the ZF Lurch in the Audi S6

A6 All/ S6 All
#10

2007 S6
Experiences both variants, but Variant 1 is negligible, never really bothered me.

Variant 2 can be quite violent if several different factors align just right. Namely, when coming to a near-stop (2-3mph), and pushing the gas pedal before the transmission is done engaging 1st gear. Oddly, about half the time it happens smoothly, the other half of the time I get a violent lurch. Problem only occurs in Sport mode, no problems with A or M. Doesn’t seem to be affected by temperature.

I haven’t tried any fixes yet. I simply take it out of Sport mode when I’m doing stop-and-go driving, or I make sure to come to a complete stop every time. As the problem only exists in S mode for me, I had assumed it was a TCU issue, but I don’t really want to waste my time and money taking it to Audi, so I’ve just been waiting for a TCU tune to hopefully be available someday.

#11

I can’t figure out how to edit a post… I wanted to clarify that Variant 1 only occurs in Sport mode as well. Tranny runs perfectly fine in A and M modes. I honestly only use Sport mode once in a while, both for the lurch problem, as well as the fact that sometimes it seems like it holds a gear for way too long… ie, when I go full throttle up to 60mph, and let off the gas, the car stays in 2nd gear at like 6k rpm indefinitely until I gently tap the throttle again. Maybe it’s supposed to do that? Could be, but it doesn’t really fit my driving style so I don’t use it much when driving fast on highways and such.

#12

^^ you’ll be able to edit when you reach 150 posts.

#13

I don’t know if this helps but it’s not an issue on the 6hp19 transmission. I believe you guys are the 6hp28…

#14

Though this is an easy Google, I’ll post it here for clarity (no offence intended, Mr. Incredible :slight_smile: ).

Only the 4F S6 & RS6 have the 6HP26A. None of the A6s have the same transmission.

The 6HP26 is RWD, and the 6HP26A is AWD.

Here’s a list of the cars you can find each variant in:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZF_6HP26_transmission

#15

Great info here guys. I can tell by the number of responses, these issues are going to be a lot more common than I originally had guessed.

The more people posting first hand experiences, and providing the key details as I requested in the first post, the more data we will have to recognize patterns and come up with solutions.

I haven’t talked to the guys at the shop about this yet, but I think it is pretty safe to assume that my car will be used as a case study to try and figure out all the things that are causing these issues, and come up with solutions for them.

Lots of great info around the web, mostly concerning the 6hp26. Symptoms are pretty much identical.

Keep posting the first hand experiences!

Thanks!

#16

It is so neat to see that others are experiencing the exact same thing. I get both versions but obviously version 2 is more shocking. And I have learned to ‘feel’ the gas pedal when I drive around in S mode at low speeds (I cannot stop doing it because I like to roll down my windows and hear the engine growl). I can tell when there is no catch and a big LURCH is coming. I swear the problem gets better after a recent service then slowly creeps back in.

Is it insane to think that? I remember reading that the computer ‘learns’ our driving style as time goes on. Is this just mumbo-jumbo from Audi? Maybe it is ‘learning’ and screwing up the change back into first gear at low speeds.

#17

I can definitely say I’ve experienced variant #2 on my '07 S6. When I first got the car I it happened a few times before I noticed that it only happens when coming to a rolling stop before accelerating again. It seems to me that the transmission hunts for too long when shifting from 2nd to 1st when you are rolling to a stop and if you start accelerating while it’s “hunting” it revs the motor then slams it into 1st.

I’ve only ever had this happen in manual mode when I don’t downshift myself and instead let the car decide when coming to a stop. I almost always drive in manual mode though and only occasionally use “D” so I can’t speak to the issue in “S” mode. I can say that I’ve never experienced either variant in “D” mode though.

The only thing I’ve ever done to the tranny was change the filter and fluid @ 65k.

#18

Do a google on ZF Transmission Lurch and read all the comments from Jaguar and BMW owners. We are not alone!!

#19

Paul did you say that so far the software update fixed your issue.

#20

Would any of you suspect that the newer C6s (2010-2011) are less likely to have this issue?

#21

I think that’s part of the possible answer. If it’s software related then yes it should be fixed. If it’s strictly a hardware issue i dont know that it’s something that would be fixed.

#22

Would it be that the transmission can’t completely handle the V10 5.2L engine? I don’t personally own a S6 (yet ;)), so I’m probably just shooting in the dark. I’m just curious as to why there seems to be so many technical issues with the V10 engine. Does the RS6 and R8 experience the same issues with misfires, carbon buildup (in the huge amounts the S6 C6 does) and “lurches” (or transmission issues) frequently?

#23

Great questions.

Power wise the rs6 v10 tt has the same transmission code so there could possibly be beefier components but u personally don’t know.

Paul said from what I understand neat software seemed to sort out his issue and it looks like lots of the other ZF lurch stories are solved with software. Or that’s what the people are reporting.

All the FSI cars get carbon and misfires. If the carbon gets bad enough. The RS4 guys get the same thing and they also end up replacing injectors and other components as well. So the formula for keeping the v10 in good health is to mimic what the other na FSI guys do.

The rs6 gets carbon but due to it being force induction it’s usually not as bad. It’s still an issue but FI cars seem to be a little better on carbon service intervals.

The R8 has a different transmission so that plays a different roll.

#24

I never experienced this with my 2010 - in regular mode or in S mode.

#25

That is encouraging news.

#26

Do you have low mileage on that 2010? What’s the average use? How often do you have maintenance done? Have you had any work/issues fixed in the past?

#27

Mine is a 2010. 60k miles. Has been lurching since I got it at 47k miles. Only in S mode.

#28

Thanks for all the reports everyone. Here is my info…

What year and model is your car?
2007

Does your car experience Variant 1, Variant 2, or both?
Seems like both

Does it happen in certain conditions, and not in others (e.g. when driving when car is cold, when using sport mode, etc)
Not sure. Didnt have the car long enough to test

Has the dealer done any fixes for the issue? Have they worked?
Not that I know of, and the car is long out of warranty

Have you done any other updates or changes that resolved (partially or fully) the issue?
My car will be used to hopefully, develop a fix for these issues

#29

Can the few guys that don’t have the issue seem to be new cars and Paul whp got an update.

Can you guys list your software version that might help us track down if a certain version of software fixed it