Transfer

Hi all. I haven't posted in FOREVER but wanted to discuss how the OEM transmission tuning on the SQ5 is about as awesome as a stagnant puddle of dog diarrhea. Raise your hand if you've been as frustrated with it as I am.

The mechanicals of the transmission work nearly perfectly. It could be a little more smooth and have shorter gear ratios but it's overall remarkable. What is remarkable in an infuriating way is that unless you drive in manual mode only, the transmission upshifts as every single chance it gets. For this reason I do almost entirely drive in manual but I desire a casual but responsive auto mode and a sport auto mode that is actually sporty.

I find that from a stop in D the transmission will always upshift at or well below 2k rpms but it NEVER revs higher unless you are truly flooring it. From a stop in S, it will upshift about 2500-3000 rpms but NEVER revs higher unless you are nearly flooring it. While in motion around town, forget about moderate revs. It's either 1500-3k or 6k. Today I was in sport and gave it some beans and what did that piece of **** tranny do? It upshifted twice rapidly in a row to keep RPMs below 3k. WTF. To overcome this you're forced to floor it through kickdown point and then the rockets ignite. Where is the middle rev range?

TLDR: There is no middle rev range with this transmission programming and mostly you get 1500-3000 rpms only which is WTFdonkeykongbbQ@!
Am I alone on this? Maybe I'm doing it wrong? Does this have something to do with the emissions scandal that affects the transmission? WHEN CAN I BUY AN AFTERMARKET TUNE APR!?!?!?!?

As a comparison, my BMW M235i xDrive has the most amazing tuning and ratios. It just does exactly what I want it to do in almost all scenarios so no excuses Audi.

Thank you, that is all.

NorthValley

If it is so bad as you make out...why on earth did you buy the car??? For me, the transmission is great and have no complaints at all.

asmi84

Saving the gas. This is the way it's meant to be. Don't like it - floor it, or use manual.

ZCD2.7T

Yeah, I don't really understand your frustration. The 3.0T has enough power and torque that it really doesn't need to rev past about 3500 rpm to keep you WAY out in front of traffic in around-town driving, so why rev higher and waste the gas? The supercharger and OEM tuning means there's little benefit to revving past about 5500 rpm anyway...

riceboy22

@NorthValley, you can dislike the transmission programming and still like the car enough to buy it. That's like the people here in the US shouting that if you don't like something about the country you should just get the hell out.

And I actually agree with @Transfer that I oftentimes wish there was programming in-between "Auto" and "Sport" that would split the difference between aggressive and econo mode. It's not something that you would necessarily realize just from test drives.

BlackSVT

Transfer, are you tuned or stock? When mine was stock, I thought the shift strategy was pretty decent, D for best economy (get in the next higher gear ASAP...), S for better gear hold at partial throttle and quicker shifts. I actually thought M felt softer most times with slower shifts...keeping in mind mine was a stock 3.0T, not SQ5.

Going to Stage1 tune, I didn't notice much change in D, but S was a bit more aggressive on getting into the next higher gear quickly. I could no longer loaf off the line, wait for 1-->2 and then partial throttle accel at a good clip...it seemed to want to get into 3 quicker. M was a bit better, FWIW. Given the same engine/trans hardware between the 3.0T and SQ5, this is likely close to what a stock SQ5 drives like if I had to guess. And...yes, I agree the tranny tune could use some work.

Now at Stage 2, forget it. D is OK for stop and go, old lady driving, but S is even worse. 1-->2 comes quickly at part throttle, and 2-->3 quickly after that unless hitting it pretty good. It almost feels like the shift strategy is tied to acceleration rate and throttle position. With more torque down low, and the SC heavier into boost at light throttle, it seems to say "we can maintain this accel in the next higher gear...Go!". It is irritating at times. The upside is M is loads more satisfying now. Shifts are quick with a satisfying jump going into the next higher gear even at part throttle. Needless to say, i spend much more time in M than I used to...

One last thing, and maybe it's a wish more than reality, but I'm only 2 weeks in to Stage 2, and I have noticed some improvement in S as the trans has adapted. Not to the point that I'd like it, but it does seem to do better after I've been driving it harder in S

Ray_QT

I agree with some of the complaints about the transmission. This is my second Q5. The TDI and now the SQ5 and I think the programming could be tuned more optimally. . .however, it doesn't bother me as much.

NorthValley

Your analogy is way off but I concede the point about liking a car and not the transmission. It was the "as awesome as a stagnant puddle of dog diarrhea" that made me suggest he shouldn't have bought the car if he felt so strongly about it! It seemed more than just dislike! ;-)

riceboy22

There's plenty of things about the US that I find "as awesome as a stagnant puddle of dog diarrhea" but I'm still staying here LOL!

MurrayA4

Got to chime in on this one,I drive a 3.0L Tdi.not an Sq5 but the 428 ft/lbs that the tranny sees is very important.I've owned a lot of cars auto and manual (I'm an old guy !) and I'm naturally disposed towards manuals.When I chose my current Q5 I did so because of the diesel otherwise I would have stayed with the A4 manual.Obviously given my first criteria I had to accept going back to an auto - ZF 8spd.All I can say is it doesn't get much better than this unit.In "D" it's smooth, unobtrusive and efficient.Slap it into "S" and play with the paddle shifters and away we go.I don't have a single negative comment to offer up, and I'm an enthusiastic driver.I still pine for my 2 speed Powerglide 65 Chevelle but I guess you can't have it all.( It actually worked remarkably well coupled to a sweet little 283).