$3k Transmission repair?!?!?

[DejanSerb]

Hey guys, I’ve been looking seriously into purchasing a B8.5 S4, after doing a little studying online I heard these engine’s are pretty darn good (reliability wise) if you take care of them and do the proper services. That being said, I came across this one in my area and he states in the ad that he did the “typically needed $3k transmission repair” (highlighted in yellow). Is this as common as he says it is? What could it possibly be? Thanks I’m advance! IMG_5152.jpg


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[S4'ed]

The DSG transmission does have its expensive problems.....2013 and newer are somewhat better...

[2by2handsofblue]

That means hes been driving it pretty hard.
Hence he doesnt want to deal with the repair. That's why hes selling. If ur going g to buy it, have it inspected and have him knock off 3k assuming there is no other problems.

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[fastboatster]

There’s a drive range sensor buried inside that trans, easily will cost you 3k to replace. And yeah, newer are better only because they have lower miles. Parts diagrams do indicate that sensor is the same pn in newer cars as they came from the factory, and now there have been 2 revisions of it already

[DejanSerb]

The DSG transmission does have its expensive problems.....2013 and newer are somewhat better...

Yeah from what I heard the pre-facelifts have some problems here and there, that’s why I was a bit confused since this one is the facelift.


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[DejanSerb]

That means hes been driving it pretty hard.
Hence he doesnt want to deal with the repair. That's why hes selling. If ur going g to buy it, have it inspected and have him knock off 3k assuming there is no other problems.

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He already did the repair, but yeah if he’s driving it hard then it could only means more problems in the near future..


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[DejanSerb]

There’s a drive range sensor buried inside that trans, easily will cost you 3k to replace. And yeah, newer are better only because they have lower miles. Parts diagrams do indicate that sensor is the same pn in newer cars as they came from the factory, and now there have been 2 revisions of it already

Is this a common issue? I would assume that if I was a problem on the B8 s4’s that they would fix it on these b8.5’s


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[2by2handsofblue]

He already did the repair, but yeah if he’s driving it hard then it could only means more problems in the near future..


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Where did he get the repair done and when.

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[JeffSQuattro]

In MY13, some had the Gen 1.5 and at some point there was a transition to the Gen 2 transmission. The Gen 2 is fairly reliable compared to Gen 1 and 1.5 . Gen 1 and 1.5 had mechatronics issues as well as the mentioned above drive sensor. Pretty sure the issues appear regardless of driving habits, I may be incorrect with this. OP should read through the DL501 thread. You can use vcds to find out which transmission code is tied to the vehicle to determine if it’s Gen 1.5 or 2.


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[DejanSerb]

Where did he get the repair done and when.

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He got it done at the local Audi dealership, it says recently done.


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[DejanSerb]

In MY13, some had the Gen 1.5 and at some point there was a transition to the Gen 2 transmission. The Gen 2 is fairly reliable compared to Gen 1 and 1.5 . Gen 1 and 1.5 had mechatronics issues as well as the mentioned above drive sensor. Pretty sure the issues appear regardless of driving habits, I may be incorrect with this. OP should read through the DL501 thread. You can use vcds to find out which transmission code is tied to the vehicle to determine if it’s Gen 1.5 or 2.


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I was going to say if there was anyway to see if it’s a gen 1.5 or 2 but you stayed a trend. Do you have a link to the trend? I’ll try searching for it now!


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[LINDW4LL]

Yeah from what I heard the pre-facelifts have some problems here and there, that’s why I was a bit confused since this one is the facelift.

B8.5s have significantly better DSG reliability but nothing is 100% failure-free. $3k is a clutch job on a 6MT S4, I wouldn't let it scare you too much.

[TC_S4]

I was going to say if there was anyway to see if it’s a gen 1.5 or 2 but you stayed a trend. Do you have a link to the trend? I’ll try searching for it now!


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The best way is to scan the transmission serial code, it will tell you the tranny generation. If you don’t have access to a scanner, you can look at the driver door panel sticker, if the build date is 05/2012 and up it’s gen 2.

[fastboatster]

Is this a common issue? I would assume that if I was a problem on the B8 s4’s that they would fix it on these b8.5’s


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There was a tsb for this sensor for both b8 and b8.5. Ask the owner what was done. Better yet, get a 6mt for this kind of money, you’ll thank yourself later when it’s time to resell the car. No matter what they say, dsg can have problems and these can be frustrating and expensive to fix. B8.5 are still too new to tell if things are improved a lot, we’ll find out in a couple of years.

[DejanSerb]

B8.5s have significantly better DSG reliability but nothing is 100% failure-free. $3k is a clutch job on a 6MT S4, I wouldn't let it scare you too much.

Very true, and the fact that he already had it replaced is a good sign


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[DejanSerb]

The best way is to scan the transmission serial code, if will tell you the tranny generation. If you don’t have access to a scanner, you can look at the driver door panel sticker, if the build date is 05/2012 and up it’s gen 2.

Good to know, thanks!!


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[DejanSerb]

There was a tsb for this sensor for both b8 and b8.5. Ask the owner what was done. Better yet, get a 6mt for this kind of money, you’ll thank yourself later when it’s time to resell the car. No matter what they say, dsg can have problems and these can be frustrating and expensive to fix. B8.5 are still too new to tell if things are improved a lot, we’ll find out in a couple of years.

6mt would be ideal, this deal just came out so I thought I’d take it into consideration since a dsg would be nice for driving in rush hour traffic everyday haha


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[TC_S4]

I am very curious, let say if the car is early 2013 and have transmission gen 1.5. What happens, the tranny fails and the dealer is replacing under warranty, will they put the same transmission 1.5 or the gen2🤔

[Waffles_s4]

^^ They usually put the latest revision of the same part. Usually.

[mdwalsh20]

Just had the drive position sensor done a few months ago and bill was 5k done at dealer since I had extended warranty thank god. I never buy them but did after researching the possible dsg issues and figured it was worth the reassurance and it paid for itself. Never launched and never had mech issues or any warnings it just happened after a highway commute in stop and go traffic so it doesn’t mean he was beating on it although I don’t know who buys these cars and doesn’t at some point or another. Seems more related to heat from what my SA said he’s seen and heard but who knows.


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[FrankyH]

Who do you all use for extended warranties? Dont mean to hijack the thread....

[Dr GP]

Is this a common issue? I would assume that if I was a problem on the B8 s4’s that they would fix it on these b8.5’s


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One of the reasons the B9 S4s have a Tiptronic rather than S tronic auto trans. You could always go with a manual transmission,if you can find one. Then you only need to worry about a $3k clutch assembly replacement

[Dr GP]

Who do you all use for extended warranties? Dont mean to hijack the thread....

Troy at Nashua Audi in New Hampshire used to sell Fidelity warranty at a discount. Same as Audi dealers sell.Not sure he is still at that dealership.Perhaps someone has more knowledge on this?

[DejanSerb]

Just had the drive position sensor done a few months ago and bill was 5k done at dealer since I had extended warranty thank god. I never buy them but did after researching the possible dsg issues and figured it was worth the reassurance and it paid for itself. Never launched and never had mech issues or any warnings it just happened after a highway commute in stop and go traffic so it doesn’t mean he was beating on it although I don’t know who buys these cars and doesn’t at some point or another. Seems more related to heat from what my SA said he’s seen and heard but who knows.


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What year is your S4?


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[DejanSerb]

One of the reasons the B9 S4s have a Tiptronic rather than S tronic auto trans. You could always go with a manual transmission,if you can find one. Then you only need to worry about a $3k clutch assembly replacement

True, luckily I’m not in a rush to buy one as I have a perfectly fine daily driver right now, so I can play the waiting game.


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[RWD2quattro]

B8.5s have significantly better DSG reliability but nothing is 100% failure-free. $3k is a clutch job on a 6MT S4, I wouldn't let it scare you too much.

My 6MT rebuilt was 6k when I smoked the input shaft with upgraded synchro's but didn't include a new clutch and other misc. parts.

[fastboatster]

Nice, what did you do to it? Did it just fail when driving normally?