sbertuca001

Had the timing belt and the tranmission fluid changed by a dealer (first mistake). Got the car back and the vehicle would vibrate when in 4 or 5 gear, with low RPMs (1100-1200) with slight acceleration (say you were driving in moderate traffic in a 45 MPH zone). Additionally - it only happens when the vehicle is under a load (driving up hill - I don't experience this when driving down hill). The car only has 67,000 miles on it. The dealer immediately went to guns on the 'new tranny' band wagon. It isn't 'hunting' because it isn't shifting. If I go into 'tiptronic' mode and down shift - the vibration goes away after downshifting and getting the RPM's up.

I'd hate to have the transmission rebuilt only to find out that the dealer screwed up when they changed the timing belt.

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. I have taken it to a trans shop and they felt that the transmission was fine - they thought that the car was missing. It was missing, but not significantly. I replaced a coil and the misses went away. The vibration did not.

tonypai

Check the level of transmission fluid. May be low.

backdoc

I am currently dealing with the same problem. I have the exact same symptoms as you do(check my post recently "tranny issues?"). Can't figure it out, and I haven't gotten many responses. Let me know if you find the problem, and I'll do the same. Good luck.
Doug
97 A8 4.2Q

sbertuca001

I've recoded the transmission from 002 to 011 (the sport version) using a friends VAG-COM in hopes of getting the tranny to shift at higher RPM's. I've had the dealer redo the trans fluid change in an attempt to solve the issue. All - resulted in very little change. It feels similar to a wheel being out of balance. But that isn't it. I've had the tires checked twice (actually replaced all four skins in an attempt do eliminate possibilities).

Replacing the trans to diagnose the issue is a little too costly. There are three trans mounts and the motor mounts to consider as well. The car is fantastic otherwise.

I'll let you know if I find anything ... I'm coming close to getting a rebuilt tranny tossed in. Stay tuned ...

Scott

PaulW

Sure sounds like low tranny fluid level

KMU

I would be closely checking the plugs/coils, because you say it's when ignition is under the high load(top gear) and there is no rough idle or missing in lower gears. I can't see how they would screw that up during timing belt service.

PaulW

But if you had a misfire on a cylinder, it would throw a check engine light, was there a check engine light?

sbertuca001

No check engine light. The frequency of the misses wasn't high enough to warrant a message from the monitor. They just appeared on the VAG-COM log (1 or 2 per minute at a time over several minutes). So, in hopes of finding a solution for $50 - I diagnosed the minor offender and eliminated the misses with a new coil. But the vibration still lived on.

sbertuca001

The idle is a little rough (wasn't prior to the timing belt change). Again - no check engine light or misses recorded by VAG-COM.

KMU

I would replace the plug on the offending cylinder, and monitor misfire info with vag-com while someone else drives. Swapping injector position(not buying one) could be a strategy if misfire info indicated the same cylinder. Also, a good once over of the vacuum lines while the engine covers are off.