# 05 2.5L auto hard shift 1st and 2nd



## Smashed Ixnay (Mar 5, 2010)

My sister has a 2005 Jetta 2.5L automatic and it's started to shift hard between 1st and 2nd gear. We haven't noticed it in other gears, but it's a rough shift. It has no warranty and the dealer said it could be the vavle body ($1400) or tranny ($4500-$5500).
Her husband wants to just trade it in for a new car, but she doesn't want anymore payments, so she asked me if I could get some help in the situation. He doesn't want to pay for the valve body and a week later the tranny go out b/c then he is going to waste $6000-$7000 and hope it's fixed then. He does alot of mechanic work, but said he isn't touching that tranny. 
Do you think it's the valve body? Is it worth it to pay the $1400? Should we keep calling around other small VW shops to see how much they charge or for a diagnostics?
I would truly appreciate any help b/c atm he wants to go Saturday to look. She wouldn't mind a new car, but if it's around $1000 she rather pay that.


----------



## rob454 (Sep 18, 2009)

*Re: 05 2.5L auto hard shift 1st and 2nd (Smashed Ixnay)*

I wonder if cleaning your valve body will fix your issue. There is someone on this forum that has a guide on cleaning the valve body. Someone should be able to chime in about this.


----------



## vince557 (Feb 18, 2006)

*FV-QR*

my 08 seems to do that 1st to 2nd does shift hard and jerky


----------



## Unilateral Phase Detractor (Aug 23, 2005)

*Re: 05 2.5L auto hard shift 1st and 2nd (Smashed Ixnay)*

Generally I would not recommend going to the dealer for this kind of service provided you can find a repair shop that specializes in European cars. The prices you quoted are about 30% higher than they should be.
First off, try changing the transmission fluid. Its relatively inexpensive and might fix the problem.
If that doesn't work, I would actually recommend replacing the valve body. I've seen a bunch of other people with problems and nobody has had to replace the entire unit yet. 
Also, how many miles are on the car?


----------



## drivera717 (Apr 4, 2010)

*Re: FV-QR (vince557)*

When mine is cold it jerks a bit, but once it warms up not a problem.


----------



## jtrujillo86 (Aug 21, 2005)

classicjetta said:


> Generally I would not recommend going to the dealer for this kind of service provided you can find a repair shop that specializes in European cars. The prices you quoted are about 30% higher than they should be.
> First off, try changing the transmission fluid. Its relatively inexpensive and might fix the problem.
> If that doesn't work, I would actually recommend replacing the valve body. I've seen a bunch of other people with problems and nobody has had to replace the entire unit yet.
> Also, how many miles are on the car?


 I agree with all of this. Start small and move your way up. A fluid flush could help alleviate the problem. If not, replace the valve body. There have been a handful of people on the Vortex who have had this done and it seems to remedy the issue. 

- Jeremy.


----------



## sportndubs (Apr 6, 2005)

does she have a CEL light on? if so get a print out on what shows up? if just a speed sensor shows up your good, or decent to say. Because all you have to do is buy the speed sensor which is about $120. Drop the oil, drop the valve body, and there you will see the sensors. There is two of them there is only one that is faulty, faulty meaning VW upgraded it but didn't make a recall, I asked if there was a recall because if a part is working just fine why would a company upgrade it, but anyways. I'll try to find the part number for you I have it around because I had to do the same thing I just described. Hope I am of some help.


----------



## cyyz (Apr 5, 2009)

Hi, 

I have an 06 Jetta 2.5L with 6 speed AT. I think I have a similar situation here. The car is jerky when it goes from 1st to 2nd shift. My impression is that it sounds like gears slip in the tranny box, not sure if it's a correct description. But since there's no CEL lights or anything and car's running fine otherwise, the car's sill under the warranty, does dealership would fix it or i have to pay out of my own pocket? 
Do you guys have any idea what the problem is? Thanks in advance.


----------



## Leia_ (Feb 4, 2011)

My son's car was doing the same thing. He took it in for the valve body replacement (as diagnosed by the VW dealership's service department) and now the car is un-drivable. 70,000 miles. Drove it in - now it's salvage material.


----------



## rabbitransit (Feb 18, 2007)

Leia_ said:


> My son's car was doing the same thing. He took it in for the valve body replacement (as diagnosed by the VW dealership's service department) and now the car is un-drivable. 70,000 miles. Drove it in - now it's salvage material.


Can you elaborate a little more? 
If you brought it in for the repair and they worked on it, then they are bound to a contract and have to warranty the work. They must fix the car.


----------



## define your self (May 23, 2009)

my father has ab auto 07 and got a recall letter.... try contacting vwoa


----------



## jaso028 (Aug 12, 2007)

define your self said:


> my father has ab auto 07 and got a recall letter.... try contacting vwoa


ditto.. 
we have been complaining about it to the dealer since 05' but eveytime we take it there they cant feel it... 
It is the valve body not the trans.. We received a letter in the mail to apply for an extended warranty for this issue... not a recall though... you might want to check that letter... 

but otherwise like stated I would contact VWOA... 

we actually have the car set for another appointment @ another dealer to have the car looked @ for this issue.. so we figure if we keep bringing it back eventually it will raise a flag.... or we will have ot contact VWOA to try to get this resolved.... 

the car we have does it from 2nd to 3rd on the upshift... but when its downshifting it does it from 3rd to 2nd then 2nd to 1st... 
I have managed to smooth out the jerking feeling by adding a trans mount insert when she bought the car. plus u changed the shift points with VAG-COM... so it shifts higher up in the RPM band and then we dont feel it as much...


----------



## jaso028 (Aug 12, 2007)

heres a tad bit more info.... 

Aisin, the trans manufacturer, is aware of the harsh 2nd - 3rd shift and surging upon coasting with light acceleration. They made a better TCC valve/plunger. Sonnax is the distributor (but they won't sell to you) find a local trans shop. $80 for valve "kit" and ~$250 for some reaming bit to smooth out the valve bore.


----------



## Leia_ (Feb 4, 2011)

I hope I'm posting this in the right forum.

My son has a 2006 Jetta (2.5L 150 HP 6-speed automatic Tiptronic).

He bought it used with 54,000 miles and it was hard shifting during the two test drives but the salesperson gave my ex and son the old "VWs shift hard" line. 

In December he rec'd the warranty extension letter on the valve body and the VW dealership diagnosed the problem as being the valve body. How they do this, I don't know. After spending hours reading these forums and other online forums I would assume it was via a code error but perhaps it was based on the driving performance of the vehicle. 

Anyway, they ordered the new valve body - put it in - he drives it back home (about 30 miles) and before he can get it in the driveway it's acting worse than it had before - to the point that it has to be towed back to the dealership - upon which time they diagnosed it as needing a new transmission. Of course, they don't do anything with transmissions other than replace them. 

They did tell him there were metal shavings in the pan, etc. but I've emailed with a VW independent repair shop owner who has said this is, to a degree, normal. 

I'm really curious about this mention of a TCC Control Plunger Valve Assembly and whether or not this is an alternative to a complete transmission replacement. The best price we have on a replacement is $2800 - on a vehicle with 71,000 miles. This is on a used transmission out of a wrecked vehicle. 

I've tried to get a straight answer out of both VW of America and the actual dealership (VW) that did the work as to whether or not this new valve body is redesigned or just a replacement of the same (piece of crap) design that was in there before. 

They really are clueless or they do not want to openly admit to it being a redesigned product. VWofA says "ask the dealer," the dealer says "I'll ask one of my guys" *clomps off - returns to the phone* "the guys who've been putting them in say they _look_ different." :banghead:

I just want to see this car fixed to the point of being drivable and from there on I'll pray because from all I've read - there's not much else that works with Volkswagens! 

I was under the impression the original valve body was made by Aisin. His car now has this mysterious "new" valve body. What I'm wondering is if it would be best to have the non-dealer mechanic put in the new (wrecked) transmission using the mysterious "new" valve body the dealer put in last week - or if that's just asking for trouble. 

The valve body problem seems to be inherent to VWs so I really don't want to see the same "bad" valve body going in (in the 17,000 mile wrecked version). 

I copied and pasted an excellent post from a Beetle site regarding the VW pistons being too hard for the non-alloy Aisin valve body, thereby increasing the chance for metal shavings/wear and tear. I read this over the phone to the customer care rep with VW of America - you can imagine how far that got me: (nowhere)

I'm trying to avoid having to fly back there (from CA to the Louisville area) to have to help coordinate this situation. The dealer charges $5500 for a re-worked transmission - $3500 for a "used" transmission - and this repair shop with a good reputation is quoting $2800. 

IF there is a fix that would work with the TCC Control Plunger Valve Assembly I would be absolutely thrilled - of course, VW will not even work on their own transmissions. 

Lovely.


----------



## Leia_ (Feb 4, 2011)

rabbitransit said:


> Can you elaborate a little more?
> If you brought it in for the repair and they worked on it, then they are bound to a contract and have to warranty the work. They must fix the car.


Oops, sorry - I missed this. I didn't realize anyone had replied to me on this subject. I posted about it on another thread and am not yet used to the forum structure here (I need to bookmark the threads on which I've posted).

The repair was a result of the December 2010 extended warranty on the valve body campaign. He rec'd the letter, he took it in for diagnosis, they said, yes, it is the valve body, they replaced it, they told him they didn't think they were going to get it repaired but they did, he drove it off - and by the time he had gotten it home it was acting far worse than it ever had before! Vibrating to the point of coming to a complete stop at a stoplight! VW towed it back there the following Monday (they had it Thursday and Friday) and they couldn't even reproduce the problem (this seems to be a well-known VW practice "sorry, we can't reproduce it so it doesn't exist - buh bye"). 

I called the mechanic and asked him if he would drive it home or at least take it for an extended test drive. After 30 minutes they were finally able to reproduce it and said (without further ado or checking) "it needs a new transmission - that will be $5500, thank you very much."


----------



## jaso028 (Aug 12, 2007)

I feel your pain here... 
we are very skeptical about bringing her car in for the valve body.. I am hearing horror story’s like yours with people who have brought it in and are having issues with the car working properly! 

Her previous car was a MKIV 1.8 w a 5spd. she had some shifting issues.. she brings the car in the Mechanic there says she needs a new trans... so they replace it.. the so called new trans was a POS!!! 3 weeks later back in for another trans cause she had no 3rd and 4th!! 
they were no help there either.. needless to say that why she got the MKV... 
car is great otherwise 05.5 with package 1 and dual zone climate control.. pretty rare to come across these days... 

I just don’t understand how and why you are stuck with the bill? 
this is obviously a problem they are well aware of and instead of issuing a recall on this problem, they send you a warranty extension letter with hopes that 70% of the people will not fill it out and then you will have to foot the bill!! but in your case you are footing it @ this point... 

Its just BS to have to go through with this...


----------



## jaso028 (Aug 12, 2007)

Leia_ said:


> and they couldn't even reproduce the problem (this seems to be a well-known VW practice "sorry, we can't reproduce it so it doesn't exist - buh bye").


So ****ing true!! LOL


----------

