[Graham]

I have a meeting with a regional director of Audi re this issue on Friday of next week. There are many compliants about this "antio stall" feature on the forum, but I don't believe many people have actually reported it back to thier dealer. If you are irritated with the difficulty of smooth take off and smooth driving in stop/start traffic, then please let me know before next friday and I will pass this on. I don't know how to set up a proper pole on this site so either let me know by responding to this thread or possibly some other member in the know could set up a pole for me. Ideally I just need to know roughly where you are based in the world and how long you have had the car.

Many thanks

 

[Arvin]

I have an A5 and do have jerkiness going from first to second. So, most of the time though, I try to shift from first to third which makes it a bit easier. Regardless, to avoid the jerkiness from a stop to first gear I am riding the clutch.

 

[attam]

i've test driven 2 different S5's (wont have my own until next week), but i never noticed any jerkiness taking off from a stop. what i DID notice, and could not correct for the life of me, was jerkiness when going from 1st to 2nd. no other shifts were jerky for me.

so i guess my question is: are people saying that it's IMPOSSIBLE to do a smooth start in 1st gear or are people saying it's DIFFICULT to do a smooth start?

also, i realize the 1st to 2nd jerkiness might just be me

 

[YelloJello]

+1 (North America, Delivered December)

While you can get smooth starts, it requires a little playing with the clutch (as in anticipating and counter-reacting the anti-stall, which in other posts shows as the gas automatically revving to 1400 rpm skipping idle-1399 rpm, thus causing most jerky starts, this only happens in 1st gear and neutral i think)

 

[chrisH]

I have a meeting with a regional director of Audi re this issue on Friday of next week. There are many compliants about this "antio stall" feature on the forum, but I don't believe many people have actually reported it back to thier dealer. If you are irritated with the difficulty of smooth take off and smooth driving in stop/start traffic, then please let me know before next friday and I will pass this on. I don't know how to set up a proper pole on this site so either let me know by responding to this thread or possibly some other member in the know could set up a pole for me. Ideally I just need to know roughly where you are based in the world and how long you have had the car.

Many thanks

Graham,
Yes, put me on the list if not already noted. I thought it was getting better with miles but its just me handling it with sensitive inputs. I mentioned it to my dealer today at the salesman level. He said the TT 3.2 manual is just as bad.
I also think the low gearing is a factor that makes it worse. If it had a higher final drive then it would be a better cruiser and first gear would be also be higher and easier to drive. I believe the A6 4.2 and A8 have a lot higher gearing- 30 mph/1000 revs.
Suggest you ask him about this although they obviously can't do a fix for this.
Chris
Chris

 

[Ianhp1]

Graham... As discussed when we met... You can register my dissatisfaction, even though I 'drive-around' the problem, I would still prefer to have the option to pull away at 1,100 revs rather than only have the option of idle revs or 1,800 and feathering the clutch.

 

[doubledoom]

I'm just thankful that I dont have this fault. About the only one I havent had yet.

 

[Vin]

add me please.... i have had the recall done, will let you know if i feel any changes.


but yes definitely feel 1st to 2nd jerkiness. my car is june 2007, and has done 10,100 miles

 

[Ess5ive]

Graham's actually referring to the issue encountered when pulling gently away from standstill, or, far more pertinently, when attempting to ease the car along in stop-start traffic.

When we met at the APS day, He actually gave me a graphic demonstration of how the basic problem manifests itself. It's simple, try it when you next get into your S5.

1) With the car in neutral and at idle speed, press the throttle very gently, aiming to gradually feed-in the revs. You'll accomplish this no problem, revs rise in a smooth linear fashion as you would expect to be the case all the time.

2) Now, attempt the same with the clutch depressed fully, car still in neutral.

I tried this first in Graham's car, and then in my own. It was astonishing - with the clutch depressed, the same gentle application of the throttle suddenly brings in the aforementioned surge of revs from approx 550 up to 2000 or so - it's impossible to increase engine speed in a smooth and linear manner with clutch depressed.

It seemed that this demonstration was a far starker illustration of why the car is a frustrating handful in stop-start - and that there is clearly an electronics-related issue here - whether it's anti-stall related or not, it's a fault and no amount of driving around it makes Audi less culpable.

Oh, by the way Graham, that's a yes - I'm p*ssed off too!

 

[Folkie]

The problem isn't exclusive to Europe; The S5s here in the states also have this ridiculous anti-stall. If I was such a bad driver that I was incapable of driving without this crazy 'feature' I'd have bought an automatic!

I've taken to starting off by letting the clutch our part way briefly, allowing the car a moment to start moving, then re-releasing the clutch. It does smooth things out, but I can't imagine it's going to be good for my clutch plate.

So, add an American from New Hampshire to your list of complainers. I'll mention it to my dealership and the Audi of America rep, too.

 

[HotRedMeteor]

Hi

I am in this too. Bought my s5 three weeks ago. Have the same problems. In Florida, Palm Beach.

 

[number2jcb]

How fast are you shifting? The fly wheel in this car is very light, probably a lot lighter than you are used to, which means that the tach may fall a lot faster than your last car. Speeding up your shifts may solve your problem, especially at low rpms. Maybe it is because my last car had a touchy electronic throttle, but on both of my extended test drives around conjested nj "suburbs" I found 1 -> 2 shifts to be glorious and smooth without ever jarring the salesman. I did find a few launches to be touchy because I am not used to the engagement point on the clutch.

I am not saying you don't know how to drive, I am saying you may be still applying your old habits to new technology. Take a look at what RPM = MPH in both 1st and 2nd gear. And make a conscious effort to match them. You will get a sense of the timing, and then you will fall into harmony.

1 -> 2 Shifts are like sleeping with a woman, the first few times are rough, but once you figure out the rhythms, it is bliss, unless you want it to be rough...

 

[number2jcb]

I've taken to starting off by letting the clutch our part way briefly, allowing the car a moment to start moving, then re-releasing the clutch. It does smooth things out, but I can't imagine it's going to be good for my clutch plate.

Actually what you are doing isn't too bad at all for the clutch. When you step on the gas you make a lot more power than at idle, so using the V8's torque to get you rolling in first gear is better than revving to 1500+ and letting the clutch out smoothly.

Leaving the clutch at that engagement point for a second without any gas and then letting it out the rest of the way is going make your life easier and smoother, as long as you aren't on a hill... and won't harm the clutch negligibly if at all.

I promise you that we do a heck of a lot more damage on those other shifts especially when we're shifting from 7k (unless you are rev matching exactly)

 

[seifufu]

1 -> 2 Shifts are like sleeping with a woman, the first few times are rough, but once you figure out the rhythms, it is bliss, unless you want it to be rough...

lol ... good analogy

 

[RemS5]

yes I am!

Just spent 45 min on the jammed GSP and the jerkiness is starting to get very annoying........

 

[number2jcb]

Just spent 45 min on the jammed GSP and the jerkiness is starting to get very annoying........

I took the turnpike, best decision of my life. Long live 101.5's traffic report!

Sorry you got caught. Did you at least get to see something interesting? Practice your MMI skills?

 

[bri]

i must be shifting wrong because the first few times are rough and then after that it's mostly crying and no direct eye contact..

 

[S5inPA]

Graham, add me to the list. whatever the technical reason it happens, I am not impressed with the manual tranny in this car.

Jeff

 

[fxhomie]

BMW seems to accomplish the same with a little item called the Clutch Delay Valve, which is inline between the slave cylinder and clutch. Looks like Audi uses electronics instead. Either way, it's very frustrating for someone who truly knows how to operate a clutch.

 

[jedijasper]

How fast are you shifting? The fly wheel in this car is very light, probably a lot lighter than you are used to, which means that the tach may fall a lot faster than your last car. Speeding up your shifts may solve your problem, especially at low rpms. Maybe it is because my last car had a touchy electronic throttle, but on both of my extended test drives around conjested nj "suburbs" I found 1 -> 2 shifts to be glorious and smooth without ever jarring the salesman. I did find a few launches to be touchy because I am not used to the engagement point on the clutch.

I am not saying you don't know how to drive, I am saying you may be still applying your old habits to new technology. Take a look at what RPM = MPH in both 1st and 2nd gear. And make a conscious effort to match them. You will get a sense of the timing, and then you will fall into harmony.

1 -> 2 Shifts are like sleeping with a woman, the first few times are rough, but once you figure out the rhythms, it is bliss, unless you want it to be rough...

Perfectly said...there is no problem with the S5 transmission but an in-abilty for so many drivers on here to understand and adapt to the cars characteristics.