Shifting Properly?
 

I LOVE my allroad, but I'm not terribly knowledgeable about cars, so I have enjoyed everyone's posts. Have found a lot of the quirks that have been mentioned in this forum--distorted windshield, skipping rear wiper, front wipers that caught together, engine "moan" when cold, etc. Y'all have answered a lot of my questions and helped me quite a bit, and I appreciate y'alls posts. Now I have a question that I don't think anyone has yet posed.

I have the tiptronic, but 98% of the time I drive around in the fully automatic mode. Occasionally, the engine seems to "lug" (proper terminology?), similar to when I used to drive a standard and had it in too high of a gear. I'm not sure which gear it's in when it does this, and it doesn't happen all the time (I notice it maybe once every couple of days?). I'm not even sure it's actually happening, as the engine is so quiet I can barely hear it or feel it. I have always been pretty sensitive to the way my car runs, though. I thought I had been told (when I used to drive the standard) that "lugging" the engine was bad for it somehow. If it is "lugging", is this a problem? Has anyone else noticed this lugging?

Also, has anyone else noticed that in addition to the engine "moan" (to me it's more like a buzz)when the engine is cold, the automatic shifts kind of late and roughly?

Finally, regarding the "to-buy-or-not-to-buy" the double spoke wheels question, someone (not the salesman)told me that the double spokes were stronger (i.e. reinforced) for any off-road applications, not that I do much of that. Several posters on this forum have said the double spokes were for looks only. Is there any truth to the reinforcement theory? We will be going to Big Bend this weekend, and I am anxious to see how the car performs off the pavement!

Just wonderin'

Wendy
Silver, Tiptronic, Convenience, Premium, Warm Weather (Houston is HOT), Bose, rear airbags, and wheels.

If you think your car is really lugging, it is indeed a problem. It could be
 

caused by several things. The 2 that come immediately to mind are:
1. The ECU is not telling the transmission when to select a lower gear.
2. The valve-body in the transmission needs replacement because it is not maintaining pressure and causing the shift requested by the ECU.

Note: Lugging, or running an engine at very low RPMs under load, is NOT good for the engine. It causes carbon buildup in the combustion chambers and poor performance and horrible fuel mileage.

Give us a report when back from Big Bend!

Not that it matters much if your car is really lugging, but...
 

if you question whether it happens only in a particular gear, just flip it over to tip mode and check which gear it is in. Are you able to manually (tip) downshift, and if so, does this fix the lugging sensation? What is the reading on the tachometer when the engine is lugging? Obviously, if there is any question, I'd bring it in. If it happens all the time it is not necessarily more or less serious than if it occurs only occasionally, but it might make it easier for the technician to figure out the problem sooner. It will probably be one of those pain in the ass problems that never show their face when brought to be looked at.
As far as the double spoke thing, I know of no one who has done strength tests comparing the two, but I doubt there is any significant, functional strength improvement with the double spoke vs. the standard wheel.
Have fun in Big Bend, take some pics of the allroad allroading.

Cold engine shifting
 

I have also noticed a different shifting pattern when the engine is cold (only for about a minute or two, it's not very cold here), especially from 1st to 2nd gear. Seems to me like it stays in first gear longer than normally, maybe to get the engine and catalytic converter warmed up sooner?

Thats right. Its to warm up. All tiptronics do this