Facelift 2018 S3 Drive Line Concerns

[Tbjhnsn]

I own a 2018 facelift S3 with the DQ381 7-Speed and it currently has around 48,000 km on the clock. This is my first DSG car (purchased second hand at 28,000 km) and I have not driven another DQ381, but after having the car for two-years now, I'm convinced that something's not quite right with the drive line.

Initially I hated the way the car shifted - overall just sluggish with jerky shifts, especially off the line. I took the car back to Audi to have them inspect it and was told everything was fine. Around this time I started to notice that the steering would vibrate at a particular rpm range (around 2000-3000 rpm) normally when in 5th (similar to a game controller). This was subtle, and didn't occur all the time, but was odd and something I hadn't noticed before. The vibration does not change with speed and is RPM depdendent. I often notice it after applying heavy throttle and letting the car overrun.

I took the car back to audi and they diagnosed the vibration as faulty engine mounts at around 40,000 km. New mounts actually made quite a difference and reduced some of the jerkiness I had been experiencing. I still noticed the steering vibration after a few days, although it was not as strong as before.

Giving up hope with Audi and with everyone telling me that this was just the way the car behaved, I decided to get a TVS ECU and TCU tune after warranty had experienced, hoping that it would transform the transmission and solve some of these issues. Overall, I've been really happy with the tune in terms of drivability. The adjusted shift points make the car way more responsive and a heap better to drive on a daily basis - but I still continue to notice a few things which make me suspicious that something is not as it should be:

• Not long after the tune, I noticed an increase in noise from the drivers (left) side of the car. Now these engines are quite noisy with the injectors to begin with but this noise doesn't seem to be coming from valve train or timing chain cover - it's most audible around the footwell area. The noise is very subtle at this time, but is definitely audible from inside the cabin with the radio turned down low. The noise presents as a ticking sound, but is not exactly continuous - the volume increases and decreases and is somewhat random. The noise is only present when idling and gets louder when shifted into drive. In S mode, with the idle RPM slightly higher, I cant hear it anymore.
• The car is still a little jerky off the line under light to medium throttle. In these conditions, the shifts from 1 to 3 are quite jerky and I feel the car loses a lot of speed between the shifts. If i give it full throttle, this is no longer an issue.
• The shift from 4>3 is really not great and wasn't before the tune either. Now this could be a TVS thing, but I haven't heard of others complaing, nor does TVS say that this is a common issue that they know of. When coming off the throttle to go through a roundabout, the car often shifts down to third just as I'm about to apply throttle and come out. This seems like a really strange shift and slower than all others. I have to be quite careful to give the car enough time for the shift to complete, otherwise it just grabs the gear harshly after a little bit of time and jerks the car. This happens to me on a near daily basis and I try to avoid this situation as much as possible.
• Often when coming out of an offramp and apply hard throttle, I notice that the gearbox jerks for a split second before smooth power delivery comes in. I have tested this in manual with the gear locked also, so doesn't appear to be a shifting problem. As I had the engine mounts replaced, I am thinking that this could be as simple as a failing transmission mount, but had it looked at a while back and was told it was fine.

Overall, these issues worry me a bit, and I'm concerned that I am seeing early signs of a DMF or clutch failure. Im going to have the DSG fluid changed in the next week and see if I find any improvement, but would love your feedback and thoughts. I honestly don't mind if I need to replace the DMF, as long as it fixes the issues.

Cheers

 

[JBoyd215]

Slightly off-topic… but I feel like theres a typo in the thread title

 

[Damo S]

Have you ever had the haldex serviced? Audi dont do this as standard. They will replace the haldex oil at 40k (I think) but in truth the haldex pump is likely to be knackered well before that. Ideally it needs haldex oil change and filter cleaned every 20k maximum, I get mine done every 10k service.

I have a vague recollection of people having lower gear change jerkyness which went away after they had the haldex serviced (and pump replaced, which was knackered). I might be wrong. If you haven't specifically asked a garage to do this to your car you should look to get this done at an independent garage anyway.

 

[Tbjhnsn]

Hi mate,

Already had the Haldex pump changed out at 20000 km. You’re right though - the car was very jerky with that broken. I would also see the traction light up often.

 

[Tbjhnsn]

Just an update,

Had a bit of work done on the car (downpipe, intercooler, intake) recently and had the DSG flushed at the same time.
Surprisingly the fluid change has drastically improved the smoothness and responsiveness of the transmission.

The fluid came out extremely dirty at only 45,000 km and I’m glad I didn’t leave it any longer.

While I can still hear the noise coming from the DSG with drive selected the car is a whole lot better. Also still experiencing the steering shudder in 5th but it has reduced. Along with this the clutch is no longer juddering when coming to a stop.
Overall I think there may have been some long term damage to the clutches/flywheel based on the colour of the fluid and these other observations but for now it’s not too bad. Will continue to keep an eye on it for now.

for all DQ381 7-speed owners I would recommend getting the DSG fluid changed well before the factory interval.