Auto Shifts Hard on 02 Jetta Wgn

Naranja

Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2002
Location
Dallas, Texas
My 2002 Jetta wagon , started shifting hard (slamming into second or third) during warm up in Dallas. It is an automatic with 20k miles. The dealer replaced the TCM (transmisssion control module?). This fixed the problem for about a week. The TCM is ok,so now they are going to check the fluid level, and talk like they may want to replace the transmission! Any known issues with the auto tranny acting this way? Thanks.
 

zanzabar

Vendor
Joined
Oct 18, 2002
Location
Petaluma, CA
TDI
2004 Jetta BEW 5spd (dual duty track car and daily driver beater)
How hard does it "slam" into 2nd/3rd gear? Mine give a bit of a jolt into 3rd when it's cold. I think a few others have noticed the same thing. It feels like you let off the clutch (IF you were driving a manual /images/graemlins/wink.gif) a little too quickly and the high rpms of the engine give the car a short forward burst. Don't think it's really much to worry about.
 

sootandclatter

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2002
Location
sootland
Do the relearn process as it usually fixes it until the next time,This controller goes by your driving habits and you like me must have some bad habits and the relearn takes it back to square one. I went thru all this new trans, new controller and now just have to relearn every so often. Turn key on but do not start engine, push throttle to the floor and hold for at least 10 seconds, take foot off throttle and shut key off. This should make it shift better. Also make sure they tightened the ground on the controller as a loose ground there will cause same problem. /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

Naranja

Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2002
Location
Dallas, Texas
It is definitely not a normal "slam" into 2nd/3rd gear. It's back at the dealer now and they were able to replicate the problem. They believe it is in the Valve Body of the transmission and put me in a 04 Jetta to drive until they get it fixed, maybe next week. Thanks, Soot for the tip on how to reset the trans. The dealership is Boardwalk in Richardson, which has a good reputation at least Vdub Addiction forums. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. FYI, I have had the car since new, no mods, mostly freeway driving, and no mechanical problems till now.
 

KERMA

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Sep 23, 2001
Location
here
TDI
99 beetle and 04 jetta
You have a bad N92 solenoid in your valve body.

This solenoid is supposed to energize briefly between shifts to lower line pressure and apply oil to the clutch packs.

I guess you could say then that the valve body is indeed bad. Bet it could be fixed with the solenoid though, which is part of the valve body.

What the hey, let em replace or repair whatever it is under warranty.
 

rotarykid

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 27, 2003
Location
Piedmont of N.C. & the plains of Colorado
TDI
1997 Passat TDI White,99.5 Blue Jetta TDI
Could also be a fluid mix , gear oil mixing with trans fluid . Can cause the automatic fluid to become too thick , or vice versa . Thickened fluid can cause a pressure increse in the shift body . Also thin fluid in the differental can chew it up .


This is a well known issue with their automatic for the last 20 + years . I've seen automatics go 200,000 miles with no problem , and I've seen this happen in a new trans .

Here is why they use a two fluid system , you get a a 10 to 40 % increase in power to the road , you also gain an increase in mpg with this system . Many other manufacturers use a single fluid system to trade mpg & power for longer life . Normally some sort of Hypoid Oil , similar to a hydrolic fluid .
 

Naranja

Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2002
Location
Dallas, Texas
The service writer mentioned the solenoids when he was describing the valve body to me, although he didn’t mention “N92”. They put me in a loaner because it was going to be a couple of days before their “motor” technician was available. Does the transmission have to be removed to get to the solenoids? I am also curious what might cause the gear oil and trans fluid to mix?
 

rotarykid

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 27, 2003
Location
Piedmont of N.C. & the plains of Colorado
TDI
1997 Passat TDI White,99.5 Blue Jetta TDI
The cause for a fluid mix is the power transfer shaft seal failure allowing the high pressure trans fluid to be forced into the gear oil case . Then causing an over fill in the differental case , then once the car is shut off the two cases balance back out . Results gear oil making it's way back into the automatic fluid .

It doesn't take long , a few warm ups to delute the gear oil & contaminate the trans fluid . I've seen this happen to old & current VW automatic trans .

Now for the real problem , the old auto's used two seperate cases for this setup . Before to fix the problem all you had to do was seperate the to units and fix the seal then reassemble the thing and your were off .

Now there is only one case with a single way to get to the seal , take the entire trans apart to get to it . So if it fails now it's a real problem to deal with .

And like I said I have first hand experience with this happening to new ( curent ) models without warning . In fact on the one I saw VW kept the car for a month then took another month to get a free replacement on the trans rather than the dealer tring to fix it . The dealer went back and forth over what they were going to do before they gave in and replaced the thing . They also tried to claim there was a problem in valve body , then the electronics , then the fluid was installed improperly , all claims proved to be wrong .

So don't rule out a fluid mix out of hand . Hope not , but could because this is one of the ways an auto acts when the fluid mix has taken place .

Good Luck,
 

Naranja

Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2002
Location
Dallas, Texas
I picked up my car today. They replaced the transmission. In Monday out Friday, pretty impressive (assuming they didn't just reset the trans:)

They gave no real explanation of what, or why it went bad with only 20K miles, so I can't really shed any more light on the subject. Thanks to all for the comments.
 

bendoski

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 11, 2002
Location
South Burlington, VT
Hello everybody.

I had my AT replaced at 20,000 miles also with the same symptoms. Now...at 23,000 miles the 2nd AT is acting up in the same manner.

Help? What should I tell the dealership?

I don't even know what an "N92" is.

Thanks so much in advance.
 
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