05 passat transmission shudder

ulooknatme

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Location
dunkirk, md
TDI
05 & 04 Passat TDI
When going up mountains or heavy exceleration, the transmission skips or shudders. I can "floor it" so it down shifts and the problem is better but does not fully go away. To me it seems like the trans is low on fluid, but I can find no where to service it. While searching if someone else had this problem, one post said this is a sealed transmission. Is this true? Any ideas? Thanks
 

owr084

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Location
Northern Virginia (NoVA)
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Stonehenge Gray
It is a "sealed" transmission. You fill it from the same hole you drain it from. Are you sure it is the transmission? When was the last time you changed the fuel filter, air filter and cleaned the snow screen?
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
sounds like you've never had the trans serviced before. filter,new fluid is very straightforward to do and possibly save you a 4k repair. many cars such as volvo, bmw, etc use variants of this transmission so anyone who services those is familiar with the procedure. many here on this forum service our transmissions at 60-80k intervals to avoid problems. fluid is special spec but readily available. this trans is very sensitive to fluid levels and hopefully you haven't toasted yours. look for someone near you with a good reputation.
 

Brian's96TDIPASSAT

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2000
Location
Connecticut, USA
TDI
15 Golf TDI SEL 14 Passat SEL, bought back by VW 11 Golf TDI, bought back by VW 05 Passat TDI 96 Passat TDI, sold
Make sure it's not just the fuel filter before ya go crazy chasing your tail :eek:
 

Alchemy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2000
Location
N/A
TDI
None thanks to dieselgate
I agree 1000% with this. Have experienced the same thing three times, and a fresh fuel filter corrects the problem immediately. Just be sure to prime the filter with a Mighty Vac before trying to start.

Make sure it's not just the fuel filter before ya go crazy chasing your tail :eek:
 

ulooknatme

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Location
dunkirk, md
TDI
05 & 04 Passat TDI
I have 156k on the car and I'm drawing a blank on when I changed the filter last. Guess that will be step #1. Trans fluid has never been changed.
Question....How is it possible to drain and service the trans from the same hole?
 

Dodoma

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
TDI
2002 Jetta White
As an insurance, although not required by VW, just have the transmission filter and fluid changed.
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's

Alchemy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2000
Location
N/A
TDI
None thanks to dieselgate
I do agree, at 156k you should change the transmission fluid and filter. Having it done by a dealership is worth the $ but expect it to be some big $$ probably close to $300 or so. I am a good wrench and did my first change myself, but it was fairly miserable and something that I would pay to have done in the future. If my wife would let me get the four post lift in the garage, it would be so much nicer for servicing vehicles.

If you haven't changed the fuel filter in the last 40k miles, do that too. It is fairly inexpensive ($40is for an OEM filter) and there are many documented cases of a dirty filter causing the exact stumbling you mention.



I have 156k on the car and I'm drawing a blank on when I changed the filter last. Guess that will be step #1. Trans fluid has never been changed.
Question....How is it possible to drain and service the trans from the same hole?
 

JFettig

Vendor
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Location
Blaine, MN
TDI
B5 Passat, 2010 Jetta
I changed the filter and fluid in my gasser Passat and it was not bad at all. I just picked up all 4 corners and made it level and high enough for me to fit under it. I used Redline D4 for the change. I used a transfer pump to fill the transmission. The hardest part was filling it while running then capping it off while running but in all reality it wasn't that bad.
The TDI shouldn't be as bad to cap it off, I had 2 hot cats right next to the fill plug(4motion).

Jon
 

ulooknatme

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Location
dunkirk, md
TDI
05 & 04 Passat TDI
Well guys, I finally got around to changing the fuel filter. I cannot believe it fixed the problem! Runs great again. Thanks a million!
 
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