stanatl

Just picked up my 2001 A6 4.2 with 5 speed auto and all the bells and whistles. The transmission seems to jump between gears when in stop and go traffic at about 30-35 mph. Audi service says it is because of the break in period and the transmission is "learning" my driving pattern. This is my first Audi and other than this it drives great. Had a GS 400 before this car and the shifting was smooth as silk. Any input from anyone out there on this?

BobT(nolonger)A6

I've had my '01 A6 for two weeks now and I noticed the same thing. It does seem better now that it was then. Whether it's because the trans has 'learned' my style, or I've gotten used to it, I can't say yet.

My previous car was an Avalon, and I assume your Lexus had the same trans. It had a 3-speed and the A6 has a 5-speed. This alone will mean more shifting. Maybe this is what you're noticing?

stanatl

Thanks for the reply. My GS 400 had a 5 speed transmission and it didn't do it. I'll just give it some time and see what happens.

Ed Slaughter

The 4.2 has _very_ tall gearing. It also wants to get into top gear to save fuel if you aren't accelerating. This seems to mean, in my car at least, that in city traffic it frequently shifts to fifth and then immediately has to go back to fourth or even third when I step on the gas a little bit. This is actually reasonable from an economy standpoint. But sometimes I wish it would just stay in a lower gear, so often I drive in the city with the transmission in fourth instead of drive. Fourth is still as tall as the top gear for most cars and so you certainly aren't bothering the engine. But it makes the shifting much less frequent. I just have to remember to go back to drive when I hit the interstate--the motor is so quiet it's easy to forget.

srosie

it prevents the auto shift into 5. I like doing this in city traffic.

phred

Yup

Wade(4.2-2.4)+T

Mine is pretty smooth all the time. A little bump once in a while.