Faulty transmission machatronic unit

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A3e2016

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Jun 17, 2016
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My 2016 a3 etron is being repaired after 4months/2,500mi due to a faulty transmission machatronic unit. It appears to be the controller of the transmission.

The car was being driven lightly 50/50 for city/highway. The check engine light came on one day while I was on the highway @ 70mph. It read "transmission failure, but you can continues to drive" EV was disable afterward. When coming to a stop, the car didn't want to shift up. Error disappeared after restarting the car. However, this happened the second time in a week. I took it to dealer and they informed me it's a machatronic unit failure.

After doing some research online, it appears faulty machatronic is a common problem for Audi/VW's DCT. I just didn't expect it would happen to the newest model. Other than that, I really love the car. ICE has too many moving parts. Hopefully the full EV revolution will come sooner than later.
 
A3e2016":1zb11ni1 said:
ICE has too many moving parts. Hopefully the full EV revolution will come sooner than later.

Except the ICE has been proven fairly reliable in a wide range of operating conditions, something electric systems have not accomplished (yet).
 
This is something to look out for.
I've had mine for about the same period as you, mine with over 7,000 km or about 4,300 mi. The issue you experienced hasn't been encountered (yet - and I hope I won't) but it's good to know in case it does.
Googling the mechatronic DCT issue, it seems that most of the results are from previous MY's and for the 7 spd.
Do you have a specific reference that I can read so I'm more informed about the issue if I need to speak with my dealer about this?
 
A3e2016":3si5toc9 said:
My 2016 a3 etron is being repaired after 4months/2,500mi due to a faulty transmission machatronic unit. It appears to be the controller of the transmission.

The car was being driven lightly 50/50 for city/highway. The check engine light came on one day while I was on the highway @ 70mph. It read "transmission failure, but you can continues to drive" EV was disable afterward. When coming to a stop, the car didn't want to shift up. Error disappeared after restarting the car. However, this happened the second time in a week. I took it to dealer and they informed me it's a machatronic unit failure.

After doing some research online, it appears faulty machatronic is a common problem for Audi/VW's DCT. I just didn't expect it would happen to the newest model. Other than that, I really love the car. ICE has too many moving parts. Hopefully the full EV revolution will come sooner than later.
Yikes. Hope your car gets fixed soon. I currently have 7,300 miles since I picked up the e-tron first week of January. It's been trouble free so far (aside from the initial e-tron connect niggles).
-Ben
 
I experienced the same issue with 2016 a3 etron, at 4800 mi/5 month. The check engine light, along with the "Transmission Failure - but you can continue to drive" message came on, while I was on the highway driving 70 MPH. The problem was identified as the automatic transmission shifting down to 3rd gear and not being able to shift up - exactly as reported a posting below. The mechatronic unit is now in the process of being replaced. This may only be a coincidence, but the car had undergone 5000 mi service a few days earlier, and prior to this servicing, I had no issues.
 
Looks like our eTron needs the Megatronics (valve body) replaced. The car only has 2k miles, so it's a little concerning. Part needs to be ordered from Germany so the dealer needs the car for 5-15 days..ugggh.

Anyone else deal with this issue? I hope it was just a faulty part from the start. The symptoms were very jerky shifting at low speeds (under 10mph) This only occurred when out of EV mode. The car felt as if it might stall (rough idle).

Really hope swapping this new part solves the issue and the car is good as new...because it is VERY new (2 months old!)
 
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