Common Symptoms for a failing S-Tronic Gearbox.

[y15usf]

Hi Guys,

Im new here, First post, the noob xD

Quick question is what are the common symptoms for a failing S-Tronic Gearbox for the people who had to experience this unfortunately.

I have a weird thing where my car likes to rev up to 4k revs or so before gearing up on drive and red line to max on sports mode.

I cannot drive auto without over rev and wasting fuel, occasionally it will rev at normal rpms.

So i drive it in manual mode.

I had read online this could be a bad gearbox but however when i drive manual the shifts are instant and i dont have any issues at all.

Smooth as butter as DSG should be....

Also i have read something about Adaptive Driver Memory On Audi cars. I have tried this but didn't work. At the same time i may have not done it properly as i heard no clicking sounds?

(https://www.audiforums.com/forum/audi-a4-8/adaptive-drive-reset-34316/)

Another thing is my car is remapped and the guy i bought the car off was high so he was useless. He told me nothing about the car.

But i did my evaluations and checks and bought it despite lack of information in certain places.

Could this be because of the remap of engine or even a Stonic gearbox remap as i have heard they can do that to the ECU of the gearbox.

I am getting my S-Tronic oil changed tomorrow at dealer, dont know when this was last changed or filled as the high *** guy couldn't tell me.

I will let the forum know if this fixes anything.

Hope answers to this forum help others because i couldn't find any clear answers anywhere.

Y15SUF

Newbie Noob xD

 

[Dynamo86]

I had issues where I suffered juddering between 1st and 2nd gear and sometimes when I came to a stop, the car would jerk forward.

I think that was an issue with the mechatronics.

I was lucky, I have extended warranty on the car and it broke down one day at work, no gear changes and the display would flash, I couldn't get the car to move.

It turned out that the first gear selector fork had snapped imbedding itself into the mechatronics.

Under warranty I had it changed along with the clutch pack, which to my surprise was also covered under warranty although I think that was a mistake.

The total cost was £3000.

You say yours is remapped, is it possible you have a bad map? It also could be the gearbox coming to an end.

 

[y15usf]

I had issues where I suffered juddering between 1st and 2nd gear and sometimes when I came to a stop, the car would jerk forward.

I think that was an issue with the mechatronics.

I was lucky, I have extended warranty on the car and it broke down one day at work, no gear changes and the display would flash, I couldn't get the car to move.

It turned out that the first gear selector fork had snapped imbedding itself into the mechatronics.

Under warranty I had it changed along with the clutch pack, which to my surprise was also covered under warranty although I think that was a mistake.

The total cost was £3000.

You say yours is remapped, is it possible you have a bad map? It also could be the gearbox coming to an end.

Man your so lucky, to still have warranty and get it fixed. My car is way past the warranty stage lol.

My map came with the car, i have no idea where it was mapped or by who or what stage, all i know is its so much quicker than any audi a3 i have driven with the same engine.

I had a a5 or a6 try race me the other day and my car didn't beat it but kept up on its tail for the whole journey.

I get what you mean about the gearbox coming close to end of life but would you not expect mis-shits and issues when driving in manual mode?

When i drive manual it is with zero issues.

 

[dave_beastttt]

If it works fine in manual mode, it would suggest the mechatronic unit is faulty

 

[nluk100]

If it works fine in manual mode, it would suggest the mechatronic unit is faulty

What makes you think that? I thought you needed the mechatronics for all gear changes, auto and manual? Sounds like it either needs a reset using vcds and/or an oil and filter change.

 

[paddy]

If you boot it in sport it will red line or hit the rev limiter before it changes.

 

[SootySport]

Suggest you try the oil and filter change first, at least it something you can do yourself and won’t cost the earth https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/dsg-oil-filter-change-video-diy-easy.262369/ if it’s not that then a dsg specialist will need to diagnose the problem.

 

[y15usf]

Suggest you try the oil and filter change first, at least it something you can do yourself and won’t cost the earth https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/dsg-oil-filter-change-video-diy-easy.262369/ if it’s not that then a dsg specialist will need to diagnose the problem.

I read online the actual S-Tronic oil is expensive and cost around £5 a litre or so.

People say to just go to Audi direct since there aren't much cost savings, and certain specialists charge more than the dealer?

Plus they offer a helpful free drop off and pick up service with the work so no worries about arranging lifts xD.

Dropped the car off and they dropped me off at work.

Once it is done they will pick me up.

I feel like a VIP xD.

Ps. This is my first car and I'm only 18 so I don't have the funds to go to a specialist

 

[y15usf]

If you boot it in sport it will red line or hit the rev limiter before it changes.

Nice, thought so that is normal

 

[y15usf]

What makes you think that? I thought you needed the mechatronics for all gear changes, auto and manual? Sounds like it either needs a reset using vcds and/or an oil and filter change.

That is exactly what I have been thinking, but I'm no expert in DSG yet alone transmissions.

Computers are more of my thing.

 

[y15usf]

Have a look at the cost of the oil

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293161063289

I mean I did the maths and the cost savings aren't massive when you have to buy all the parts needed.

Audi would only use genuine so I picked this as a fair comparison.

You can probably get cheaper oils but Audi doesn't use the cheap one.

Also since I'm new here how do I become a well-known member of certain groups like you guys?

 

[paddy]

Also since I'm new here how do I become a well-known member of certain groups like you guys?

the more posts you leave, the better known you will become.

 

[y15usf]

Quick question for S-Tronic users preferably A3 users- what revs does each gear shift up at for you when on drive?

And also when driving on manual mode does you car auto-shift up past a set RPM to prevent damage?

Just got the car back and no difference in the shift time while driving in drive.

Looks like I'll stick to manual shifting, as much as I enjoy it sometimes it's nice not worry about shiting at all

Quite surprised audi didn't have a look at the gearbox or check the ECU of the gearbox as part of the service.

Asked the guy and he said its just something they don't do.

A check and upgrade in software would be beneficial for the gearbox, to be honest, since its people expecting a service for the gearbox.

Anyway, If anyone has any other recommendations please let me know.

P.S is there an easy way to know what firmware is running on cars and if it's up to date or not.

 

[paddy]

The point/revs at which it changes will vary depending on how hard you are accelerating. Its never a set RPM
if you are pulling hard at 4k rpm in 5th and back off it will change to 6th if you dont back off it will stay in 5th

If you pull away slowly it might be in 6th by 30mph, if you pull away quickly it might still be in 3rd and 30mph

In any case it will change at the red line or you will feel the rev limiter cut in. You cant over rev it.

 

[nluk100]

Quick question for S-Tronic users preferably A3 users- what revs does each gear shift up at for you when on drive?

And also when driving on manual mode does you car auto-shift up past a set RPM to prevent damage?

P.S is there an easy way to know what firmware is running on cars and if it's up to date or not.

If you suspect that your gearbox has been remapped then it will normally have different change up / down points to std software. It will still usually change up, even in manual when it hits the redline unless the last owner requested it to be removed in manual mode. Also, did you know that the throttle pedal has a kick-down mode (if you slam your foot to the floor) that finds the lowest possible gear? Maybe you engaged this and got unexpected behaviour in your eyes.

I personally wouldn't worry about Audi software levels - it sounds like you're remapped anyway so Audi would just overwrite your map and you would lose it forever seeing as you don't know who mapped it.

 

[findalex]

Find someone with a scan tool and reset the adaptation settings on your transmission.

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/6-Speed_Direct_Shift_Gearbox_(DSG/02E)
or
http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/7-Speed_Direct_Shift_Gearbox_(DSG/0AM)

It's free to do, won't hurt anything. And if that won't fix your shifting issues, then it's your mechatronics. If you can live with it, then do nothing and give thanks for each day your transmission still shifts.

 

[JayTeeA38P]

Find someone with a scan tool and reset the adaptation settings on your transmission.

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/6-Speed_Direct_Shift_Gearbox_(DSG/02E)
or
http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/7-Speed_Direct_Shift_Gearbox_(DSG/0AM)

It's free to do, won't hurt anything. And if that won't fix your shifting issues, then it's your mechatronics. If you can live with it, then do nothing and give thanks for each day your transmission still shifts.

I'd read somewhere that it can be done by flooring the accelerator pedal with ignition on (not engine) for ten seconds, switching off ignition, then releasing pedal...?
It's possible this was for a different model though.

 

[Dynamo86]

Man your so lucky, to still have warranty and get it fixed. My car is way past the warranty stage lol.

My map came with the car, i have no idea where it was mapped or by who or what stage, all i know is its so much quicker than any audi a3 i have driven with the same engine.

I had a a5 or a6 try race me the other day and my car didn't beat it but kept up on its tail for the whole journey.

I get what you mean about the gearbox coming close to end of life but would you not expect mis-shits and issues when driving in manual mode?

When i drive manual it is with zero issues.

Mine drove fine in manual, I'm pretty sure the mechatronics was on it's it' out, it drives much better with a new one. Hope you get it sorted.

 

[findalex]

I'd read somewhere that it can be done by flooring the accelerator pedal with ignition on (not engine) for ten seconds, switching off ignition, then releasing pedal...?
It's possible this was for a different model though.

I've done that, but it's a "real" complete reset. Some people say the procedure is an old procedure for older cars, and what I'm feeling is the placebo effect. It won't hurt anything for you to try, so why not give it a try.

When I did it, it felt like it just put all the shift points back to learning mode. The shifts became smoother but felt like it was longer. More like a traditional automatic transmission. But within a few days, the transmission goes back to being its bad self.

The way I did it was:
1. turn key to ON (but engine off)
2. step on gas pedal all the way down for 30 seconds
3. take foot off gas pedal
4. start engine with foot on brake

You can try switching the key to off after step 3, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that doing so cancels the reset.