just-a-girl
Member
I have three intermittent problems on my 2001 Golf with 172K miles.
The oldest problem is rough or clunky shifting (automatic transmission). When I first bought the car, it only "clunked" when cold and shifting from 2nd to 3rd. Over the years, it has started clunking...intermittently...in all gears, including the torque converter lockup in overdrive recently. Some times the clunk is hard enough to feel like someone has hit me from the rear, but thankfully it is usually just a gentle thump. I may make a full trip without it shifting badly, or it may be rough for most of a trip, but it never shifts roughly all the time.
The second problem is that intermittently (well, it happened about a couple of years ago, and then again a couple of weeks ago) the torque converter lockup in overdrive does not engage. While driving up a steep grade, behind slow traffic, the transmission down shifted. Once over the grade, the transmission shifted back into overdrive, but the torque converter lockup did not re-engage. When the car was finally turned off and restarted, the problem did not recur and the car drove normally. I asked the dealer to service the transmission after this event. They said they thought it was a "fluke".
I was told that no "codes" were recorded for the event. The little "box" around the gear indicator on the dash has never "blinked". By the way, servicing the transmission did not affect the rough shifting at all.
The third problem is relatively new. For the last month or so, the car has been relocking itself. When the car has been locked and then opened either with the key button or with the key in the lock, and the driver's door opened, the car intermittently relocks...usually while I'm in the car but before I've had a chance to start it, and occasionally before I've even gotten the door closed. If I don't use the key button to unlock it (the interior unlock botton on the door doesn't work at that point) again before starting the car, the alarm goes off. As far as I can tell, this happens when the driver's door is the only door opened; if the passenger or back doors are also opened, the car does not relock. SOMETIMES, the car does not relock when only the driver's door is opened. But when it DOES relock, as far as I can remember it has been after only the driver's door was opened.
I am currently having my car serviced by an independent mechanic who works only on German cars. He said he experienced the rough shifting I mentioned while he was test driving the car, and he researched it in VW's databases. He said VW has known about the problem but has not identified it beyond saying it is an electrical problem and they never issued a recall. I have not reported the recent torque converter problem to him yet. He has indicated in the past that the shifting problem will probably only be resolved by replacing the transmission when it becomes too problematic for me. He thought any torque converter "problem" would have stored a code or started the gear indicator "box" to flash. The MAF was replaced by the dealership at around 30K miles under a recall. When the MAF was acting up, the transmission would drop out of overdrive easily, but the torque converter would re-lockup when the engine wasn't under load (i.e. on a grade), so that was different from what has happened on the two occasions when the torque converter has given me problems in the last year.
I've asked the mechanic about the lock/alarm problem and he suggested resetting the alarm computer and cleaning a sensor, but at his price I wanted to think about it. I could just get used to opening a back door each time I unlock the car. But the mechanic suggested that the problem would get worse and I'd eventually get locked out...or in!
The nearest dealership is now 200 miles away, and I don't have a lot of faith in them, anyway. I hoped someone here could clue me in as to whether these are common problems, potentially critical problems, or what. I hope to drive this car to at least 250K, and have recently spent quite a bit on a new timing belt upgrade, serpentine belt/tensioner, brakes, tires, etc. I don't want to waste the money I've already invested, but I don't have a lot to spend on non-critical repairs.
The oldest problem is rough or clunky shifting (automatic transmission). When I first bought the car, it only "clunked" when cold and shifting from 2nd to 3rd. Over the years, it has started clunking...intermittently...in all gears, including the torque converter lockup in overdrive recently. Some times the clunk is hard enough to feel like someone has hit me from the rear, but thankfully it is usually just a gentle thump. I may make a full trip without it shifting badly, or it may be rough for most of a trip, but it never shifts roughly all the time.
The second problem is that intermittently (well, it happened about a couple of years ago, and then again a couple of weeks ago) the torque converter lockup in overdrive does not engage. While driving up a steep grade, behind slow traffic, the transmission down shifted. Once over the grade, the transmission shifted back into overdrive, but the torque converter lockup did not re-engage. When the car was finally turned off and restarted, the problem did not recur and the car drove normally. I asked the dealer to service the transmission after this event. They said they thought it was a "fluke".
I was told that no "codes" were recorded for the event. The little "box" around the gear indicator on the dash has never "blinked". By the way, servicing the transmission did not affect the rough shifting at all.
The third problem is relatively new. For the last month or so, the car has been relocking itself. When the car has been locked and then opened either with the key button or with the key in the lock, and the driver's door opened, the car intermittently relocks...usually while I'm in the car but before I've had a chance to start it, and occasionally before I've even gotten the door closed. If I don't use the key button to unlock it (the interior unlock botton on the door doesn't work at that point) again before starting the car, the alarm goes off. As far as I can tell, this happens when the driver's door is the only door opened; if the passenger or back doors are also opened, the car does not relock. SOMETIMES, the car does not relock when only the driver's door is opened. But when it DOES relock, as far as I can remember it has been after only the driver's door was opened.
I am currently having my car serviced by an independent mechanic who works only on German cars. He said he experienced the rough shifting I mentioned while he was test driving the car, and he researched it in VW's databases. He said VW has known about the problem but has not identified it beyond saying it is an electrical problem and they never issued a recall. I have not reported the recent torque converter problem to him yet. He has indicated in the past that the shifting problem will probably only be resolved by replacing the transmission when it becomes too problematic for me. He thought any torque converter "problem" would have stored a code or started the gear indicator "box" to flash. The MAF was replaced by the dealership at around 30K miles under a recall. When the MAF was acting up, the transmission would drop out of overdrive easily, but the torque converter would re-lockup when the engine wasn't under load (i.e. on a grade), so that was different from what has happened on the two occasions when the torque converter has given me problems in the last year.
I've asked the mechanic about the lock/alarm problem and he suggested resetting the alarm computer and cleaning a sensor, but at his price I wanted to think about it. I could just get used to opening a back door each time I unlock the car. But the mechanic suggested that the problem would get worse and I'd eventually get locked out...or in!
The nearest dealership is now 200 miles away, and I don't have a lot of faith in them, anyway. I hoped someone here could clue me in as to whether these are common problems, potentially critical problems, or what. I hope to drive this car to at least 250K, and have recently spent quite a bit on a new timing belt upgrade, serpentine belt/tensioner, brakes, tires, etc. I don't want to waste the money I've already invested, but I don't have a lot to spend on non-critical repairs.
