2003 Audi A4: jerking or lurching

Filed Aug 19, 2015 · Acceleration, Transmission · 100,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 audi a4. While driving at 40 MPH, the accelerator pedal became stuck to the floorboard of the vehicle. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal had to be lifted with her foot for it to go back to normal position. The failure recurred on three occasions. While at a complete stop and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle would jerk. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

Filed Aug 5, 2015 · Transmission · 140,000 miles · NJ

2003 audi a4 with 6 speed CVT transmission. There is a known issue with the transmission in this vehicle. While driving the car it shifts from first to second very fast even if you ease down on the accelerator, the car lunges forward and jerks. I have came close on several occasions to hitting the car in front of me . I have read several sites including the audi and volks wagon forums and there are also many complaints with exact same issue. This is a safety issue audi should correct.

Filed Aug 5, 2015 · Acceleration · 140,000 miles · NJ

03 audi a4 6 speed auto CVT transmission, this vehicle has known issues with shifting from 1st to 2nd gear too soon. While driving this vehicle from a complete stop on an on ramp on rt 80 I hit the gas and it would shift from first to second and back to first then lurch forward while rolling. While this is going on I am trying to merge on the highway which put my car into the right lane doing about 2 MPH with traffic (which would be a safe distance if this issue didn't happen) having to come to an abrupt stop not to hit my car. This is an known issue with these transmissions and there is no recall on them since new. I have experienced this issue numerous time as many others with this vehicle does. There are numerous forums with consumers complaining of the same issue. This needs to be addressed before someone gets hurt.

Filed Sep 11, 2014 · Transmission · 73,000 miles · WI

Stopped at stop light in rush hour traffic. Light turned green. Attempted to accelerate- but car just jerked and rocked back and forth and then rolled backward- almost rolling into car behind me. Had to call 911 to redirect traffic and get a tow truck. 2nd incident occurred on 7/12/14: picked car up from service shop. Driving home in rush hour traffic. Stalled at traffic light. Restarted car and it was able to move, but wouldn't shift. Had to make an illegal u-turn to get out of traffic and was able to pull off the side of the road. 3rd incident occurred on 8/12/14: pulling out of driveway and car stopped shifting. Stalled in driveway. Had to get towed and was found to have "no problem" as car was operating when arrived at the service shop. 9/9/14- driving to work in rush hour traffic. Going 35mph up a hill and car stopped shifting. Car was still moving (slowly) and I was able to pull into a residential driveway to get out of traffic. Car would not move after restarting. Tow truck came and towed to service center. All issues related to faulty CVT transmission that audi is aware of, but will not take responsibility for due to the car being over 10 years old (it was 10 years 6 months at the first incident). I have contacted audi USA to discuss these safety concerns with the car stalling in traffic and possible recalls that should be issued, but they have offered no assistance.

Filed May 17, 2011 · Acceleration, Transmission · 90,000 miles · WA

The car probably has faulty tcu, because transmission would sometimes jerk if going from complete stop and pressing gas pedal (even lightly). The car at first wouldn't go, then all of the sudden and unexpectedly would accelerate. I believe this is common in audi, and they should fix that.

Filed Jun 20, 2008 · Transmission · 75,000 miles · VA

At a stoplight yesterday, the CVT transmission suddenly failed. When I pressed the accelerator, the vehicle would only very slowly lurch forward with a great deal of "grinding" noise. I was barely able to limp out of the flow of traffic and then had it towed to my shop. My mechanic today told me the CVT (continuously variable transmission) failed and needs replacement. New, the part alone is $7,500, with another $1,000+ in labor. My 2003 a4 has been meticulously maintained since new and only has 75,000 miles. I have found considerable "traffic" online regarding major problems with audi CVT - but very little on your site. This is s a major design problem that consumers should be made aware of.

Filed Jan 4, 2008 · Transmission · 64,000 miles · IL

In february 2007, my 2003 a4's multitronic CVT (transmission) started to fail. It was slow to engage to reverse and to first gear from a complete stop, and the prnd indicator on the dashboard began to blink continuously. Although these were obvious problems, the mechanic at our audi dealership informed me the car was 'operating according to manufacturer's specifications.' the car only had 61,000 miles. Soon thereafter, the transmission got worse. On one occasion, my infant daughter and I were put in danger when the transmission didn't engage as I attempted a left turn. We were stuck in oncoming traffic in a car that would not move. It was only after I pressed the gas pedal multiple times, revving the engine significantly, that the car bucked into first gear and lurched forward. On another occasion, the car would not go into reverse when I tried to back out of a space in a busy parking lot. This space was on a slight incline, causing the car to roll forward when I stepped on the gas in the attempt to engage the reverse. Instead of reversing, again the engine revved significantly and rolled forward, nearly missing the parked car in front of me. After several attempts the reverse suddenly engaged and lurched backwards. Thank goodness nobody was injured in either situation. At 64,000 miles the transmission failed completely. I had to replace it at a cost of $6,500. Audi even required that my broken transmission be sent back to them so they could study the failure. The technical staff at my audi dealership, as well as the owner of the repair shop where I eventually had the transmission replaced, remarked that the multitronic CVT's design is problematic, and that they're seeing major issues with them.

Filed Nov 18, 2005 · Electrical, Transmission · 44,000 miles · CA

On november 14th my a4 1.8 stalled, was towed to the dealer, a coil was replaced...when I drove the car home it would thump and jerk up around 60 MPH. I returned it to the dealer who stated that it could again be another coil but were not permitted to replace all the coils the day before because manufacturer wouldn't pay for anything more than the faulty coil...even though they figured more might fail...well, it turns out it was the "throttle" - they reset it and I picked up the car and started driving home when it thumped and jerked again...turned around and returned it to the dealer...this all happened on the 15th...it is now the 18th and after working with their engineers, they fear they may now need to replace the entire transmission...I am just glad that I have a loaner car and that I have 5k more miles on my warranty...I think I am going to by the extended since this is 3 huge problems in 5 weeks time!