My 2010 A4 Quattro Premium (Auto Tranny)now has about 14,000 miles on it and since I purchased it in April 2010 I have had the same clunky shifting and grabbing brakes especially during stop and go driving that allot of other have posted about. I have had it checked out at my 5000 and 10,000 miles services and was told this is a know issue but no fix is available for my car when they check the VIN number to Audi's database.

Recently a new problem has occurred. When I was stopping in some heavy snow two weeks ago the ABS kicked in, when I started moving again it felt like the brakes hadn't released completely and I had to push harder on the gas to get up to speed. The transmission felt tighter, when I let off the gas it didn't coast freely. The steering wheel feels tighter and the longer my drive is the more magnified the problem become but no warning lights come on.

I took it the the dealer service last week and the had a tech drive with me riding along. I explained the issues to him and he said he would check the car out. When I picked up the car they told me no problems found but they had "reset" all control modules. The car drove like new but 70 miles later the tightness in the steering, transmission, and brakes returned.

Any suggestions on what this might be. I am considering trying a different dealership service but I want to give my dealer the benefit of the doubt since this problem is not going away.

 

Are you throwing any codes or lights? I wonder if your traction control is malfunctioning and taking the brakes/steering over.

 

No warning lights at all and according to the service tech no codes found.

If I turn off ESP I don't notice any difference.

 

More information:
I was maneuvering out of a parking lot yesterday which required turning the steering wheel to the lock stops in both directions, when I pulled out to the street I noticed my steering was back to normal, low effort and the car accelerated without feeling like the brakes were dragging.

On the way home, about 35 miles, the car remained normal with no symptoms of tight steering or heavy feeling. Near home I had to hit the brakes hard for someone who cut into my lane. When I accelerated back to speed the tight steering and heavy feel to the gas pedal and transmission came back.

In my driveway I cycled my steering wheel from lock to lock and drove around my neighborhood where I noticed just like the parking lot the car felt light and normal again.

I am suspecting an intermittent dragging caliper but I don't know enough about how the systems on this car interrelate to know what else it might be. I'm open to suggestions so I can go back to the dealer with more detail.

 

May be a dumb suggestion, but do you have hill assist? It could be kicking in or malfunctioning, just a thought.