Clunking in/out of 1st after Mackies Flush

[Turbo Tony]

Thanks Lee, appreciate the good wishes from everyone on here.

I took the car back to them first thing this morning. They took it for a test drive and I rode shotgun. When the transmission was cold, it was perfect. Quiet and fluid with every gear change quick and smooth.

As soon as it warmed up, the clunking came back between 1 & 2. The transmission actually feels like it wants to burst up through the floor of the car. Worryingly, it also started clunking (albeit less violently) between 5 & 6.

The tech suspects either a solenoid, valve or the mechatronics. Whatever it is, it's going to need parts that can take between 3 and 10 days to arrive from ZF. During the test drive, he also told me that the transmission was very low on fluid when they received it - around 4 litres short! I have to say that I do wish they'd told me that while they still had the car. I know they probably didn't want to worry me but that kind of information would have warned me to be cautious with it. I asked for a ballpark figure for the repair and he guessed around £1200.

Rather than risk more damage to it, I thought it best to leave it with them, which left me a with a problem considering I was 400 miles from home. They were nice enough to offer me a lift to the airport, where I rented a car so I could get back home, stopping off at Sheffield for work along the way.

I left them my warranty details in the blind hope that the crappy warranty I got with the car is worth slightly more than the paper on which it's written.

As word broke at work about the car, I'm now facing cries of 'time to sell it'. Part of me agrees but on the other hand, it seems criminal to sell a car having spent as much as I have getting it to behave. Either way, I can't remember ever being this stressed about a car.

At some point, I'll have to catch a flight up to Glasgow and then drive the car home. I just hope they get it back before I go on holiday in August.

[Joe2.0E]

Im sure Mackies will put it right. They are expensive cars when something goes wrong but even large unexpected bills like this are only a fraction of the yearly depreciation when they were new.
It might be worth contacting the Trader you purchased the car from to push the warranty claim.
Typically 3rd party warranty firms will just give the runaround to the likes of Mackies or Yourself. They might be more co-operative with the Trader that purchased the warranty as they will be selling them policies on a regular basis.

[jza8]

Originally Posted by Turbo Tony

During the test drive, he also told me that the transmission was very low on fluid when they received it - around 4 litres short!

That doesn't sound right. I doubt it would even drive with less than half fluid level.

[Turbo Tony]

Originally Posted by jza8

That doesn't sound right. I doubt it would even drive with less than half fluid level.

That's probably me mis-quoting the tech... I wasn't exactly in a good frame of mind at the time - I was more concerned about finding a way back to London. He also spoke very softly, which wasn't exactly compatible with the non-resonated Milltek exhaust fitted to my car!

[David's8]

Sorry to hear about your problems especially as many of us up here rate Mackies. But if you need any help (accommodation/transport from airport to Mackies etc) if or when you come back for your car then do shout. Be glad to help

[HPsauce]

The D2 5HP24A transmission is pretty famous for a fluid change being a "kill or cure" but it's rather surprising to see a D3 in a similar state.

That said it sounds like it wasn't exactly perfect to start with so this has highlighted a problem that was there waiting to catch you out sooner (probably) or later.

[Lee S]

Sounds like someone else has had a go at changing the fluid in the past and not put enough back in maybe? Maybe that's what causing the changing issues. Unless it has a leak I can't see how it can be low on fluid otherwise. Very odd but I hope it doesn't cause too much pain, mentally or financially, but on the plus side when Mackies have finished with it, it will be like new and would be a shame to sell.

[Turbo Tony]

Thanks everyone. David, that's a really kind offer and I really appreciate it.

Mackie called me today and I'm afraid the news wasn't good. They told me it was one of two potential problems, and they didn't have enough data to decide between the two. The first is the gearbox controller at a cost of £4500. The second is a new gearbox at the cost of £9500.

I was speechless when they called, moreso because I was barrelling down the M1 in my hired Citroen at the time. I told them I'd call back tomorrow after I'd had some time to process the news. I asked if anything can be done to make the car driveable and they said they'd have a look but they doubt it.

Reading between the lines, I think that roughly means that they can't see anything mechanically wrong, but it won't stop doing it, so it must be software related.

The last two times the car went into a garage, it was noted that there was some kind of fluid leak under the car but it was difficult to say where it was coming from. Audi didn't find anything when they serviced it, so I told them about the previous reports and asked them to check thoroughly for leaks. They again told me there was nothing. I'm guessing the fluid that had leaked had become difficult to see and it was probably too low to leak any more. It must have been transmission fluid.

Tomorrow, I'll suggest it may be worth trying a switch back to LG6 oil. Considering the problem only happens when the gearbox is cold, my last hope of repair is that the software is mismatched with the oil.

If that doesn't work, it kills me even to type this, but I'm going to have to let her go. I love the car dearly, but we're in my fourth month of ownership. It's been at Audi for one of those months and I've spent Just shy of £5000 on it and it still wants more. Wow, this is the first car I've purchased in 16 years... It's a pretty convincing argument for taking the bike.

I apologise for the tone of this message. I'm feeling a little sorry for myself at the moment.

[homer simpson]

Tony, sorry to hear of your problems with the car, have followed your pursuit for an S8 and if it was me I'd be heartbroken.#

Out of interest, was the car running OK prior to the gearbox flush?

[Turbo Tony]

Hi Homer,

Thanks for your kind words. At the moment, I'm consternating about whether to repair or to unload. I've been leaning towards repair all day but sometimes I look at the financials and it's downright scary. It's funny, as at least one of you will know from another forum, I was originally looking to by a Range Rover and was talked out of it by a Land Rover employee who warned me about build quality and reliability. At times like this, I think a Rangie would have been a walk in the park in comparison!

Before the flush, the gearbox had a very slight shudder at around 1800rpm. It also had a pretty severe take-off from standstill when using anything but minimal throttle, but that was eased almost completely after the Terraclean - it seemed to give the engine so much low-down torque that there was little difference between manoeuvring speed and on-gas speed.

Only two things remain on the car to be fixed after the gearbox - the engine has a knock on the top end that isn't too severe, but triggers my OCD. The other is that I suspect he power steering pump is on it's way out because the steering never seems to want to return to centre. If the gearbox fitting requires the removal of the engine, I may ask the repairers to put a new pump in at the same time and just be done with it.