QuestionQUESTION: I have a 2002 Audi A4 3.0. My check engine light recently came on and I went to the dealer to check it out. They said the torque converter is bad and needs to be replaced. Since they want $3200, I asked if it could wait and what would be the harm if I did. They said pretty much nothing would happen besides bad gas mileage. So it's been 3 weeks and something happened today! As I was driving to work, I stopped at a red light. When it turned green, I tried to accelerate but the car struggled to move. It felt like the car was stuck in a higher gear (i.e. driving a manual car and starting off in 3rd gear...takes a while for the car to accelerate). To top that off, the screen that shows if I am in P R N D S has ALL letters highlighted, rather than the actually gear I am in... Is this all due to the torque converter?? Is there an easy fix until I can save up some money for the torque converter? THANKSSSS!
ANSWER: Hi Abe,
Looks like you have been given some bad advise, the bad gas mileage was just the beginning,
First let us look at the function of the torque converter, basically it replaces the Clutch system on manual shift vehicles, it is the connection between the engine and gearbox and what transmits the engine power to the gearbox and then onto the wheels, it also drives the Gearbox oil pump which produces the hydraulic power to the clutches that drive the different gear ratios, and also lubricates the whole gear box,
So if the torque converter is not engaging properly that means that firstly there is a waste of engine power, hence the poor gas mileage, but that also means that the oil pump is not being driven at the correct speed and in turn that means that the oil pressure is low through out the whole system which affects the lubrication which in turn means that the moving parts get worn out faster,
the screen that shows the gear range lighting up all at once is the system Audi has employed as a warning for a gear box fault and is the same as check engine light for the engine, and the fact that it has come on means that the gearbox electronics have picked up a major fault,
the sluggish response shows that the gears are not engaging because there is no hydraulic pressure to move the vehicle.
In my experiance this either means that the entire gearbox will have to be replaced or repaired, though i find that its easier to find a used unit off a salvage vehicle and throw it on, its even cheaper then replaceing the individual parts!!
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QUESTION: WOW... so if I'm reading that correctly, I need a new transmission? The car still drives, it just takes a while to catch on when I'm idle and want to accelerate. But once I hit 20 mph I don't notice anything wrong with it. It also goes into Reverse fine.
So...How much should I expect to pay?
ANSWER: Yeah most likely you do, does it change gears properly?? or does it slam into the gears??
Could be that you have gotten lucky and only the torque converter is faulty and just gotten worse, check the filter that is inside the gear box oil pan, Ive had a few cars where the filter gets clogged and starves the system from oil,
As for the cost im not too sure of the prices over there, but factory prices for a reconditioned unit is around 2000 euros. ( thats how much the dealer pays, not counting shipping and taxes)
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QUESTION: Well when driving, I don't notice anything. But when I am in Park, and put the car in R is jerks, and same from R to D. But as soon as I'm in drive and going about 20 mph..everything seems fine. Is that what u meant by slaming into gears?
AnswerYes thats what I mean, the jerking is not meant to be there, Audi has the smoothest gearboxes I know of, the jerking is another symptom, try having the filter cleaned before doing anything else, I've had luck with that in the past, if you attempt it your self then you will need the gearbox refilling tool as the filler plug is in an akward position and can only be fed from the bottom, but other then that it is relatively simple.
