Gwenaudi

The transmission, which is otherwise wonderful, gets really clunky at low speeds (12-20) when breaking and jerky when stepping on the gas. This seemingly is limited to when the transmission is in 2nd gear and after car has warmed up. Anyone else experiencing this and if so have you been able to get fixed? Thanks

Arcoril

Not sure if it's related to your issue or not, but my DCT was incredibly clunky at first especially when I'd be gently taking off from a stop. The sensation was similar to riding in a car with someone who's new to driving a manual. I'd apply gas slowly and the RPM would increase but there wouldn't be much acceleration as if the clutch was slipping. After 2-3 seconds I'd feel a jolt and everything would hook up like someone had abruptly dropped the clutch.

My car only has about 2700 miles and the behavior's improved significantly over the past 200 miles or so. It still happens occasionally but nowhere nearly as often and it's not as severe. I'm wondering if the clutch just needs to wear in or if the transmission needs to learn the proper bite point.

VM

It might be normal - keep in mind that a dual clutch transmission's smoothness depends on the other clutch having the correct gear preloaded. In low-speed traffic, I could easily see the transmission having preloaded a higher gear (e.g. 5th if you are in 4th) but if you slow down you actually need a lower gear, so it will be confused and jerky as you try to accelerate and it needs to downshift...

Also, are you sure it's in 2nd gear and not a higher gear? Do you have the gear display enabled? But I could certainly see it happening if you are in 2nd, the other clutch has 3 preloaded, you slow down, it wants 1st... oops.

(Finally, when you say 12-20, is that km/h or mph?)

Might also be worth talking to your dealer and see if there is a new software revision that they'd be able to upgrade to that might have improved logic. That being said, I have not seen any discussion of software updates for the 7-speed DSG on this forum...

Sevenspinner

I deal with this on my A4, too. Back when I was researching, I read every review and first drive test I could find about the B9 car, and practically every one listed the 7-speed DCT's sluggishness to engage at slow speed. It's weird, some of the articles said the delay was because of turbo-lag, others said the transmission, some said both. When I asked the sales rep on my test drive--also an Audi owner--he said it was a little of both. Apparently the low-speed jerkiness is a hallmark of VW Group DCTs. It doesn't bother me much, since the CVT on the 16' Civic I inherited displayed similar behavior at slow speeds/stop and go. My only concern is long-term transmission wear.

That said, it seems like there's a trick to get around the worst of it (the worst being when you push your foot down on the gas, and the engine buzzes and jerks, then the transmission engages, and the best being when you just get the hesitation without the drama). I've been trying easing onto the gas off the line, then stepping on it, but I'm not sure if it's working all that well, or my technique might be off. Does anyone have any tips/insight?

yvantheterrible

What setting are you using? Are you in sport or dynamic mode? Comfort mode makes a huge difference in lower gears IMO, try using a different setting.

NorthwestB9

Is this something a new transmission mount would help with? I'm still rather unsure what a transmission mount does when the manufacturer says that it "smooths out the shifts." Is this what they're referring to, the jerkiness that you might get at low speed?

Arcoril

Transmission mounts in passenger cars are made of rubber to give the driveline more play. The engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential, and axles all move and vibrate so the rubber mounts are there to insulate the cabin from all the NVH. Some companies sell hard inserts that reinforce the rubber transmission mount and make it rigid which can help in really hard driving but really ruins the refinement of a luxury car.

Transmission mount inserts can smooth out the shifting by reducing the shaking in the driveline at the expense of making each shift more violent, but that's not the problem that some of us are experiencing. The clutches in our transmissions don't always engage smoothly. Sometimes they slip way for too long and then engage abruptly. It's inconsistent and it seems like it doesn't happen to everyone.

Prof

I have a 2018 Prestige A4 which was factory ordered, Built on May 31, 2018 and delivered in early July. I have not experienced the transmission clunks and jerk problems that were mentioned above. I am coming over from driving a manual transmission for decades and perhaps I am less sensitive to the feelings noted in the previous posts. Most of my driving is in comfort mode; and the transmission is very smooth. My home has a small one-car garage (the house was built in 1939 before the trend of multiple cars per family) and I drive the A4 slowly into the garage. I can just let my foot off the break and the car moves forward exceedingly smoothly. On the highway the transmission is very smooth and passing on two lane roads in either comfort or dynamic mode is quick without any transmission lagging. The EA888-gen 3 engine with the DCT is also is giving me outstanding mpg readings. When I go on long road trips (+1000 miles) using secondary roads (not interstates) and travelling at 60 mph using the ACC, I can get 600 miles per tank. My last car was a B8 A4 Prestige with a manual transmission. It was very good. However, the B9 A4 is excellent.

Street

The dual clutch tranny gives up smoothness at low speeds for quick, crisp shifts at speed. I had a dual clutch on my S4 and it wasn't as good at low speeds as the A4. I have another car with a similar tranny and it's really bad. So bad that the owner's manual recommends left foot braking during parking maneuvers to prevent sudden lunges.

One of the A4 road tests commented that Audi worked really hard to make a dual clutch smooth at low speed. Mine is almost as smooth as a slush box with only a rare jerk, usually when cold.

nikclev

DCT's in general are clunky at slower speeds, most of the reviews I read that mentioned it said that while it's noticeable, it's not too bad compared to DCT's made by other companies... I take that for what it's worth, that although it's getting better a DCT still isn't quite as smooth as an automatic at slower speeds. I think the upsides greatly outweigh the downsides, in that we get gas mileage as good as a manual and nice shifts outside of the slow stuff. From a stop mine is nice and smooth in comfort mode if I accelerate slowly, and nice and crisp in dynamic if I accelerate quickly, and a little clunky otherwise. For instance, if I accelerate a little faster than normal in comfort mode it jerks slightly and if I accelerate slowly in dynamic mode it tends to jerk slightly as well. I think it's because the clutch engagement is slow in comfort and fast in dynamic. It also is very aggressive on the up-shifts in comfort mode (to push the RPMs low for fuel mileage saving) and fairly late on the up-shifts in dynamic mode (to keep the engine RPM high for performance)

I wish there was a third driving mode, something "middle of the road" so to speak that would balance it all out, but that would be really subjective and different for every driver. If you drive in comfort mode a lot try dynamic, or vice-versa. You may like one better than the other.

If yours is "really" jerky I would take it in and get it looked at, but I think that what you are feeling is one of the tradeoffs of having a DCT. Namely, it will be a little clunky, especially if the transmission guesses wrong as to what you want to do next. Always remember, the transmission IS a manual with an automatically operated wet clutch. (Well, more like TWO manual transmissions with TWO clutches all interlocked but close enough!)