Clutch Replacement R-Tronic HELP!!!

[Orion Quest]

the r-tronic is the same as the e-gear transmission - it even has the lambo logo stamped on it:

I know this. It's the TCM and software that I believe is the issue here. The transmission may be the same but clutch, TCM, and software are Audi's.

-O

[Orion Quest]

forums have done away with the ability of any car maker to keep problems quiet - yet this forum isn't full of people with prematurely worn clutches on stock powertrain cars. quite the opposite really if you check the mileage threads.

I think that the low number of actual R8 R-Tronics sold and the number of threads surrounding the R-Tronic and clutch life warrants interest.

-O

[Orion Quest]

Sounds like someone got dinged with a voided warranty repair and is just really bitter... Well, that's just a guess, but speaking factually, your posts are more emotional than rational which led me to that conclusion.

Dinged with a voided warranty? Bitter? I can care less about the warranty. If I had worries I wouldn't have had my car fitted with twin turbo's. The cost to replace my clutch is a non issue. My time is worth more than the time it takes for me to argue with Audi about it. I responded to this thread because I was/am in the same boat. An R-Tronic transmission that Audi said needed a clutch replacement at 13K and 1 year old.

At my dealer there is an R-Tronic R8 that is on his 2nd clutch in under 2 years. No modifications AT ALL. Audi didn't cover the first one but he is sticking to his guns and making them replace the 2nd one. At this point Audi is pretty much replacing the whole transmission.

What is Audi's excuse for why the OP's clutch had to be replaced? Don't be so quick to judge, when my issue is quite similar to the OP. His car isn't modified and yet his R-Tronic clutch needed to be replaced. I don't care that Audi replaced his under warranty, actually I am very happy that they did.

What is important to me is principle. A manufacturer should at least attempt to fix an issue and not just point fingers. I can see by the cars you own that you bleed Audi. I'm not picking fights with R8/Audi owners. I have 2 of them, both new. I have owned 6 Audi's in 5 years, the cost to replace the clutch is the least of my worries. What is important is providing other R8 R-Tronic owners with information that may or may not help them if they run into a situation where they also need to replace their R-Tronic clutches early. That they need to ask questions and give examples.

So thanks for you 2 cents but no thanks. You don't know me or my motives for posting a reply to a thread. Keep your judgments and guesses regarding what my intentions are for posting to yourself. I am emotional but I am also rational, and I stand up strongly for what I believe in.

-O

[randombloke]

I think that the low number of actual R8 R-Tronics sold and the number of threads surrounding the R-Tronic and clutch life warrants interest.

that's not the impression I get from having read this forum for years.

there was a lot of speculation about clutch life thanks to the early e-gear issues on the lambo but the rash of failures just didn't materialise and if you search the forum you'll see plenty of people with strong miles on their stock powertrain with no issues.

the stock clutch is designed to cope with stock power - and even then it can be caused to have a short life through the way it is driven. if there was a genuine manufacturing/design fault at play we'd see it playing out like it did with the lambo which sold in far less volume and had less people piling on the miles.

[ianerrid]

I think that the low number of actual R8 R-Tronics sold and the number of threads surrounding the R-Tronic and clutch life warrants interest.

-O

I believe the percentage of MT and R-Tronic cars are pretty similar, with US cars more biased towards the R-Tronic.

[harrison]

Knowing what I now know...Conditions certainly affect the clutch. My buddy,( a portly fellow,400 plus pounds) has gone through 3 clutches,(R -Tronik) so far. He has less than 20K miles. He lives in the steep , hilly, Bay Area. Audi covered all.(He is an Audi suit and tie Rep.).

[Herbert]

I believe the percentage of MT and R-Tronic cars are pretty similar, with US cars more biased towards the R-Tronic.

A year ago, an Audi salesman told me that Audi expected the U. S. market to be 50:50 with regard to desired transmission for the R8, but that, surprisingly, the demand was heavily skewed toward the manual transmission. I don't have any numbers to back up this claim, but it seems reasonable.

[STEEVE]

Dinged with a voided warranty? Bitter? I can care less about the warranty. If I had worries I wouldn't have had my car fitted with twin turbo's. The cost to replace my clutch is a non issue. My time is worth more than the time it takes for me to argue with Audi about it. I responded to this thread because I was/am in the same boat. An R-Tronic transmission that Audi said needed a clutch replacement at 13K and 1 year old.

At my dealer there is an R-Tronic R8 that is on his 2nd clutch in under 2 years. No modifications AT ALL. Audi didn't cover the first one but he is sticking to his guns and making them replace the 2nd one. At this point Audi is pretty much replacing the whole transmission.

What is Audi's excuse for why the OP's clutch had to be replaced? Don't be so quick to judge, when my issue is quite similar to the OP. His car isn't modified and yet his R-Tronic clutch needed to be replaced. I don't care that Audi replaced his under warranty, actually I am very happy that they did.

What is important to me is principle. A manufacturer should at least attempt to fix an issue and not just point fingers. I can see by the cars you own that you bleed Audi. I'm not picking fights with R8/Audi owners. I have 2 of them, both new. I have owned 6 Audi's in 5 years, the cost to replace the clutch is the least of my worries. What is important is providing other R8 R-Tronic owners with information that may or may not help them if they run into a situation where they also need to replace their R-Tronic clutches early. That they need to ask questions and give examples.

So thanks for you 2 cents but no thanks. You don't know me or my motives for posting a reply to a thread. Keep your judgments and guesses regarding what my intentions are for posting to yourself. I am emotional but I am also rational, and I stand up strongly for what I believe in.

-O

I don't think either one of you guys are wrong. I have noticed that people have very very different experiences with their R8 clutch. Some have been able to get 40-60K miles out of their clutch and some were not even able to get 10K miles.

I have a 2004 Gallardo with E-gear. My original stock clutch lasted only 8k mi. This was consistent with a lot of other Gallardo owners. There was not a huge mileage gap between Gallardo owners. About 70-80% didn't make it to 10k mi. Some needed a new clutch with only 4k mi . It was so bad that some were covered under warranty.

I have a Kevlar clutch on my Gallardo now. I have over 21k mi and I still have 60% left. It looks like I'm going to get 35-40k mi from my kevlar clutch. Mind you this is with 8-10 track weekends.

Is it possible that Valeo (manufacturer of R8 clutch) is not making a consistent clutch material? One batch is good another batch is not so good.This has happened with carbon ceramic materials before.

Since I'm planning to buy a R8, this discrepancy has made me very curious. I have also started a new thread so we can see the whole picture. If everyone would post with any feedbacks here, it would be great:

http://www.r8talk.com/forums/5-gener...ch-issues.html