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1st Major Problem

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Old May 8, 2010 | 01:58 PM
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Default 1st Major Problem

Well friends, with only 7500 miles on my 08 vert (A6), I was driving home last Thursday night when the check engine light suddenly came on and the transmission wouldn't shift out of second. I was still 3 miles from home and was barely able to make it home. The dealer came and picked it up Friday morning on a flatbed. The dealer had only one vette mechanic on Friday and so I will have to wait until Monday for the verdict. I baby my vehicle and was doing nothing unusual at the time. Any thoughts on what put it into limp mode?
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Old May 8, 2010 | 02:02 PM
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could be anything. You have the warranty so no worries right?
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Old May 8, 2010 | 02:02 PM
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How did the tranny fluid level look?
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Old May 8, 2010 | 03:08 PM
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Sounds like it went into limp home mode. Anything show up on the DIC?
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Old May 8, 2010 | 03:45 PM
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Occasionally, we hear a story like this and the dealer(s) can never really fix the problem, it comes coming back.

But 99% of the time, one or two trips to the dealer will get you fixed under warranty and your car will live happily ever after.

Try not to stress out over it...
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Old May 8, 2010 | 03:50 PM
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That sucks, I had that type of issue with my last few new cars. Everything worked out in the end but I always felt like "why me?" when things would happen. Knock on wood I have had a few thousand pleasant miles with the 08 vette so far.
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Old May 8, 2010 | 04:04 PM
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My c5 did this, I took it to the shop and they checked all the wires to the computer apparently after a small speedbump one was loose not completely out but enough to put the car into reduce power mode... Fixed and drove happly ever after till I sold it and got the C6
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Old May 8, 2010 | 08:49 PM
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With all the computers and weird associations amongst the various components/functions of the car you never know what might be causing it, could even be a small glitch somewhere. Don't sweat it...
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Old May 8, 2010 | 10:43 PM
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Originally Posted by lawvette22
Well friends, with only 7500 miles on my 08 vert (A6), I was driving home last Thursday night when the check engine light suddenly came on and the transmission wouldn't shift out of second. I was still 3 miles from home and was barely able to make it home. The dealer came and picked it up Friday morning on a flatbed. The dealer had only one vette mechanic on Friday and so I will have to wait until Monday for the verdict. I baby my vehicle and was doing nothing unusual at the time. Any thoughts on what put it into limp mode?
not exact on your issues but a common limp home issues i have seen is the Speed sensor out of wack (this would cause the trans to not shift as well)
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Old May 8, 2010 | 11:24 PM
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I sympathize with your frustrations but as someone said, I wouldn't stress out over it. You made it home safely and the car's going to be fixed. Into each life a little rain must fall....
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Old May 8, 2010 | 11:36 PM
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I'll throw a differnent experience at you, with an auto and being stuck in 2nd....

I had a Jetta once and as I was driving along, the check engine light came on and the car would not shift out of second, into third. I stopped the car looked things over and tried driving it again. Everything was fine until the revs increased and it should have shifted into third, but kicked up but then kicked back down to third.... I was puzzled to say the least.

I took it to the dealership and they told me it needed a new tranny, without even looking at it. That pissed me off and I left. I had heard that there was a guy that worked on VW's in his garage, about four blocks away from me, so I took it to him. He looks the car over and five minutes later, he tells me I need a new muffler.... I was like WHAT?!?!? A NEW MUFFLER??? ARE YOU NUCKING FUTZ??? And I was ready to drive away again, but he told me he would replace it and if it didn't fix the problem, I wouldn't owe him a dime.... What did I have to lose, right?

He asked me to stand behind the car and place my hand near the tailpipe, then he asked me if I felt exhaust coming out... I said, "Yes". Then he stepped on the gas and asked if I felt exhaust... I didn't.

In the end, my catalytic converter had broken and most of the pieces wound up in the muffler. He removed the muffler, and shook it... It sounded like a pair of maracas as chunks of catalytic came flying out. He replaced the muffler and I drove it... It shifted perfectly... Problem solved.

The moral of this story is as rediculous as something may sound, in this case, it wasn't the tranny after all and an honest mechanic saved the day. I hope everything works out for you.....
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Old May 9, 2010 | 12:34 AM
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Originally Posted by maddogbishop
How did the tranny fluid level look?

iirc the manual for my 08 A6 says the trans is sealed and to take it to a dealer only if you see fluid on the ground.
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Old May 9, 2010 | 05:15 PM
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Thanks for all the responses. What's strange is that the gauges remained unaffected. The fluid levels were all fine. I checked them as soon as I got home. No fluids on the ground. As soon as the problem happened I started checking all the sensors via the DIC and there was nothing out of the ordinary. All temps were fine. Oil pressure fine. Trans temp fine. Just a check engine light on the dash and the inability to shift out of 2nd. Weird.

My money is on an electrical gremlin. Little buggers are a pain once they get into your car.

Last edited by lawvette22; May 9, 2010 at 05:17 PM.
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Old May 9, 2010 | 05:34 PM
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Sorry to hear...good luck w/ repair.
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Old May 9, 2010 | 06:21 PM
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Did you try using the paddles to 'manually' shift the A6?

Could you get it into reverse or park?

Good Luck with the dealer.
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Old May 9, 2010 | 11:14 PM
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Originally Posted by lawvette22
Well friends, with only 7500 miles on my 08 vert (A6), I was driving home last Thursday night when the check engine light suddenly came on and the transmission wouldn't shift out of second. I was still 3 miles from home and was barely able to make it home. The dealer came and picked it up Friday morning on a flatbed. The dealer had only one vette mechanic on Friday and so I will have to wait until Monday for the verdict. I baby my vehicle and was doing nothing unusual at the time. Any thoughts on what put it into limp mode?
Nope no thoughts but you are good to go because your dealer has a Vette Tech. My dealer has a great Vette Tech and he speaks C6. Try to talk to him , thats what I did when I had him do the rear end upgrade and the trans flash. My C6 has been bullitproof for 18K with the A6.
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Old May 9, 2010 | 11:47 PM
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I read that Vette techs use a Scan Tech diagnostic tool to troubleshoot the A6. Among many others, it can check connections and the individual clutches, too. Hopefully, it should isolate the issue quickly.
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Old May 10, 2010 | 01:20 AM
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Originally Posted by JERGENSEN LS3
Sorry to hear...good luck w/ repair.
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Old May 10, 2010 | 01:31 AM
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I've run into problems on other Chevrolet vehicles where the fuse and breakers weren't making good contact. A little wiggling and all instruments worked again.
Just a thought.
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Old May 10, 2010 | 08:11 AM
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something very similar happened to my 07 A6 when it had just 1,200 miles on it. i stopped and shut the car off, sat a minute and then proceded to start again...same issue. drove home about 3 miles and before putting it in the garage i shut it down again and let it sit for about 15 minutes. started up and the issue was gone - never to return. now with just 5,000 miles it has not been an issue. it was driving me crazy so i did some research ( www.corvettemechanics.com ) and found that it was a loose "knock sensor" most likely. let it sit overnight and try it again. electronics are a dark thing. good luck.
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