A4 1.8t acceleration problem --

My '99 has not quite 5,000 miles on it. I've had the problem since I drove it off the lot. At first I thought it would go away after I put some decent gas in the car, then I thought it might go away after break-in, and now I'm just waiting for my first service. The problem is this: it drives rough. Acceleration and decaleration are not smooth. Like it needs a tune-up, or has dirty gas in the tank, or is running on 3 cylinders. Most noticable going downhill when I let up slightly on the gas. This phenomenon is subtle; passengers don't notice it unless I bring it to their attention. But when my wife asked me what's wrong with the car, I figured something is very wrong. There's also a noticable thunk between gears, especially going into 2nd; it's never a smooth shift. I've been driving shifts all my life; 2nd gear on this car makes me look bad. I know, I should've brought the car to the dealer and complained by now, but for me, going to the dealer is like going to the proctologist - I'll wait for the scheduled service. In the meantime, your collective wisdom is appreciated.

Go to your dealer,let him check for DTC`s although we have had some problems with wires and injectors that won`t throw a code. A good tech should be able to handle the problem .

Happens most distinctly if I'm in 2nd; if I let off the gas, the car will not simply slow down smoothly, it shudders a couple of times before 'finding' its speed. This shuddering also occurs when I apply throttle after coasting.

And it occurs when shifting.

Hmmm, I know that all cars equipped with quattro experience some driveline "shudder" I guess you could call it....for instance, you're driving along in say second, let off the gas to coast....and the car sort of jerks/shudders....same thing happens when you get back on the gas...even more pronounced in 1st gear (for me anyway). This is just a side-effect of the quattro system as I have understood from other discussions (look for driveline shudder in the archives).

As far as the jerk you feel during shifting...well, this is my first manual car, so at first I thought it was just me. But I let my friend drive it (he has a 96 prelude, been driving manual for years) and even he jerked the car during shifts. Now I'm not sure if that's what you're experiencing, but it seems that since the RPMs are kept high between shifts (for emission reasons), it makes it hard to smoothly go to the next gear....(basic case of rev matching during upshifts which one usually doesn't have to do since in most cars, RPMs drop automatically).

I don't doubt your manual driving skills, but try letting the RPMs drop between shifts (you usually have to wait about 0.75 to 1 sec) and then shift....seems like it's much smoother for me...

Hope this helps...and not confuse you more!

Cheers,
-Ash
98.5 1.8TQMS

Klidge,

I noticed this early in my car's life, too. However, at ~5800 mi, everything has smoothed out significantly. In fact, my wife and I were talking about how smooth the car is in first gear now at around 10 mph - wonderfully smooth, in fact. We laughingly compared it to our subaru, which is nice in general, but rough in 1st gear when varying accelerator pressure.

I've never had a 'clunk', though, except in my 280ZX.

My guess is that it'll smooth out for you. My shifter is very smooth now in all gears, and there is little driveline shudder. I will, however, make note of it this evening on the way home, varying accelerator pressure in second throughout the rev range, and let you know what I feel.

Darryl
98.5 1.8T qmsb
95 Legacy Outback m
81.5 280ZX 2+2 GL m

I noticed a slight, how should I say it, glitch when upshifting into second before the car warms up. Once warmed up, it shifts nicely from gear to gear. My previous car, a 91 Acura Integra, shifted beautifully and effortlessly no matter how warmed up the car was, so I have a reference to go by. For the record, I consider this to be a MINOR problem, and based on what I read here, I expect/hope that as the car gets more mileage (I only have 1200 miles), it will probably shift even smoother.

I purcheshed a 99 1.8tqm about a month ago and have noticed a similar "thunk" between first and second. Several others have mentioned this in the archives, but I haven't seen a consensus on wheter it's a problem, or just something that gets smoother with age. Right now, the shift from first to second is extremely rough and on some cold mornings I've felt like I had to force the car into second. It is definitely more pronounced in cold weather. I do plan to have it looked at, but like you avoid taking cars in for service unless I have to.

First starting out, when accelerating from 2000 - 3000 rpm and letting off throttle, there was a definite slight lurching, two distinct hitches, before the car smoothed out. So, when cold (65 degree ambient temp, cold engine), my car still does this. However, on the way back to work, I tried almost the entire rev range (up to 5000), and there was no lurching at all, except slightly at close to idle.

So, see how your car is when warmed up, and maybe with a few more miles on it. Another thing I could suggest is switching your transmission oil to Amsoil MTF - call them and ask for a weight recommendation. It'll be $7.95/qt plus shipping, but it will surely smooth out your shifter. I will be doing this to my Z this spring when I replace the suspension.

Finally, I don't know how you drive, but try driving hard occasionally - get the revs close to 6000 in first, second, and third. It definately seems to loosen things up a bit in my car, aside from being bags of fun, especially on my favorit s-curve passing pick ups & luxury trucks. Woohoo!

Darryl

Well said. And that's exactly what I experience, even after the car is warmed up, whether I've been driving hard or not. It's there all the time.

Suppose I ought to just bring it to the dealer, it's hard to imagine this would be normal in a $28,000 car.