Temperamental Reverse!!
 

Hi all, i'm new to the forum as you can probably tell.
I have just purchased a 2001 S8, unfortunately since the cold stint of weather we had my car (when cold) will not select reverse?? Once the engine is warmed up and i have driven for a bit its absolutely fine.

After reading up on the net a bit i decided to change the gearbox oil and filter (have used Audi genuine parts). My mechanic friend helped me to do this and also recommended using a small part of the old oil as using totally new oil may block the filter very quickly and cause big problems. I plan on doing another oil and filter change in about 500 miles.

The car now changes gear alot smoother but i still have the problem!! My friend told me that i need to use the car a bit more to circulate the oil more through the reverse gear valves.

Has anyone else had this problem?? My car has done alot of miles 180K but has a full Audi service history. I only paid 1500 for the car so don't mind spending a bit on it as long as i'm spending on the right thing..:Confused:

Reverse failing is a common problem on the FL gearboxes. It's the Clutch F seal if I remember rightly. You could go for a rebuild or a new box for about £2500 all in which would do you for a good bit longer :)

search the forum for F125 switch. I seem to recall someone having a tempremental switch in cold/wet weather causing some issues might be worth a check to see if they sound similar to yours. If not then unfortunately it could be what he ^ said :C or several other gearbox based gremlins all of which would require a specialist to diagnose properly.

Do all the gear related lights in the DIS display turn red when the problem occurs? If so, it's logged a fault and gone into limp mode - that means there's a stored fault to read.

Doubt it's the F125 switch - this sounds more like a mechanical fault as mine would still work in reverse fine with a duff F125.

I had a duff F125 switch. It made a hulluva noise in reverse and in other gears when cold, but it worked fine. A VagCom would diagnose this. That's the essential first step IMHO

Hi and welcome. What part of the country are you in? There maybe someone close that could plug it in for you and see if it has logged errors.

Oh and photo's of the car please

Hi, thanks for the numerous replies which are very appreciated. Firstly pictures will be up shortly, the car is currently being detailed and paint corrected. I saw the bonnet last night which someone had spent a whole day on!!

the gearbox issue is still present even though the weather has got a bit better (not in the minuses anymore). When engaging reverse there are no crunching noises or any other noise for that matter, and there are no red lights or warnings on the DIS??

Just so everybody knows i am based on the borders of London and Surrey. Any other suggestions before i start shopping around for a new box??

Regarding the F Seal, if this was blown would i still be able to get reverse, as when the engine is up to temperature reverse selects no problem at all??

Hi Mate,

Welcome to the forum. If you want a VAG-COM check done tomorrow, i'm just based in SW18 if you're able to drive it down...it may give some more clues as to what is wrong.

Thanks,

Oli

Hi Oli, thanks for the offer but i'm a bit concerned that the fault will not show up by the time i get to you as the engine will be up to temperature and reverse will engage then. If you think its still worth a go i would be very grateful for the check. I'll pm you my number.