Ummmm, yeah. This kinda sucks.

[givebloodplayhockey]

Hey all! How's things where it's warm? Freezing my poor un-acclimated ass off up here in Da North. Hell, it's already snowed twice which is super frickin wierd for this time of year. We usually don't see snow until late December. Oh well...

Here's a tech. questions that has me totally perplexed. I am by no means a Tiptronic guru but I do know when there is a problem. Here are the symptoms...

1) Car "shudders" when shifting from 3-4-5 under a medium load, usually when pulling uphill. RPM range is 1600-2000 when the shudder occurs.

2) Car sometimes shifts hard when down shifting 2-1.

3) Shudder seems worse when using Tip mode.

So, this "leads" me to think it's a possible torque convertor issue. It seems as if the T/C can't amke up it's mind so it shudders when it does shift. That or the tip is fried which would really suck.

Best of all, I took it to Glenmore Audi here in Calgary. I explained that it only happens when the tranny is HOT, not warm, not cold but full temp (approx. 1/2 houtr of driving time). Dropped it off and they called me to tell me that I had 2 bad o2 sensors (front bank) and a stuck purge valve. "Okay" I think, what about the tranny. Well, says the pleasant girl at the fron, that was just a really bad left front wheel bearing.  
I started thinking that I am getting my car serviced at 7-11 by the Slurpee guy. Anyways... any ideas anyone? HELP form a dependable plethora of knowledge!?

[34k]

Sorry, I have no help for you, but, "Hi Alan!"

[gragravar]

hey alan.  how is your tranny fluid? I think you could get similar symptoms if it were low.  maybe an easy fix.  then again if it is low, there may be other damage.

[jfrahm]

On some cars, torque converter lockup can get rough and cause shuddering.  If the fluid has broken down the lack of friction modifiers can cause this.  A proper fluid change can cure it if it's not too late.  The shudder can cause damage to the TC clutch friction material if left too long.

-Joel.

[jayryan]

At least there's someone smart on this board ^
What's up dude? Love me some Canada!

[givebloodplayhockey]

Hey guys! All is well here in Canuck land. Not too much of a VW following up here though so I'm going to have cling onto all of your coat-tails! I will be coming down for a visit this spring so we should get out to "knock the toques off some brown ones" or "have a beer".
The TC seems to be the issue. I had the dealer top the tranny up it was down a 1/2 litre which I don't think could cause that. HOWEVER.... I did have the service advisor pull a history report of the car. There was an instance when it was down 4 litres and the note said that they repaired a leaking rear seal in the tranny. I am wondering if there isn't some long-term TC issue.
I'm going to call another shop here in Calgary that is smaller but will probably actually listen to me. I don't think that the Audi place took the time to properly drive the car to find the problem. Ugh.

Randy, I miss you brother! I need you to chime in on this one too!