2005 Bad Trans Already???

Well it looks bad for my Passat. I just returned from Rocket Chip and after trying various ecu's Jeff agrees the torque converter is malfunctioning. I had him remove my RC1 so I can start the process of harassing my dealer. This car has been trouble since day 1. It has been to the shop for vibrations, and constant gear hunting when cruising and more recently the surging below 2000 rpm's together with the tc locking and unlocking constantly. I believe all of these symptoms are simply a progression of a worsening problem with the trans. The answer they have been giving me at the dealer is "their all that way"or "we were unable to reproduce your complaint". This condition has worsened and is now easy for even the passenger to quickly notice. I wonder if I should remove my recently install zerostart before taking it to the dealer again. By the way my car only has 6,000 miles on it and I've babied it. I think I made the wrong decision with this car. Who wants to buy a Vag-Com setup and Bentley manual?

Hate to hear it.

I have had two passat tdis. The first got totalled.

The only problem was w/ a faulty break switch on the first.

No other complaints.

I don't think you the made wrong decission but got a car that was made wrong.

I'd say remove the zerostart and any mods. Never give a vendor any easy reason to complain.

Here's the latest. Today I got a call from the dealer. They said they had found a loose hose and its all fixed. I drove it around the block and found the problem still there. I left it with them. We'll see.....

Good dealer, eh?

Good news! Today the service manager called to let me know they have reproduced the problem. Doesn't have a fix yet but he has a call into VW for guidance.

I received more info today on the repair so far. Apparently the hose between the "cooler" and the intake had come loose? If that hose was off would the car even run? Thats pressurized air (post turbo) correct? They have not yet been able to explain the shudder upon tc look up. I think the tc is damaged possibly due to the hose off situation? Any thoughts???

By the way I must say the dealer does seems to be taking the situation much more seriously.

2005 Passat TDI

I bought mine last may it was 37000 Km in december 05 when the engine died. i was in Sherbrook area when this happend. So i got the car toed in VW de l'Estrie... that was december 22nd the fuel conduct failed and diesel got into the oil pan...They have ordred a new engine that same day and receive it Janurary 9th since then they put the new engine in place but they never been able to get the car work properly.

The Service guy called me every day to keep me informed but they could not find the problem...they have my car for 1 month a 1 week! I decided to place a complaint at www.VW.ca. Yesterday VW Canada had a conference call whith the dealer' team aksing them a report of what they did to the car so far! after providing VW with a report, VW Ca told them to close the car and they have told them to leve it untouched! They are supose to call me to accomodate me! What te hek that is suppose to mean? no clue!

Driver's wanted!

Hopefully for you it means that they're going to "lemon" the car and get you set-up with a new one...

Just recieved a call from the service manager. Apparently VW has decided to replace the torque converter and transmission. He said they are just not sure what it is, and after many conversations with VW they decided to just replace everything. The job will be done in one week so I guess I'll see.

Are they going to make a couple of monthy payments for you and provide some extended warranty at no charge to you? Goodwill based on your patience and loyalty to the VW brand?

That is what I would want!

I'm going to wait and see if the car is actually fixed after these replacements. I feel somewhat vindicated that they finally agreed there is a problem. I have to admit I still doubt they can fix it completely. My impression is that they're guessing at this point.

Here is the latest. The dealer called yesterday to alert me that my parts were ready for pickup?!? The tc is in and they called me by mistake. Today I got a call from VW. They said they were having some difficulty with the transmission computers on these cars. He told me he is recommending replacement of the tcu first then the tc and trans. Apparently I'm not alone with this problem. I'll keep you updated.

Today I picked up the car. They replaced a hose??, the TCU, and the Torque converter. So far it seems to be very smooth. It actually is smoother now than when I bought it. Tomorrow I take it for an extended drive to test it.

Rob