Chadwick46
New member
I've been doing a lot searching on issues with the 09A tiptronic automatic transmission and cannot seem to find a problem similar to mine. I have 2005 Jetta TDI (BEW) wagon with 09A automatic, 306k miles.
Monday afternoon I was backing up to park to pick up my kids. I was backing down a slight grade. The car made a bang and jolted like I had it something. After realizing I have not hit anything the car wouldn't back up when put into reverse. It acted like it was in park (no load against motor and won't roll). I had just driven 10+ miles so the trans and engine were warm (?) It still worked in drive so I drove home. When I got home it would go into reverse but not every time. Again it would act like it was in park. I even had the "step on the brake" light in cluster come on (only once, I cant repeat this).
I thought perhaps something was sticking so I lubed the cable at the transmission and at the shifter in the console.
I have been driving the car the remainder of the week. In the AM (when cold but after running for 10+ minutes) there appears to be no reverse. Its like no one is home when you shift it to R. All the forward gears seem to be working fine. Wednesday it worked fine after 10 miles of driving. Today (Thursday) it did not and even got "stuck" so bad that I couldn't get it into neutral or any forward gears (the shifter would move as well as dash indicator but no change from transmission). I just kept moving the shifter though the entire range and eventually it came out of it (with a bang like when you've jammed it in park against a curb). It acts like a manual transmission where you need to let the clutch out a little to get everything to line up.
The issue is very sporadic. After the episode this morning it has been fine all day. I even checked it after it sat at my office and got cold. I cannot confirm that is it temperature dependent. Although it seems worse when cold.
Any thoughts on the issue? I have confirmed that nothing in the shift cable is loose or broken. I disconnected it tonight and pushed and pulled it and nothing moved, clicked, snapped or anything out of the ordinary.
I'm planning to change the fluid. Also waiting on a VAG scan tool so I can see if there are any transmission codes.
Most people seem to report shift issues with forward gears. I have none of that. This leads me to believe (based on what I have read here) that I don't have a solenoid issue. But what else could it be? When it does get into reverse it backs up as good as it ever has. So I don't suspect any internal damage to any reverse parts.
Could the shift parts just be sticking? I don't if the fluid has ever been changed in the transmission.
Thanks
Chad
Monday afternoon I was backing up to park to pick up my kids. I was backing down a slight grade. The car made a bang and jolted like I had it something. After realizing I have not hit anything the car wouldn't back up when put into reverse. It acted like it was in park (no load against motor and won't roll). I had just driven 10+ miles so the trans and engine were warm (?) It still worked in drive so I drove home. When I got home it would go into reverse but not every time. Again it would act like it was in park. I even had the "step on the brake" light in cluster come on (only once, I cant repeat this).
I thought perhaps something was sticking so I lubed the cable at the transmission and at the shifter in the console.
I have been driving the car the remainder of the week. In the AM (when cold but after running for 10+ minutes) there appears to be no reverse. Its like no one is home when you shift it to R. All the forward gears seem to be working fine. Wednesday it worked fine after 10 miles of driving. Today (Thursday) it did not and even got "stuck" so bad that I couldn't get it into neutral or any forward gears (the shifter would move as well as dash indicator but no change from transmission). I just kept moving the shifter though the entire range and eventually it came out of it (with a bang like when you've jammed it in park against a curb). It acts like a manual transmission where you need to let the clutch out a little to get everything to line up.
The issue is very sporadic. After the episode this morning it has been fine all day. I even checked it after it sat at my office and got cold. I cannot confirm that is it temperature dependent. Although it seems worse when cold.
Any thoughts on the issue? I have confirmed that nothing in the shift cable is loose or broken. I disconnected it tonight and pushed and pulled it and nothing moved, clicked, snapped or anything out of the ordinary.
I'm planning to change the fluid. Also waiting on a VAG scan tool so I can see if there are any transmission codes.
Most people seem to report shift issues with forward gears. I have none of that. This leads me to believe (based on what I have read here) that I don't have a solenoid issue. But what else could it be? When it does get into reverse it backs up as good as it ever has. So I don't suspect any internal damage to any reverse parts.
Could the shift parts just be sticking? I don't if the fluid has ever been changed in the transmission.
Thanks
Chad