Hi Guys,

Had torrential rain here a few days ago and ever since I have been having problems with my auto box. First up it would not engage reverse very well without a lot of fiddling with the gearshift and then yesterday it would not change gear at all and was stuck in first gear.  I suspect it water has got into something just wondered if anybody has any ideas where to start looking.

 

All The best

 

Captdave

 

Have you got wet carpets at all? 

I'd recommend a diagnostic check to see if any fault codes flag up 

Hi Steve

No wet carpets but l guess l am just a brilliant mechanic or just plain lucky.  Put the car in my garage last night and went down this morning ready to get stuck in, well just try it first and it all worked perfectly took it for a road test all good but stering wheel buttons not working otherwise perfect.  I think it must have dried out in the garage overnight that's a great relief anyway.

Glad there's no wet carpets and it's working again. If still advise a diagnostic check to see if any fault codes flag up 

Funny thing the day after it was not working well again. I put it on axle stands and dried and cleaned the gearbox electric connectors with contact cleaner and this seems to have fixed it.  Reverse is still a little slow to engage on occasions but it does work every time now. I might change the oil and filter and see if that helps.

Water ingress to electrical connections can be very difficult to dry thoroughly. Try WD40 which is designed to displace water (hence the WD in its name,) or preferably isopropanol and allow to dry for a day or two with good ventilation.

It's possible water has got into other electronic components or connectors which may take a long time to trace.

At the risk of stating the obvious please don't drive through floods. The A6 is a car not a boat.