Gearbox Malfunction

[Nastech]

Hi Guys , new here, I hope someone can help/advice on the following problem with my A7 Multitronic 3.0 tdi

I have the dreaded "Gearbox Malfunction, you can continue driving " message.

Recently whilst driving in normal D mode, gears decided to change themselves from D to S4 and other gears randomly.

diagnosis from a garage computer showed 2 faults:

4322- P1891 - Signal line for tiptronic - Implausible signal

and

4323 - P1890 - Signal line for tiptronic - Electrical Malfunction

Struggling to get the car sorted being the Christmas break not all relevant garages have re-opened yet.

A little confused about the Tiptronic error message  as I thought Multitronic and Tiptronic were 2 separate systems?

Anyone with any experience on this issue?

Thanks

 

[niedzial1983]

Tip has 6 gears , multi 7 . What year is your car ?

[Nastech]

Hi Piotr

Thanks for the reply,

The car is Sept 2011, Actually, I have just registered on myaudi.com and put the VIN number in, it has come back with the following information

Audi A7 Sportback S line 3.0 TDI 204 PS multitronic

Therefor it is a Multitronic

Still confused as to why there is a Tiptronic signal line fault?

Any thoughts anyone?

 

[niedzial1983]

Not sure why it says tip...

But it looks like your gear selector is failing 

[Nastech]

I think you may be right, either gear selector or wiring

Thanks for the input

[niedzial1983]

Let us know what was it :) 

[Nastech]

Hi Guys

Sorted (I think)

I hope the information below will help others.

original fault was that my Audi A7 2011 started changing gears itself, changing from Drive to Sports mode with no demand from myself, quite dangerous.

On the dash I had the message "Gearbox Fault you can continue driving"

Called out the AA, who plugged in the computer and could see 2 gearbox faults but could not identify what they were, advised me to take to a garage.

Took it to the local Audi main dealer who eventually found fluid in the main electrical connector on the gearbox ECU and was charged £60 for the diagnosis.

Quoted just over £3k to replace the gearbox ECU and wiring harness. At this point I decided to look into it myself.

Took it to a friends garage and up on the ramp. removed the gearbox connector and yes there was the fluid inside the connector.

Here's a picture from the web, but looks identical

 

 

The fluid was obviously coolant from the colour and sweet taste (don't recommend tasting though..)

So far so good, but how did it get there???

Answer - From the Coolant control valve which is about 12" away and along the same loom.( My issue was from the coolant control valve, but it could have been another valve or sensor)

It is apparently a common fault with Audi's and an issue known to Audi- There is a Technical service bulletin out on this TSB# 2033806/7

The TSB is well worth a read.

Without getting too techie, The coolant control valve starts leaking fluid through the electrical connection point, this fluid then travels down through the harness through a process called "capillary effect" or "Wicking" and eventually gets to the gearbox electrical connector and causes mayhem to the CAN signals which control the gear selection process.

In my case, we used an airline to blow the coolant out of the gearbox connector (carefully on the gearbox end) then sprayed the connector with electrical contactor spray and reconnected the connector.

On testing the car, the error message has gone and no more random gear changing.

VCDS does not show any errors now.

I have a new Coolant control valve being fitted tomorrow ( £130 from Audi or £30 from ebay)

If the new valve is not fitted, the problem will just come back in the future.

Here's the kicker, had I gone with the Audi main dealer quote, a new harness and gearbox ECU for £3k, the quote did not include a new coolant control valve,

therefore I would have been £3k poorer and would have received a "temporary fix" as the valve would have continued to leak and eventually find it's way to the gearbox ECU connector again.

In the end it cost around £250 to get sorted.

Sorry for the long write up, I hope it helps others.

 

[Envy]

Never be sorry for what is valuable information. Lets hope Audi Techs have the sense to read some of these forums. 

Used to get it a lot with VX where I would take a car in with an obvious fault - intercooler hose for instance - but they would insist on putting the diagnostics on for a fee first.

Trouble is Main Dealer Techs are Technicians programmed to find the immediate issue through fault code readers. This identifies the fault but in many instances not the root cause. 

[mylifesablast]

Hi ya Nasser,

I found this link on another Audi forum - (sorry guys not sure if its ok to paste link here remove if necessary)

The issue here was with oil - catastrophic by the sounds of it, how it travelled through the whole of thew ring loom - sounds horrendous

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/185313-Audi-A7-Gearbox-Oil-Leak-Causes-Electronics-Failure

 

Im posting this as last year my A7 was losing oil, long story short - told Audi to refund my money as smoke filled the cabin as I was leaving the motorway up the exit, lets put it this way I couldn't see the hard shoulder.

This was attributed to an oil leak - i'd only had the car 2 months. It was towed to another Audi garage where they identified oil leaking from between the engine and gearbox and then eventually poured all over the hot exhaust and pasted the all of the mechanics the brakes etc in hot engine oil. The dealer ship where it was purchased from quickly asked for it to be returned to them for inspection after 5 weeks it was returned, along with some compensation, another years 'Audi' warranty, the car totally detailed, refund for the split tyres, I had to pay out for (see post on sports maxx GT tyres).

6 months later its started again, spots of oil on my newly tarmaced driver, the smell of burning smoke In the cabin on start up and idling. It went to a local Audi dealership last week, for its first MOT, they advised the car need to be returned to my dealership as it was leaking again from behind the engine and gear box. 

Also they say they replaced the stop start - ecu under warranty

Keep em peeled folks, first signs of oil loss or having to top up - send it in

[Haggar]

Hi I have had the same issues with my A7 coolant in the loom, I have changed the coolant valve and cleaned the connections to the gearbox.. this has cured the gearbox malfunction but I have lots more faults parking brake fault, tpms, steering etc. I can’t communicate with the Ecu, gearbox and other systems has any one else experienced this and cou it be the coolant has gone further into the loom

[00marshd]

Hi. I have the dreaded gear box problem! 

So the problem first happened few month back with the gear box malfunction light coming on then sending all the other lights crazy. Took it to Audi through the garage I purchased it from. Got the warranty company out and they said it was fine and the leak from the coolant had be fixed and the ECU Survived. Audi probly fixed the leak and told me I still needed a new ECU. Anyway I took the car away and sure enough few months down the line the full gear box is broke. Wire harness, cooler and ECU. Garage told me there has besically been a mini fire in the gear bike and has burnt the lot out! They also said 7 GRAND!!!!!!!!! Waiting to here back from Audi at this moment in time. Is anyone else at thesis stage? 

[00marshd]

On 4/30/2018 at 9:14 PM, Haggar said:

Hi I have had the same issues with my A7 coolant in the loom, I have changed the coolant valve and cleaned the connections to the gearbox.. this has cured the gearbox malfunction but I have lots more faults parking brake fault, tpms, steering etc. I can’t communicate with the Ecu, gearbox and other systems has any one else experienced this and cou it be the coolant has gone further into the loom

Hi haggar. 

I had the exact same problem but never had the right guidance to changing the valve. Have a read of my comment below yours. Should help you. I would also say that no matter what can be done the problem will always be there. Fact Of the matter Audi have designed this with a massive fault. i.e coolant valve above the ECU!!!

[fmcg]

My car is ready to collect at long last.

I've found the above discussions very interesting.

As I said in original post that the coolant leaked into the engine wiring loom, but why this would happen is a mystery as surely all the wiring would be well protected from this happening.

My worry is that when our automatic double clutch was replaced the wiring loom was damaged then, but would be impossible to prove?

 

 

[00marshd]

PLEASE READ!!!!

my car is still at Audi with gear box problems. 7grands worth to be exact! Audi have told me they have never had a report EVER of this problem. Absolute liars!!!!!!! Am going the full length with this and won’t rest until they sort it or even going to the local papers or media. Could anyone with these problems please get in touch with me? Via PM. Thanks 

[fmcg]

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be much help. We had an automatic clutch so was a double clutch replacement which was done under warranty, thankfully. We tried arguing the point that the wiring loom could've been damaged while replacing the clutch but got absolutely nowhere. We too were told it was a very unusual fault, we had to wait a long time for the part to arrive. We just had to pay up in the end.

I really hope you manage to get your problem resolved because I know how stressful it is when you feel you are not being listened to

[00marshd]

Thanks for info mate. 

My leak happen over time and warranty pay out due to the inspection reporting they could not determine if the leak started before or after I bought car. Which I have owned for less then a year. I am currently arguing that this is an unserviceable component. Which it is and should basically last a life time. 

[wfyff]

Guys! Seems like I have gotten the same problem, Audi said that coolant has been leaking into the mechatronic and wiring and that it damaged (a valve or whatever) in the mechatronic itself, and the fun part is that they even changed the mechatronic for their cost 2 years ago! How come they did not see there was leaking coolant into this part before or the 5 times I have brought the car in for the casual service! Ridicilous! 

Some where I read that they change the damaged parts like mechatronics, ECU, wiring etc, but do not change the leaking part or the reservoir for the coolant since both of these parts are not serviceable, meaning they only fix the situation for a period of time and not remove the problem from the root! 

Has anyone of you managed to get this repair free for Audi's cost? Or how much did they charge you after all? 

[00marshd]

My car is sitting in Audi as we speak with then exact same problem. Have threatened With my solicitor and going to media. I am yet to hear back. 

[Nastech]

Hi Guys, please read my original post and note there is a technical service bulletin out for this problem of the coolant leaking.

Therefore if Audi deny knowing or ever hearing of this issue before, they are either lying or incompetent.

 TSB# 2033806/7

Here's the link

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2015/SB-10058574-8951.pdf

 

Hope this helps

 

 

 

[00marshd]

Nasteck. Thanks for this I did see it a while ago but counldnt find it. Audi told me that exact words. Never had a report or repair on this issue. 

[wfyff]

I will follow the topic as well report on the progress with my car.

And guys where are you located? My Audi is in Audi Bulgaria.

Also this service bulletin, how would this eventually help us with this issue? Since this bulletin is existing, does this mean that Audi does anything more for the customer in terms of cutting from the repair price? My dealership told me they will get in contact with the "plant" /meaning Audi's production plan or whatever/ and they will then make me an offer. But as for now they quoted me about EUR 3200. This is just ridiculous as the market price of my car is now probably EUR 22000. How much did your Audi services quoted you?

[00marshd]

I am located in Newcastle England! TSB proves Audi do know this a common issue. As I say I was on the phone to Audi customer services UK the other week and this was before I knew about this TSB. The lady disagreed with me that this was a known problem and as I say have never had any report of this issue. So basically they have lied. I will be ringing up tomorrow. 

[wfyff]

Well, it probably does not matter if Audi knows or doesn't know of the issue, what matters is whether these huge costs will be covered by them or by us... 

[00marshd]

Yeah very true! 

[empirez]

Can someone tell me what is the part code for the Coolant control valve? I am thinking of doing it just to prevent it from happening in the future. Is that a smart idea? Current mileage 79000km.