95-97 A6q 4sp AT - maintenance interval

[Beatty, Robert]

Mike,

I'm sorry to hear about your problems with your car.  Yes there are things
about Audi's that are annoying or just plain stupid.  In the 80's it was
things like the door handles breaking and the necks breaking on the
radiators to name a few of them.  And yes when your paying a dealer or a
mechanic to repair them, its VERY expensive.  I grew up with Audi's, my dad
was an AoA employee so he had company cars for years.  Our 1.5 hour rides to
Cape Cod were always in a new Audi and when I finally bought my 1st type 44
(5000/200), it brought back alot of memories of riding in the back seat of
them new.

Are they the most reliable cars in the world?  Not by a long shot, though
they are dependable when regular maintenance is performed on them.  Did Audi
over engineer some things?  DEFINITELY!  Things like the transmission
problems your having are great examples of this.  I don't really have any
experience with the post 91 cars as I was in the Air Force at that time and
out in CA for the next 8 years driving a couple of VW's and a 86 Coupe GT
(GREAT GREAT GREAT car!!!), so I don't have the same attachment with the
newer generation of Audi's.  I also have heard of the poor service
mentalities at alot of the Audi dealerships and how it pales in comparison
to other manufacturers such as Jaguar or Mercedes.

Anyways, I feel your pain Mike and just wanted to say that a good deal of us
have run into that problem of "it costs WHAT??".  Not sure if this is your
1st Audi, but I feel I have to say they aren't all problem children.  When
they are working correctly, they are some of the most comfortable and fun
cars to drive that can still serve as a family car. (excluding of course the
more exotic Audi's such as the TT and UrQuattro)

Good luck,

Rob
-----Original Message-----
From: MCTXR4 at aol.com [mailto:MCTXR4 at aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 9:51 AM
To: vag at bavarianparts.com; quattro at audifans.com
Subject: Re: 95-97 A6q 4sp AT - maintenance interval


If it's like the auto tranny on my '97 A4, there is NO service possible
until it fails. These are sealed units. If you look carefully you'll find
that there isn't even a dipstick to check fluid levels.

It's inconceivable to me that we cannot service these transmissions to give
us a chance at lengthening the service life. VW/Audi is so bloody confident
of their engineering that they will not even give any reference to outside
repair facilities on how to rebuild the transmission if it fails. It has to
be replaced in toto with an entirely new unit. UNBELIEVABLE. I've checked
cost on this as well, over $3k for the new unit plus labor.

This is absolutely the last Audi I'll ever own.

Mike Torio