# Transmission Problems



## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Starting a new thread so as not to threadjack another thread. Original comment:

My transmission met the grim reaper Saturday evening at 99,980 on the odo and (get this) 2.5 weeks after extended warranty expired. Had it towed to the dealership Monday morning, but still haven't heard back yet on status. It had stored 2 codes but no CEL:

(1) P083B Transmission Fluid Pressure Sensor
(2) P0733 Incorrect 3rd Gear Ratio


Also now has significant whining noise from inside when engine is running. It failed on me when I was leaving a stop light - van sputtered, clunked, and then tachometer revved to 4k and no propulsion forward. I took foot off accelerator to let RPMs settle down, and then gently added gas and got going enough to go from 1st to 2nd and then same thing happened again. Then I gently babied it into the parking lot across the street.

The only real symptoms leading up to failure was a rough shift from 2nd to 3rd (possibly it was 3rd to 4th??) when the transmission was cold soon after the first start-up of the day. After the clunk-shift, it worked fine from then on out for the day. I've had that issue for the past 30-40k miles though and had the dealership look at it 2 or 3 times when they had the van in for other recall or warranty work, and they always said either 'could not duplicate problem' or 'transmission operating normally'. I did have the transmission serviced with new fluid at around 70k miles and that didn't help the rough cold shift problem. The rough clunk upshift did seem to get a bit worse in recent weeks and would sometimes happen the first 2 or 3 times up-shifting through the gears before fully warming up, whereas before that it would only happen the 1st time shifting through for the day. That was really the only indication that it was getting any worse.

Will report back after dealership diagnoses and recommends repairs. Hoping it's repairable but fearing the dealership will recommend whole transmission R&R. And I'm bracing for price quote, as OEM reman transmissions seem to be priced all over the place from the online dealerships ($1800-$4500 just for reman unit).


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## 58kafer (Jun 27, 2007)

I saw the receipt for our teams at the dealer. $4,300. We had codes stored, basically the codes we had were grenade. I don't think they know anything else. I still wonder if I took it to an actual trans shop if their diagnosis would have been different. Fingers crossed you only need some shift solenoids. Other than that my only advise, grease up cause it could be painful.

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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

I found at least two dealerships online that had the whole transmission (reman units) showing list price $2600 and selling them online for between $1800-$1950. Then other dealerships had prices above $3k and well into the $4k range (I saw one at $4750). All were reman OEM units. I just don't understand the price discrepancy. I remember looking at it several months ago and mopar had some in the $1700s that included new torque converter.

Wonder what the book time is for R&R. Let's say $1900 for a reman unit and $100 in ATF+4 if a new unit doesn't come factory-filled. That still shouldn't be $4300. I don't doubt the veracity of what you're saying '58, but just seems way too high for what the dealership parts are actually going for. It's not a $2300 labor job.

The service advisor said they had a Routan in a few weeks ago that had 1st and 2nd given up the ghost, and it ended up only needing a new valve body and it's been running fine ever since (owner drives it daily for work). Seems like a good sign that this particular dealership at least looked at repairing failed parts as opposed to just saying the whole transmission needed R&R. So here's hoping....


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Spot-on, 58Kaker. So the dealership said it had to be replaced (really couldn't explain why very well, other than to say it wasn't the valve body and it wasn't otherwise repairable). The service advisor quoted me $4200 out the door, as if they were cutting me a deal off the "regular" price. I suspect they will throw in some shop fees and taxes and it gets rounded up to just around the standard price of $4300. List price on reman unit is $2611.21 and they wouldn't budge to match other dealerships prices at Burlington VW (VWPartsVortex.com) for $1900 or Auburn VW (1stVWParts.com) for $1850. They know they have me over a barrel. And book rate is apparently 15 hours so at $115/hour that is $1725 labor charge. I was told by parts dept. that the reman unit includes ATF and new TC, so it's just a plug & play R&R and maybe a top-up on ATF after it's up and running again.

It can be done *much* cheaper for someone who is able to plan for it or handle logistics. An indie shop installing a genuine OEM VW reman part should be able to get the parts for $500-$600 less, and non-dealership labor rate should be $200-$500 less too. And if you could find a shop that charges actual hourly time instead of book rate, it'd be another few hundred less too, as it's not a 15 hour job.

Our Rout stranded us 600 miles from home and I'm stuck 8-10 hour drive away in a $300/wk rental car with the clock ticking, so I don't really have time for it and I have to pay the convenience penalty. I also have no reference for local reputable indie shops, so having to rely on dealership and it's really the only way to functionally get any sort of warranty on the job. Plus the $800 core charge complicates things if I were to source parts elsewhere and have them install it as they won't work with me on the core refund either if it's not purchased from their parts department (even though the core gets shipped to VWoA and core refund ultimately comes from VWoA).

Just had the timing belt and plugs done before our trip so I guess I'm good for another 100k miles on the major stuff. Too bad this didn't all happen 3 weeks ago whilst still under warranty. Oh well. Doo-doo occurs.


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## 58kafer (Jun 27, 2007)

Ok, now if you feel a vibration at idle in gear that wasn't there before you're going to need the front mount. They're gonna be lazy and not support the engine properly and it will tear the rubber. I went thru it already so watch out for it.

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## Chedman13 (May 30, 2012)

Sorry to hear. I bet the mopar part number is cheaper than the vw rebranded one too.

For kicks you can call your dodge and see how much it would have cost there for a full replacement.

I was lucky to have mine replaced under warranty.

My new transmission whistles, my old one didn't.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Didn't mean to go AWOL on this thread; I guess I wanted to bury my head in the sand and not think about it.

So sure enough the $4200 turned into $4400. They added 6 liters/quarts of ATF at list price even though the replacement transmission was supposed to come full of fluid per their parts manager. Plus shop fees and tax.

They charged me full list price for everything and book rate at full labor rate, and wouldn't come off of that pricing even after asking and referencing other VW dealerships' parts pricing. They knew they had me over a barrel being 600 miles away, and I guess that's fine. It's a price premium I knew I was going to face. What leaves a sour taste in my mouth is that they lied to me rather than just saying they were doing it at list/book. At first the "service adviser" told me it was a $5000+ job but they were going to do it for $4200 after talking to his service manager who agreed that they would take a haircut on the labor as "a friend to [me]". According to him, the transmission alone was $3500. After I did some calling around and found it elsewhere for $1900 at a VW dealership I called them back to see if they could come off that price. No. I then called the same dealership's parts dept. and gave them the part number and he comes back saying "that's a good part number and it is $2600". "Funny, your service dept. quoted me $3500." I'm put on hold and then within a few minutes my call waiting lights up from the service dept. After a bunch of mea culpas and apologies, the service adviser confirms $2600 is correct price for the parts. So I say that should bring the total price down to $3300-ish. No. It's still $4200. :screwy: Book rate/list price. Just blowing smoke up my butt.

I did get a call in the middle of the job saying all 3 motor mounts were trashed asking me if I wanted them to take care of it while they were in there. I think he said at an additional $860 or some insane amount. It doesn't vibrate idling in gear, but there is a bit of bouncing feeling between about 68-75 mph. I had the tires rebalanced and that helped some, but not completely, so perhaps that is related to motor mounts. Something I will have my _trusted_ mechanic take a look at next time it's in for servicing.


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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Also, VWoA offers the typical 12k/12months warranty on the job performed by VW dealerships. Standard VWoA dealership warranty. I had seen on the Chrysler minivan forums that Chryco dealerships offer 3 year warranty. The VW mechanic left the Mopar warranty card on my passenger seat (unbeknownst to the service adviser) and the warranty card is 3 years / 100k miles. That's for parts & labor if installed at a Dodge/Chrysler dealership and parts only if installed at an independent shop. I don't know if Mopar would honor it though (even for parts only) because it says "when installed on a Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, SRT, Fiat, Plymouth, or Eagle vehicle". They would probably deny coverage on a VW vehicle, although I think there is some fighting you could do since the face-plate inside the door jamb says manufactured by Chrysler LLC. It's a "Chrysler...vehicle" and says so right there on the door, notwithstanding the glue-on emblems on the hood and tailgate.

Other thoughts:
Van drives much more smoothly. Not sure how much that is the new transmission, or the relearning feature reset in the computer. Or both. The service manager (not adviser) did say my van had the most recent software update before they replaced my transmission, and reassured me that everything was current. He also said that improvements were made to the transmission since 2009 and that I have a much stronger transmission than what the van left the assembly line with 5 years ago. I think that was more smoke blowing though (nicest way to put it).

Based on what I've read elsewhere, I think the transmission learning feature should be reset annually as part of preventive maintenance. That is my plan.


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## audiophiliac (May 22, 2004)

Ouch! $4400 eh? I am looking forward with dread to the day I have to replace my tranny. I will definitely go with an indie shop or even try the chrysler dealer. Either one is likely to be less than $4400. It is not really a $4400 job. I did go through the same pricing wars with my parts dept. recently. ABS controller has gone out. They quoted me $380 for the part, and $145 labor I think. I got online and found the part at other VW dealers for $260. I emailed the service manager and asked if they would match the price, and he happily obliged. SO the estimate was dropped over $120 just by me asking nicely.


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