There's A Possible Idea, Thanks!
 

dommi3/Tiburon, California
1997 A8 Quattro Silver/Gray
17" Audi Wheels
All Available Options
-------------------------
Previous Audi

1990 V8 Quattro

123,750 And Yes It Is An Issue, At Least On 97's
 

dommi3/Tiburon, California
1997 A8 Quattro Silver/Gray
17" Audi Wheels
All Available Options
-------------------------
Previous Audi

1990 V8 Quattro

It Seems Mine Went South Very Early In That Stat, How Sad
 

Thanks,

And yes I did replace the fluid recently with the proper fluid as preventive maintenance. As far as I know; nor the shops or the book recommends it, I did it because I never liked the feel of the transmission and I thought it might smooth things out a bit to have the fluid replaced. There was absolutely no sign of failure whatsoever. One day I started it, heard a noise and the rest is history.

dommi3/Tiburon, California
1997 A8 Quattro Silver/Gray
17" Audi Wheels
All Available Options
-------------------------
Previous Audi

1990 V8 Quattro

Thanks, And Please Keep Me Posted
 

dommi3/Tiburon, California
1997 A8 Quattro Silver/Gray
17" Audi Wheels
All Available Options
-------------------------
Previous Audi

1990 V8 Quattro

That is pretty good for a '97. Yes, the early versions are shorter lived.
 

However, an automatic cannot be compared to a manual transmission. A manual usually requires a clutch, and possibly a master and slave cylinder in the same time frame. A sophistcated automatic is generally a tad more demanding to own over the long term.

When I sales, I used to point out that short term ownership of either an automatic or manual was similar as far as maintainence goes, but over the long haul, servicing an automatic could potentially cost more. That is the price you pay for allowing something else to shift gears for you;-)

Sorry, I didn't realize you had a '97. Certain versions of that year had issues.

A manual and automatic cannot be compared - unfortunately.
 

I have over 235,000 miles on my Alfa tranny with only 2 clutches despite racing activities and living in SoCal (heavy stop and go traffic). Everyone complains about the crappy synchros, but I've been using Redline gear oil for years, and am only just starting to feel the 2cd gear weakness.

I would never expect this kind of life from an automatic - espcially one in a heavy, powerful car.

Several of my BMW owning friends comment matter-of-factly that they plan on total tranny rebuilds in their 7 and 8 series cars every 100K or so.

Re: Bad Bad News, Help ! Before I send my A8 To The Junkyard
 

Hi the tranny can be stripped and repaired for a LOT less then you think. My A8 had a re-built tranny befor I got it. The cause was a noise as yours has, The torque converter had overheated causing the coating on it to come off clogging the oil pump. It was stripped and a New t/converted / pump+gears was fitted + all seals and gakets for £1600 + VAT, now preeeeerrrrfffect.....JOHNA8 4.2

Re: Agree that 100k miles from a tranny is unacceptable ...
 

By the way the mileage was 106K when the fault showed, and this is not uncommon on the Quattro i'm told....JOHNA8 4.2

Warranty replacements go back to Germany
 

According to my dealer (who contrary to many around does seem to know the S8) AoA doesnt rebuild any of the automatics in the US. The removed-under-warranty transmission goes back to Germany where it is remanufacturered or scrapped - presumably by experts.

It is not clear to me if the non-warranty replacement cost of a transmission at an Audi dealer already factors in the core value of the old one and they are treated the same way or not but this is often the case with large remanufacturable components.