A8 goes out of gear

DriftNDraft · 06-14-2018, 11:57 PM

Just purchased a 2018 1LT V6 with an A8 transmission. I was coming off an overpass and accelerating the car through a curved offramp. By the time I got to the end of the ramp, the transmission went out of gear. The shifter was still in drive but the transmission was acting as if it was in neutral.

I rolled to a stop on the shoulder, moved the shifter to park and then back into drive and everything worked normally. I figured it was just a fluke and not a big deal. That was five days ago.

But then I went down the same offramp this morning and the same thing happened. The car has 2000 miles on it. Has anyone else seen anything like this?

SSport16 · 06-15-2018, 09:50 AM

Yup...My A8 SS started doing this over a year ago, kept getting worse over a few day period. Made an appt for the dealer, I literally drove into the dealers garages and the transmission crapped out. They usually move the cars from that garage into the back mechanic garages, the porter couldn't even get the car to go into D or R, literally was dead. Over $3K in parts and labor that warranty covered to basically rebuild the transmission. Still have issues, biggest one is if the car sits outside for a few hours, try to put the car in D, it hesitates before grabbing the gear and engaging, other than that works awesome now.

Elite Engineering · 06-15-2018, 03:21 PM

Your low on trans fluid. That "neutral" is the pump sucking air, takes only a few seconds to burn up clutches and the pump.

DriftNDraft · 01-27-2019, 02:46 AM

The dealer checked the transmission and couldn't find anything wrong. The tech also said that the fluid was full. He then asked to take a ride with me. We went around a curved offramp somewhat quickly and there wasn't any issue.

Since then I've gone around the original curve and noticed that I might have mistaken the transmission "coming loose" for when it was actually going into performance mode. If I accelerate instead of let up when it happens everything seems fine. So it could be I'm just not used to an automatic transmission with a lateral acceleration sensor.

In any case it appears that it's fixed.

Kedavis · 02-16-2019, 05:49 PM

Mine did this after header install and I noticed the positive wire to the starter had burnt a little to the heat shield. It was making the trans do all kinds of weird stuff, when I got on it popped out of gear. Fixed the wire put a starter blanket and some good heat shield on the wire,problem solved.

06-14-2018, 11:57 PM	#1
DriftNDraft Drives: 2020 1SS 1LE M6 was 2018 V6 RS A8 Join Date: May 2018 Location: Minnesota Posts: 59	A8 goes out of gear Just purchased a 2018 1LT V6 with an A8 transmission. I was coming off an overpass and accelerating the car through a curved offramp. By the time I got to the end of the ramp, the transmission went out of gear. The shifter was still in drive but the transmission was acting as if it was in neutral. I rolled to a stop on the shoulder, moved the shifter to park and then back into drive and everything worked normally. I figured it was just a fluke and not a big deal. That was five days ago. But then I went down the same offramp this morning and the same thing happened. The car has 2000 miles on it. Has anyone else seen anything like this?

06-15-2018, 09:50 AM	#2
SSport16 Drives: 2016 Garnet Red Camaro 2SS Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: North Carolina Posts: 5,435	Yup...My A8 SS started doing this over a year ago, kept getting worse over a few day period. Made an appt for the dealer, I literally drove into the dealers garages and the transmission crapped out. They usually move the cars from that garage into the back mechanic garages, the porter couldn't even get the car to go into D or R, literally was dead. Over $3K in parts and labor that warranty covered to basically rebuild the transmission. Still have issues, biggest one is if the car sits outside for a few hours, try to put the car in D, it hesitates before grabbing the gear and engaging, other than that works awesome now. __________________ 2SS Camaro, Garnet Red, Adrenaline Red, NPP, MRC, A8, 5 Split Spoke Bright Silver Wheels (56W) 1100 Status - 7/24/15 (Ordered) 3800 Status - 10/13/15 (Built) 6000 Status - 12/22/15 (Delivered)

06-15-2018, 03:21 PM	#3
Elite Engineering Drives: 2010 Camaro Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Denver Posts: 1,381	Your low on trans fluid. That "neutral" is the pump sucking air, takes only a few seconds to burn up clutches and the pump.

01-27-2019, 02:46 AM	#4
DriftNDraft Drives: 2020 1SS 1LE M6 was 2018 V6 RS A8 Join Date: May 2018 Location: Minnesota Posts: 59	The dealer checked the transmission and couldn't find anything wrong. The tech also said that the fluid was full. He then asked to take a ride with me. We went around a curved offramp somewhat quickly and there wasn't any issue. Since then I've gone around the original curve and noticed that I might have mistaken the transmission "coming loose" for when it was actually going into performance mode. If I accelerate instead of let up when it happens everything seems fine. So it could be I'm just not used to an automatic transmission with a lateral acceleration sensor. In any case it appears that it's fixed.

02-16-2019, 05:49 PM	#5
Kedavis Drives: 2017 garnet red ss Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Tennessee Posts: 37	Mine did this after header install and I noticed the positive wire to the starter had burnt a little to the heat shield. It was making the trans do all kinds of weird stuff, when I got on it popped out of gear. Fixed the wire put a starter blanket and some good heat shield on the wire,problem solved.

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