does anyone have ANY idea what the problem is I'm experiencing with my new A4 avant 1.8 manual quattro. from day one I've experienced a harsh shaking when shifting into or out of third gear, and to a lesser extent 2nd and 4th. the dealer plans on putting in a new clutch(only six hundred miles on the current one). I doubt this will completely solve it since i also notice a slight vibration when coasting out of gear at slower speeds. what could this be?? any opinions???

Sounds like your tires may be bad.

What is your manual trans experience? "Pilot error" might play a role here.

nt<br>

<br>i wish it were that easy. the car has only a total of 600 miles on it! the shaking is too violent to be attributed to sloppy shifting or bad tires.(what are synchros?) when downshifting from fourth to third the car literally shakes for a second or two. the closest example of this 'noise' i can give is if you tried to accelerate from a dead stop in fourth gear. anyway, the new clutch parts arrived today so it's going back to the dealer this week. i might be satisfied that this was it but i still have the problem to a lesser degree when the car is coasting in neutral. is this normal?? maybe the quattro system causes the vibration. again any suggestions greatly appreciated before i sign off on the work...

Here are a few questions that pop to mind:<p>Has your car been towed? Could this be a center differential problem? Have your differentials been checked? Do you commonly drive on roads where third is your passing gear? How long have you been driving a manual? In which cars? You complain about roughness coasting in neutral, is this with the lever in neutral or with the clutch engaged? Fully engaged? Are you sure?<p>Incidentally, synchros are post-linkage transmission components that -- to the driver -- fall "between" gears. Blown synchros in second were a common problem in late sixties and early seventies sportscars... mostly due to drag racing and improper use of high end in second and third gears. Our old Lotus Elan is stubborn engaging out of second for this reason...<p>And finally a pet peeve: No, the Lotus doesn't look like a Miata and doesn't have a Miata bodykit, the bodywork for the Miata is made to mimic the Elan. Sorry, had to vent.<p>Cameron