performance Multitronic offers performance and economy similar to, and in some cases better than, the equivalent five-speed manual gearboxes, and superior to the traditional automatic transmission. Particular performance advantages are noticed with 'in-gear' seamless acceleration times over equivalent manual transmission cars. Multitronic was offered on front wheel drive-only versions of the Audi A4, Audi A5, Audi A6, and the SEAT Exeo with the 2.0 TSI gasoline engine. It is not compatible with the quattro four-wheel drive system, nor transverse engine installations such as in the Audi A3. At first, the (model 01J) torque limit was , but the later model 0AW transmission is now modified to withstand torque. In 2014 Audi announced to discontinue Multitronic and replace it with S tronic, effectively making the Audi A5 8T the last model it was sold with. Reliability There have been numerous reports from owners around the world that the multitronic transmission is prone to electronic glitches and mechanical issues emerged in the TCUs commonly cause by overheat oil leakage to TCU especially for models (01J & 0AN) using clutch pack with six plates built before or around 2006. Later model ( 0AW with VL381f TCU) have been considered more reliable. Typical symptoms include flashing gear selector (PRNDS indicator) on the dashboard, hesitation and/or shudder during acceleration, inability to select reverse gear and others. Although Audi recommends a transmission fluid change at 55,000 and 115,000 kilometres (or 35,000 and 75,000 miles), there are cases where transmission failures have still occurred even with recommended fluid changes. In the USA a Class Action was won to give Audi owners a new transmission if it failed in the first 10 years. Promotional campaign In 2001, Audi promoted the Multitronic transmission with television commercials throughout Europe, featuring an impersonator of musician and actor Elvis Presley. A prototypical dashboard figure - later named "Wackel-Elvis" ("Wobble Elvis" or "Wobbly Elvis") - appeared in the commercials to demonstrate the smooth ride in an Audi equipped with the Multitronic transmission. The dashboard figure was originally intended for use in the commercials only, but after they aired the demand for Wackel-Elvis grew among fans and the figure was mass-produced in China and marketed by Audi in their factory outlet store. References External links Variable Automatic Gearbox multitronic 01J Design and Function Self-Study Programme 228 Audi Automatic transmission tradenames Continuously variable transmissions