i haven't had any service done yet, and yes i may have to take out a loan to have it done, one of the cons of owning an A3
I dunno if I would spend the money on the adjustment without knowing more about it, or unless there was an actual problem. I think it's safe to say that it's normal for the 1545 to shift like poop, however the shift points of the trans, and the HP of the engine seem to be pretty well balanced for leaving from a stop with a load, and for the top speed of the truck...... not that this balance is a good thing, it just seems to me that it's all intentional.
I have had my A3 for about a month, and have been daily driving it for the past two weeks (40 miles each way to work, parts of it are heavy rush hour DC Metro area traffic). No, it's not exactly economical, and I've been eating through gas, but I really wanted to give the truck a good shake down, bring any problems to the surface, and learn how it drives backwards and forwards.
When I first got it scared me in a few ways, but now that I've been driving it for a while it's actually pretty easy to drive, and I can swing it into some pretty tight spots.
One thing that I have noticed relating to the trans is it's ability to slow the truck down. Unless someone stops short in front of me, I rarely have to use the brakes other than to stop the truck at a very slow speed. If you let off the gas far enough away the 1545 will start down shifting on it's own, and will bring the truck to about 5mph after it downshifts to 1st. I like the trans in this case.
Another thing that might make yours feel better is to change out the fluid. Go buy 8 gallons of Dex III, drain what's in the pan, fill with 2.5 gallons, run it up to temp, drain what's in the pan, fill with 2.5 gallons, run it up to temp; do this one more time, and if you bought a new filter change that last. Before you do so, find the vent line on the back of the cab and blow it out with a bit of compressed air. Mine was clogged and when I went to fill the trans it turned into a very messy production. My trans feels like it is getting better every day after getting rid of the 15w40.
I do wish it had a 5th gear, or a slightly over driven 4th. ("Speed Nazi's", "Braking force Nazi's", "Don't go over 50mph Nazi's" be quiet). Being able to go 60mph at redline would be nice, but I don't like having to be so close to redline just to go 50mph. If I could keep it below 2500 and do 50 I'd be really happy. $950 could go a long way towards paying for a replacement trans that has some overdrive ability. I appreciate the beefyness of the 1545....... but at the end of the day it forces you to drive around at redline on all but the slowest roads.
I wonder if anyone could work a slight overdrive into the high range of the T-case? I don't think it would hurt you too much leaving from a stop since 1st gear is so low and slow; and it would make all the difference in the world for normal driving.