mikea4

My father's 2000 a6 2.8 all of the sudden would not engage the reverse gear. The engine would rev up but the car does not move. Today, I took it for a test drive and the reverse would work initially when the car was cold, but then it would start slipping and after 3-5 minutes would not mover in reverse at all. From what I read, when the transmission dies, there is no reverse at all. In this instance, the car actually moves in reveres when it it started but the gear disappears in few minutes. The car has 112k miles on it and as far as I know the transmission fluid or filter have never been changed. Has anyone had a similar experience? I would like to have some confirmation that it is not the fluid/filer issue before my father hands over three big ones to the shop to have the transmission re-built.

Thank you for reading this and any input you can offer.

4Driver4

Any codes stored? How is the fluid level in the trans?
Start with the basics.

mikea4

That is my concern exactly - - the mechanic who said that he needs a new transmission did not perform any tests, hence, we don't know if there are any codes. He did not check the level of the transmission fluid. Would the forward gears work if the fluid was low? I have a feeling that although he may indeed need a new transmission, the mechanic took zero steps to confirm that there are no other variables at play...

mikea4

By the way, I was surprised that the car would go in reverse at all. In my view, based on researching the forum, the reverse gear is usually gone 100%. In my father's case, however the reverse works initially and then fades in 2-5 min completely. Not sure how to explain this occurrence.

5v/cyl

Do a fluid and filter change first on the tranny. Fairly cheap and may solve it. While the pan is dropped look for metal pieces as this will be a sure sign of failure. Codes would help as well.

Mechanic should have suggested to do this first to at least rule out some basic problems, but that doesn't make him a bunch of money so why would he.

Peter Badore

Were there any fault codes stored in the TCM as asked in the next post?
The reason I ask is that I am working on a 99 A6Q Avant 2.8l V6 with AHA engine code that has no fault codes for the transmission, no reverse at all and is not in the emergency running mode. When the transmission oil pan was removed the amount of metallic "mud" grit was substantial and all six oil pan magnets were coated with very fine metal particles. Not surprisingly the trans oil and filter had never been replaced with 114,000 miles on the odometer.

tkinney80

You seem fairly knowledgeable, why don't you check the fluid and basics for yourself? I would assume that you live somewhere else but you said you took it for a test drive???

Travis.