After doing a lot of research, I am thinking that my Audi needs new clutches… we replace the trans oil, and it improved the performance. It only kicks at low speeds… how hard is it to change the clutch pack. Also, should i change to a 7 speed clutch? And who can to the TMC reflash since the dealer has no clue on how to do it.
You need an Audi transmission expert, particularly one who knows about their CVTs. Not many people like that, I’d guess. You might try posting this on Audi forums, someone there might have had a similar problem.
I’m going to go out on a limb and take a wild guess. Two, actually:
I’m guessing they don’t “repair” these transmissions, they just replace them.
Second guess: You cannot substitute a new transmission for an older one. The computers will never tolerate it.
Don’t confuse clutches with gears. The “speeds” in a CVT are all simulated by the computer. “Continuously Variable” means there are no gears, and hence no “speeds.” You could program a CVT to have one speed or twenty. The transmission doesn’t care.
Please let me know if I’m correct. Or even close.
Nisan’s policy is to just replace the whole transmission when something goes bad. They will “reprogram” the computer to work with the new transmission.
This is one reson I won’t buy a car with a CVT, very expensive to correct a defect since no shop, not even Nissan’s will repair one.
All I can say is when I say CVT transmission and Audi in one sentence, I said ouch $$$$.
You are right. I don’t know what I was thinking. I am planning to 7 clutches since I read that 6 clutches can’t handle the power of the 3.0 engine. But once again, I need to do a 7 clutch reflash. I am thinking of just replacing the 6 clutches to new ones. I was wondering how hard would it be, and if any other problems would arise from clutch failure.
I will try doing that. Do you know of any good Audi forums?
I didnt know this car have a cvt prior buying it… The whole transmission from the dealer is $3,000. Used $1,800. Replacing the whole transmission it would be my last resort since I believe the clutches are bad. After doing a transmission oil change. The car improved a lot. My next face is replacing the clutches hoping to save hmmm 1600 or 2800 if buying a whole new transmission. Just considering my options. And yes, Audi + CVT equals a lot of $$.
The tranmsission and everything inside of it is 9 years old. No one should go into an aged automatic (normal or CVT) without performing a complete rebuild.
Performing a piecemeal repair usually means you will have to go back into it again; often much sooner than you would like to.
What do you mean, ‘do 7 clutches’? How could you change the number of clutches?
From my reading, you can do an upgrade… 6 clutches to 7 clutches… Supposedly 6 clutches were not strong enough to handle the Audi’s engine. How could you change it, well you open the front of the transmission and you will be able to replace the “discs” from 6 to 7. It’s on the transmission manual on how to replace or upgrade it.
That’s what we are afraid of… my friend knows how to do all this work, but his worry is that something else is to old and brakes, and then I won’t be able to drive it (currently driving it, it only kicks on low speeds or low RPM around 2000-2500 RPM). I was thinking to save some money, try to replace the clutches (if it works great!), if anything goes wrong, have the money to buy either the new or used transmission. I was hoping someone has done this before, and any feedback would be highly appreciated.