Gearbox Problem?

[AudiA6LeMans]

Hello people,

Not sure where to start but the car I have is Audi A6 Saloon 2010 Le Mans 2.0 TDI Manual (170 BHP). Everything was fine until today, I've had the car for about 1 month, done almost 1,000 miles. It has full dealers' service history. So the problem I have encountered today is while I was driving on a dual-carriage way, at around 50-60 mph, had 5th gear selected. On the dashboard it was showing "3" at bottom indicating I was in 3rd gear. Now I know for sure I was in 5th Gear, the RPM was in the red area between 5 and 6. After about 5-10 seconds the number on the dashboard changed from "3" to "4" then to "5", as the gears changed the RPM dropped. Meanwhile I could smell something burning within the car, so I left the dual-carriage way and turned off the engine. I opened the bonnet and I could smell something burning underneath. I then waited for about 5 minutes to allow the car to cool off and eventually drove home. While driving home the same thing happened this time was on 6th Gear again on the dashboard it was displaying the gear wrongly. While on 6th gear it was showing "4" then jumped to "5" and then to "6", the display change happens around 2-3 seconds. Meanwhile the burning smell had not gone. I hope that my car's fault is not something huge as I really like this car.

Edit: I got no warnings or errors displayed on the dashboard at all.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thank you

 

[RAF_S7]

Welcome to the Forum.

Is it a manual or auto box - Im a little confused by your mentioning of a manual in the intro, but seem to be describing auto box behaviour. Or Im reading the description of the problem wrong!

Do you know if its had the gearbox oil changed as part of its service history?

Im not experienced in these boxes, but the above questions will help anyone who reads you post

 

[AudiA6LeMans]

Welcome to the Forum.

Is it a manual or auto box - Im a little confused by your mentioning of a manual in the intro, but seem to be describing auto box behaviour. Or Im reading the description of the problem wrong!

Do you know if its had the gearbox oil changed as part of its service history?

Im not experienced in these boxes, but the above questions will help anyone who reads you post

Thank you for the reply. Sorry if I was not clear in my intro. It is a Manual Gearbox, and I am not sure whether the gearbox oil has been changed. I would need to check the service history book then would return back to you.

 

[Retroman]

There are probably two gear/vehicle speed sensors attached to the gearbox which control these displays. I suspect one is faulty. I assume that other than these "displays" the actual gearbox is running normally with no strange noises or difficulty changing gear?

 

[AudiA6LeMans]

There are probably two gear/vehicle speed sensors attached to the gearbox which control these displays. I suspect one is faulty. I assume that other than these "displays" the actual gearbox is running normally with no strange noises or difficulty changing gear?

The burning smell and the car does not drive like it has since I have bought it.

 

[AudiA6LeMans]

Welcome to the Forum.

Is it a manual or auto box - Im a little confused by your mentioning of a manual in the intro, but seem to be describing auto box behaviour. Or Im reading the description of the problem wrong!

Do you know if its had the gearbox oil changed as part of its service history?

Im not experienced in these boxes, but the above questions will help anyone who reads you post

I have checked the service history, the car has been serviced 4 times by Audi Dealer. The gearbox oil has not been changed.

 

[AudiA6LeMans]

I took it to a mechanic friend of mine and he told me that the burning smell is very likely to be coming from the Clutch. Hopefully on Monday I will take the car to my local Audi Dealer.

 

[annodomini2]

Sounds like your clutch is on it's way out.

 

[Petra]

May I, please, ask if the cause of that was ever determined and how did Audi respond? I had virtually the same experience last Wednesday on my 2016 Audi Q5 petrol manual last week - mileage 23,809. Narrow winding road in very foggy Dartmoor. Me and my 8 yr old daughter driving slowly and steadily. Gear box in 4, dashboard showing 2. Noise erupting suddenly. As if understeering or oversteering without even changing gears. Changed the gear from 4 to 3. Dashboard showed 5. Had no other option but stop as I could not control the vehicle. Smoke started coming out of the bonnet. Got out, opened the bonnet, got my daughter out and placing the triangle on the road. Royal Mariners driving by and saving us.Took us into safety - offroad and one of them drove the car for about 2 minutes to get it offroad too. Too dangerous to leave it or us there. Smell awful. Filled the whole car. Waiting for a recovery truck for 2.5 hours (Audi Roadside Assistance). Then took 8.5 hours on 3 different trucks to be taken home. Audi is blaming me and says I must pay£3.5k for repairs. Not normal tear & wear as vehicle new and low mileage. Not me or my driving as I have been driving manual cars for 25 years. This is my 3rd Audi and I've also had 2 Skoda Octavia cars (the same VW Group). Never ever any clutch problems. I believe the clutch failed and burnt because of the miscommunication between dashboard (electronics) and physical part (gearbox). It all happened suddenly and so very quickly. Lucky not to have been hurt or crashed into as the fog heavy. But Audi keeps on insisting my responsibility and fault. Not the safety expectations I had when buying the car. On the road price over £43k. My kettle has lasted for more than 3 years and 1 month. No warning whatsoever: visual or audio that clutch needs changing or checking or anything. I had no idea what was happening and why during the sudden failure. Any advice would be appreciated. I am minded to escalate the dispute through legal means as the car not safe and fit for purpose and I will be returning it under the Hire Purchase as soon as possible. Surprised by Audi's attitude. Would say arrogant and ignorant as totally unwilling to even look into the cause. Just saying or implying there is no other explanation but the way I drive (an experienced driver with history of 25 years; always manual cars; took 3 driving tests - first in my home country in 1994, then one in the UK in 2002, then another one in the Caribbean in 2007. Never any problems, accidents or convictions.Thank you for any advice anyone here can give.