dexter

I have a 2002 a4 with approx 120k. I've noticed lately when I start the car in the morning, it starts to shake as soon as i put it in reverse. Theres no problem when I wait for 20sec before putting it into reverse. However, if I start the car and immediately put in in reverse, it then shake. This goes back to normal if I put it back into park.

any ideas?

wmoor086

my car is in for service for the exact same problem. when i eventually get it back i will post.

adamstasiak

I think that you need transmission maintenance done. It looks like your tranny tries to build up pressure but it can not do it quick enough. You may need to flush the transmission and replace the fluid. These little symptoms like yours give you a serious warning that your tranny may be plugged and needs service.
The problem with the trannys is that they go bad really fast, if you do not take care of the problem right away.

It could also be your transmission computer being wet. Was it raining a lot recently?

CPR8

I don't mean to hijack anybodys thread here, but I was just wondering if the lack of the transmission fluid to be changed could cause first gear to sound weird. How often should it be changed? I'll try to get an audio recording mañana.

adamstasiak

Any sound from the transmission on a specific gear and you are past the point of maintenance. The good news is that your tranny is probably still good for another 20,000 miles before all the gears develop the sound. You do not drive on 1 gear so you can probably handle the inconvenience.

I take it as it sounds like ABS engaged on the first gear?

I would suggest to contact a German Car Specialist and give him lead time to find you a "new" used transmission. They can do it for $2,000.00 plus labour $700.00.

They would give you 90 days warranty on it.

As far as manual transmissions are concerned the oil should be changed never..... but some sources say change it every 130,000 miles. I do not know what to think about it, because every time I changed oil in my transmissions they developed a problem. I think that once the gear change is not smooth than it should be changed.

PS I just checked the prices for you and I found one in Arizona for $1400.00 with 71,000 miles on it so it is still good for 100,000 miles.

CPR8

I just emailed the guy I bought it from, asking if he'd changed the fluid before, and asked if he'd noticed it. He said...

"Hi Clayson,

I changed the gear oil when I first bought the car in 2005. They did the rear differential at that time too. No visible metal in the gear oil from either. That was at 164,000 miles. It takes a special tool to get the oil plug out of the transaxle so you'll need to buy that if you do it yourself. I had it done because I've put gear oil into a manual transmission before and it was a pain.

1st gear is louder than the others but it's been that way since 2005 (when I bought it) with no change. I was concerned too and have read a lot of articles on that subject (AudiForums.com - Powered by vBulletin etc.) and it looks like that's a common thing. I wasn't able to find any articles from people who had the noise and then had a gearbox failure. It seems to be just an annoyance. The syncros have always worked well and I never heard any noises from the other gears.

Chuck"

adamstasiak

I had the same problem. The ABS sound on the first gear and otherwise everything perfect.
My tranny lasted total 260,000 km or 180,000 miles. I think this is how long they last.
My mechanic says that average AUDI transmission last up to 270,000 km.
They are not worth repairing.

CPR8

Cough... Cough... Mine has 210000 miles.

adamstasiak

Yes and this is expected since you do not have minus 40 degrees for 3 months like we do here.
During cold weather the metal becomes brittle and so you can add 30% to my figures being in Florida.

dexter

It doesn't happen specifically when its wet out. I keep it in the garage. The shake happens when I take my foot off the brake when in reverse (haven't tried drive since i'm coming out of the garage backwards) and disappears when I hit the break or put it into park. It happens on occasion, and not every time i start the car.

In terms of changing the ATF, how often should this be done? The dealer says it lifetime and doesn't need to be changed.