Attn: All Auto Tranny Owners

I just lost my auto tranny at 74,000 miles No warning, just quit Hv your mechanic check your fluid - mine was cooked Thank god still under warranty

Did the tranny fail because the fluid was too low or was it because the fluid was not changed?

I have always made it a rule to change auto trany fluid at 30 to 35k. I don't know if your fluid was chaged or not but if it wasn't I myself would never let it go that long.

The fluid used is a synthetic that doesn't require changing for 'quite some time'. But that doesn't preclude checking it.

When I did my engine swap, I noticed the tranny fluid was really dark, almost the color of coffee (w/o cream). I getting it changed this week, because it just doesn't look right.
Does anyone know where to get the tool to change it yourself? According to the Bentley, the fluid change requires a pump with a bent metal tube that gets inserted into the filler hole. Can you make this tool? I know we have a lot of McGyver wannabe's on this board.

My fears exactly.......

Even more glad I sold mine

are you especially tough on the tranny? any engine mods?

no warning at all? not even a little slippage? i'm going to be paranoid now.

My first tranny just quit on me without warning. I was doing about 65mph on the highway when tranny disengaged. The car had about 40k miles on it. It would work in 1st and 2nd, but 3rd was gone and never would go to 4.

I thought my second tranny went bad, it looks like its a MAF now. Whenever I sit in stop and go for an hour or so, my car would just rev up without much power. I disconnect the MAf and the car is fine.

BTW, I don't abuse it. I only abuse 5 speeds because I know they are much tougher than autos.

the VW mechanics are telling me that ironically
it's the gentle drivers that are toasting the
trannies, not the hard drivers. here is the
explanation: the tranny is programmed to be
smooth when driven gently, so slip is allowed
in its brake bands (the mechanism that is
responsible for selecting different gears) and/or
the torque converter. the slipping causes the
friction materials to get into the fluid and
eventually destroys the tranny... yes, the tranny
fluid is definitely not a lifetime item.

for more agressive driving, the various mechanisms
lock up and do not shed friction material into
the fluid and thus prolongs the life of the tranny.

i know some of you will not believe this, but
i'm just passing along what i was told, so take it
for what it's worth... i find it believable
myself.

Originally posted by speakerboy:
...Can you make this tool? I know we have a lot of McGyver wannabe's on this board.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sorry, I drive a standard

As I recall, "BoraTDI" did an oil analysis of the original fill of his auto transmission fluid after 50k of use. This sample was loaded with break in wear metals and definitely needed to be changed. I would suggest changing transmission fluid after the first 50k miles and at least every 75k miles after that. That way there is a good chance that the transmission will last for the life of the vehicle.

Transmission fluids will still degrade from oxidation and heat, even though they are not exposed to the by-products of combustion, as are engine oils ....You also run the risk of clogging the transmission filter, which is often a simple felt screen.

Changed my auto trans fluid at 80K and it's still going strong at 104K.

Southtdi,
where in FL do you live?

Originally posted by speakerboy:
Does anyone know where to get the tool to change it yourself? According to the Bentley, the fluid change requires a pump with a bent metal tube that gets inserted into the filler hole. Can you make this tool? I know we have a lot of McGyver wannabe's on this board.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">No special tool needed. I used a nice funnel with an on/off nozzle & long hose attached that I found at Walmart. Just insert hose, load up the funnel w/the appropriate amt. of fluid and let'er flow. Only special tool needed is VAG-COM to read the trans. fluid temp sensor in order to get an accurate fluid level reading.

Edit - BTW the "appropriate" amt. of fluid is a "touch" more than the amt. you drained. You did mesure how much you drained didn't you.

[ November 06, 2002, 22:02: Message edited by: NYTDI ]

Do you guys want an auto tranny procedure like the timing belt one I did? If so I have all the pictures and all that is needed is to organize them.

DB

Drivbiwire -

That would be very cool and much appreciated.

Jud.

Originally posted by doughab:
Southtdi,
where in FL do you live?

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">In north Broward county (one of the few places where we can screw up an election) near Ft. Lauderdale. Bron in Naples and raised in Ft. Myers area.

I have had my tranny replaced twice in my 2000 Jetta within one year ?? First time i lost 3rd gear at 22,000 miles, second time i lost 1st and reverse at 34,000 miles??????

I have 95K on my '00 Jetta TDI AT. I have never had the AT fluid/filter service. I have had the "regular checks"

I called various "stealers" one wanted $330.00 the other says you never have to change it. Once again they know nothing.

Im still checking.

Anyone else have prices of waht they were charged?

Thanks,
Dave

I haven't checked the VW's yet but on any other car the red color in the tranny fluid is red and just a die added for a simple reason. When the color starts to change from red to brown that's when you should change the fluid. Maybe changing every 30 to 40k on the VW like I usually do is a bit extreme but I have found that I have never had any problems with an auto due to this.

I know that I am anal about this but I have seen too many autos fail due to poor maint. Usually by letting the fluid go to long varnish forms in the tranny and results in it runing hotter that normal and heat is the number one killer of automatic transmissions.

'Lifetime' means 100k miles.

Checking and changing say at around half that number sounds cost effective to me.

Please don't take offense, but I always advise people to get the stick if they're considering a VW. VW autos have always been weak. If I owned one, I'd be changing the fluid myself, yearly (even with the cost of vagcom). The old semi-autos were fun to hammer on though (beaters)

[ November 07, 2002, 16:40: Message edited by: Bob the rocket scientist ]

The new ones are fun to hammer on too. The stick shift would be nice to hammer on with a TDI too if it had some A$$ after about 4000 RPM.

I think the jury is still out on whether the auto box is reliable. Actually, it looks as if there is a lot of manual shift issues anyway. They haven't failed completely but it usually a rite of chipping to get a new clutch and, they make a lot of noise if the improper fluid is used. The linkage is a little mickey mouse too, and this is something that beckons back to the days of my old Diesel Rabbit. This linkage used to break a lot.

My Vanagon is on its third 091 transmission because it eats main thrust bearings. These things are junk and it is a manual shift. I had an 3 speed auto box in my Westfalia Bus which didn't work when I bouught it. Rebuilt it with a $50 clutch pack kit from JC Whitney and this was bulletproof thereafter. It had quirks too.

Volkswagen should let the Japaneese make the transmissions because the Germans do not do this as well as them. Either way, the reliability is directly a result of how well it is taken care of.

AFAIK, this is the only reported failure of the auto tranny on these forums.

Considering all of the problems with the manual tranny, and that a lot of auto tranny owners have chipped/upgraded the power of their cars, I'd say the auto is the more reliable way to go.

There are people running chips plus injectors with the auto that haven't had a single problem, unlike the manual tranny owners that have to upgrade the clutch to avoid slippage.

The auto is good. I used to love it more, but the "adaptive" **** is crap, as it allows the car to lug. I guess the lesson here is, change the fluid!

Jud.

Originally posted by Frankenwagen:
Volkswagen should let the Japaneese make the transmissions because the Germans do not do this as well as them.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Toyota and most GM automatics have a good reliability reputation. Ford, Chrysler, and Honda automatics do not have such a good reputation.

From what I've read about, manuals in general have far fewer problems, and the problems are usually less expensive to fix, than automatic transmissions.

I would love to see more info (Pictures) regarding where/how to check this fluid and of course how to change it.

Is the VW Transmission Fluid anything unique, or can you use generic Tranny Fluid?

Thanks in advance ....

there never has been an audi with a VR6 engine.
the current passat uses the audi V6. all current
audis use the 5 speed tiptronic for automatic.
in the early 90s, the audi 100 used the same 4
speed automatic as VW golfs and jettas and the
failure rate was high for the v6 powered model.

the 4 speed in today's car is different from
the one used in that era though it is an
evolution rather than a completely new design.

i think that the current 4 speed is rated around
what a 12 valve VR6 will handle. personally
i would be wary of mating that with a chipped
TDI because of the enormous torque output. at
the very least i would do frequent fluid
changes.

btw, the dealers are screwed both ways. VW
says lifetime so that they rate inexpensively
when constupid reports do their surveys. if
they let things go for "lifetime" then they
get blamed when trannies fail.. if they recommend
tranny service at 60K then people accuse them
of trying to rip them off. just a view from
the other side, and no i'm not affiliated
with a dealer in any way.

Originally posted by Black hawk:
Someone told me that the TDI auto's are the same ones they use on the VR6 Audi ?? if so why is the ones on th VW failing.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

Originally posted by Judson:
The auto is good. I used to love it more, but the "adaptive" **** is crap, as it allows the car to lug.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">When driving around town, which our Golf does most of the time, I keep our automatic in D2 when the speed limit is 25 and D3 or D4 when it is 35 or greater. No more lugging!

Originally posted by Judson:
AFAIK, this is the only reported failure of the auto tranny on these forums.

Considering all of the problems with the manual tranny, and that a lot of auto tranny owners have chipped/upgraded the power of their cars, I'd say the auto is the more reliable way to go.

There are people running chips plus injectors with the auto that haven't had a single problem, unlike the manual tranny owners that have to upgrade the clutch to avoid slippage.

The auto is good. I used to love it more, but the "adaptive" **** is crap, as it allows the car to lug. I guess the lesson here is, change the fluid!

Jud.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I have an auto in my car but have to say one thing for the manual in regards to clutches. IT seems to only be a problem in the last year and half or so or whenever VW went to Sachs clutches. The older cluthes (forget the name) do not seem to have this problem.

I own TDI's with both and each has there strong points. I had the fluid in the NB (manual) changed to synthetic and it's nice and smooth now not notchy like it has been since new. As for auto like a diesel it takes a little extra effort to keep it in good condition. I like the auto because it doesn't let the turbo spool down. Instant power instead of having to wait for the turbo.

I sure would like a nice .pdf on caring for the tranny. Nudge nudge, wink wink!