scorpion632
Active member
I'm having a problem with my 2006 Jetta TDI, which is an automatic and around 91 K miles. When going up a steep hill or a mountain, the car will downshift in to 5th gear, and most of the time will downshift to 4th gear. It sometimes goes down to 3rd gear, and struggles to go above 35 MPH.
The bad part about this is that the problem usually only comes up when I'm going up a hill on a high speed road, like an interstate or a state route, so dropping down to 35-45 MPH is about 20-30 MPH below the speed limit. Even with the pedal to the floor, I don't get any improvements. It usually runs around 3000 RPMs when it shifts to a lower gear. When I switch it over to manual, and go up a gear, it drops down to about 2200 RPMs, which is where it is usually at on a flat surface. It also starts to act like it's about to stall out.
I understand it's normal for a car to have trouble going up hill, but this seems excessive. I had a 2006 Jetta TDI manual, and never had any problems with the same hills. My dad has a 2002 Beetle TDI and doesn't have any problems with the same hills.
I am taking it to the dealership on Wednesday to check it out. They described it as a possible "loss of power" issue. I've looked around for similar problems and have seen a few possibilities, such as a loss of power, or an issue with the fuel temperature. I just wanted to see if anyone had any similar experiences, and what the problem ended up being.
The bad part about this is that the problem usually only comes up when I'm going up a hill on a high speed road, like an interstate or a state route, so dropping down to 35-45 MPH is about 20-30 MPH below the speed limit. Even with the pedal to the floor, I don't get any improvements. It usually runs around 3000 RPMs when it shifts to a lower gear. When I switch it over to manual, and go up a gear, it drops down to about 2200 RPMs, which is where it is usually at on a flat surface. It also starts to act like it's about to stall out.
I understand it's normal for a car to have trouble going up hill, but this seems excessive. I had a 2006 Jetta TDI manual, and never had any problems with the same hills. My dad has a 2002 Beetle TDI and doesn't have any problems with the same hills.
I am taking it to the dealership on Wednesday to check it out. They described it as a possible "loss of power" issue. I've looked around for similar problems and have seen a few possibilities, such as a loss of power, or an issue with the fuel temperature. I just wanted to see if anyone had any similar experiences, and what the problem ended up being.
