Extending automatic transmission life?

[woofster]

So surely we have all heard about the poor reliability of the automatic transmission in these cars. I just bought an auto tranny Beetle TDI for my fiancée and, to be honest, the car runs beautifully with 200,000 km (~125,000 miles) on it. It was a 1-owner car and was serviced at a local Volkswagen dealership with a fully-stamped service manual.

I'll be taking the car into my trusted Audi shop for an ATF flush next week, but I was wondering if there are any other precautions or preventive maintenance items one should take (other than swapping in a 5-speed! ) that will prolong the life of the automatic transmission.

Happy driving!

[DZLBUG]

Don't have the trans flushed, that causes problems. You drop the pan, change the filter and refill. Yes the torque converter is still half full of fluid, not a big deal. Do this every 30k or so. Drive it easy and hope for the best.

Mine is shot at 165k miles, but I've been limping it along the last 20k.

[woofster]

Why is it bad to flush the automatic transmission fluid?

I ended up just doing an oil & oil filter change at the shop so perhaps I'll hold off on the ATF flush for now. The guys at the shop noticed that the transmission in my car wasn't OEM. It appears the previous owner had already had the auto tranny swapped out before. This could be a good thing as I probably "borrowed" another hundred thousand kilometers on the transmission!

[MichelleRoze]

flushing will loosen all the crap in the transmission causing it to clog and cause major issues. Don't FLUSH, just drop the pan and change the fluid. There is something called a Kerma Mod. It's supposed to extend the life and performance of these transmissions. I think there is more info on the TDIclub.

[woofster]

^ Hey I noticed your Beetle has a 5-speed transmission swap. Did your automatic transmission run its course before you decided to do that or was it something that you did simply because you wanted a stickshift?

[gamefoo21]

Auto trannies cost a lot of $$$ and the rebuilds have a very spotty history. I found a place that will rebuild an O1M and build it into a race capable tranny, for about the same cost as a rebuild to OEM specs... So that's why many people swap to a manual. That and these cars are faaar more fun with a stick shift than with just a pedal.

Best way to extend the life of the tranny...

Redline D4 ATF auto tranny fluid Red Line Synthetic Oil to find a dealer near by.

Filter kits, several.

Drop the pan change the filter, refill with fluid. Drive for a month or two. Repeat 3-4 times to actually get all the old fluid out.

[MichelleRoze]

Originally Posted by woofster

^ Hey I noticed your Beetle has a 5-speed transmission swap. Did your automatic transmission run its course before you decided to do that or was it something that you did simply because you wanted a stickshift?

Mine was running its course. At about 150K I started to lose reverse. You'll know it's going when that starts to happen. If you put it into reverse and you sit for an extended period of time...then the end is near. And once that starts to happen, the rest happens rather quickly. Mine never fully "died". There was still life left in it, and I probably could have milked it for awhile longer. But it's my only car and my daily driver. I can't have the transmission going out on me while on the highway and I do a lot of highway driving and a lot of stop and go driving. So, there was a TDI gtg. The transmission swap guru (as he's famously known for now) was going to be there and he said he'd do it. Sure enough, in 12 hours he was able to swap my automatic out and put in the manual. And make it safe enough for me to drive home from ASHEVILLE, NC to ATLANTA, GA!

Honestly, I would stick with VW fluid for the tranny. Sometimes these fluids claim to be "better" for the transmission and they aren't. Also, I have heard them say something about changing the fluid in the "final drive"??? I don't know. I just dropped the pan and changed the fluid and filter. At 110K my tranny looked great. Fluid was clean, very little metal shavings, all was well. I was due for another change at 150K. That's when it started to die. And I had a 50/50 chance of making it last a little longer. But once the gears are worn, no amount of fluid can fix that. So, I was told that once they opened up my tranny, the fluid was black (like oil) and metal shards were found. So it was on it's way out rather quickly.

I would say, service it every 20-30k. I know it's often...but that'll give you an idea of what's going on with the tranny. Also, look into the Kerma mod. I still haven't been able to find information on it yet, but I have heard that it saves these transmissions and it's a SIMPLE fix! Wish I had known about that at 110K.

That being said, I LOVE my manual. And I do mean LOVE it!!!! Plus, with a diesel, the extra 5mpg combined driving is awesome. I can't wait to take it for a long highway drive. And that's on 18's with a lowered suspension too!! So, if you have to swap, do it. I can tell you the guy who did mine and he can do it, parts and all for about $2500. MUCH cheaper than a new auto which is about $5k-$7k not including labor!!!

So yeah. I'll look and see if I can find more about the Kerma mod. Otherwise, just go easy on it and change the fluid regularly. It'll suck, but you can keep tabs on what it's doing better by getting into it more often!

[MichelleRoze]

Here is a little of what I found on the TDI Club

adjust auto transmission line pressure

I think that's the Kerma Mod. Don't tighten tooo much cause that can cause issues too! I'd read through the whole thing to see if anyone ammended it or added other important information, but hopefully that'll help!

[woofster]

^ Wow, I just spent about half an hour reading through the Kerma mod / line pressure mod thread. It seems like there is some conflicting information in that thread as to whether or not that mod will have long-term positive or negative effects on the transmission. Is there a consensus that the mod will reduce transmission wear and, in effect, prolong its life?

[Cadenza]

Don't do it. The correct way is to adjust to the correct pressure, not just turning the screw randomly.