Auto Transmission Failure - Previously Intercooler Hose Identification Thread

[Sunny43.5]

So in reallity we are obviously left with only one real option bend over and take it .

[Cousin]

So in reallity we are obviously left with only one real option bend over and take it .

And next time choose a different brand
They'll soon get the message when the vehicles stop selling


M

[bluefin321]

Well VW Australia have come to the party and will cover part of the replacement cost of the new box under the good will claim, and the non VW dealer will cover the remainder under the statutory warranty. I'm still looking at another week or so before she's back on the road, so that's a total of four weeks off the road in the six weeks that we've owned it.

[Sunny43.5]

Thats some good news for a change sad that it took so long to sort out .

[Dunnodub]

Good news bluefin!

I have recently purchased an '01 T4 from a dealer (Toyota!) with 180ks on the clock. I first noticed a vibration throught the steering wheel when going 100 and took it to a local mech to get them to give it a once over and they balanced tyres to see if that would solve it.

No luck so i rang my VW guy (Lawrence at German Autos - top bloke! Always serviced ,my '89 T3, sadly now sold ) and he diagnosed a transmission fault over the phone. Took it back to the dealer under stat warranty and they had transmission 'repaired' among other things and to their credit it must have cost them a fair percentage of what i paid for the Caravelle.

Turned out there were a few other things that needed doing too and i was without the vehicle for about 6 weeks.

Upon receipt everything seemed good until a 'knocking' noise turned out to be a screw loose from a CV which had trashed the joint and it needed replacing. Got this done at German Autos as it was there to be diagnosed and i didn't get a timely response from the dealer. Cost to me unfortunately.

Recently noticed dead grass under the van and smell of petrol - assumed fuel leak, diagnosed as a transmission fluid leak and faulty fuel cap. Returned to dealer to be repaired under the warranty.

Drove down there last night to collect - 2 hour plus round trip. Pick up the keys and drive out of the yard when a k or so down the road the revs start going to the red-line. Driving ok occassionally, then would not change gear and would over rev unless i took foot off accelerator and tried again which would usually seem to resolve the issue. I didn't drive for long though, turned around, expressed my disgust to the dealership and drove their courtesy car back home again.

Any thoughts and advice on what my rights are from here? Seems the work has been done at Russells Auto Transmission on the Gold Coast - anyone with any experience of them??

Any ideas, opinions and words of solace greatly appreciated.

jon

ps. Sold my T3 to a bloke from Darwin who drove it there faultlessly from Brisbane in about 3 days - he loves it! Only bought the T4 to 'upgrade' for the wife and family

[Sunny43.5]

While it wont help with your situation I would wonder what was done [ Took it back to the dealer under stat warranty and they had transmission 'repaired' among other things and to their credit it must have cost them a fair percentage of what i paid for the Caravelle.]
We had the same model bought new in 2000 , thank goodnes the auto never played up but it was a mongrel as it was an adaptive model which learn,t different driving styles . The wife drives very differently from my self and you would have to drive it harshly to get the thing to change gears for my driving style after she had been using it all week . Now all I can comment on was that whilst at a VW dealer in Brissie I saw the mechanics removing an auto from a T4 and was told it was $12000 for a new auto !!!!! Thank goodness ours diidnt play up , but I speak too soon as our T5 has been playing up as you would have read about already , it seems that VW transmmisions are not all as satisfactory as we customers would hope .

[bluefin321]

Happy to report the van is finally back on the road. Dealer informed me that the new box is covered by a 2 year warranty.

[Sunny43.5]

Excellent outcome for you nice to hear of a good result .

[bluefin321]

Yep, good result, however no explanation from VW as to why the original A/T failed having traveled less than 60k. Some comments like VW have upgraded to larger valves, or identified and changed common failed components would have put my mind at ease. I might fire off an email to VW Australia.

Who's to say the new box won't fail even with regular fluid/filter changes?

Still, nice to have the van back and finally a chance to enjoy it.

[Transporter]

I would also be fitting temperature gauge, making sure it doesn't overheat.

[bluefin321]

I would also be fitting temperature gauge, making sure it doesn't overheat.

Cheers Transporter, will look into that, although we don't do any towing or carry heavy loads.

[Tornado T5]

Popped into a VW dealer I hadn't visited before to see if they had anything in stock to save on a potential new order wait and the rep mentioned quite openly that the auto in the T5's is the first thing they look at in detail while evaluating a trade-in price....

[Transporter]

Cheers Transporter, will look into that, although we don't do any towing or carry heavy loads.

Even high speed driving on 40 deg. C day can overheat the a/t and you don't have to be towing.

[bluefin321]

Guys, not sure if i'm being paranoid since the A/T was replaced a few weeks ago, but every time i drive the van i pay very close attention to the behavior of the new box, and i discovered something that doesn't feel quite right. The behavior is intermittent.

As i hit the bottom of a hill or gradual decent (in say 5th) and start to climb back up again, the gearbox should gradually shift down a gear or two, however it's going from 5th straight down to 3rd and sometimes 2nd and causing a huge over rev for a couple of seconds until it finally decides to settle back into a more suitable gear.

I've never owned a VW before, and having driven a DSG Golf for a day, i know the A/T do all sorts of weird gear changes etc, so unsure if this behavior is considered normal for a VW.

Any insights would be appreciated, like i said the box was replaced only a matter of weeks ago by a VW dealer.

[Sunny43.5]

As an owner of the same model you have and also having severe problems with the auto I can say with out doubt that what you are is experiencing is not normal . IF its a new tranny it should be operating as normal but the fact that your intercooler hose had previously blown off sounds like some engine fault that is causing the transmission to change erraticly . I saw on another thread that if the engine has some fault in the turbo boost it will cause unusual gear changes and can cause it to go into "limp"mode . I drove a Mercedes Vito many long years ago and it was the Vito,s problem exactly as you described that made me buy a VW {now look where I am at} I live at the top of a large long hill with a steep climb the Merc got halfway up and jumped from 5th down to 2 nd in one change when I let my foot of the accelerator momentarily it then jumbed back up to 5 th and almost stopped then jumped back to second with the screaming engine revs . Drove it back to the dealer with it stuck in limp mode . Any way I would take it back and complain but get them to diagnose the engine that may be the problem . Ours had never given us any problems up until some years back and its been going downhill ever since , all because of sealed for life . Don,t you just love all this modern technology that sometimes works and we love it and when it f%$#@s up we hate it with a vengance . PS I did for get one thing about the Merc it was brand new less than 1000kays as it was a demo .