DaveInSaltLake

The A8 I picked up last week is growing on me. It has several of the typical problems that I need to work through like the headrests that wont adjust, antenna that won't go up, the hunt/thump syndrone, and a few other minor issues....exactly what I'd expect from a 10 year old car.

I got a scare last night when I hooked up my VWTOOL to read DTC's. There was a laundry list of misfires and other stuff in the ECM...probably stored there since Clinton was in office. The TCM had a disturbing code related to the torque converter and brake switch circuit. CRAP! I got distracted and didn't have time to look it up before going to bed, which was a mistake. Looking at a $3k trans rebuild woke me up about 2am and kinda ruined the night's rest. I finally crawled out of bed to search the code and found out how benign it is. The interesting thing is that the Hitachi ECM on the C4 A6 stores the brake switch code until it's pushed....I wasn't really expecting to find it in the TCM on the A8 and, thus, the concern.

The hunting and gentle thumping conerns me. I really wish I could log into the TCM and select a single program for it to run that would eliminate that. Time to search for a newer valve body for a swap...sounds like that's the real solution other than digging into the VB to replace o-rings and maybe some springs. Any other short term fixes?

I have a small vibration in the front end I need to sort out. It may be due to the aftermarket Arceo brand wheels and the whole hub-centric issue...or maybe something else. Seems there's always something to figure out.

I'm duly impressed with the power and grace this car has. It holds the corners well, accelerates smoothly when asked, and looks great. I'm hooked.

I find the contrast between the A8 and the diesel 1982 VW Caddy (Rabbit pickup) I fart around town on the weekends in a refreshing changeup. (There are just some places one doesn't want to drive or park a nice car, like at the junkyards I seem to haunt much too often for my car projects.)

The wife likes the car and can't really remember now why she called it an 'old mans car' awhile back. Good enough for me...I know when not to press her on an issue. In the mean time, I've picked up a 1999 yellow Beetle project that may temporarily substitute for the TT she eventually wants to try out.

ricoblanco

is to leave the car in tip when in the 35-45MPH range.

DaveInSaltLake

I dislike the Tip function, in general, and think it contributes to premature failure of many of the B5 A4 transmissions...IMHO.

I'll experiment some more with it.

PaulW

Don't let others tell you it won't work. Then try replacing it and hopefully it will do the trick.

Congrats!

ricoblanco

I agree about the tip. I would just switch it over if the hunting bothers you. I am personally not really bothered by it and tend to leave it alone. It's funny, I recoded the transmission so the tip holds first to the redline, and now I don't even use it. meh.

DaveInSaltLake

would I need to use the newer/matching TCM, too?