2.5 TDI Multitronic CVT Gear Box problems

[raf_man]

I am thinking of buying a A6 with the CVT gearbox on it, however i have been looking at some reviews and find that this gearbox is littered with problems, apparently judders at low revs and in reverse. Its a fault ive read Audi knew about but admitted much later and advised to change from a 5 sectional clutch plate to a 7 sectional plate which resolves the problem but costs about £5,000.
Before I go ahead and buy this car I just wanted a feel from any persons who have had this car and experienced anything similar with the CVT gearbox. Should I buy anyway and take out a warranty for the gearbox? im looking at a 52 plate a6 2.5 tdi

[martink]

im new to audi's....on my first which is a 2.5 tip auto not the CVT box...
i read a lot of horror stories on these CVT's too....
one good comment i read a week or sao back was a guy had an A6 on about 115k miles, the CVT box had been fixed twice already at a cost of around 4500 each time and he said it was about finished again....

avoid like the plauge id say! unless of course you have bundles of spare cash

[Teflon]

You will find plenty of people on this forum complaining about CVT boxes. There will also be thousands of happy punters with no problems at all so they won't feel the need to air their delight. Just for the record, I had no problem with my CVT, engine, radio, seats, headlights, numberplates, etc. etc. I did have turbo problems, split CV joint boots and a dodgy indicator relay but I'd still buy again.

If you get a car that has been poorly serviced, filled with cheap oil, thrashed to within and inch of its 150,000 mile life and generally treated with all the respect that a street walker gets then you can expect a whole heap of problems, including the CVT.

A sensible mileage, FSH car with gearbox oil changes on schedule (by an Audi dealer) every 40k miles ought to be as good a bet as buying a Merc or a Beamer or Volvo. Waranties are always a feelgood factor but don't get stung on the price and make sure you read the fine print. Remember that Audi spares will cost you a lot more than repairing a 6 year old Ford and things will be wearing out so running costs will reflect this fact.

[mrcheeezy]

I have a 1.9 TDI A6 and the gearbox failed after 105k and full Audi service history - whilst on holiday in Italy!!!!! See my thread on this site. A new box cost £5k fitted and Audi chipped in £1k. Looked at all the options but no one was able to offer a recon etc these people are good for advice etc http://www.inde-tech.co.uk/multitronic.html

The new box started to judder after another 20k but this time under warranty. New input shaft fitted with the 7 plate clutch - would have cost about £1k I am told. The car drives like a dream now and the box is as smooth as ever - touch wood. I love the car and when it works the box is superb, but in the back of my mind is if it fails outside of warranty, a new box will cost more then the cars value.

Would I buy another with a multitronic? - Probably not - which is a shame because when they work they are superb, maybe they are just a bit too cleaver for their own good.

[raf_man]

The problem is Im buying mine from an auction so cant test drive it, its a 52 reg with 87K , has serice history up to 68K done last January when the timing belt was also changed so thats one less expense I need to worry about. I know what the reserve is and it didnt meet its reserve for the last 2 weeks at the auction and so theyve dropped it to a price that suits me, hopefully I can win the bidding tomorrow. Its has the sports interior (not leather) overall in fine condition.

[shabazmo]

From the reg number, get the owners details from DVLA. Call him and ask. This is likely to be a trade in, so you could get an honest opinion from the previous owner.

[raf_man]

Thanks for that TIP Shabazmo, but will DVLA give me that info due to confidentiality or do I need to word my request carefully? any suggestions?