# Are ALL Transmission Parts Interchangeable Between Dodge And VW Routan?



## routanselman (Aug 4, 2017)

Howdy! So I have a question. I am having my 2009 VW Routan SEL with the 4.0 and 6 speed dropping into limp mode. It's been increasing in frequency, so I finally took it in to have the codes read etc. The dealer pulled a general solenoid code, and a code for the transmission fluid pressure not being correct. Solenoids seem to be common causes for this from my reading online, so makes sense. 

I originally tried taking it to a Dodge dealer as I had read that's what many Routan people have tried to lean towards doing, and they should obviously know the vehicles better. I got a lot of "Nope, we can't do nothin' with this." Out of them, but insisted they hook it up to their computer and give 'er a scan thinking they were idiots as dealer people often are with weird issues. To my surprise their Dodge system COULD NOT connect to my van like it would with a Dodge/Chrysler. I'm sure they could have pulled basic OBD-II codes, but they do not have full access to the detailed computer info like they would on a Dodge. This surprised me as I read VW dealers had to buy special Dodge systems to deal with the Routan, so I assumed they just used the straight Dodge system... But apparently they tweaked something on the VWs so only the "custom" computer systems made for VW dealers can read the Routan info. Soooooo much stupid I don't even know what to say. So I got the thing scanned at a VW dealer, and that's how I got the errors above.

Anyway, this has made me start wondering if there are in fact parts that are not interchangeable. I would assume not, buuut if they did that level of stupid with the computer, who knows? I could certainly imagine control modules or some such nonsense not working if they tweaked the computer systems to not talk to Dodge systems :/

The VW dealer wanted over $1000 to replace one solenoid (related to pressure, so they think that's what is causing the codes) and closer to $2000 if I wanted them to replace more stuff (whole solenoid pack etc) while they have it open, which would probably be the sensible thing to do since labor SHOULD be the most expensive part of the equation... But they want so much for the parts ($900ish for the whole pack), so much for the labor, it's just insane. Especially when the parts should only be under $100 for the single solenoid, or a few hundred for the whole pack, etc. 

This is too much for me to even contemplate doing myself, but I just can't stomach being fleeced that hard, so I'm thinking of having a good mobile mechanic I've used for years try to tackle it, or possibly find a transmission shop. I just want to know if anybody has actually used Mopar branded valve body parts, tranny solenoids, etc on a Routan. I IMAGINE they're the exact same, but as I said the non ability for Dodge to scan it has weirded me out a bit. If I have my mobile guy do it I need to make sure I'm on point with the parts, and even a local tranny shop may need to be pointed in the right direction since several of the parts are apparently discontinued with VWs part numbers, even though still available from Dodge new! Yay!

Also, if anybody has tackled this before, any tips on the odds and ends I might need besides the solenoids I decide to get replaced? I know there's a gasket set, maybe an o ring set or something I was seeing on parts lists (Maybe $200ish from the VW dealer for misc gaskets etc BTW! Sub $20 part for OEM Mopar gaskets)... The guy at the VW dealership said something about some plastic tubes that need replaced when you're dropping the pan like this? I saw some oil line tubes somewhere I think, but not sure what he meant on that one...

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to at least figure out what I am going to do by Monday so I can order up all the parts online then if I decide to go with having my mobile mechanic guy do it. I am REALLY starting to wish I had just waited until a T&C came up instead of buying the VW with the assumption I could just take it to the local Dodge dealer and everything would be hunky doory. Parts/research, everything has been complicated because it's a stupid VW. Or even if the local Dodge dealership was more cooperative in acknowledging that 99.9% of the parts are the same, and actually being willing to work on it. It's insane that the VW dealer wants to charge more than double the Dodge dealership full list price on some of these parts. Anyway, thanks in advance for any help!


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## routanselman (Aug 4, 2017)

Nobody? I'd really like to save a few hundred bucks by buying the Mopar branded parts, but if nobody has any personal experience here I may just end up buying the VW stuff to be on the safe side. Hopefully somebody who has been through this before will be able to post before I end up having to buy... Fingers crossed...


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

I'm 99.99% sure that Mopar parts would work. When I had my transmission replaced, the VW dealership put in a Mopar unit and left me with the paper-work including warranty information. Mechanically the Routan is 100% Chrysler. The only thing VW about it is the logo/emblem and cosmetics, such as interior/exterior colors and some of the panels and headlight/taillight assemblies, etc.

On the computer thing, the VW dealerships had to purchase the Chrysler STAR scan computer systems to work on the Routans. My understanding (from reading here) is there is a slight software modification or overlay that only allows VW's version of STAR scan to read the Routans ECU, so the Chrysler dealerships cannot work on them. That being said, my independent mobile mechanic works on a lot of Mopar vehicles, and his version of Witech could read my Routan just fine. It even shows as a Dodge/Chrysler on his Witech. Unrelated to transmissions, but he was able to pull some stored data such as wheel speed entries and DTCs that the VW dealership missed when I had taken it to the dealership for diagnostics.

You could also try 1stvwparts.com (Washington state) and VWPartsVortex.com (New Jersey, outside of Philadelphia). The CW here has been that the Chrysler sourced parts are cheaper than VW, but I have found the opposite to be true more times than not. 

You can get a brand new transmission for about $2k (after $800 core is refunded) if you have time to wait on freight shipping. It'd be a few hundred more for shipping/return shipping, and you'd still have labor charges to deal with, but I'd consider that before spending over $2k just to replace the solenoid pack. At least something to discuss with the mobile mechanic.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Also, good time to consider replacing the motor/transmission mounts when the transmission is out. Especially the transmission mount, which is likely to be crushed when the transmission is removed. Or at least others here have reported it to happen when their transmission was replaced, and it happened to me too. And the dealership wants full retail on parts and book rate on labor to replace the transmission mount, even though the transmission is already out and it is the exact same labor involved to re-install the original transmission mount if you decline to replace it.


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## routanselman (Aug 4, 2017)

Zambee500 said:


> I'm 99.99% sure that Mopar parts would work. When I had my transmission replaced, the VW dealership put in a Mopar unit and left me with the paper-work including warranty information. Mechanically the Routan is 100% Chrysler. The only thing VW about it is the logo/emblem and cosmetics, such as interior/exterior colors and some of the panels and headlight/taillight assemblies, etc.
> 
> On the computer thing, the VW dealerships had to purchase the Chrysler STAR scan computer systems to work on the Routans. My understanding (from reading here) is there is a slight software modification or overlay that only allows VW's version of STAR scan to read the Routans ECU, so the Chrysler dealerships cannot work on them. That being said, my independent mobile mechanic works on a lot of Mopar vehicles, and his version of Witech could read my Routan just fine. It even shows as a Dodge/Chrysler on his Witech. Unrelated to transmissions, but he was able to pull some stored data such as wheel speed entries and DTCs that the VW dealership missed when I had taken it to the dealership for diagnostics.
> 
> ...


Thank you VERY MUCH for this response! You have clarified a thing or two. It is sounding like it is just the SCAN blocking/computer system that is different, which jives with my original notion that basically everything is interchangeable other than the cosmetic parts that are different. I had read things like your anecdote of having a straight up Mopar branded tranny put it, and other similar stuff, so assumed it was as simple as ordering parts for a comparable Dodge/Chrysler... Then got confused by the lack of scanability. Glad to know that original assumption is more or less correct! The VW is the best looking out of the lot of them, and most people who don't know think it's cooler because it's a VW too 

In trying to look up these parts I noticed that the solenoid pack alone is actually cheaper from a VW parts dealer than the best priced Mopar I found... As were some other related parts... BUT the whole valve body including the solenoid pack is about $200 cheaper to order Mopar! The VW sites say it is a discontinued part, so that could be part of it too, they just aren't making them for the VW parts networks so the ones floating around still are getting marked up higher?

I think, since the labor is basically the same, I might as well just replace the whole valve body and associated parts while it is cracked open. The fluid looks good (not burned/black, no smell etc), and other than this issue it hasn't been behaving too badly, so I don't think I need to replace the tranny outright at this point... But replacing the whole valve body and all the solenoids for a whopping $80 more in parts seems like a worthwhile "going overboard" expense to me. That way all the solenoids, and other odds and ends parts will be fresh... So if my tranny starts acting up again it will probably be something unrelated.

I'm sure as heck not going to have the dealer do it. I'm no proper mechanic, but I'm not completely clueless either, I can do odds and ends, and know a bit about a lot of basic stuff. I feel sorry for people who get nailed by dealers/shops doing stuff like this to them though who don't know better and just pay. They wanted to charge me something like $800-900 for a part that's $175 online. I mean that's just ridiculous. I know they have to make a buck, which is why them charging $300 versus a cut rate internet retailer would make sense or whatever, but $900ish is not acceptable. What would they have tried to charge for the whole vale body? $1500 for a $275 part??? No thanks.

I'm leaning towards my mobile mechanic guy as he is basically half the labor rate as most shops in my area ($120 an hour is basically standard shop rates for indie shops in Seattle, $140-160+ for dealers if you can believe it!) and he seems confident it shouldn't be too tough a job. He's always done solid work too, so I trust him even with something somewhat important like this. I will probably end up with the whole valve body replaced, and fluids flushed for $600-700 bucks. That I can stomach! The only thing I'm really wondering is if I'll have to pop by the dealer to have them do a reset to have the tranny re-learn initiated. I guess I'll find out.

After I get it done I will come back and post if it was successful or not just in case anybody comes across this thread in the future and finds the info helpful.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

When searching parts online, it helps to cross-reference the same MY for Town & Country and Grand Caravan because if you want OE the mopar parts do not come up when searching for Routan. Many online shops stock Mopar but not VW for OE parts. For example, RockAuto and Amazon. Every Mopar part i have ever purchased has worked for the Routan. 100%. Windshield wiper motor & assembly, PCV valve, spark plug tube seals, ignition coil packs, power steering pressure hose, motor mounts, valve cover gaskets, ABS wheel speed sensor. The transmission itself. I'm sure there have been more, but I know I have purchased Mopar versions of these.

One thing I have noticed when trying to cross reference the part numbers (Mopar to VW OE) is that for some Chrysler vehicles there might be more than one Mopar part that will work, but VW only offers one of the part numbers that corresponds to a Mopar #. Not sure that matters, really. So there may be Mopar parts that would work but there is no VW equivalent.

How many miles do you have? It would be worth going to the VW dealership after you fix the transmission to make sure you have the latest software updates, as well as resetting the transmission learning mode. I don't know the difference between Witech and StarScan, but it might be that can be done with Witech. I think Witech is less expensive and non-dealerships have access to it.


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## routanselman (Aug 4, 2017)

Yeah, before this incident I generally just looked up and ordered parts by looking up Dodge/Chrysler parts. I will continue to do so at this point. For a lot of stuff OEM parts aren't needed, but there are some things I would definitely prefer to go OEM on, certain key components and whatnot. That's an interesting point there though that Mopar has more parts available than VW does. I guess they offered more variants of engine/tranny/trim level options on the D/C versions maybe?

I just cracked 125K miles on this bad boy, I've done about the last 17K since I bought it. I've been meaning to bring it in at some point to have them check the software, but I bet it is up to date because the previous owner had it serviced at a VW dealer who probably would have updated it as stuff came out, and since mine is a 2009 I don't think there have been significant updates for awhile. I will definitely check with my mechanic and see if his scan tool can do the reset, but if I have to go plop down $100 or something at the dealer to do it I can stomach that just fine.

Since you asked about mileage, any maintenance issues in particular you think I should be looking out for in the near future? I believe scheduled maintenance is officially mostly just "check stuff and fix it if it breaks" at this point for quite a number of miles. I know my shocks/struts are getting a little janky, and my starter may be needing replaced soon (doesn't crank on some starts, could be neutral safety switch too though in theory), but other than that it is seeming pretty solid.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Other than the transmission? Lol.

I'm at about 130k now, and both of my front wheel bearing hub assemblies went out in the last 6 months. I didn't realize how noisy it had become on the highway until I replaced the first one, so they were on the way out for quite awhile before the wheel speeds were thrown off in the ECU and I got all sort of CELs. The Chryco front wheel bearings are a known issue and the original factory warranty was extended to 100k miles and a few additional years (now expired) from the original 3 yr/36k mile warranty, so the Chryco OE is junk.

With the 4.0L engine, your timing belt should have been replaced by 102k miles. Along with TB, the water pump and plugs should have also been changed out. If no records of that being done by previous owner, or some sort of sticker in the engine compartment, I would be very nervous. At 8 years, the original TB would have also timed out by now (pretty sure, anyway). I had two misfires and a valve cover leak, so I replaced two of the COPs and valve cover gaskets at the time.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

And the plastic Y-diverter coolant leak issue. You can get the Dorman metal replacement, or the kit that the poster from Chrysler minivan forums sells on ebay with the metal Y-tube. At some point it will leak and the OE plastic replacement is expensive and will only crack again. Check around your EGR valve for pink splatter marks. When the Y-tube first begins to crack the leak only occurs at hot temps, so it evaporates on impact and you won't see coolant leaking to the ground. If you have pink splatter marks around the EGR valve, then you have a leak and you can prepare to replace with quality metal after-market parts, and much cheaper too. The coolant will gum up the EGR valve too, so you may have to replace that if you do have a coolant leak there.


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## routanselman (Aug 4, 2017)

Zambee500 said:


> Other than the transmission? Lol.
> 
> I'm at about 130k now, and both of my front wheel bearing hub assemblies went out in the last 6 months. I didn't realize how noisy it had become on the highway until I replaced the first one, so they were on the way out for quite awhile before the wheel speeds were thrown off in the ECU and I got all sort of CELs. The Chryco front wheel bearings are a known issue and the original factory warranty was extended to 100k miles and a few additional years (now expired) from the original 3 yr/36k mile warranty, so the Chryco OE is junk.
> 
> With the 4.0L engine, your timing belt should have been replaced by 102k miles. Along with TB, the water pump and plugs should have also been changed out. If no records of that being done by previous owner, or some sort of sticker in the engine compartment, I would be very nervous. At 8 years, the original TB would have also timed out by now (pretty sure, anyway). I had two misfires and a valve cover leak, so I replaced two of the COPs and valve cover gaskets at the time.





Zambee500 said:


> And the plastic Y-diverter coolant leak issue. You can get the Dorman metal replacement, or the kit that the poster from Chrysler minivan forums sells on ebay with the metal Y-tube. At some point it will leak and the OE plastic replacement is expensive and will only crack again. Check around your EGR valve for pink splatter marks. When the Y-tube first begins to crack the leak only occurs at hot temps, so it evaporates on impact and you won't see coolant leaking to the ground. If you have pink splatter marks around the EGR valve, then you have a leak and you can prepare to replace with quality metal after-market parts, and much cheaper too. The coolant will gum up the EGR valve too, so you may have to replace that if you do have a coolant leak there.


Thanks for the heads up! I will keep an ear out for the wheel bearing issue, and take a look at the coolant thing too. 

The timing belt has been a bit puzzling issue for me actually. I had a guy look right after I bought it, because I didn't have any firm record of it having been done. There are service records that show on the CarFax from dealer service, including some around the time it should have been done... But they don't indicate the timing belt being done specifically, some entries are generic while others are specific in CarFax, which is kind of annoying. He said it looked like the plugs were newer, and things looked too clean in there to still be original. But then my mobile mechanic guy said the lack of a sticker in there indicating it had been changed, and that some stuff didn't look QUITE NEW ENOUGH to have just been changed got me wondering. My mobile guy only checked it out recently unfortunately because I hadn't been having issues with the van and hadn't had him around. So between their two takes maybe it was changed prematurely (before 102K), so didn't look spankin' new or super old? 

I've been planning on getting the belt and pump changed just to be on the safe side. I will probably do it in a couple weeks actually as I have a few grand extra coming my way. If not for this tranny issue I would be getting that done right now instead, but cash flow wise I gotta do it in this order so I can have it running decently in between. I hate the idea of timing belts honestly, such a bunk concept to have one belt failure that can blow an entire engine. They over build them decently usually as compared to when they say to change them... But if mine is original it is WAY pushing the envelope. The only reason I didn't get it done awhile ago is because the first guy who looked at it said it looked like it had been done. Meh. It hasn't blown on me yet, so hopefully it'll survive the next few miles until I get it done.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

On the wheel bearing, I will say that there was very minimal play when rocking the wheel left-to-right when off the ground. But at highway speed it was sounding similar to when you drive on grooved pavement (like when they've stripped the top-layer before re-paving the highway). It was night & day difference in noise levels after replacing the wheel bearings, and as I said earlier it also fixed the CELs for ABS/Brake/ESP with the differing wheel speeds in the computer run amok.

Remember when your mechanic does the coolant flush with the water pump/timing belt service to use either Zerex G05 or the correct OE coolant from Mopar/VW. Don't let them talk you into Pentosin because it is a VW. Some parts/reference books even say Pentosin is proper for Routan.

I bought my Passat used 2 years old from an independent dealership that had no records on maintenance history. I contacted VWoA and was able to get a copy of the records the dealerships provide to VWoA, which also indicated which dealerships had done the work. I then contacted the two VW dealerships that had performed maintenance and repairs and was able to get copies of invoices, which provided far more detail than what VWoA had in their records. One dealership faxed me the invoices upon request no problem. The other dealership pushed back a bit and forced me to pick the records up in person rather than scan/fax them, and they also wanted to redact all personal information of the previous owner (which I respected). But in the end I got a relatively full maintenance/repair history on my vehicle. FWIW.


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## routanselman (Aug 4, 2017)

Well, as promised for posterity's sake here is my final report:

The Mopar branded parts worked just fine! This is what I figured would be the case before the scan issue, and what I figured would be the case after posts from Routan owners, but it is now 100% confirmed. Also for anybody that ever stumbles across this, after replacing the entire valve body I DID NOT need to have a transmission reset done at the dealership either. It just fired up and ran fine. The tranny is actually shifting a bit better than it ever has since I bought it. It is not doing the occasional harsh downshifts as you're coming to a stop anymore, and the 4-3 downshift (I think it's 4-3) is smoother as well. So this definitely did my ride good! Thanks for the input from owners that helped me decide to buy the Mopar part, it saved me 'round 'bouts $200+ bucks!


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## Iwinandrew (Oct 30, 2018)

Yes. I had to replace mine around 110K. It came from a Chrysler supplier for the East coast. I will get the part number from the invoice and post it later.


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