My Bi-TDI Sline one year on...

[Westyfield2]

The Bads:

• ...and odd clunky down shifts when slowing down in traffic.

Which gearbox have you got? 7-Speed DL501 "S-Tronic"? Or 8-Speed ZF 8HP "Tiptronic"?

[fest0r]

This comes from the eight speed gearbox...at cruising speed it's still ticking over between 1000 and 1500 revs...

Which gearbox have you got? 7-Speed DL501 "S-Tronic"? Or 8-Speed ZF 8HP "Tiptronic"?

I think the BiTDI only comes with the ZF tiptronic.

[Westyfield2]

Ah right. Given that it's well used in all the BMWs and other marques etc, I'd have thought that a noisy/jerky ZF box is broken.

The DL501 "S-Tronic" is what they put in the 3.0 TFSI petrol A6, the B8 S4/S5, and the Q5 3.0TDI (hence my thinking that might be what the diesel A6 has). Any noises or jerks on them means that your 'mechatronic' unit needs replacing.

[fest0r]

I’m sure several other BiTDI owners have mentioned similar issues on the forum… might be a trait?

[john2107]

Thanks so much, that’s good to hear. I don’t think I would really miss not having it either

I love the options you chose but I am not surprised you regret the heated seats. I couldn’t live without them now

Out of interest what’s your mpg now and what sort of driving do you do. Is it country roads, town driving as well as motorway or more one than the other?

The sim issue you mention I have read a few things on it. Have all MMI software's been upgraded with this improvement or was this your choice?

I presume you still have to have a separate sim card for it though?

Thanks

Still getting 42mpg overall since I have had the car. Mainly motorway or A road, little stop start. Had to request the MMI software update by suggesting to dealer that bluetooth connection with phone was flaky and highlighting the correct software version necessary, as detailed in the sticky at the top of the forum. Yes, still need data sim but well worth getting the upgrade done.

[ukgroucho]

Ah right. Given that it's well used in all the BMWs and other marques etc, I'd have thought that a noisy/jerky ZF box is broken.

The DL501 "S-Tronic" is what they put in the 3.0 TFSI petrol A6, the B8 S4/S5, and the Q5 3.0TDI (hence my thinking that might be what the diesel A6 has). Any noises or jerks on them means that your 'mechatronic' unit needs replacing.

Not necessarily true in both cases.
My BiTdi was giving the occasional clunky downshift in low gears and I grumbled to my dealership. Eventually they updated the firmware in the box (apparently) and (as a result) reset the self learning memory on the gearbox. It's been a lot better since. I have two thoughts on "why" it might be better.
1) They actually upgraded the gearbox f/w - although based on previous posts I thought this might be challenging because of type approval issues etc.
2) They TOLD me they updated the gearbox f/w but all they did was reset the self learning and my driving style has been completely different since they did that - initial gearbox 'learning' would have included me running in the car so being quite soft on the throttle at low engine speeds.
(or it is some combination of the two).

S-tronic clunky changes. Yes mechatronic issues can cause it but that's not the only cause. My brother has an S4 (lives in California) and he's had a long running dialog with his local dealership because of clunky changes 'occasionally'. The car has had two mechatronics and a bunch of other stuff but still manages to find the occasional clunky change. Thankfully the transmission warranty was 100k miles and 5 years...