1.2 TDI gear change problem

[ecoangel]

Guten Tag!

 

bitte mein Deutsch vergeben! Mein Englisch ist viel besser!

 

I have imported the 1.2 TDI A2 into England back in November 2002 and i am very impressed with it's economy and fun handling - see : www.audi-a2.co.uk/mar.htm

 

But just recently i have been having difficulties with the auto matic changes in E mode: The first time was crossing a road at about 15 km/h when the gear automatically disengaged and the car stopped in the middle of the street with cars coming! I had to stop the engine and restart it before the gears engaged again.

 

Then no more problems except the reverse gear selection often went to neutral even though the gear stick was in R postion. i found that my moving the stick very gently sideways (laterally) it would engage R again.

 

Then in January i was in a convoy of cars going to my Oma's funeral in heavy traffic near London - At the stop lights in E mode then engine stopped as it should and then restarted once the brake pedal was released - however, no gear information was displayed on the FIS (DIS in UK) and despite trying to rev the engine, it remained at idle (900 rpm?). I was causing another traffic jam and had to switch off at the ignition again and restart - eventually it worked again - but my trust in the system was beginning to decline!

 

At the earliest opportunity I booked the car in for it's AVS1 service but no faults were found. I had a look at the fuses and under drivers carpet - found a part just lying there

under the carpet - not connected to anything! Small black box about

half the size of a matchbox - part number 8Z0 951 253 with >PA 86-GF25<

12V 30/10A BTRON Made in Italy with VW and Adui symbols written on the

side. On opposie side there's a date 14/04/01 and a circuit diagram

with conncetions: from left to right: 86(1), 87(5), 87a(4) and below

85(2), 30(3)

 

It turned out to be a spare one as an identical one was still in it's proper place under the steering wheel/dashboard trim.

 

The Audi UK dealer said no faults were found on the AVS service. Also the 1.2 TDI is not available in England - mine was imported from Germany.

 

The problem has alos occured when the engine is hot and travelling at cruise speeds - gear change in E mode from 3 to 4 or 4 to 5 with only an small pressure on the accelerator pedal. It has happened going up hill with a car following me too close behind going from 4 to 3 but getting stuck in N before i switched to manual (tiptronic) - so it revs the engine when not engaged whislt moving.

 

Frido who alos posts on the www.a2forum.net had a hydraulic gearchange problem on his 1.2 TDI - with lots of oil leaks - but mny car has no oil leaks. Can someone help with advice? Even if your english isn't so strong I would greatly appreciate your help as this could be a dangerous issue - being left out of gear with on coming traffic is not safe!

 

I love this car but not this fault!

 

Vielen Dank - please email me ekranoplan@ntlworld.com

 

MfG

 

 

Lukas

[Martin]

Hi Ecoangel,

 

sorry to hear about your car. While I agree that the 1.2 TDI is a fantastic car, the reliability of the gearbox a weak point (and the only weak point, as far as I'm concerned). I didn't have any problems myself, but after reading this and the Lupo3L-Forum, you are not the only one who had problems. Your problems sounds a bit like electronic problems, because mechanical problems would appear in a more reproducable kind of way.

I can't help much except that you should pay attention to the hydraulic compressor (mentioned in the other thread): after the car has not been moved for a night or longer and you first open the drivers door, the compressor starts working, which can easily be heard. How long does it run until it stops again? And after which time does it start again?

 

And you can take a look at the Lupo3L-Forum, there's quite a lot of know-how about gearbox problems, because when the A2 1.2 TDI production started, the gearbox already had some time to mature in the Lupo3L.

 

Martin

(who hasn't been participating in the english forum for quite some time...)

[Cyberjack]

Hi,

 

maybe it is a problem with the gearbox blackbox (Getriebesteuergerät) ?

If the hydraulic system is ok, this may be a point to start at ...

 

 

Was the dealer able to get some error codes via VAG 5051 or 1551 (Diagnostic tool) ?

 

Michael

[norbert/ac]

Hi Lukas,

 

 

two years ago I had a LUPO 3L. The problem you describe sound familiar to me however it seems not realistivc to do a remote analysis.

The lupo had also sudden breakdowns after restarting, not pushing the gear in. problem with this 'random' failure it is hard to provoke from

service people at VW/AUDi. The LUPO had been several times at the garage, the could find the fault. finally while doing a test drive gear shifting broke down in the middel of a big crossing in cologne.

after that the service person believed my trouble description.

 

VW changed the whole cabeltree then the trouble was solved.

[Boris]

Hi Lukas,

 

I'm driving the 1,2 TDi since 20 months and 80.000 KM.

It's a pretty nice car, fast and economic.

 

But over a period of 12 months I had a similar problem like you.

 

More than 200 times in total, the gearbox went to neutral and the engine runs 1.200 rpm continiously until restart.

 

My dealer tried about 10-12 times to repair by measuring cables and connectors, changing sensors, and so on.

As Audi nearly started to change the gearbox and electronic, I've got a new "Luftmassensensor" the sensor which is regulating the air/fuel combination. The effect was that 1 had for 3 weeks no problems, but then it started again but the first time with different engine speed during neutral-phase (900 instead 1200).

 

Then I've got the old sensor back into car and now....

...since over 4 months the problem is gone!

 

My conclusion:

In my case the sensor or the connection of the sensor should have caused the problem.

 

I hope this will help you to solve the problem.

 

Wish you the best.

 

Boris

[dussel]

Hi,

 

a friend of mine driving a 3l Lupo encounterd the same problems just like you. A gear software update at the service station solved these problems. I hope this information gives you a little help.

 

Kind regards

[ecoangel]

Besten Dank!

 

I will try the dealer today and see if he has the software for European cars - no 1.2 TDi's are sold here.

 

Also the Lupo 3L club have been most helpful

 

Regards

 

Lukas