2002 Audi A4: complete transmission failure

5 of the 181 complaints about the 2002 Audi A4 describe complete transmission failure.

owner complaints: 5
of this car's complaints: 3%
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 15 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Complete transmission failure by model year

2017
1
2010
1
2009
2
2007
1
2006
1
2005
2
2004
1
2003
6
2002
5
2000
1
1998
1
1996
2

What owners say

Filed Mar 24, 2010 · Transmission · IL

I have an 2002 audi a-4 with a constant variable transmission. I have had hesitation problems on and off since 2002. Several repairs have been made and the dealer has never addressed the transmission hesitation. Since I don't drive the car very often, the transmission is finally skipping. The dealer indicates the car most likely is the beginning to show signs of the need for a new transmission. I generally keep my cars over 10 years and service them like a baby. This is disheartening, since the repairs would be more than the car is worth. My daughter had similar problems with her vs passat and after pouring money into it, problems continued. I am very disapointed and will not buy again.

Filed Jun 6, 2008 · Transmission · 80,000 miles · CA

1. Driving the car. 2. Automatic transmission problems. The gear lights will start to blink (park, drive, reverse, neutral) and the car will have difficulty shifting into reverse. When this occurs, the car cannot reverse and on inclines the car will slide backwards. Sometimes, when the car slides back, stepping on the brake will not stop the car. Once, the car slid backwards and I could not stop it at all and luckily, there were no cars behind me. 3. The gearbox has been replaced costing $2000 and the problem has only been partially fixed. I've been told that the car needs a new transmission, rebuilt transmissions are not available. Audi is aware of the problem & refuses to owe up to their defective transmission.

Filed Mar 20, 2007 · Transmission · 45,000 miles · MD

I have an audi a4 2002 with CVT. Over the last year or so the transmission has intermittently failed to engage when moving from a full stop. This can happen in a parking lot or my home driveway. After engaging the drive gear and depressing the gas pedal the car fails to move for anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or so. This is especially disconcerting ,and I believe unsafe when it happens at traffic lights. Once cruising the car experiences no problems. On two occasions I have reported this to the dealership. On one occasion the intermittent problem could not be recreated. On another they did recreate the problem and notified me that repair costs would be between $1700 and $6000. It is a five year old car with 58000 miles. To add to the problem the trade in value of the vehicle reflects the need to replace the transmission. I am not the only person with this experience. I have found many on the internet.

Filed Nov 8, 2005 · Transmission · FL

This vehicle is an audi a4, 3.0 automatic, 2nd owner, coming off a 3 yr. Lease in which all of the warranty work was performed by the dealer. The vehicle has 62,000 miles. There has been a complete mechanical failure of the transmission. The dealer says it must be replaced at a cost of $9,213.72. During the warranty period. Records show that there were (3) occasions in which the owner complained about transmissions problems. On the first occasion, the dealer re-programmed the shift-control software. On the 2nd occasion the dealer removed and cleaned the connection terminals of the transmission control module (TCM). On the third occasion, the dealer replaced the (TCM). Then the vehicle went off-lease and the dealership sold it at auction to a used car dealer. Since then the car was sold to an unsuspecting customer and no history was ever produced which described the previous transmission problems. The transmission had some internal defect or problem which was never properly diagnosed by the dealership mechanics, and therefore it was just a matter of time before complete failure would occur. Of course, the dealership and audi USA in michigan would have you believe that nothing was ever wrong with the transmission, only the (TCM). If that is the case, then why would complete transmission failure occur soon after the vehicle is off lease warranty, especially on a sealed unit, which these units are.

Filed Feb 9, 2004 · Transmission · 8,000 miles · MD

The problem is with the CVT automatic transmission. I guess you would call it hesitation when you accelerate. When we bought the car we lived in a small town that was very flat with no hills. The car was driven on mostly back roads at approximately 25 to 30 MPH. After a few months we moved and the car was driven faster, now the problem was becoming very noticeable. As you accelerate the car hesitates and you have to push harder on the accelerator then the car jerks forward. The car was taken to the dealer several times for different adjustments and still the problem was there. Next I met with an audi tech rep, who drove the car and said that was the nature of the beast. After more complaining they replaced the transmission module, this still did not fix. Now I have moved to an area that is hilly, and when you stop at a red light on a hill the car drifts back when you take your foot off the brake. The car has gone to a new dealer for another module and more adjustments and is still not fixed. This is a serious problem that other audi a4 owners that I have spoken to have. Audi should have to fix this problem be for someone gets hurt. I thought I was getting a safe, well built, long lasting car, I guess I was wrong. With all of the other problem I have had with this car, I would never buy another audi. I only hope that the other audi a4 owners will take the time to pass on their problems with this dangerous transmission.