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Audi A6

6920 messages,  Last post on Dec 26, 2012 at 7:05 AM

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What is this discussion about? Audi A6, Sedan

Messages Page 506 of 693

#5049 of 6920 Re: My thoughts.... [jgaines] by markcincinnati

Dec 30, 2004 (2:01 pm)

Replying to: jgaines (Dec 30, 2004 12:54 pm)
Tiptronic Lag.
 
This condition, called tip-lag, has been discussed and discussed to death, here and elsewhere -- it has been a topic in the Quattro Quarterly, a publication of the Audi Car Club of NA.
 
FWIW, this condition is not an Audi-only condition. Scant better that makes me feel. Hence I am now off the fence again and thinking I just cannot take another auto transmission (my 1997 A8, 1999, 2000 and 2001 A6's were all automatics; my current 2003 allroad is a manual.)
 
At $50 large, I think I should be able to choose -- the word on the street is that there is no "for certain" date for the new A4 with the 3.2 with a stick, the initial batch for the US all being tiptronics. We're doomed.
 
Now the DSG, would be a whole nuther thang!
 
But, alas, tis not to be for at least another year or two.
 
Yes, there is a fix -- but it kinda reminds me of the TV I had in my bedroom when I was a little boy -- it was a hand me down that only would work if you "whacked the top of it," I put a thick magazine on the top and kept a hammer near by. Whenever I changed channels or first turned the thing on, I knew the only way to make it stop rolling was to give it a smart thwack on the magazine (to prevent the wood cabinet from getting dented).
 
Seems sometimes like an endless loop. Twer it only Audi, there would be a major outcry. This tip lag problem seems to be the high buck German car (probably other European cars, too, for that matter) "feature" that is fundamentally ignored. BMW, Audi and Mercedes drivers do not often protest, but those who purchase these cars with some expectation of them being "perfect driving machines" quickly find out about this near fatal flaw and, well, chat rooms all across the Internet wax and wane on this subject time and again.
 
Whoever the software programmers and designers are should be blessed with driving these lag ridden transmissions for 50,000 miles or so and THEN you'd see progress. The heck of it is, I'll wager that most of the left-brain types that program these things probably drive manual transmissions.
 
As a minority of one, I am once again thinking that the true lux or premium cars will offer stick shifts -- for a price -- to their customers that want them.

#5050 of 6920 Suggestion for You, Mark... by auditor

Dec 30, 2004 (2:23 pm)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Dec 30, 2004 2:01 pm)
We've been enjoying for some time now listening to you tell us that you're going to consider the Acura
RL and Chrysler 300 (and, who knows, maybe even the new BMW 530ix 4wd) before, as most of us suspect, you (the most loyal Audi owner on record) finally cave-in and get a 2005 A6 (3.2?) with Tiptronic.
 
Perhaps, you should just bite the $$$ bullet and get a 2005.5 S4 Avant with 6-speed tranny, which would give you all the power, sportiness, practicality and 6-speed tranny that you want?
 
Looking forward to seeing what you ultimately do!!

#5051 of 6920 Re: Suggestion for You, Mark... [auditor] by markcincinnati

Dec 30, 2004 (2:55 pm)

Replying to: auditor (Dec 30, 2004 2:23 pm)
Went to the Acura store today -- no units avail to test drive. Last work day of the year, perhaps over the long weekend.
 
My wife, who started all of this, and you must be in cahoots -- but I will endure your good-natured barbs, since the "little voice" does indeed keep telling me I'd be nuts to change brands with THIS much pent up "reverse loyalty" capital from Audi and my long time dealer (since 1977).
 
My wife has me thinking at these prices "why not" get what you want? She wants NOW a new S3 -- possible, sure, not in time for her lease swap out which at most will be 5 months.
 
The 300C AWD or SRT-8 just screams bargain! And, yet the dealer experience screams (or I presume it will) rip-off! The Acura dealer is owned by the same guy who owns the Audi store, so there is at least some hope there that the loyalty points might transfer a little.
 
You know, I've been a Delta Medallion FF for about 10 years and I've got 100's of thousands of FF miles -- I know the points and the "ranking" don't mean a hill of beans on XYZ airlines -- so I go back to Delta, time and again (but what choice do I have in Cincinnati?).
 
In any case this is both fun and frustrating. Just as I get my heart sort of set on a new A6 type car, the tip lag creeps up into the postings -- I have lived for 29 months with a superb stick shift (and most auto journalists think the Audi allroad stick shift is "notchy") and I know all about tip lag, and it sucks.
 
So, I think, new A4 new engine, all A4's have always had stick shift available -- BAM! Audi taketh away.
 
We older Americans (I'm 53) just have to get with the times.
 
The only issue with the S4 is the V8 is soooooo thirsty -- and I am certain we are due for $3/gallon premium fuel in the near to mid term. So, that one as nice as it is becomes a tad less attractive.
 
The new A4 SLine 3.2 with a 6spd DSG or Stick shift would be sweet -- thus far there is but a glimmer of hope for that.
 
And, man the gripes over on Acura-land here on edmunds certainly don't make for an encouraging read, either!
 
Happy new year.
 
This is a fun and cheap passtime, don't you think?

#5052 of 6920 Re: My thoughts.... [jgaines] by ttran3

Dec 30, 2004 (3:36 pm)

Replying to: jgaines (Dec 30, 2004 12:54 pm)
I am new to Audi and just took delivery of a 2005 A6 3.2 yesterday and experienced a couple of problems. One is the acceleration lag. I am so glad to find in your response that there is a work around for this. Could you kindly point me to where I can obtain information on this "work around" ? The second issue is that the engine shutdown on me a number of times while in drive. This, so far, occurred after I started the car and slowly pull away (probably no more than 5 mph). Prior to the shutdown, it reacted as if it was out of gas. I wonder if this relates to the lag. I don't want to say I am completely disappointed since I just took delivery of it yesterday. I've never experienced anything like this on all my prior vehicles. I am willing to drive it a few thousand miles and re-evaluate it then. Any help/info/stories you or anyone on the forum can share will greatly be appreciated.

#5053 of 6920 Re: My thoughts.... [ttran3] by safelder

Dec 30, 2004 (4:03 pm)

Replying to: ttran3 (Dec 30, 2004 3:36 pm)
On the first:
1) Turn key to accessory position;
2) Depress gas pedal all the way to the floor and release;
3) Depress brake and start engine.
 
Some other solutions to the lag:
1) Punch it when you want the car to start in 1st
2) Drive with the transmission in "S" (sport) mode
3) Shift the car yourself in Tip
 
On the second:
Yikes. That's not the lag. I'd go chat with service on that one.

#5054 of 6920 Re: My thoughts.... [ttran3] by markcincinnati

Dec 30, 2004 (4:16 pm)

Replying to: ttran3 (Dec 30, 2004 3:36 pm)
The work around noted above is dead-on; make it a habit EVERY time you get behind the wheel and you will "mostly" be unfazed by tip lag.
 
Aggressive starts in first gear will keep the tranny on its toes as it has an algorithm in it that uses a recent and average blend to determine when to upshift and when to go into "lag" mode, which I am convinced is a "feature" -- even though many of us who have had and love Audis consider it a programming "flaw."
 
Since the driver can "teach" the car to upshift somewhat later by the methods described above and via a "once in a while" jackrabbit start from stop, or and flooring the car to engage kickdown, well it should not be THAT awful.
 
The issue is -- it just keeps coming up! And if you read my rants, I could almost pull what little hair I have left out it is THAT frustrating to ME.
 
My three test drives of the new A6 did not demonstrate this "feature" -- my test drives impressed the heck out of me, in fact.
 
It is just my recollection of this lag, which I first encountered in an A8 that I owned, no less, that is, shall we say, disappointing.
 
But to keep it fair and balanced, as I noted, this is NOT unique to Audi.

#5055 of 6920 Re: My thoughts.... [markcincinnati] by safelder

Dec 30, 2004 (5:08 pm)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Dec 30, 2004 4:16 pm)
Credit where due: my post may have been dead on, but I got the info from you. I haven't had the opportunity to try it, since my car doesn't come in for another 9 weeks or so.
 
On my test drives (3 with the 3.2 and 1 with the 4.2), as I've noted before, they all experienced what I'd describe as a sluggish start from the line when in D. No problems in S or Tip. In D, the principal difference between the V6 and V8 is that the V6 powered nice and smooth once it shifted to 2d, while the V8 attempted to toss me through the trunk onto the highway. It scared the daylights out of my wife (used to an A4 3.0 Cabriolet) and dad (despite driving a C4S). I enjoyed it, but opted for the efficiency and sufficiency of the 3.2 in the end. V8 (at least) in my next, or 3d (read: my toy), car.

#5056 of 6920 Re: My thoughts.... [ttran3] by jgaines

Dec 30, 2004 (7:10 pm)

Replying to: ttran3 (Dec 30, 2004 3:36 pm)
If you have the advanced key as I do, the modified approach is:
 
1. Prior to touching any pedals, hit start button, this will activate the cars electronics.
2. Press accelerator to the floor once.
3. Hold down brake and press start button again to start car.
 
You should do this every time you start engine to ensure no lag. Once you get in the habit its nothing really. I find driving around in sport mode ok for a while but the high revs and low roll factor gets annoying after a while. Tip mode is fine unless you are drinking coffee, talking on the phone, playing with the MMI, solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and performing advanced mathematical equations at the same time.
 
The engine shut down is a defect, unless you filled the tank with jet-A fuel. Take it back to the dealer and throw a hissy fit. This should not happen on the second day with a $50k machines.
 
good luck and give the car a chance. You may grow to like it, if not, there are many others from which to choose.

#5057 of 6920 HAPPY NEW YEAR by jeqq

Jan 01, 2005 (7:47 am)

#5058 of 6920 Re: My Thoughts by ttran3

Jan 02, 2005 (9:55 am)

Thank you safelder, markcincinnati and jgaines for your responses/tips/suggestions in handling the acceleration lag issue. I am not sure I want to get into the habit of depressing the accelerator method. However, I tried driving with a slightly heavier foot than normalat take off to "train" the computer and it seemed to help quite a bit. I have under 300 miles on the vehicle, still well within the break-in period. If the computer truly picks up on the driver's habit, perhaps this will improve further.
I have not experienced the engine shutdown issue anymore. On my 5th day of taking delivery of my A6 (1st Audi), I am finally beginning to enjoy driving it. Can't wait until after the break-in period to let loose and "really drive it"
Thanks again everyone for your responses/help !

Messages Page 506 of 693

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