Jack Hanoka

I have posted some issues I have had with my TT, specifically pulling & vibration at 60-70 MPH. In my pursuit to get these fixed I have met with the Bay Area Regional Rep for Audi. As of yet after 3 attempts by the dealer they have not been able to correct the vibration, this after many balancings, rotations, different tires and different rims and tires & checking out the rotors etc., so the beat goes on there. In my conversation with the Audi Rep I asked him about the issues being raised about the transmission problems, even though after about 2000 miles and a pretty early VIN # mine appears OK. He stated Audi new about the problem and had traced it back to the need for the gears to be heat treated for hardening purposes and strenth. Specifically it appears a small number of 2nd gears did not get that heat treating, causing them to fail prematurely. He did not go into the specifics of how many or if there was a way for Audi to identify which cars were potentially at risk, VIN #'s etc. We did not pursue it any further, though it would appear if they were going to fail it would be pretty early on in the life of the transmission rather than later, and it appears the postings here bear that out. It also appears as the problem arises Audi is quick in getting it replaced. By the way my tranny started out nothchy 1st to 2nd, and hard to engage reverse, but is very smooth now(2000 miles). I just can't get the shimmy/vibration issue corrected, so I may have to move to Germany where I can drive above 70 MPH most of the time as the car is rock steady above 70 all the way to the speed limiter!!!<br>Jack

mne

While all gears should be hardened in any transmission it wouldnt cause the grinding we're experiencing. Might cause second gear to fail catastrophically under a load altogether by virtue of being stripped, but wouldnt grind trying to get it into or out of that gear. Synchros facilitate gear engagement but are no longer used by that gear once its fully engaged till the next time you want that same gear. Non-hardened gearsets would strip almost immediately as they couldnt handle the tensile load required of them. Gears are not as hard as say crankshaft journals (Rockwell C60+) but should be in the C45+ range. If they werent hardened at all they would shear first time they were engaged. They may have been under-hardened, but even that doesnt explain the grinding we're experiencing. That can only be synchro-related. Further I would guess my gear-set is fully hardened as its withstood all the punishment the lack of synchro has caused it. A mild steel or maleable grade of steel woulda been history by now. Another reason to believe its not hardening, or lack thereof. I'm pointing no fingers of accusation at anyone. We are open to any/all stories from anyone at Audi. Your regional rep was just passing along what hes heard, and you did the same. The truth is out there... but we havent gotten to it yet. Besides my VIN remains 005313 and thats NOT a low number today by anyones standard. Yet my tranny has the 'pox.' We'll keep chippin away at this (pun intended). And I'd buy another TT tomorrow. Truth is I dont HAVE to know why... little like a dog chasin' a car... what would I do with it once I caught it?<br>