Stuck in first?

[Jillbobill]

I see a lot of threads about being stuck in third, but not so many for first. I have a 1.8t/auto that runs fine and great, no problems on side streets or short trips. However...

When the tranny gets a good work out - say an hour or so of honest driving, across town especially, it locks up into first gear and I'm stuck doing 15mph. The car has to run continually for at least an hour, getting good and hot.

I just, just, just bought the car - about two weeks ago. The first day we had it, we drove it across town to our house and then back to the dealership to drop off papers. On the way back, it locked up. We were still close, so we turned around and the dealership (NOT a VW dealership) took it to their mechanic who said it only needed trans fluid. He flushed the trans, added fluid and changed the filter.

It didn't happen again until the night before last. This time I'd driven across town in rush-hour traffic, then hopped on the highway to cut uptown. On the highway, I noticed the revs sticking a bit (a sort of unresponsiveness to my pressing the pedal?). It just wasn't acting right. Sure enough, soon as I got off the off-ramp and pulled into traffic, I was stuck in first with my revs just going up, but nothing happening. Again, I took it to the dealership (it's still under the Lemon Law warranty) and they brought it to the same mechanic who said that it was now TOO full, so he let out some fluid and then drove it around the block a few times. Of course, it didn't act up for him.

I have this feeling it's not the fluid level - that doesn't make any sense. Any ideas?

[DZLBUG]

Originally Posted by Jillbobill

Any ideas?

Yeah, swap it for a 5 speed manual. These autos are junk and this one is shot.

Good luck with the dealer. I'm not sure about AZ, but in most states lemon laws only apply to new vehicles.

[DZLBUG]

Some info I found:

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard
"Almost all used cars in Arizona are sold “as is.” That means that no matter what a salesperson may tell you, the dealer doesn’t have to fix the car if it breaks – unless (1) he says in your contract he will fix it; or (2) the problem falls within Arizona’s Lemon Law.

ARIZONA’S LEMON LAW
Used Car

Your car is covered by the Arizona Used Car Lemon Law if a major component of your car breaks before the earlier of 15 days or 500 miles after you buy the car.

If it breaks, you’ll still have to pay up to $25 for the first two repairs.

The recovery for the consumer is the purchase amount paid for the car."

[Jillbobill]

Yeah, I know. I've read the lemon law stuff already, but thanks for the info! I haven't paid $25 for them to look at it. So far I like to believe the dealer is being decent about it and trying to be helpful, which I appreciate.

I've heard a bunch about swapping it out for a manual, but there's no way I could drive one of those, so.... not really helpful, haha. I'm waaay too much of a spaz for that. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure the dealership wouldn't do it anyways - I'd just end up with a different car before they'd do the swap.

[DZLBUG]

Oh I know the dealer won't swap it. I was just offering it as a suggestion if you get stuck with the car because the dealer strings you along past the deadline and won't back it. Driving a manual is really not that hard. If your left leg and right arm work (and you don't text and drive)...you CAN drive a manual.

I have zero confidence that the dealer will come through on their end of the deal. For one thing, I'm sure the fluid level in the trans is still incorrect. On top of that, I'm sure they didn't use VW fluid which WILL KILL the transmission no matter what. If they do try to "fix" it, they will probably get the transmission rebuilt...and it will be a race between when the transmission fails...or falls out of the car because they reused the mount bolts. A new trans from VW is the only way to fix this properly, rebuilds of these transmissions don't last.

If you have to have an automatic, and still want a New Beetle...the only car I could recommend to you would be the 04-06 TDI NB's that have the 6 speed DSG. And they are not without their faults either.

[Jillbobill]

Originally Posted by DZLBUG

... and you don't text and drive...

... Who does this?! Not meeeee


So, it's still not right. I drove it around and like clockwork, the trans stuck in first. They have it now and they've lost faith in their mechanic, so it's going to the dealership. I'm kind of over it, so whatever.

The other one they've got is an '05. I'm not sure what this means: "NB's that have the 6 speed DSG," but this is it: 2005 Volkswagen Beetle - Car Time, Tucson, AZ It's the 2.0, so that's a different engine ergo different trans? Not a turbo, but it's a convertible, so I guess that's a wash... sorta.

[DZLBUG]

Thats the 6 speed 09G - not a very good transmission either. Lots of valve body and speed sensor issues cropping up with them.

The DSG I mentioned is a different trans, and only available on the 04-06 NB's with the TDI engine.

In all honesty, if you have to have an automatic transmission - a VW is not a good choice for you unless you are looking at a Passat.

[Jillbobill]

Heard from the dealership again -- they took it to some other mechanic (once again, not the VW dealership) and he replaced the coils.

I'm wondering how a bad trans might be affected by coils. Does that make zero sense to anyone else?

[DZLBUG]

zero sense

[NewBeetleMechanic]

Originally Posted by Jillbobill

Heard from the dealership again -- they took it to some other mechanic (once again, not the VW dealership) and he replaced the coils.

The dealer took your car somewhere else? Man, they must have some crappy techs.