KrazeeMonkee

Hey everyone, I just wanted some of your guys' rather expertice advice on something. So I was driving my car a week ago, and as I was making a right turn and accelerating, all of a sudden the car doesn't pick up speed and it was as if I was driving in neutral: the car would rev, but it wouldn't move. I parked it in a parking lot, opened the hood, as if I knew what I was doing, closed it back, and tried to start the car up again. When the problem first happened, the transmission with the lightning indicator went off, as well as the yellow triangle. After I started the car up again, all the warning lights were gone. The next day, I turned on the car only to find the lights were back. I tried driving it, but the same problem occured, it was as if I'm driving in neutral; it would work for a brief moment, then it would go back. Shutting the car off and back on again sometimes fixed it momentarily. Eventually, I beleive the ABS lights turned on, and the Brake light was flashing in red.

We took it to the Audi dealership and they first thought it was the battery, changed it, and it didn't fix the problem. The guy said it drove fine for a bit, then stopped working. They then rediagnosed it and said that it was the transmission control module/control. This part apparently is not a cheap fix, they said $2,334 total.

Now, do you guys really believe that is the problem or do you think that it MIGHT be something else? I had a friend that said he had a similar problem on his Subaru and it ended up being something with the oxygen level in his intake or something. What are your guys' thoughts?

If it is the problem, what would YOU do?
1. Give it to Audi and have them fix it so that they can guarentee the part? (incase it doesn't fix the problem, they won't charge you for it)
2. Give it to a local Audi mechanic who will do the same job for $1,800 but doesn't guarentee the part.

Also, I was searching the forums for a similar problem and saw that some of the threads were talking about AoA picking up part of the cost. Is that only when the problem happens shortly after the warrenty ends or can they do something for me aswell? I bought the car from a private seller 5 months ago and the car had 87,034 miles on it then; now it has around 90,000 miles.

I would truly appreciate any suggestions or advice. Thanks guys!

Brian Cecil

If I were going to spend that kind of money, I'd want a second diagnosis anyway. But, I'd also want a guarantee on parts and labor, period, from any shop doing the work.

It wouldn't hurt to contact AoA to see what their response would be.

big_sos

Is this a CVT?

karsoon

Mine 2004 Oct, 1.8T with CVT.
My mileage is now 82,000km and last week when i was driving somewhere along the country roads, and my cvt give way. The problem was like what you described. Gear was like in neutral and the car lost power. Some people called it 'gear slipped' and if you look at the dash display, your PRDS will blink and going haywired.

Car sent in back to the local Audi agent and confirm it is the control unit of the CVT and the cost is estimated around $2000.

I will be letting my local audi guys to do the job. Willnt trust others. You might have better mechanics over there.

jesvest1

I too have an acceleration problem with 2003 A4 cabriolet with CVT trans. It's more subtle ie. 5 different times while driving slowly I try to accelerate causing engine to rev from 1000 RPM to 3000 RPM w/o any acceleration, but then after few seconds car begins to accelerate. It has also done same thing from standing stop and doesn't go at all. No lights go on; dealer can't figure out or even experience the problem. This problem is getting more frequent, but is quite intermittent. I'm frustrated.