6 Speed Auto in 04 TDI Beetle

Have a friend looking at an 04 beetle tdi with 60,000 miles it is an automatic with some definent tranny slippage a little slow going into gears and just feels weird when taking off and shifts at slower speeds. At half throttle or so it seems to shift ok. Is this a for sure failure and will require a new tranny being 5 speed swap or new auto? Is it possible new oil and filter could help? I am used to my 99 5 speed bug and not to sure on the auto even though a 6 speed auto that could hold a lot of tq would be pretty cool. Thanks in advance.

has the transmission been serviced properly, ie fluid and filter changes every 40K?

His 6 speed auto is actually a 6 speed manual with auto clutch and shifting.


Great transmission just service it properly.


DB

I would guess it has not been serviced properly. I have not driven a car with this tranny does it feel alot different? So does it use auto or manual tranny fluid? It does say DSG on the shifter handle. Sorry to sound dumb I had a 04 jetta auto tdi but it didn't feel like this. Is it possible fluid change could fix the slipping? Thanks

Try driving it in sport mode first. The DSG in normal mode is a early shifter for fuel economy, it's a lot more lively in sport mode.

And if the fluid in the trans wasn't changed at 40K - with the correct ATF (read $$$!!) - then it may be shifting strange until the fluid is changed with the good stuff...

Or you could come drive mine for a comparison...

The DSG doesn't take well to quick stops and starts, such as at a 4 way stop if no one else is there. It does better if the car comes to a complete stop for a couple of seconds then proceedes to drive off. There is a technical bulletin out about this and VW says it's normal operation. I don't know if this is what you are talking about or not. If I try to do a quick stop the car doesn't make it into 1st gear and when I try to take off the car is still in second gear but the transmission will slip the clutches and reduce power from the engine untill it determins the car is going fast enough that it can apply full clutch and full power, usually about 2 or 3 seconds later.

Also you can't coax the DSG into shifting into the next gear like you can a conventional auto (letting up on the accelerator pedal when you want it to shift). My father tried doing this the first time he drove my car and all it got him was a jerky ride.

Does it shift O.K. if you use the tiptronic feature? The computer won't let the transmission lug the engine or ever rev it. You need to get the revs up to around 1800 or so before the transmission will shift into the next gear.

The transmission requires special fluid and it also has a filter that must be changed also. May need VCDS to determin fill level though, I don't know. I haven't changed mine my self.

Dsg

Transmission is 20k miles past due for fluid & filter. Yes, it requires a special fluid. No, in advance the transmission does not have a dipstick. Requires VAGCom to check transmission fluid temp. I have no troubles whatsoever with my DSG!