Dreaded Transmission failure?

[uwharrie]

2004 NB Vert 1.8 Turbo with 6sp Tiptronic 64,000 miles

My transmission has been acting "funny" for a couple of months now. When shifting from 1st to 2nd it often seems to hesitate then shift with a jolt. It also does it occasionally from 2nd to 3rd, but with less frequency and not as much "jolt"
I am now noticing it doing the same on the downshift from 3 to 2 and 2 to 1 though not as frequent as upshifting.

It does not do it all the time ( but seems more frequent now)
I can drive it some days and it not do it at all.
I have noticed it doing it more if I have passengers.

I have reset the tranny computer several times and had the transmission fluid/filter changed with no improvement.

Does this sound like a doomed tranny? If so what are my options?

I have sunk over $3000 into this car over the last 6 months (window issues, timing belt, tune up, some suspension work,ect)
and hate the thoughts of what replacing the tranny is going to cost.

[MichelleRoze]

I don't know about the Tiptronic transmissions, but if it were an 01M I would say save your pennies.

My GUESS is that maybe the DMF is slipping? I heard that's a common issue with the tiptronics. It's not cheap....but cheaper than a new transmission. Something is definitely slipping and not catching when it's supposed to. My 01M did that all the time, I thought it was normal, until it got worse. But being a tiptronic it's a bit more solid, except for the DMF. Do you still have some kind of warranty for it? I mean, it's under 75K miles. I would think there is still a warranty of some kind....

[BeetleMyHeart]

I say your valve body is the culprit. Been there done that with my '05 tiptronic. I think the trans is an 09G. The valve body will either need to be replaced or cleaned up. I think I've read about people running seafoam or some sort of cleaners in their trannies to clean the valves up some. This is a very common problem and I think the fluid should be changed every 40k and not consider the fluid lifetime as VW does. I think the new cars with the 09G are recommending 40k fluid change intervals now.

[DZLBUG]

Michelle, only the DSG's have DMF's. The 6 speed tiptronic is a traditional automatic transmission with a torque converter - so no DMF. Same goes for the 5 speed tiptronics that are installed in other VW's. I hate the "tiptronic" nomenclature, and it just confuses people, especially when VW has 3 (possibly more now) "tiptronic" transmissions that are all different from each other. The DSG transmissions are a completely different beast in every way from the others.

These 09G's seem to have a lot of valve body issues, which frankly is probably made worse by people who use the tiptronic function a lot. Have the valve body rebuilt or replaced and it should fix the issue.

[MichelleRoze]

Oh now that I didn't know. I thought all Tiptronics were the same. Well I guess a valve body is better than a bad DMF lol

[BeetleMyHeart]

Originally Posted by DZLBUG

Michelle, only the DSG's have DMF's. The 6 speed tiptronic is a traditional automatic transmission with a torque converter - so no DMF. Same goes for the 5 speed tiptronics that are installed in other VW's. I hate the "tiptronic" nomenclature, and it just confuses people, especially when VW has 3 (possibly more now) "tiptronic" transmissions that are all different from each other. The DSG transmissions are a completely different beast in every way from the others.

These 09G's seem to have a lot of valve body issues, which frankly is probably made worse by people who use the tiptronic function a lot. Have the valve body rebuilt or replaced and it should fix the issue.

Great post! I'm curious as to how using the tiptronic function is harder on the valve body? My wife uses it alot as it locks the converter and saves gas. If it's proven to be harder on the already problematic valve body I'd like to have a basis to have her stay out of that mode for the most part. Looks like we'll get some great info going in this thread.

[uwharrie]

Can anyone give me an estimated cost to fix? and anyone know of a good shop qualified to do the work in Central NC? (greensboro-charlotte area and in between)

[Smileybug]

Not sure of a shop in Greensboro. Raleigh there is Apex Tuning, which is where I take my car for everything. Absolute Automotive in Durham, which is another great shop. And Eurowise is in Charlotte.

You might want to jump on NCDubs.org and ask for a good place to get this done. I'm more familiar with the Raleigh area than the Gboro/Winston/Charlotte area as far as shops go.

[BumbleBeeTDI]

Originally Posted by DZLBUG

Michelle, only the DSG's have DMF's. The 6 speed tiptronic is a traditional automatic transmission with a torque converter - so no DMF. Same goes for the 5 speed tiptronics that are installed in other VW's. I hate the "tiptronic" nomenclature, and it just confuses people, especially when VW has 3 (possibly more now) "tiptronic" transmissions that are all different from each other. The DSG transmissions are a completely different beast in every way from the others.

These 09G's seem to have a lot of valve body issues, which frankly is probably made worse by people who use the tiptronic function a lot. Have the valve body rebuilt or replaced and it should fix the issue.

DZLBUG is right on this one, only the DSGs come with the DMF and I unfortunetley have one of these and my DMF is going bad, I am putting in an order today for one and having mine replaced, hope it's not too late.

[connieray]

Originally Posted by uwharrie

2004 NB Vert 1.8 Turbo with 6sp Tiptronic 64,000 miles

My transmission has been acting "funny" for a couple of months now. When shifting from 1st to 2nd it often seems to hesitate then shift with a jolt. It also does it occasionally from 2nd to 3rd, but with less frequency and not as much "jolt"
I am now noticing it doing the same on the downshift from 3 to 2 and 2 to 1 though not as frequent as upshifting.

It does not do it all the time ( but seems more frequent now)
I can drive it some days and it not do it at all.
I have noticed it doing it more if I have passengers.

I have reset the tranny computer several times and had the transmission fluid/filter changed with no improvement.

Does this sound like a doomed tranny? If so what are my options?

I have sunk over $3000 into this car over the last 6 months (window issues, timing belt, tune up, some suspension work,ect)
and hate the thoughts of what replacing the tranny is going to cost.

It should be covered by the recent VW extended 7year/100K transmission warranty extension. They just replaced the valve body in my 04 NBC and it know works great. There is another thread on here that talks about it.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by connieray

It should be covered by the recent VW extended 7year/100K transmission warranty extension. They just replaced the valve body in my 04 NBC and it know works great. There is another thread on here that talks about it.

Here's the thread, should give you a lot more information
Tiptronic Auto - VW Extended Warranty

MORAV

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by MichelleRoze

Oh now that I didn't know. I thought all Tiptronics were the same. Well I guess a valve body is better than a bad DMF lol

Lol not quite. There is a 5speed tiptronic that replaced the 01M. Those crept in on 2002+ Automatic Turbo beetles. Then there was DSG (which is NOT a tiptronic) that came to the TDI models in 2004. Finally, there was a 6speed tiptronic that came to the convertible models in 2003 and later to the 2005 2.0 models which effectively replaced the 01M. That 6speed tiptronic is still used in the mk6 Jetta and Golf now actually! Making that one of Vw's more reliable automatics (think, 2003-2012 so far) vs the 01M which has been terrible forever.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

And thankfully VWofA has at least taken the first step in correcting a defect in same.

MORAV