I have a 08 LS3 A6, the car is completely stock. It only has about 6000 miles on it, but I have been trying to put more road time on it this past year. So much to my surprise about 3 months ago the transmission started shifting a little weird, nothing major just would hold a gear longer on upshifts, up to that point it had been pretty smooth. I had the dealership check it out during an oil change and they said I was up to date on the latest calibrations. So, I thought maybe it was just a couple fluke shifts? As i drive it around more I noticed again hold a gear longer and shifting harder, also it feels like less power, of course that is the upsetting part. So I'll be heading back to the dealership soon! I have been reading many post the last few days and it seems that there are many complaints about the A6 trans, but up until about 3-4 months ago mine was fine.
So any thoughts or comments on how I should approach this? What should a tell/ask the dealership when I bring it back in?
Also after reading lots of posts it seems that many folks get their A6 tuned, so I am considering that, but I still have lots of warranty left that I would like to not void!?

Thanks in advance!

 

What you're describing is pretty non specific so I can't offer any help. Dealer service is pretty impotent if the computer doesn't have any error codes for them to follow. So, IMO you're kind of out of luck until something actually fails OR you get it tuned. See what others chime in with and maybe also ask this in the General Forum for more eyes.

 

No trying to be silly or critical, but...

Is it possible you have just been getting used to the car and the power; gradually using more throttle and so the trans is waiting a bit longer to upshift and shifting a bit harder?

 

So let me clear up as much as possible. I have driven the car the same since day one. I tend to drive about 50/50 hwy and in town. I tend to be heavy footed at take offs, or when merging onto the hwy, or on while passing, or any other opportunity! So again my dilemma is in the past 4 months or so the car holds its gear longer after I have given it full throttle or close to it. Then it seems to get stuck in between gears like its making a decision on which gear to be in, even when I’ve let off the gas and the car is going 70 mph on the hwy. Then when it does shift it shifts harder than it did before, it was actually was not to bad when I bought it new.
Another very recent example, I came to a stop wide open road ahead so I decide to give it close to full throttle and see how the car takes off. I believe I was in D mode, it lost a little traction off the line then rev’ed way up and appeared to try and shift threw a few gears but the cars rev’s were high and bouncing around causing a real jerking motion in the car, or what you would call the opposite of a smooth acceleration.

 

That's no good!!! I have the same year car and mine is an auto too. I would drive it for awhile and see if it still does it. 6000 miles is next to nothing, IMO. Maybe some fluids settled or something? You have plenty of time left to put some miles on it. That's just a guess, and I could be wayyy wrong!! I just wanted to share my thoughts

 

That doesn't sound normal or good. An A6 won't upshift if the tires are spinning, which may be possible at high RPMs when the engine is making its most power, but once it bangs off the rev limiter, it should regain traction and shift, not repeatedly bouncing off the limiter like it sounds you're describing.

 

What you are describing certainly doesn't sound right at all. I had an '08 Z51 I tracked all last year and never had an issue with the A6, in fact I really liked the paddle shift and rev matching capability, I could change gears mid turn without upsetting the chassis or attitude of the car to get exactly the gear/rpm coming out of a turn. The other strong attribute of the A-6 is it allows you to left-foot brake the car which means you are much faster on the brake, trail braking is far easier to get right and the rev matching feature. So in my opinion, the A6 transmission is an awesome product and loved it at the track.

How does the car shift with the paddle shifters (in 'S' mode)? If on the gas at or near red line, you will have to lift the throttle before the transmission will shift. When driving normally and with the paddle shifters, does it still tend to hold the gear too long? With the factory tune, it is also a little slow in upshifting so you have to call for the shift before red line. I understand tunes will change that. I wonder if for some reason the parameters have changed in the computer from the factory settings? Once again, a tune can change it but there is the warranty issue.

Your best bet may be to take a ride with a service advisor so you can demonstrate to him/her exactly what is going on.

 

I know these cars are filled from the factory(sealed unit)but I would have the dealer check the fluid level. Mine was actually 3/4 qt low. I do transmissions for a living so that's what mine felt like driving it so i pulled the plug and sure enough. It was low.

 

There were a few TSB's for the 08 A6. (That's what I've got too)...one of which is a tiny seal that may have been installed backwards at the factory.
A flare between the 2-3 shift is a symptom of this. It will be fine at first and get progressively worse. Seeing as how you've got a 4 yr old C6 with only 6k on the odometer, it probably just now showing up.

Get all the TSB's done you can before the 5/100 warranty runs out next year. I hope that's the warranty that covers it, any way. :P

 

The A6 will shift all the way to 6th gear unless you let off or get traction.

The OP does have a concern that needs corrected before the warranty expires, but the problem is getting it identified by the dealer. Driving it a lot more may help to isolate exactly how and when it occurs, so it can be repeated by the delaer service tech. With only 6K in 4 years, the OP hasn't had much experience with the car yet.