Hi Ho Hi Ho its to off the transmision shop I go.

[Racemag]

Can I suggest the following course of action. Contact VW Australia and find out who your states service manager is. Then write a letter to your dealer and CC it to the service manager and Toby Hagon, editor of the Age's Cars Guide section. You will get a reaction, particularly if you include the Chinese article and mention your kids.
A phone call is easily ignored, a letter is not.
BTW Hyundai iLoad next time.

[bluefin321]

.. ..

[smithy]

Hi All,
Total noob here.....This thread seems appropriate I guess, unless I should start a new one, just smack me if I'm in the wrong. I'm in need of help/advice from those more knowledgeable than I, although my woes are with a T4 not a T5..!
I have a '97 T4 van, 2.5 5cyl petrol (AET) with a dead 4speed auto, I bought it a few days ago knowing the trans was shot. The van itself is actually in pretty good nick for it's age and I picked it up for just $2500.
My question is, can I get a reco box or good second hand unit from somewhere, I'm in Campbelltown, SW of Sydney. If anybody has any ideas or leads which may help...I'm all ears..!

Cheers and thanks in advance.
Smithy.

[Transporter]

Contact Camden GTI Camden GTI they may be able to help you.

[Sunny43.5]

Hi all again thanks for the suggestions Racemag I will follow up , as a matter of interest I left a post on the Volkswagen Australia Facebook page and the cheer laden reply made my blood boil again they had the gall to tell me that their customer care person had rung me well yes they did but I missed the call due to any number of reasons so when I see a missed call I usually hit redial and see who it is . Not VW they rang from an unlisted number and did not have the decency to leave a message . So again their sytem and Customer Care has failed , plus the fact that the customer care person on Monday assured me the caller would call back again the very next day , still waiting . IN2VWS I admit here that I have made an issue with the DSG but the underlying problem is that either VW engineers -designers or the people who actually build the autos are the the real culprits , I would admit that I cannot recall any T5 owners who,s DSG auto has actually failed BUT and I repeat BUT there is a very high number of owners of T5,s who have experienced unsatisfactory behaviour and some with only very very low kilometres . It seems that the autos are far from perfect right out of the box and it is VW,s answer to apply software updates to try and sort out the problems . I am not a mechanic but I am a bloody pratical person who does know how to use his brain to see past the BS manufacturers use to sell their products . Now in relation to the Triptronic "sealed for Life" auto did VW actually test the auto for 100,000 plus kays in our climate on our roads with our driving nuances in stop start situations steep hills fully loaded towing trailers and all the other situations that the "REAL" world can have , well I don,t think they did . So when I have seen photos of internals of the T5,s box with big fuzzy metal hedghog balls of shavings and oils that are burnt black what does that tell you . There is no way a sealed gear box is going to give a satisfactory service if the oil cannot or has not been changed . If VW have changed their service schedule to now service their transmissions then they have a moral obligation to make good any problems that have occured before this time . Now the next thing it is well known among auto transmission repairers that the valve bodies of these autos are not up to the job so why do VW ignore the fact that so many have been rebuilt ??? , as a matter of interest the company that I buy my sunroofs from a huge German company Webasto AG had a fault with their roofs because of a manufacturing fault at a factory they were using to manufacture a particular part . The fault was recognised and they issued a voluntary recall it affected over 58.000 cars here in Australia and hundreds of thousands worldwide . Well the interesting thing was the manufacturer of the part has a Product Liability Insurance so the costs of parts and repair labour was all covered so customers as far back as twelve years have been kept happy . Would be interesting to know if the Aisin Company has the same policy .

[Sunny43.5]

Okay after the last post I will apologize to all T5 owners who have NOT had a problem with their vans auto , you are very lucky V dubbers and I mean you you no harm with my comments ....Note here to the admin if I am over stepping any boundarys please let me know as I get a bit riled and tend to vent my spleen at the first opportunity .

[Transporter]

It's all good mate, I wish it was otherwise but we all know that the T5 6 speed auto is problematic.

In the old days, not so long time ago in 1990' it was very common that A/T fluids were changed every 20,000-40,000km and I think that today's transmissions would benefit from the maintenance that we had less than 2 decades ago.

It's very hard for me and I believe for many other honest workshop operators as well to convince some (read as "many") car owners that his/her A/T, diff, P/S or just a manual gearbox needs an oil change where the car manufacturers say "the life time fill" or where the oil change is every 100,000km, without being accused of just wanting more money. There are some who would get the extra work done but soon after they forget about that the service was not just manufacturer recommended service and they compare just the price to the other offers and next time void that workshop. Some people have a very short memory, sometimes. So, it's better for many workshops just do only what needs to be done and say nothing to their customers. I do that as well and only give information when ask for and let the customer to make their own decision.

As time pass, we will see more of the drivetrain components failing way too soon, just because of the above. It can’t be good for the environment, can it? To make the cars that crap themself too often, don’t last, people have to buy a new one shortly after the warranty ends, just to have a reliable transport. I just can’t believe that manufacturers (not just cars) can get away with that.

Anyway, I wish you luck with the fix. It should be reapired with the minimum cost to you.

[BrianJ]

The other problem is the cost of the genuine VW autobox oil, which is at least $50/L and it holds about 7L. A while back my son's holden split a hose from the auto to the radiator cooler and lost all its oil, so off the supercheap we went and bought 5L drum of the appropriate castrol oil for about $50, one fifth of the price of VW oil. It all adds up over 5-10 years when you consider how much maintenance would be needed to do it right as many of us did in the old days.

Most likely someone will be able to point me to a source of reasonable priced suitable non genuine oil, but as it stands, I would not be game to use anything but the genuine oil if I get mine changed.

Brian

[Transporter]

Brian, that was a long time ago, today's Holden and Ford AT fluids are as expensive as the VW fluids.

[BrianJ]

Brian, that was a long time ago, today's Holden and Ford AT fluids are as expensive as the VW fluids.

It was only a couple of years back, but I think the catch is that it was an old holden not the modern ones that probably use the same autos out of the same factory as where VW got their 6speed. By the way I agree with what you said a couple of threads back, I already know people that will only keep a car for as long as the warranty lasts, and that's probably about as long as a modern car will last anyway. When VW said the autos were sealed for life, that was probably about 5 years. Yes, time have changed for sure.

Brian

[bluefin321]

Most likely someone will be able to point me to a source of reasonable priced suitable non genuine oil, but as it stands, I would not be game to use anything but the genuine oil if I get mine changed.

Brian

Fuchs have a compatible oil that meets the vw specs

[Ivo]

Fuchs have a compatible oil that meets the vw specs

I used the Fuchs in mine when I had it flushed at 50k. Use about 10lts in total to flush it. Was about $350 from memory. Should I be doing that every year??? or every 50k?? seems kind of ridiculous that VW could specify sealed for life when these first came out but now they are suggesting servicing. Its a great van but these auto problem are outrageous.

If my auto craps out I will look at the Imax or maybe just get a 200 series cruiser with a bike rack on the roof and tow bar.

[Sunny43.5]

As I have asked before it bares repeating try and find anyone who can tell you how long sealed for life is . is it years or kilometres and how many . Consensus on US websites is 160.000 kays or ten years . I wait with baited breath .

[Transporter]

...and the German version of the same is 5 years/120,000km , unless they've changed it in the recent years.

[Sunny43.5]

Thanks Transporter , I have received a reply from VW in the negative stay tuned I havent finished just yet ,keep watching this space .More letters going out.