A3 gearbox fault ??

[Old Merc]

2014 A3 TFSI S Line S Tronic Saloon.
It’s been working faultless ever since I bought it two years ago. Early Saturday morning I used it for a short trip, nothing unusual, no warning lights. Four hours later started it up to go shopping, no drive?? No matter what I do with the gear selector lever or the systems button it won’t go forward or reverse. No sound, nothing.
Has anyone experienced this.

[catso]

Is the battery good?

Asking because I had an A3, 3.2 DSG and on a couple of occasions I had gearbox selection faults that culminated in no-go. Each time it only happened after startup with a weak battery, once the battery was charged or replaced it was fine again.

[Dr G]

Did it clear/work after a restart?

[catso]

Dr G said:

Did it clear/work after a restart?

If directed to me, yes after restarting everything was fine - kind of like a 'reboot' on a PC. Presumably the battery had accumulated enough charge in the few minutes it was running?

Also, a couple of times I had it cycle through faults (brakes, coolant, oil etc.) after the same, low battery start-up situation.

It had a bit of an appetite for batteries that I never got to the root of (neither did the Audi garage), getting through, IIRC 3 batteries in the 10 years or so I had it.

[Old Merc]

November 2023 it had a top quality battery fitted, including a full system re-set. Also the gearbox oil was replaced.
The car has covered 10K miles since then.

Tomorrow its being transported to a really good technician I know, he is a boffin with all the diagnostic gear. Must be some thing electronic? If it was gearbox internal mechanicals I would have noises.

The odd thing is the message on the dash says there is a gearbox malfunction you CAN drive the car? I wish I could, the recovery guy is charging £150.

[Dr G]

Switch in the selector. There's a TSB on the fault and a repair kit that's cheap. Think it's only 1.5 hours labour as well.

[NDA]

Could it be this?

https://youtu.be/wvyk_-mFe1M

Which is a 'park position lock switch'. I only ask because Mrs NDA's Audi A3 had this issue.



ETA - Probably what Dr G has indicated above, not sure.

[Dr G]

Yup.

[Old Merc]

Up date if any body is interested.
Got a Talexin Industries of Woodley repair kit for £125. Mike at Autosolutions Newbury fitted it and reset everything.
My gearbox is working perfectly now.
Both these firms are highly recommended.

[NDA]

Great - not sure what that means.

Was it the problem highlighted above - the park position lock switch?

[Old Merc]

It was all high tech` stuff to me. This is the details from Autosolutions invoice.



This is the Talexin kit.

[NDA]

Old Merc said:

It was all high tech` stuff to me. This is the details from Autosolutions invoice.

OK thanks - it was a different fault to the one I thought.

[Old Merc]

Total including recovery, parts and labour £850. I’m quite relieved as my research produced telephone numbers. The mechacrome unit alone is about £1800.
I can feel a difference already, it pulls away differently and the gear shift is smoother.
As you all know the key is a correct diagnosis, a full systems reset, using the best equipment.

So any of you Audi owners out there with a box fault have a word with Mike at Autosolutions Newbury.