Frankaldama

Soooo.......
I bought this clean 2007 Avant 3.2 Quattro....140k miles on it.....very first German "car". Surprising me when I took it for a test drive.....solid, handles great....brakes are very touchy and overly strong in my opinion, dont know if thats normal....but my issue is for my first service....The "SERVICE!" message started coming on the little screen in the middle of the dash cluster....Im no proffesional but have been repairing and servicing my own vehicles since my first car in 1976....a brand new Vega. Have had so many vehicles since then I cant remember them all. Im from the days when you rebuilt your parts.....ie: starters, master cylinders, alternaters, carburetors, heads and engines...drive line stuff including differentials and hubs...even had some manual-auto tranny repair experience's that turned out fine.....have made the leap from those days to today.....along with all the modern self help tech stuff as I need it........soooooo......I bought this 2007 Avant...140k miles on it....no tranny dipstick...?
chuckling........and changing the oil was different...chuckling again..... Ok first, mistake was I didnt do my homework on this car....and never had any experience repairing or servicing German cars, Im a truck man....and have been for decades, and this vehicle was bought for my wife who had a 2WD Jeep Grand Cherokee before.....ok so Ive been checking on the "web-internet-online" and have read so many different views and opinions about the proper trans fluid and filter as well as the proper gasket "rubber vs paper vs cork" I have pretty much read so many different oppinions Im annoyed. I dont know if my 2007 Avant 3.2 C6 platform transmission has had the technical upgrade and fluid change.......Im thinking it hasnt but can anyone tell me how to find out....havent gotten under this car yet....but before I put it up on jacks and start draining fluids....and seeing what color the trans fluid is.....which may or may not help my position from all the different opinions Ive read.....in any case any solid info on tranny fluid type....( can I get the proper tranny fluid from my local auto parts store or do I have to get it from Audi? I have the proper tools for the tranny service and bought a Duralast tranny filter kit that had a hard thin rubber pan gasket and a trans filter thats made of both metal and pastic.....Ive read the rubber gaskets are junk...Ive read the paper gaskets are junk....Ive read the cork gaskets are junk.....anyways this old school fix it yourselfer.....would appreciate any real world advice at this point.....my wife lves this car...and if she's happy Im happy...chuckling thanks.

Frankaldama

Forgot to mention, bought the 2007 Avant 3.2 Quattro C6 about 6 months ago....have put 4400 miles on it since then.....

sswari

First things first, is there a build tag somewhere on the car? I have a 06 A6 sedan, and the tag is in the spare tire compartment, not exactly sure where it would be on the avant, but it will look something like this.

Or, if you do get under it, and can find the transmission tag, that would be better. It should look something like this.

Once we have this information, we can probably figure out the type of fluid you will need.
As for the gasket and filter, there is a great kit you can get from these guys, The CTSC guys once we know what you need.

raj99

+1 on the previous poster. OP, what you've stated as "Not your average tranny service....." IS in fact the average tranny service. All you need are 3 things: fluid, gasket, and filter.

There are PLENTY of threads on this forum on how to determine what fluid you need, everything from simply extracting a sample and determining by the color to looking up via VIN w/ Audi. As for the filter and gasket, both can be found on a number of Audi parts resellers (i.e. CTSC, GenuinieAudi, etc...) and I would recommend you stick with OE/OEM parts only on these.

Here are threads to get you started:
So you want to change your trans fluid???
Transmission Fluid Change?
Trans, diff and transfer case fluid change

sswari

I would be very surprised if you see any color besides dark brown if you were to take a sample. Also, be aware that if you pull the plug a LOT of fluid will come out.
I would also suggest, that you get a Ross-Tech VCDS diag cable and software. All you really need is the 3 vin license, unless you plan on building a fleet.

https://store.ross-tech.com/shop/vchv2_ent/
VCDS, can also tell you exactly which trans you have, and the software level. Yes, it is important to know the SW level, as it will determine which Lifeguard fluid to buy.

This software will be very useful for other stuff, as you get more into the car. At the very least, you will use it to complete the Transmission fluid change.

For what it is worth, I have actually done the fluid change a few times, once when I first got the car, and again after having to swap out my transmission.

Frankaldama

So here's a photo of the tag.....and Im not sure how to check for software upgrade.....can I check through the MMI unit?

raj99

No you can't through the mmi. Contact your local dealer.

sswari

You may be able to do it with the right ODBII tool. But not sure. I offer this up, as you mention that you do a lot/most of your own work.

Unfortunately, you do need some way to get the software revision. That said, you my be able to get it with just the VIN number and a call to your local Dealer, or even a good local independent shop.

Keep us updated.

Frankaldama

sswari.....
thanks for help omce again and from all the other's who have responded. I do own a newer OBD2 tool.....its a FOXWELL tool and is one of there top of the line scanner's.....as well as one of there digital laser thermometer's for the later part of the trans service......so my thinking is to get our Avant up on jacks ....loosen the trans drain plug and let about an once of fluid drain out....catching it in a clean clear or white plastic container to get a look at the fluid....the whole reason I started this trans service issue is because.....to me the tranny makes a very slight slipping sound.....though there is no slippage at all....it shifts very seemlessly and pulls perfectly right through the gears without any hesitation or quirkieness.....the slight sound is only from idle when accelerating from a dead stop....and again its just a slight sound thats very linear and dissapears almost immediately after I the car gets rolling. Im not sure if the noise is just the normal sound of how this German car runs....as I havent had any experience with any cars from Germany before. Theres also a very slight ticking sound that comes from the 3.2 motor....its not a metal mechanical sound at all....it sounds like the injectors as its a fluid sound with linear timed pulses...and although Im used to it now there's the very smallest of a hint of a buzz or vibration just barely noticable at idle throughout the car.....Im again thinking thats a normal feeling as this motor runs very good at all times.....especially when at speed.....any speed really, when this car is moving it runs rock solid and smooth as silk no pulling or wandering, this car tracks as though its on rails..... I mean I had to get used to the stiff suspension for myself only, my wife says she cant feel the road when she drives it, I just start chuckling cause I feel every ripple and this car has not one squeek or rattle or any unusuall body or chassis sounds, none whatsover....especially compared to other vehicles I've driven....but that's probably why this car handles so good especially for a wagon, and thats really the reason I bought this car cause its kind of small and a wagon and for the better fuel.mileage....my wife had a 2whd Jeep Grand Cherokee....( when she drove this car she fell in love with it right away, chuckling....cause Im a truck person ) So back to the trans service....what I dont want to do is put the wrong fluid in this transmission....for obvious reasons....and since the engine oil and filter-o-rings need to be changed also I want to do it all on the same day....so I will get back to this forum tomorrow late afternoon with the info on the transmission fluid color and consistency.......thanx

Frankaldama

Oh, I almost forgot.......
the tag reads ( HUP JMM )
So Im not sure what that breaks down to....I have tried to get the info from the web....but Im ptetty much green when it comes to how to properly ask or use the internet for this kind of stuff. All I get when I search is sites that are selling tranny's with this type of trans code........so there's an equivalent "Z" referenced # from what I'm seeing in other related references but again Im not sure what this code means.