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Transmission Tool - Forcing into Neutral

21K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  mngolfer  
#1 ·
For those of you who have followed my recent engine breakdown thread, you'll recall that I mentioned the S-Tronic transmission can't be shifted into neutral without the engine started - presumably, this is the same for R-Tronic. Thankfully, my R8 tech came out roadside and was able to force the transmission into neutral with a magical little tool in the frunk toolkit. Now that I have the car back, I thought I'd take a quick picture of it and post a quick thread to help inform people about the importance of this tool and where to find it.

In the picture here, the tool is the red one. It's found directly under your tow hook (which I've lifted and stood to the side for the sake of showing where the transmission tool sits). In order to use it, it telescopes out, and it needs to be inserted (and then twisted) under the "V10" carbon fiber piece in the engine bay. This piece just pulls up.

Since stuff tends to go missing from these toolkits over the years when owners are mucking around in there and don't replace stuff, I'd probably take a look and make sure it's there (replacing if necessary) given the importance of it. Hope this helps some of you if you ever find yourself stuck.

 
#2 · (Edited)
Very helpful post Ez. I don't believe I've seen this tool in all the years of owning my V8. Guess the previous owner didn't include it.

But I should have it in my V10 since I bought it new. Gonna check just to be sure.

Guys, best to check for yours. Thanks for the heads up.

Fyi, while looking for this part online, I came across another tool used to release the parking lock. Is this applicable for our R8 as well?

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-mkii-discussion-211/parking-lock-2922397/
 
#3 ·
Howie, I wonder if that tool you found is applicable to cars with electronic parking brakes? Given Gen-2 got an electronic parking brake, perhaps it may have one like this, too? Someone with a Gen-2 can shed some light.
 
#6 ·
My gen1 had this tool, but our cars are US cars. I would contact the dealer's service advisor and get their suggestion. You should also be able to call the Audi phone number in your owners manual for what to do.