Tiptronic Shifting Characteristics - What's Normal?
 

My '98 with around 36K miles exhibits a behavior that I'd like to confirm as normal or not. If it's not normal, I'd like to know what might be causing it. The car has done this since the day I bought it, but driving it recently finally caused me to inquire.

Describing it is difficult, but here goes: In automatic mode, the transmission of course starts in 2nd gear. When you accelerate from a stop, it feels like there's a light, interim shift (RPM's actually slightly drop), mid-way before the transmission finally/crisply shifts into 3rd. It's almost as if there's a small gear change between 2nd and 3rd. I haven't confirmed it if occurs in manual mode yet. Otherwise, the transmission operates flawlessly in every way.

This is not to be confused with the mapping that keeps the transmission from shifting until the car warms up.

Normal?

Thanks!:)

After playing with keywords and additional searches, I came across a thread that indicated the hesitation is not the transmission, but rather the variocam adjusting to a higher HP setting. As such, this so-called "hesitation" is evidently perfectly normal. I believe the thread was back from '05, so can anyone validate this finding?

I feel your pain. My 99 does it as well. Sometimes it does feel like the auto kicks in but. I figured out that it happens around 23-2800 rpm. So I just plank it.

I'm OK with this little idiosyncrasy, if that's all it is, because I really love the car...I just want to make sure it's just that...

Second gear plank that to about 4g. Lag gone.

I have a 97 that bogs a little in auto mode (2nd gear) at +/- 2700 RPM. I have 24K on the ODO. But in 1st/Manual starts, it pushes right past it with out the bog. Keep it above 3K. That's where the magic happens. :D