for you.
Very concerning on such a new vehicle, and as of yet audi are still struggling to source me a courtesy car! Not good as my car was towed last Sunday.
You could be right there. Just make sure they look after you with a decent courtesy car. Audi tend to take their time and try and discover exactly what's gone wrong, rather than just swap out the gearbox - that was my experience with the A4 anyway.
Let's just hope they get it back to you soon.
As of yet they still haven't got me a courtesy car, so will have been s week tomorrow without a vehicle, just wondering where I stand now with rejecting the vehicle and requesting a new one. Had I have been on the motorway when the gearbox failed like it did on Sunday things could have ended up a lot different.
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Tell them if they won't give you a courtesy car you'll hire one and send them an invoice. Just be sensible with what you hire - similar engine and size. It shouldn't come to that though. Dealerships have access to plenty of cars.
dieseldoug
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Your dealership seems very lapsed in supplying you with a car, I am sure Aberdeen Audi would supply something quickly, never had to go down this road other than serviceing hope you get a result soon.
pluves1
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Christ on a bike. You need to start pulling your weight here. As others have said you probably have good reason to reject the car. Did you pay any of the amount on a credit card? If you did and it was over £100 your credit card company is jointly liable. First I would get your backside in gear and go down to the dealership and speak to the new car sales manager. Explain that you paid £x for a brand new vehicle and does he think that it is acceptable that having paid your money you now have no car to drive around in? Don't be fobbed off by the fact they will say no courtesy cars - ask him for his or another salesmans. You are being too soft and the dealership will simply fob you off if you dont' start to complain. Keep things polite. Mention that you are considering rejecting the car and if you paid some by credit card that you are getting in touch with them as well to get assistance on rejecting the car due to a major fault which is rendering the car undriveable. Which dealership is this? They should be ashamed of themselves and Audi should too for not ensuring that you are on the road in a courtesy car with no contribution from you.
pluves1
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Oh and another thought. Name the dealer and then go down and direct them to this site. That should soon put them into customer service mode. I'm actually sat her gobsmacked that buyers of new vehicles could be treat in this way. I'm more gobsmacked that you have put up with no car for a week. Where are you? I feel like driving down to assist you with your negotiations. Lol
Just been on the phone with Audi UK told them how unhappy I was as to how I have been dealt with and not having a car for nearly a week now, complaint has now been escalated with Audi UK.phoned me back after ending the call to advise me that they will be delivering an A4 saloon black edition on Monday ( no upfront charges) and that complaints dept will be contacting me next week. Once I get update from Audi HQ about what they propose to do I will then look at my next course of action.
Cheers for the support Pluves1, I have given up on the dealership and will now be dealing direct with Audi UK, I had put up with no car due to bank holiday and after giving them what I thought was appropriate time without a satisfactory response went straight to Audi Uk. I'm just glad I wasn't on the motorway with my family in the car when the fault occurred as on Sunday as I nearly ended up with someone rear ending me.
pluves1
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Well done. This is what you should have done and they should have done at the outset. I was about to email this thread to Paul Sansom who is Sales Director of Audi UK. Absolutely shocking customer service from the dealership, they should be ashamed of themselves. Personally I would be rejecting the car and going to another dealership. Please don't forget that you have been inconvenienced here and you need to start thinking about what 'offers' the dealer or Audi UK can come up with to compensate you for this.
Update: dealership have stripped the gearbox and apparently found some Marks? On the gearleaver , these have been photographed and sent to Audi HQ and I'm now awaiting Audi HQ to tell the dealership how they want to proceed with repairs! I would be very interested to see the pictures though and see what exactly they found! Further updates will be posted when I hear Audi HQ response .
I'm surprised (and impressed!) that the dealer took the gearbox apart, good to know that dealerships still possess the skills to do these jobs! Keep us posted on the conclusion
Pluves1...you seem bang on here. Could you have a look at my recent post (ref Engine Change) and let me know what you think of my situation please?
Regards,
Kenny
