mel5151

Hi I just picked up a 13 Phantom Black Pearl S7. I was wondering if anyone else is having some violent or really clunky downshifts from 2-1 gear from 15mph to a stop. Seems to only happen when I am in Dynamic mode and in S shift mode. If I push the tranny into regular D right before the gearshift it smoothes out. I understand the S in Dynamic is an aggressive downshift but its is just really violent to almost sound like a mechanical issue if not nowin the future. Thoughts?

mikemdd

This is my one complaint about the S7. If you are driving aggressvely and heavy on the brakes, the downshifting is not an issue in S mode. However, if you are coasting or lightly braking when in S, the rev matching (blipping) is pretty violent and clunky, especially in the 3 to 2 downshift at low speeds. I just bought a 2014 Cayman S for my wife with the PDK. The rev matching in it is fantastic and smooth at any speed. It seems like a software issue in the S7 that could be fixed if Audi wanted to. I can't believe they can't better match the rev matching at varying speeds.

The Chef.

Yep. It will happen. Of all the benefits of an automated dual clutch manual, this is a downside. It is what it is.

mel5151

Thanks guys. I met the master mechanic yesterday and we took a drive. It actually surprised him and it was more violent at times than normal. They also let me drive a 13 S6 just to see if it does the same thing. For the ost part it did althoug it was not ad rough as sme of the S7's worse downshifts. He said he was going to put it out to other mechs and see if anyone is having the issue. Right now I feel a little better about it but I will monitor it over the next few months.

winstonc

Yes it's a "feature" of the S7 and my only complaint and for that reason I seldom use the dynamic setting for the transmission.

I am somewhat surprised that Audi thinks its okay.

My wife has the new Porsche Boxter with double clutch transmission and it is an absolute joy to use and has no such behavior.

mikemdd

See my similar note above on the Cayman S. It is not a characteristic of the transmission that is "just the way it is". It can be fixed, as Porsche has done with the PDK. I also rarely use the S mode in the S7 for exactly this reason. It has got to be bad for the drivetrain. A software modification can solve it if Audi chooses to do so.

mel5151

Yep that was exactly my train of thought. I'm worried more about the mechanical issues down the road. I assume The S7 is too new for Audi to release an update to the software. I hope they fix it.

s5blitzer

The downshifts are less violent when I brake hard (instead of feathering the brake pedal) but it is still disconcerting knowing something is not right here. Driving my manual trans has always allowed me to control how hard I pop up my clutch but I really dislike the way the car decides what/when the gears changes.

Has AoA or the dealership channel acknowledge that this hard downshifts as normal??

mel5151

The dealership here is saying it is "rougher" than other S-Tronic transmissions in other models. But its a smaller dealership and I think mine was only the 3rd they've sold. I haven't heard anything back. My guess is, Audi will only update the transmissions schedule via update if enough people complain.

amiro

Dad's got an S7, and I was driving it today. Put it into S mode (just by tapping the gearshift down) and holy cow, the downshifts were rough. 3 to 2, and more so from 2 to 1, as I was coasting to a stop. Real jerky.

Dealer's told him there's nothing they can do. Obviously it's a software issue, since it downshifts totally smoothly in D mode.

Anyone got anywhere on it? There's no SIB on it?