2017 Audi S3 S Tronic Query

[JakeUK]

Hi all,

My name's Jake and I've recently purchased a 2017 Audi S3 Black Edition. The car has 40k miles on the clock supported by a full Audi Service History. Both DSG and Haldex services have also been done which was great to see. It came with the BO sound system upgrade, VC, and the Audi Phone Box.

Firstly I am absolutely blown away by this car! I've had a few hot hatches in the past (Fiesta ST, Clio 182) and also currently own a 2012 Yamaha R6 but I have to say that this is definitely the best thing I've driven so far.

The car runs brilliantly, no issues with the Haldex system, gear changes are silkly smooth like you'd imagine at only 40k miles but I have noticed something a little odd; I am not sure if it's just a nuance of the S Tronic system but I've been noticing a potential issue when the car is shifting down through the gears and coming to a complete stop. Basically, when I am driving in D mode (usually comfort), the car feels like it might stall when automatically shifting from 2nd to 1st. Now it doesn't always do this, only when the overall time to come to a full stop is relatively quick, as opposed to a very slow coasting down. If coasting to a complete stop is quite drawn out, it shifts into first no issue at all. It only ever does this when it's more of a heavier braking scenario. I guess one way of better describing it is that it occurs when I am still moving and it shifts into first from second. If I am already stopped before it makes the change, it's fine. It also never does it in S mode as the car correctly holds the revs slightly higher than in D mode. FYI, the car idles fine too, no vibrations, no hunting etc.

It has never once stalled when doing this, but after keeping a close eye on it, I notice that when it does this, it will shift down into first and the revs will dip slightly below (perhaps 100 rpm ish) where it then retuns to idle and just sits there without issue. It's this "rev dip" that makes the car feel like it's moving towards the stalling rpm range. It can probably sink a little lower before stalling but it does feel a little juddery.

Has anyone else noticed this on their car? Again, no other issues at all whatsoever with the gearbox. The car certainly doesn't show any signs of a slipping clutch etc.

I've only ever driven this S3 so I don't know if it's normal behaviour or something to be concerned about. I appreciate that this might seem a little over cautious but as I am still within my warranty period (6 months), I would certainly be interested to hear if it's something I need to get checked out! I have also done a fair bit of googling but the threads I have read all talk about their S Tronic actually stalling. A few people reference issues with hill starts too but none of this is relevant to my issue. Apologies if this has been covered in the past.

Thanks in advance all. I've posted a couple of pics of the car too!

 

[JakeUK]

I've done a fair bit more Googling on the matter but this time referenced the Golf instead. I've found a lot of articles whereby people are querying this; some come back to say theres does it too and always has. Others have come back to say it's an issue. With this in mind I'm getting the car booked into an Audi specialist as I still have 6 months warranty. I'm also still eligble to return the car without question so I will see what they say. I'll post results on here in case it helps anyone else in the future.

 

[JohnM100]

Firstly, congrats on the car.

Mine does this occasionally so wouldn’t worry. My guess is that it depends on the rate of deceleration and vehicle speed at which the last downshift occurs eg downshift 2 -> 1 but by the time it tries to re-engage the clutch in 1st the car is stationary or less than 2mph

 

[Harvey]

Lovely S3 says me being biased with my S3 Sportback FL lol. I can't say I've ever experienced this with my car but we all drive differently. See what the garage says and an option would be to have the latest and greatest VAG DSG software/firmware update applied which could help. Another option is a TVS Drivability tune for your DSG as that'll sort a number of the DSG niggles that may become apparent the more you use it If your planning any mods a TVS Stage 2+ is recommended as this adds the Drivability tune plus increased clutch pack clamping pressure to allow max torque of 600Nm from stock 430Nm plus a plethora of other tweaks which are all detailed here.

 

[alpesh26]

Mine did the rev dip but it coincided with me changing the spark plugs. Whether it was this or not I'm not 100% sure. I put the original plugs back in and the problem hasn't come back. I feel this is more coincidence though as others would have mentioned it happening after a spark plug change also.

 

[JimboBlue]

Hi Jake,

Congratulations on your new S3, it looks lovely. I've had mine for about 5 months now and have also noticed an occasional dip in revs when coming to a standstill just as you describe, it's hasn't ever worried me and definitely never feels like it's going to stall, i just assumed it’s a characteristic of the car/gearbox, as JohnM100 mentioned it feels like it has something to do with the timing of the downshift and when you actually come to a stop but it will be interesting to hear what the garage reports back to you

 

[nothingness]

Not had the rev dip.

Only thing I have noticed is when changing gear at full throttle sometimes the engine seems to "jump" and it feels like the engine / gearbox have disconnected for a few milliseconds.

 

[JohnM100]

A note on an Audi DSG software update (not a 3rd party DSG tune): last year the latest version was 1326 but don’t know if that is still the latest version. It fixed an issue with loss of gear when looking for a v quick start from stationary (but not a launch) as it seemed to slightly increase the time the clutch takes to fully engage and that carries over to gentle changes too. So, fixed one issue but created another. With a heavy right foot you probably wouldn’t notice.

 

[JakeUK]

Hey all,

Thanks a lot for the feedback here! Seems to be a mixed bag of those who do and don't suffer from the dip

I took the car on a drive out yesterday to really test this out and I can confirm that in S mode, it never does this. In D mode, it will shift me to first gear and it does seem to be only when I have the brake fully depressed and the clutch disengages. Sometimes the "judder" is so slight that the wife couldn't feel it at all, but I just caught the feeling myself. Could actually be the mounts just permitting a little too much vibration into the car? That being said, I am taking it in to a specialist and they are going to take a quick spin and see what they think. After this, I am going to be buying the OBDeleven so I will see if any fault codes are present (not wanting to pay a garage £60 to do this when I am going to be buying the stuff myself regardless). I have months left on the warranty to make my mind up so I'm certainly not worried, it does drive lovely. Too lovely in fact... I've been out in the car none stop since buying it and managed to go through £80 in 5 days of driving...

I also happened to message someone on Reddit who I spotted lived just a few miles away from me. He confirmed that his car also had a very slight judder / vibration / shuddery type thing when coasting to a full stop and watching the car shift into first and then disengage the clutch and his has just 19k on the clocks.

At this point in time I will be avoiding any tunes as the power is currently plenty for me, I tend to run out of road before I could make use of any more horses! I will however be using the OBDeleven to permanently open the valves and then I'll be doing the RES delete. Not much of a motorway driver so I am ok with the noise.

Thanks again all, that did help to put my mind at ease!

 

[nothingness]

go through £80 in 5 days of driving

Wish that had been my experience, I was going through £80 in 4 hours of driving lol.

If doing valves+res delete make sure you get the BCS res delete with the J pipe because the drone will be insane.

 

[JakeUK]

Wish that had been my experience, I was going through £80 in 4 hours of driving lol.

If doing valves+res delete make sure you get the BCS res delete with the J pipe because the drone will be insane.

I've had to force myself to drive home before it got too excessive. Silly fuel prices!

So I was going to just grab a normal res delete as I rarely do motorway miles. I'm happy to spend a little extra for the BCS res delete but do you know if it's just as loud when driving around town / having a blast on some A roads? I presumed (probably incorrectly) that to achieve the anti drone effect, it was simply a quieter pipe?

Ta

 

[nothingness]

It's the same amount of noise, but the j pipe (helmholtz resonator) cancels out a mathematically calculated part of the the exhaust sound wave (the resonant frequency in the cabin - the drone). So the exhaust volume will be the same, just without those frequencies. It's not quieter as in it doesn't have a resonator or a silencer in it.

It's a shame only BCS do this (I think APR do it too) because it's an ingenious way of eliminating drone without eliminating flow and noise.

 

[JakeUK]

It's the same amount of noise, but the j pipe (helmholtz resonator) cancels out a mathematically calculated part of the the exhaust sound wave (the resonant frequency in the cabin - the drone). So the exhaust volume will be the same, just without those frequencies. It's not quieter as in it doesn't have a resonator or a silencer in it.

It's a shame only BCS do this (I think APR do it too) because it's an ingenious way of eliminating drone without eliminating flow and noise.

Thanks for this! You've convinced me to get this version!

 

[Damo S]

At this point in time I will be avoiding any tunes as the power is currently plenty for me, I tend to run out of road before I could make use of any more horses!

Not that I want to give you bad thoughts about going dark side but it becomes a completely different car, next level. The increase in torque is immense as is the grin factor. But if its quick enough for you already stick with that. Mods dont come without potential consequences and higher insurance costs, but damn its worth it

 

[nothingness]

Yeah a stage 1 remap is worth it but I would recommend FMIC at this point. And if going to remap you might as well do sport cat (BCS again) and the intake pipe, no need to change the airbox or catback. I think these cars are probably perfect on stage 2 aka sport cat, induction pipe / elbow, fmic, remap. But people get addicted to chasing power, go stage 3, then shortly sell the car, see this happen time and time again.

 

[Damo S]

I would recommend FMIC at this point.

Yes. I did the uprated FMIC and the intake before having it remapped and it did make a bit of a difference on a stock car. Not much but a little. 306bhp on the rollers. The car generally felt like it pulled better at the top end and no power fade even in the heat of the summer. Even more so once it was custom mapped to those mods.

 

[nothingness]

I had the heat fade problem in the summer down in Snowdonia, the roads were empty so I was hooning... then felt noticeably slower accelerating as it got hot, oil at 108C too.

 

[Waleed.17]

Hi all,

My name's Jake and I've recently purchased a 2017 Audi S3 Black Edition. The car has 40k miles on the clock supported by a full Audi Service History. Both DSG and Haldex services have also been done which was great to see. It came with the BO sound system upgrade, VC, and the Audi Phone Box.

View attachment 254106
View attachment 254107

Firstly I am absolutely blown away by this car! I've had a few hot hatches in the past (Fiesta ST, Clio 182) and also currently own a 2012 Yamaha R6 but I have to say that this is definitely the best thing I've driven so far.

The car runs brilliantly, no issues with the Haldex system, gear changes are silkly smooth like you'd imagine at only 40k miles but I have noticed something a little odd; I am not sure if it's just a nuance of the S Tronic system but I've been noticing a potential issue when the car is shifting down through the gears and coming to a complete stop. Basically, when I am driving in D mode (usually comfort), the car feels like it might stall when automatically shifting from 2nd to 1st. Now it doesn't always do this, only when the overall time to come to a full stop is relatively quick, as opposed to a very slow coasting down. If coasting to a complete stop is quite drawn out, it shifts into first no issue at all. It only ever does this when it's more of a heavier braking scenario. I guess one way of better describing it is that it occurs when I am still moving and it shifts into first from second. If I am already stopped before it makes the change, it's fine. It also never does it in S mode as the car correctly holds the revs slightly higher than in D mode. FYI, the car idles fine too, no vibrations, no hunting etc.

It has never once stalled when doing this, but after keeping a close eye on it, I notice that when it does this, it will shift down into first and the revs will dip slightly below (perhaps 100 rpm ish) where it then retuns to idle and just sits there without issue. It's this "rev dip" that makes the car feel like it's moving towards the stalling rpm range. It can probably sink a little lower before stalling but it does feel a little juddery.

Has anyone else noticed this on their car? Again, no other issues at all whatsoever with the gearbox. The car certainly doesn't show any signs of a slipping clutch etc.

I've only ever driven this S3 so I don't know if it's normal behaviour or something to be concerned about. I appreciate that this might seem a little over cautious but as I am still within my warranty period (6 months), I would certainly be interested to hear if it's something I need to get checked out! I have also done a fair bit of googling but the threads I have read all talk about their S Tronic actually stalling. A few people reference issues with hill starts too but none of this is relevant to my issue. Apologies if this has been covered in the past.

Thanks in advance all. I've posted a couple of pics of the car too!

Have you managed to get this sorted as mine does the same so when driving in eco/comfort and when coming to a stop the revs go from idle 800rpm to raising to 1000 to back down to idle and also when slowing down the car making a little noise but that’s if I’m quickly braking and not coasting then coming to a stop