rayzor

i have a 99 A6Q automatic/TIP with 32K miles. occasionally when i start the car, the transmission does a strange thing. it seemingly only shifts into 2nd or 3rd gear. from Park to Drive or any other gear is very jerky. it appears just stuck on one gear when you drive it. the display on the instrument cluster that shows the gear being used is entirely lit as opposed to just the gear selected. to fix it, i need to restart the car and everything is back to normal. i've searched the archives and could find nothing similar to this. this happens one out of ten starts. wanted to have some heads up before taking it to the dealer. it is under warranty luckily.

QCRAZY

That's limp mode. Check for a tranny fault code.

Stoney

The mechanic just blew it out, reset the error code, and we were off.

Of course yours might be another cause, but this one is so easy to fix that it may be worth looking into.

Peccavis

And the PRND display eventually lit up. I didn't have a VAG at the time, but the dealer found the multi-function transmission switch was shot. It happened at 109K miles, but it was really strange. Felt like a mechanical problem, but it was just a bad tranny chip.