2004 Auto with tripronic shift

[TampaDub]

It skips and catches. Not at first but after it warms up. Dealer said the Transmission valvebody is bad. $3000 WTF? 57,000 miles. I have always driven it like an old lady. What a piece a crap this car has been. I will never buy another VW EVER!!!!!!! An sugestions?

[DZLBUG]

Fluid and filter change, somewhere other than the dealer. Valve bodies aren't cheap, but they shouldn't be $3000 either. I think changing the fluid would be a good first step. Do not have it flushed, the pan should be dropped and the fluid just drained out. Flushing tends to dislodge stuff that would be better off staying stuck wherever it is. Make sure that the correct VW or equivalent fluid is used, typical ATF does not work, "universal" fluids do not work.

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles, and your frustration is warranted, especially considering you have been dealing with the dealer service department. They will screw you every which way they can and they are completely inept. VW dealer service is HORRIBLE in most cases.

VW's automatics also have a very bad track record and the manual transmissions are frankly the only way to go if you want to own a VW.

[SPIKEVW]

I have an 05 NBC tiptronic. I don't believe it has anything to do with trans fluid and filter change at all. VW will say that the trans is pretty much maintenance free, well at least up to a point. Mine started at 3 years old, VW dealer did a code check, found none. At 63000 miles, it really got bad. VW dealer said keep driving 'til the check engine light comes on. So finally after a few more days, I had to bring it to an independent transmission shop. Of course it's 3,000 miles out of warranty. They say the reason it acts up after getting hot is due to a bad valve body, some warping/sludge build up as it heats up. Of course that was due to premature gear wear, 3rd and 4th gear. No check engine light, they found the problem when they opened it up. VW parts are very, very expensive. This repair cost me almost 5 grand, since there are no after market parts available at all, no salvage market, expect to pay. There is much info on many sites about this pervasive problem, including the NHTSB, where it has also been reported. Very poor quality parts, as I drove this car with a light foot. In fact at 70,000 miles and I still ride with the original tires and brakes. Who ever heard of a trans going before tires and brakes. Very unfortunate.