Manual Clutch Problem

[nbw888]

I want to document my transmission issue in case anyone experiences a similiar problem in the future.

At about 850 miles on the odometer I had an issue one evening where I had an intense burning smell and some trouble shifting into 1st and 2nd gear. I put the car to bed and decided to check it the next morning.

Immediately I noticed that the clutch pedal was noticeably heavy and hard to push down. The car slipped into gear just fine, but seemed to slip a bit and shudder when engaging into reverse or 1st gear from a stop. It was still drivable despite this.

It's now at the dealer, and they are going to have to take the rear apart to check the transmission out fully, and said it will "be awhile" to get this all worked out. They believe it is the slave or master cylinder, and may have something to do with the hydraulic system.

If anyone has experienced anything like this please chime in. I will of course update this thread soon with more news as it develops. Hopefully the car won't end up in the shop for a month!!!

[Baer]

Ohhh, doesn't sound good!
Hope they can get it straightened out and back to you quickly. My experience with Audi's service of the R8 has been terrific.
Good luck!

[willyjp]

I remembered that SOMEONE had done a clutch master cylinder on their R8. Did a search and is was Kfab, so he may be able to share some details beside what's in his thread. (read down a ways, they didn't diagnose the problem of soft clutch pedal at first and there's some "chat" in there, but eventually he gets to a new master cylinder)

Dead clutch pedal?

[nbw888]

Thanks for the link, and here's a quick update:

It is now day 3, and no repairs have been started on the car.

The SA is working with Audi to make sure everything is done properly, which is requires a good bit of paperwork before they begin taking the rear end apart. The SA told me that Audi always wants to make sure everything is documented fully and done absolutely correct, so they insist on being in the loop during this whole process to advise the R8 techs and make sure they're doing things correctly. Sounds like Audi takes the repair on the R8's very seriously and don't want any problems down the line.

[nbw888]

Quick update:

The SA advised me that Audi wants me to drive the car for a couple thousand miles more, to see if the problem persists. He said he knows this is ridiculous but his hands are tied, and they don't want to do an extensive repair just yet.

It sounds like Audi is being cheap and doesn't want to have to take out the transmission to find the problem. I've filed a complaint with Audi, and let them know that I am very unsatisfied with the lack of support I am receiving with their faulty product that cost me $170K. Total BS.

[nbw888]

Audi is finally replacing the clutch...6 months later. They pulled the entire transmission out, and found a damaged fork in the slave cylinder, a burned up ball bearing, fly wheel and clutch plate. My SA said this was a total mess and should have been done the first time. At least it's getting resolved, but I'm going to push Audi to give me an extended warranty or something of value for my trouble.

[eliouno]

Sounds like a good idea to get compensation with an extended warranty. They did this for me so it is something that they do offer given the proper circumstances. In your case, with a new car, this makes a lot of sense especially since it is an item that costs them nothing or very little if it is a reliable car and they have confidence in their product. If it is not a reliable car, then you are happy as hell to have the extended warranty...

[nbw888]

After putting about 500 miles on the new clutch, the pedal has gotten stiff and hard to push down again. Here we go again! Maybe I have a Lemon??