# 09g to 04a transmission swap



## dieracks (Mar 4, 2012)

I have a Mkv jetta with an 09g tiptronic in it and I have been tossing around the idea of putting a manual trans in it because the 09g is starting to shift like crap and also becasue I miss having a manual gear box. 

My question is if I went with an 04a 5 speed would the swap be worth the time and money or should I just fix the 09g? Also would I need a new ecu for the swap or can a vag com reprogram the transmission control module for the new trans? 

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.


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## antichristonwheels (Jun 14, 2001)

jobber cost on a rebuilt 09G is $4000 from VW/Audi. core is about $900 rebuilt is all that is available and they have to come from VW 

our attempts to have them rebuilt have not been good. kits/parts have been on the market a little over a year 

the valve bodies are alu and huge and will warp more and more over time. 

the fluid to coolant radiator can spring a leak and then it takes a lot of time and cheap fluid to flush the unit. then you can finally fill it with the good stuff. pita 

the 09G is great until it breaks. 

I would not start a swap without having a donor car available because you will need more than the obvious. 

The ECU expects to see the trans controller so you need to hack the ECU to remove it. VAG-COM will not do this. There are other tools available.


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## dieracks (Mar 4, 2012)

Yeah im prettey sure that it is the valve body that's going. When shifting from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to fourth there is what I call a "ghost shift" the rpms drop from around 3000 down to 1500 like a clutch got pushed in then after reaching around 3000 for the second time it finally shifts into the next gear. And randomly when approaching a stop the tranny will downshift really hard, like shake the whole car hard! I dont know how much longer it has but its going. 

I also heard that VW put out an extended warranty on the valve body in those transmissions to 7 year 100,000 miles. Im just shy of the 100,000 mark but with all my mods to the intake and exhaust I dont know if VW would validate the warranty.:banghead:


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## antichristonwheels (Jun 14, 2001)

Damn run to VW and put the monkey on their back. The valve body is one of the few parts they carry for the trans. You got everything to gain.


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## dieracks (Mar 4, 2012)

antichristonwheels said:


> Damn run to VW and put the monkey on their back. The valve body is one of the few parts they carry for the trans. You got everything to gain.


 No luck getting the warranty work. VW denied me because of "engine alterations" which they blamed for the transmission issues, although the transmission has been doing this since I bought the car (pre mods) and that was 3 years ago.  Guess Ill just have to drive it till it dies then buy a wreck with a 5 speed and do the swap. :beer:


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## antichristonwheels (Jun 14, 2001)

They are full of 5hit, and just blowing you off. There is a piece in the trans that is a press fit, a cylinder into a round hole and the fit is too loose: http://www.omegamachine.com/pdf/O9G bushing repair 12-09.pdf

This is a common problem in addition to the valve body.

We have seen plenty of 09G failures on dead stock cars under 100K miles. My wifes TT went at 84K, she drives like a grandmother.

I would press VWoA/BBB on this. Local dealership sees plenty of chipped cars and honors warranty. In our shop we had one kid with K04 blah blah blah and 09G still working fine at 120K.

The dealership is finding an easy excuse to blow smoke. It is heat and time that take out the valve body. It is too big and the shape of it combined with being aluminum, simply will not hold up over time, as demonstrated by the valve body being a service part available at VW and the warranty extension you mentioned.


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## dieracks (Mar 4, 2012)

Yeah I dont know what to do now, car is now over 100,000 after moving across the state  I'm just gonna try another dealer and see what happens.


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## chc-rado (Nov 20, 2008)

dieracks said:


> Yeah I dont know what to do now, car is now over 100,000 after moving across the state  I'm just gonna try another dealer and see what happens.


Find a good dealership. Some small dealers are watching there cost per vin. Yes, $1500 claim is more important than fixing the issue( it's a number game) Also it all depends what kind of shifting your having, if your complain doesn't match what extend warranty covers, no valve body for you. There always calling (crying) to VWOA, GL on your transmission issue. If you have incorrect gear ratios, you need transmission, PERIOD.


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## dieracks (Mar 4, 2012)

No dealer will warranty the trans, and my extended warranty is expired! I guess I'm gonna drive it till it dies then do the swap. I can get a manual trans pretty cheap through my work and the. Just collect the misc parts and swap it out. My only remaining question is will the swap require an ecu swap also of can my existing one be reprogrammed via VAGCOM?


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## chc-rado (Nov 20, 2008)

There will be a few things need to do. As far as parts. You need all the mechanical parts like transmission, axles, etc. As far for ECM, possible recoding could do the trick. You might need manual ECM, still need change the gateway coding for minus the auto transmission also with instrument cluster coding too, possible need non automatic cluster. then you have automatic harness, that might be integrated into engine harness or even the body harness too.


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## dieracks (Mar 4, 2012)

Sounds like it would be cheaper to just get a used auto and just swap that :laugh:


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## antichristonwheels (Jun 14, 2001)

if you can bring it to Nashville TN, German Performance has done several of these swaps and knows how to fix the electronics pretty easily.


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## Issam Abed (Feb 12, 2004)

antichristonwheels said:


> They are full of 5hit, and just blowing you off.


Unfortunately they are not. 


"No luck getting the warranty work. VW denied me because of "engine alterations""

Once Volkswagen makes the call that your vehicle warranty is void , does not matter which dealership he goes to as his VIN is now registered with Volkswagen and essentially becomes flagged.

We just went through a very similar situation . 
MKV GLI - vehicle only has a CHIP. Customer took his car in to get the hood covered under warranty (a little bubbling forming) at one dealership (instead of the usual one we all use for bodywork). When the vehicle came out , it was flagged for T10 & T23 codes. Nothing could be done to reverse the process and he is no longer covered any sort of warranty.


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