VChin

Hey guys,

During the NE Blizzard, my 03 AR got stuck on uneven pavement with ice. My wife was with the car and I can only describe what happened by her recollection and wanted to know if we could have potentially damaged the transmission.

First as the car got stuck, my wife continued to hit the accelerator thinking the ESP/Quattro would help her get going...it didn't work on ice and decided to rock the car a bit and that didn't work...she then continued to try to move forward but the ESP kept all the tires from spinning. Instead of turning off the ESP and shifting to first gear, she just kept hitting the gas...eventually she said she smelt something burning...could it have been the transmission or just the tires? My question is, can the transmission be damaged by trying to move and revving the engine while the ESP is preventing any power from going to any of the wheels? Was I just too confusing in my wording? Sorry for the long post but this has been bothering me all day! I don't want to have a "hurt" tranny.

Secondly the leveling system went into limp mode and the ABS light came on, but after shutting off the car and restarting, it went away...PROBLEM?

I also get a slight clunk sometimes as the car comes to a stop (downshifting to first gear)...since delivery though. Is this normal? And finally when going from reverse to drive, the delay is so long that sometimes I accidently hit the gas too soon and it almost feels like a neutral drop...anyone else with these issues? Is it my car specific or is it a common theme? Thanks in advance for the help and once again, sorry for the long post.

Kind regards,
Vin

yzf996fltri

probably the brakes overheating from the esp activating constantly gave off the burning smell. Can't see how the trany could get hurt under those circumstances.

Trouties

You probably have a problem with the ESP which you need to see the dealer about. I had the ABS light coming on and also the ESP along with the level light on the tachometer. I took it to the dealer last week and they said they ESP had a problem which causes other issue's with the computer. My transmission was slipping when I gassed it at 80 mph at 4000 rpm to 5000 rpm but once I had the ESP fixed it's fine.

vtheman

your tranny is fine, delay between drive and reverse is normal.

itacud

It's been a while since I've read the manual, but I believe the car will disable ABS (in addition to the EDL) when the brakes overheat. That should be indicated by the ABS warning light.

Since EDL is what's used to distribute power between the left and right wheels, it's likely that the continued throttle application was causing continued EDL activation, which eventually cooked the brakes. (And the smell is very noticable.)

So, what you've described sounds mostly normal.

Markmotodr

Its normal foward to rev. Lag. Why? Just is.

vtheman

when i had my 01ar i had the same thing happening so i took it to a dealer and then test drove few other audis but found no difference. as i was explained by a dealer it is a safety feature that prevents transmission damage in case you shift too early. another reason why i got a 6 speed now.

VChin

THANKS SO MUCH! I feel much better knowing I didn't hurt anything! NT

Chris C

If you don't believe me, RTM.