S-Tronic Downshift Issue

[ScreenMachine]

A few weeks into ownership of my first S-Tronic I've noticed something and wondered if it's considered normal or an issue, so would appreciate any experience from other owners.

In D or S everything seems normal to me. In M on the paddle shifters, all seems normal except on downshift when coasting off the throttle, or on the brakes.

Under those conditions, in all gears but particularly 3-2 manual downshift there's a delay of about 0.5-1 second followed by a noticeable engagement of the clutch, i.e., the gear shift is delayed and not smooth.

This is sometimes quite disconcerting driving the country lanes where we live, sharp clutch engagement changing down before a tight, often slippery, corner is not desirable!

I tested this deliberately the other day to try and understand what's going on. The most noticeable is if I coast/brake downhill, and then shift down manually, the car will give a little accelleration jolt as the clutch releases, pause half a second or more, then give a more pronounced deceleration jolt as the gear finally engages. It's as though the rev match wasn't quite spot-on, or the clutch isn't releasing/engaging smoothly?

I thought the clutches in these were preselected in the next logical gear, so wouldn't need to engage/disengage, though?

Does anyone else have this behaviour under similar conditions?

[Scott K]

The only time I get something like this is when in E. The paddle shift seems to put it into gear and the next shift takes it down a gear. I don't use E much though as I don't particularly like it. Found it handy in the snow though.

[ScreenMachine]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I don't use E much either, so far, unless I'm stuck behind a queue of traffic with no possibility of passing!

I greatly prefer manual, in fact the paddle shift is part of why I went for the car. I've liked the rev matching downshift on previous models I've tried, as I found it precise and smooth.

So basically yours is instant and smooth downshifting under coasting/braking? On mine it's particularly the 3-2 shift which is lumpy, which is weird. Sometimes it does it fine, others not. It's almost like the gearbox ecu thinks I'm going to change up a gear under braking, not down, and so has the next gear incorrectly selected. Or it's just not engaging or disengaging properly. Will probably book it in to be checked under warranty if the consensus here is it's not normal behaviour.

I understand the dealer did the gearbox oil/filter change just before I picked it up, so I don't know if they reset the software. I've tried doing the adaptation drive in case but it doesn't seem to have made a difference so far.

Does the driver select mode affect gear changes in Manual, by the way?

[Scott K]

I think it is supposed to make the gear changes faster but not too sure.
Under coasting, my changes seem smooth as long as it is not in E. The only time I have a problem is if I downshift at the same time the car does and I drop 2 gears but that's my own fault for not bumping it into manual. I have also found that if I am coming to a junction and spot a space, the car can be caught between gears if I accelerate quickly. This can be alleviated by pulling the gearstick back to put it into S.

[ScreenMachine]

Thanks that's helpful, I understand what you mean by shifting 2 gears in E now.

Your gearbox matches my previous experience and sounds normal. I think mine has an issue, will book it into the local dealers. I've not had good results with them before, though, so I always feel like it's going to be a painful experience before it starts! Fingers crossed it's better this time.

[ScreenMachine]

So, my local audi dealers had a look and told me they couldn't find a fault. Now, a couple of weeks on I have a new symptom -

When pulling away in 1st or 2nd, intermittently, instead of smoothly creeping/engaging the clutch, when I press the throttle the engine will rev up without the car moving, then suddenly engage the clutch with a sharp jolt. Not nice, potentially dangerous.

Anyone have any ideas? Mechatronic? Clutch packs?

So far it's intermittent (so obviously when I take it back to the dealers it won't do it!). Turning the ignition off and then on again seems to have cleared it so far, or reset normal behaviour. How long that will last, who knows!

[Mario]

What is the mileage on the car? Has the S-Tronic gearbox had it's 38,000 mile service? Has it even reached that mileage?