How often should you actually change Audi transmission fluid?

[cody sutton]

I've been going back and forth on this for weeks and I still can't get a straight answer, so I'm hoping someone here can help me out. My 2017 A4 has done about 90,000 kilometres and the gear changes have become noticeably less smooth than they used to be. Nothing dramatic, no warning lights, no limp mode, just a bit of hesitation pulling away and the occasional clunk when it shifts down as I slow for a junction. I mentioned it to a mate who knows a bit about cars and he said it could just be old fluid that needs changing, which sounds cheap and easy compared to the horror stories I've read about full gearbox rebuilds. But then I spoke to someone else who said changing the fluid on a high mileage box can sometimes make things worse, and now I don't know who to believe. I've been looking for https://auditransmissionrepair.ae/how-o ... sion-fluid professional advice on Audi transmission fluid change intervals, partly because I want to know if I've left it too late and partly because I don't trust the garage that told me it was a lifetime fluid and never needed changing, which sounds like nonsense to me. What I really want to know is whether an oil change at this mileage is likely to help or whether I'm just delaying the inevitable. Has anyone here actually had this done and seen an improvement, or did it make no difference at all? And how do I know if a place is doing it properly, because I've read that these gearboxes need specific fluid and a specific procedure, not just drain and refill with whatever's on the shelf. I don't want to pay for something that doesn't help, but I also don't want to ignore a cheap fix if it could buy me a few more years with the car. Any honest experiences would be really appreciated because I'm stuck and I don't want to make an expensive mistake either way.