We recently purchased a 2002 Audi A6 with 86k miles at an auction. From the beginning it jerked and shaked while it shifted gears below 40mph. It is an automatic with Triptonic option. We did a tune up and realized there was a misfire in one of the cylinders and had to replace one of the coils. The car stopped shaking but still continued to jerk once each time right before it automatically shifts gears around 1k-2k RPM. On the freeway at higher RPM it drives fine, no problem. We checked with the Audi dealer and we used the correct spark plugs. We are stuck as to what could be the problem. Any advice? Thank you!!!
I would guess the prior owner drive it without changing the transmission fluid and now it is showing up as a problem. I suspect you are going to need a new transmission. You could do what many people do and change the fluid and filter and hope. Don’t get your hopes up too high, as I doubt if it will fix it.
Don’t be surprised if it fails soon after changing the fluid. Many people change the fluid when they start seeing a problem, then have it fail, then blame it on the fluid change, which should have been done 50,000 miles earlier.
Good Luck
The transmission fluid is “lifetime” in an Audi/VW. No specific interval to change it.
What’s wrong with my Audi A6? Probably that it is an “auction” Audi. Any car that is in seemingly good condition at an auction most likely has problems that the original owner let go too long and are now too expensive (for them) to repair. You probably got stuck with someone elses head aches.
You should get the car scanned for codes as a first step. AutoZone will do this for you free.
I suggest that you pull the spark plugs back out and check compression. You ALWAYS weed out the possibility of a mechanical fault before replacing anything. One cylinder with lowered compression can cause symptoms at lower RPMs and disappear at higher RPMs so clear that issue up now.
If compression is down on the misfiring cylinder this could have been responsible for the coil failure. Low compression kills spark plug which in turn kills the coil.
Mr. Meehan is correct about fluid changes. If any car makers feel that fluid is a lifetime thing then let them guarantee the transmission for a 1/4 of a million miles.
Buying a car at an auction is really not that good of an idea unless you’re mechanically astute and even then it’s a flip of the coin. Auctions are places where people routinely dump a headache and oftentimes when it’s known that the cost of curing that headaches is expensive.
And speaking of expensive, have you considered the timing belt issue on this car?
Try this Forum
http://forums.vwvortex.com/forumdisplay.php?5061-Audi
Or you might look in at AudiWorld