S-Tronic Gearbox Failed (DSG Issues)

[Forbzeeee]

Hi all,

I had the dreaded news that my gearbox has failed and needs to be replaced. Car is out of warranty (2015 S3 - 40k miles) and has been modified to stage 2 with a TCU tune. Not sure if this contributed to it or not but I know that i will need to pay out a lot of money.

Symptoms - Grinding noise mainly in first and second gear when pulling off... also vibration through the car. Gear changes are all normal and once at 30-35mph you wouldn't know there's a problem. Vibration/grinding noise comes back when slowing down e.g. approaching a stop/traffic light when in 2nd gear. No fault codes so failure is purely mechanical. The noise got progressively worse over 2x days so I called Audi Assist. They couldn't diagnose so recommended a dealer visit asap.

Audi have quoted £8,300 for a new gearbox which has to come from Germany. Audi do not sell any gearbox parts separately hence the need for an entire new unit. I have had it checked twice independently and both think its gearbox.

Has anyone had any dealings with TVS Engineering or any other company offering replacement gearboxes that they can recommend?

Is there another avenue I can explore?

Thanks
Forbzee

 

[craigpanthercrystal]

do you get the same when shifting in manual under load in other gears or when drop shifting in auto? could be clutch assembly.

 

[RichardT]

I took out the limited extra warranty when my car was 3 years old - about £150. But I guess that wouldn’t have worked here due to the tuning.

 

[craigpanthercrystal]

Same, I had the 5years, now I have unlimited aftermarket warranty covering wear and tear etc. for the exact reason of (I wanted S-tronic)
Hopefully this isn't anything too serious and if mechincal (Clutches or mech side of gearbox) then the repair doesn't have to be audi as no coding required.

 

[Forbzeeee]

do you get the same when shifting in manual under load in other gears or when drop shifting in auto? could be clutch assembly.

Yes exactly the same

 

[msdmjb]

Holy moly, not a lot to add but given the popularity of the S3 there must be breakers yards pulling out complete gearboxes?
Now without any tuning i would expect Audi to help out in some way so up to your own morals if you start looking for a contribution BUT they will go over your car like a fine tooth comb.

Or just put it to trade and buy something else.

 

[Forbzeeee]

I took out the limited extra warranty when my car was 3 years old - about £150. But I guess that wouldn’t have worked here due to the tuning.

I tried to extend the Audi warranty but it wasnt offered at the time of purchase and it had disappeared from their website when I looked at some point in March last yr.
Even with warranty I’m sure the mapping would void it anyway.

 

[craigpanthercrystal]

sounds more like a loading issue therefore clutch problems. would make sense if driven hard on stage 2. which would be far less scary but still an Auto specialist job.

 

[AlS3BE]

Tvs is meant to be one of the best in the business but I think they are based out in the Netherlands.
There are only a handful of dsg specialists in the uk as far as I know.
What kind of power and more importantly torque was your stage 2 putting out?

 

[RichardT]

I tried to extend the Audi warranty but it was offered at the time of purchase and it had disappeared from their website when I looked at some point in March last yr.
Even with warranty I’m sure the mapping would void it anyway.

It’s not a full warranty. You can have two or three different options covering different stuff. It’s not available until your actual warranty has run out. It’s not the same as extended warranty taken out when new.
I’m pretty sure I got notified by Audi when my warranty ran out.

 

[Forbzeeee]

It’s not a full warranty. You can have two or three different options covering different stuff. It’s not available until your actual warranty has run out. It’s not the same as extended warranty taken out when new.
I’m pretty sure I got notified by Audi when my warranty ran out.

This is probably why I couldn’t find it.

 

[Forbzeeee]

Tvs is meant to be one of the best in the business but I think they are based out in the Netherlands.
There are only a handful of dsg specialists in the uk as far as I know.
What kind of power and more importantly torque was your stage 2 putting out?

421 ps and 522nm

 

[AlS3BE]

421 ps and 522nm

That’s quite a bit more torque than stock but then it’s not astronomically higher 25-30%. I would have thought the tolerance even on a factory tcu map would be able to handle that to a point.
How much is the TVS one compared to Audi? I would assume TVS does an exchange service which should ease the pain a little.
Audi dealer wouldn’t have the expertise to repair these things that’s why they are looking at new box as it’s the simple plug and play option.

 

[-Ju-]

I had a replacement box under warranty on my 8P S3. The dealer wouldn't strip the box as it was a warranty claim and just put a new one in.
I do know someone though who's just had his RS3 gearbox stripped and repaired by the main dealer so they will do it when it suits!
If you know where to look for the Audi warranty it's there all the time but it will only let you renew it once it's into it's final month, it's also much cheaper to do it then rather than when it's expired.
Good luck with the fix as that's a serious amount of dosh to spend on a repair!

 

[Forbzeeee]

Holy moly, not a lot to add but given the popularity of the S3 there must be breakers yards pulling out complete gearboxes?
Now without any tuning i would expect Audi to help out in some way so up to your own morals if you start looking for a contribution BUT they will go over your car like a fine tooth comb.

Or just put it to trade and buy something else.

I am not even going to pursue the Audi route. I was aware of the risks and just think I have been unfortunate to have broken a gearbox as there are many others running similar power and some running even more with Stage 3 on the standard gearbox.

 

[Kingfisher]

some guys at Camberley Audi used to rebuild them - but suspect it was 'in their own time' not as a 'routine service' type of repair.

Try asking Vagtech at Bletchley.

 

[DJAlix]

Re-engineered Transmissions, I do their VAG coding. Ask for Ross:

https://reengineeredtransmissions.co.uk

 

[Forbzeeee]

Re-engineered Transmissions, I do their VAG coding. Ask for Ross:

https://reengineeredtransmissions.co.uk

Cheers Alex, i'll give them a call today.