Transmission "issue" - brand new 2016 A6 2.0
11-12-2015, 03:18 PM
#21
AudiWorld Super User
I could not agree more. My '11 A4 has the paddle shifters. They're sorely missing on the Q5....I find my fingers reaching for them all the time, looking for that downshift
Bob, FWIW, I don't think there's anything wrong with your car at all.
11-12-2015, 06:13 PM
#22
AudiWorld Super User
Another advantage to the paddles vs. the shifter is if you tap a paddle, the override manual mode will eventually revert back to your last auto D or S setting. Very convenient when you need to, say, downshift to help slow the car.
11-27-2015, 11:11 AM
#23
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
A brief update on my transmission “issues”:
The car now has 850 miles on it and by driving it in various conditions I now have a better idea what is going on. I was correct on day one in perceiving that the shifting is all messed up.
• The issue is that when in cruise, the transmission does not downshift.
• Also, when in cruise it does not change the shift points when shifting from D to S (or back).
• Example: Coming up from Brooklyn last night I was on the hilly Taconic Parkway in cruise and D at 61 mph. I came to a steep hill and the transmission stayed in 8th gear (I can tell by the rpm on the tach as well as by moving the floor shifter to M and it was showing M8). The car started droning and vibrating and the speed dropped. When it got to 58 mph I shifted to S but the transmission did not downshift (no rpm jump). By the time it hit 56 mph I used the paddle to shift to 7th and eventually 6th.
• I then tried driving without cruise on and the transmission did downshift on its own as I came to steeper hills.
In the process of trying to drive in the dark on a twisty road while fiddling about diagnosing all this stuff I noticed that when I set the cruise, the green CRUISE light flashes on for a split second and then goes out, even though the car is still in cruise. I seem to recall that on my other Audi’s (this is the 5th in 10 years) the cruise light stays on as long as cruise is activated.
• After getting off the highway and onto some 40 mph local roads I experimented with cruise and with D vs. S. It confirmed that when in cruise, shifting to S or D or back does nothing. Taking the car out of cruise, each time I went from D to S or back the rpm needle responded, but never when in cruise.
• Also, as a general point I noticed that the transmission gets to 8th by time the speed reaches 44 mph and stays in 8th down to about 38 mph - much lower speeds than my 2013 A6 did when in cruise.
I have an appointment to bring the car to the dealer Monday. While there I will have them look into a few other issues:
• I get a rattle from the back seat area when I shut the driver’s door, but only when the car is cold (like sitting overnight) and goes away after a few miles of driving.
• I am getting the following message in the MMI several times a day (basically every time I start the car up): “The battery of your mobile device is nearly empty. Please recharge your mobile device.” Each time I get the message I look at my phone it has at least 2 of 3 power indicator bars, sometimes all 3: very odd.
• With NAV sometimes when entering an addresses the MMI prompts me to enter the house number. I enter (as an example) 35 and on the MMI a list of things occur not at all related to anything I have entered, like names of stores and restaurants usually starting with the letter M.
It seems to me that the electronics on the car seem pretty much screwed up. I will update (hopefully more succinctly) once I see the dealer.
Thank God for loaners!
The car now has 850 miles on it and by driving it in various conditions I now have a better idea what is going on. I was correct on day one in perceiving that the shifting is all messed up.
• The issue is that when in cruise, the transmission does not downshift.
• Also, when in cruise it does not change the shift points when shifting from D to S (or back).
• Example: Coming up from Brooklyn last night I was on the hilly Taconic Parkway in cruise and D at 61 mph. I came to a steep hill and the transmission stayed in 8th gear (I can tell by the rpm on the tach as well as by moving the floor shifter to M and it was showing M8). The car started droning and vibrating and the speed dropped. When it got to 58 mph I shifted to S but the transmission did not downshift (no rpm jump). By the time it hit 56 mph I used the paddle to shift to 7th and eventually 6th.
• I then tried driving without cruise on and the transmission did downshift on its own as I came to steeper hills.
In the process of trying to drive in the dark on a twisty road while fiddling about diagnosing all this stuff I noticed that when I set the cruise, the green CRUISE light flashes on for a split second and then goes out, even though the car is still in cruise. I seem to recall that on my other Audi’s (this is the 5th in 10 years) the cruise light stays on as long as cruise is activated.
• After getting off the highway and onto some 40 mph local roads I experimented with cruise and with D vs. S. It confirmed that when in cruise, shifting to S or D or back does nothing. Taking the car out of cruise, each time I went from D to S or back the rpm needle responded, but never when in cruise.
• Also, as a general point I noticed that the transmission gets to 8th by time the speed reaches 44 mph and stays in 8th down to about 38 mph - much lower speeds than my 2013 A6 did when in cruise.
I have an appointment to bring the car to the dealer Monday. While there I will have them look into a few other issues:
• I get a rattle from the back seat area when I shut the driver’s door, but only when the car is cold (like sitting overnight) and goes away after a few miles of driving.
• I am getting the following message in the MMI several times a day (basically every time I start the car up): “The battery of your mobile device is nearly empty. Please recharge your mobile device.” Each time I get the message I look at my phone it has at least 2 of 3 power indicator bars, sometimes all 3: very odd.
• With NAV sometimes when entering an addresses the MMI prompts me to enter the house number. I enter (as an example) 35 and on the MMI a list of things occur not at all related to anything I have entered, like names of stores and restaurants usually starting with the letter M.
It seems to me that the electronics on the car seem pretty much screwed up. I will update (hopefully more succinctly) once I see the dealer.
Thank God for loaners!
Last edited by irenesbob; 11-27-2015 at 11:43 AM.
11-27-2015, 12:20 PM
#24
What you have described does not sound right. My 2016 2.0 has about 600 miles on it and it has not exhibited any of the conditions you have described. I am sure the dealer can re-install the software to clear everything up. I did get the “The battery of your mobile device is nearly empty. Please recharge your mobile device.” one time but my cell phone was truly low on juice. I am not sure if the the car is reading the flow rate of the power needed to recharge to phone or if it is actually obtaining info from the phone. Good luck with getting it all cleaned up.
12-04-2015, 02:50 PM
#25
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
The dealer kept the car for three days. At this point the car seems fine – all my complaints have been resolved. The “odd” thing is the service report which states that every issue was "not found" by the service techs – no mention of any remedial action being performed. How is it possible the car seems to have all the transmission, etc. issues resolved, yet nothing was wrong?
I suspect they reloaded software but do not want any record that anything was actually wrong in the first place. At this point I really like the car.
One thing I discovered that seems odd to me is that when having the auto stop/start function enabled and at a stop with foot on brake pedal, unclicking the seatbelt causes the engine shut off. If I disable the auto start/stop and do the same thing (stopped with foot on brake and reach over and unclick the seatbelt) the engine stays on – I wonder why it is set up like this.
I suspect they reloaded software but do not want any record that anything was actually wrong in the first place. At this point I really like the car.
One thing I discovered that seems odd to me is that when having the auto stop/start function enabled and at a stop with foot on brake pedal, unclicking the seatbelt causes the engine shut off. If I disable the auto start/stop and do the same thing (stopped with foot on brake and reach over and unclick the seatbelt) the engine stays on – I wonder why it is set up like this.
12-04-2015, 06:40 PM
#29
AudiWorld Super User
You said that there was nothing done per the service invoice but that it seemed to be working properly now. Therefore, your car may have been given a placebo.
Placebo:
Placebo:
- a harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect.
"his Aunt Beatrice had been kept alive on sympathy and placebos for thirty years"- a substance that has no therapeutic effect, used as a control in testing new drugs.
- a measure designed merely to calm or please someone.
12-04-2015, 07:47 PM
#30
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
snagit-
I know what a placebo is, but I didn’t and still don’t understand how it applies to my situation. They obviously did something, whereas a placebo would have resulted in the car leaving with the same problems (real or imagined).
It is more like they took care of the problems, but then denied that anything was wrong in the first place.
My sense is that a placebo is given to someone the prescriber believes is making up the symptoms or otherwise not really sick. My car had the symptoms that I described, but now (for example) it downshifts like my last 4 Audi’s did when going up the same steep hills in cruise, something it did not do before the dealer visit. Obviously there was some remediation that took place. Would they have kept it over a weekend and for three days of this week (and given me a lovely 2016 A3 2.0 Q loaner with only 750 miles on it for 5 days) if they thought there was nothing wrong with my A6. I dropped the car off on Saturday 11/28 and picked it up the following Thursday morning 12/3.
Maybe they gave me a different car and swapped the VIN - lol
I know what a placebo is, but I didn’t and still don’t understand how it applies to my situation. They obviously did something, whereas a placebo would have resulted in the car leaving with the same problems (real or imagined).
It is more like they took care of the problems, but then denied that anything was wrong in the first place.
My sense is that a placebo is given to someone the prescriber believes is making up the symptoms or otherwise not really sick. My car had the symptoms that I described, but now (for example) it downshifts like my last 4 Audi’s did when going up the same steep hills in cruise, something it did not do before the dealer visit. Obviously there was some remediation that took place. Would they have kept it over a weekend and for three days of this week (and given me a lovely 2016 A3 2.0 Q loaner with only 750 miles on it for 5 days) if they thought there was nothing wrong with my A6. I dropped the car off on Saturday 11/28 and picked it up the following Thursday morning 12/3.
Maybe they gave me a different car and swapped the VIN - lol