Q5 Transmission Service/Fluid Change
03-23-2018, 12:00 PM
#1
AudiWorld Junior Member
Thread Starter
Q5 Transmission Service/Fluid Change
I have a 2011 Q5 4cly. 2.0 just turned 100,000 miles. Please advise if a transmission fluid change is recommended? The dealer advised against but would perform the fluid change for $650 but would assume no responsibility for any possible damaged incurred as a result of the fluid drain & refill. Their position is that Audi does not require/ recommend that the transmission fluid be changed at 100,000 miles. I did read a post here mentioning something about the transmission manufacturer recommending a transmission service. The car currently runs fine & shifts fine. I had new Pistons installed under warranty at 30,000 miles & I feel that I can squeeze at least a couple of more years out of the car. I would like to change the transmission fluid if it will prolong the life of the transmission but I don't want to end up with a damaged transmission as a result of this service.
03-23-2018, 12:56 PM
#2
AudiWorld Senior Member
Here is the 2011 Audi Maintenance Schedule (https://www.audiusa.com/content/dam/...-Year-2011.pdf) .
According to it, your Q5's DSG tranny oil does not need to be changed ever which, IMHO, is scary. Have you tried to reach out to an independent Audi mechanic? The Audi dealers just follow what the Audi systems tells them to do or not to do. Once they plug your car's VIN into their system, it pulls up the necessary information about your Q5 to perform the services. They have machines that also prep the car for the tranny oil change. It is not as simple as drain and fill. The tranny goes through a few exercises and warm up process to let the fluid settle and allow techs to determine whether it is filled up or not.
According to it, your Q5's DSG tranny oil does not need to be changed ever which, IMHO, is scary. Have you tried to reach out to an independent Audi mechanic? The Audi dealers just follow what the Audi systems tells them to do or not to do. Once they plug your car's VIN into their system, it pulls up the necessary information about your Q5 to perform the services. They have machines that also prep the car for the tranny oil change. It is not as simple as drain and fill. The tranny goes through a few exercises and warm up process to let the fluid settle and allow techs to determine whether it is filled up or not.
03-23-2018, 01:48 PM
#3
AudiWorld Super User
Here is the 2011 Audi Maintenance Schedule (https://www.audiusa.com/content/dam/...-Year-2011.pdf) .
According to it, your Q5's DSG tranny oil does not need to be changed ever which, IMHO, is scary. Have you tried to reach out to an independent Audi mechanic? The Audi dealers just follow what the Audi systems tells them to do or not to do. Once they plug your car's VIN into their system, it pulls up the necessary information about your Q5 to perform the services. They have machines that also prep the car for the tranny oil change. It is not as simple as drain and fill. The tranny goes through a few exercises and warm up process to let the fluid settle and allow techs to determine whether it is filled up or not.
According to it, your Q5's DSG tranny oil does not need to be changed ever which, IMHO, is scary. Have you tried to reach out to an independent Audi mechanic? The Audi dealers just follow what the Audi systems tells them to do or not to do. Once they plug your car's VIN into their system, it pulls up the necessary information about your Q5 to perform the services. They have machines that also prep the car for the tranny oil change. It is not as simple as drain and fill. The tranny goes through a few exercises and warm up process to let the fluid settle and allow techs to determine whether it is filled up or not.
03-23-2018, 02:06 PM
#4
DSG was only in A3, TT, TTS, according to that document.
I just did the change in my 2010 3.2L w/ 6-speed auto. The fluid smelled slightly burned, even that I did drain and re-filled 3 bottles of fluid about 18 months ago. This time I took the car to an indy who specializes in VW/Audi- they removed the pen, changed the filter and refilled with 5 bottles of lifetime8 fluid.
for my car the ZF document is attached.
I just did the change in my 2010 3.2L w/ 6-speed auto. The fluid smelled slightly burned, even that I did drain and re-filled 3 bottles of fluid about 18 months ago. This time I took the car to an indy who specializes in VW/Audi- they removed the pen, changed the filter and refilled with 5 bottles of lifetime8 fluid.
for my car the ZF document is attached.
03-23-2018, 02:21 PM
#5
AudiWorld Senior Member
03-23-2018, 02:31 PM
#6
AudiWorld Super User
No it is more than that. DSG is a dual clutch automated manual gearbox. Different than automatic transmission with its torque converter and bands. Different fluids and different maintenance requirements.
03-23-2018, 02:36 PM
#7
AudiWorld Senior Member
OP said that his Q5 had a 2.0L TFSI engine which came with a dual clutch tranny. I am unaware that it had a torque converter. I know the V6's came with torque converters.
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03-23-2018, 03:04 PM
#8
AudiWorld Super User
The 2011 Q5, 2.0T in the US came with the 8 speed tiptronic ZF trans, no dual-clutch ................
Last edited by Bob Petruska; 03-23-2018 at 03:07 PM.
07-21-2020, 11:40 AM
#10
I had my fluid drained and refilled (no new transmission filter) by an Indy shop. It cost me $280. I did it at about 76,000 miles. I am like you and prefer to be preventative rather than wait for something to go wrong. There is a procedure to follow that is why I had someone do it for me. I usually do things like this myself but just wasn't feeling comfortable on the Audi.