Automatic transmissions tend to be the weak points on quite a lot of vehicles. Don't use them, and your vehicle will last a lot longer.
Already covered that. Non-starter.
And nowadays, I'd very much disagree with you on a number of large vehicles doing towing, as would the manufacturers who won't warranty the manual transmission for heavy towing operations.
Automatics got a lot better since we were kids back when there weren't any computers, and we played with dirt outside for fun.
Doesn't matter. If you missed the post saying it wasn't happening, it was there.
VWs tend to use weird fluids for everything, and people get cheap and put "normal" stuff in them, and then it fails. When I got my '90 Jetta, the cooling system was filled with green stuff. I had to change every hose.
True, and definitely not the problem here, since the transmission is essentially "sealed". There isn't even a dipstick on these things.
The last person to see my transmission fluid on Transmission #2 was the tech at the VW Dealer who put it in there via the plug on top of the case. To properly change the fluid on this transmission not only requires getting at it from underneath and filling it to a particular drain plug (similar to a differential), but you MUST reset settings in the vehicle's computer. (DIY'ers and some non-dealer shops typically use VagCom, the dealer has their own proprietary toys.)
There is NO recommended service interval for this transmission.
For the guy who likes Fords so much, I have four letters for you. 4A-FE. And E4AT, as well.
I haven't said I like Fords... and there's definitely some issues with various "slushbox" American transmissions, but there's another factor with them too...
The parts to completely rebuild them are dirt cheap. I can't think of an American pickup truck that you can't rebuild the transmission for less than $1000, and with a little work, install it yourself in an afternoon. It's a seriously sucky job, and it helps a lot if you have a buddy with a lift... but the stuff is dirt-simple to repair. Tedious and fussy replacing all the little parts, so a lot smarter to let someone who does it every day, do them, but they do... and have them sitting on shelves ready to bolt on... finding parts and rebuilt trannys isn't difficult at all.
But I definitely never said I like Fords.
For the problem at hand, with hard-shifting problems, make sure the computer has a good vacuum reading. If you have a big vacuum leak, sometimes the PCM thinks you've floored the throttle and it downshifts.
Not how the VW "tiptronic" transmission works at all, but thanks for the bad info. Nor does the VW rely on vacuum for throttle position in the TDI. In fact, the car would be pretty hard to drive without the throttle position sensor on the pedal working, since the throttle position is 100% "drive by wire" in the TDI Jetta. No linkage from the pedal to the engine at all. And if the vacuum or other items didn't match the TPI sensor, there'd be a lot more codes and a lot more complaining by the computers than there is on ours.
Google "VW Jetta Transmission Hard Shift" and spend a few hours reading. It's a bad design, which is very clear if you read the years and years of complaints on virtually every major automotive website.
Almost NONE of them make it past 150K miles. MOST die around 100K miles.
I've had two die now before making it to 70K miles. Goodie, I got to be the unlucky guy with transmissions at the bottom of the bell curve. Oh well.
It's as bad as typing in GM Instrument Cluster Failure into Google... and that was a recall. The difference there was, the car was still drivable, and the fix is $30 worth of servos and two hours soldering.
It doesn't hurt to flush the fluid and inspect the magnets and replace the filter, as long as you refill with the correct fluid. If the fluid looks like crap (i.e., battleship gray), replace it twice, as the torque converter will hold multiple quarts.
Not how VW transmissions are designed to be maintained, but again... feel free to read up. They have NO recommended service interval. NONE.
The transmission is pretty much designed to grenade before it'll need fluid.
They're sealed up and if they're filled properly at installation, they're supposed to run at least 100K miles on a single fluid change. Most VW mechanics will say 100K miles / 7 years.
Frankly judging my the online enthusiast sites, and remember these are people who LIKE their Jettas, especially TDI fanatics... If they make it to 100K miles, you got full life out of the transmission, and it's likely that they're not going to make it through the second 100K miles, so it matters very little.
One of the most popular things to do in these vehicles at enthusiast sites is to swap out the Automatic for the Manual, since it fits... again, showing that enthusiasts know the Autos are junk.
Electronic transmissions can also shift hard due to electrical faults, and these are much cheaper to repair than replacing the transmission, as long as the tech involved knows his butt from a hole in the ground.
That's exactly what's wrong with ours. It's a solenoid problem, and even reported itself to the main computer (which is inside the stereo, of all stupid places to put it) after the third slam-shift when I was driving it.
The code was confirmed by the dealer pulling the transmission apart and checking the solenoid reported, when they called to give me that info this morning. It was dead. $325 in labor to get at it. $1500 to fix it.
There's also been recalls of the valve body in recent years on this transmission.
Being that this is the second transmission, there's a good likelihood that the second one is in the serial numbers of the recall, but... VW only recalled the ones installed on new vehicles.
VW did not recall if the transmission was purchased new and hung on an older car. Which is where "Transmission #2" is at. Same problems, no recall. 1 year, 10K warranty on new trannys from VW of America, period. Nothing more.
Even funnier, the tech working on our car had the exact same failure on his own car.
His service manager has been overly careful to say: "This may not fix all of the problems", and I understand why -- once bad things start happening inside a transmission, other stuff gets destroyed pretty easily. And these transmissions are particularly fragile. THEY KNOW IT or they wouldn't have her reading from that script... hahaha...
The newly redesigned transmission did away with the torque converter on the new Auto, and their design for the DSG "clutchless" manual has a dual-plate flywheel, which is also the subject of a quiet "non-recall"... the original flywheels were totally out of whack at very short mileage intervals and it was redesigned and quietly replaced with a new part number.
Which is pretty much how VW fixes everything... redesign it in the field, don't tell anyone you changed it for fear they'll realize they were originally sold junk that was designed wrong, and charge 'em up the wazoo for the new part when the original fails to fix it.
VW of America is notorious for not recalling or fixing much of anything known to be a problem, unless forced to by NHTSA, and NHTSA doesn't care if your drivetrain disintegrates internally.
Another thing that kills these transmissions is an overheated engine or cooling system failure. This is fatal; you'll need a transmission rebuild. But the symptom is usually a slipping transmission, not hard shifting.
This sounds a lot like you're describing American transmissions, like the ones common in GM(C) vehicles in the 80's. Low fluid, heating issues, etc... those slushboxes had their faults, and you're giving good advice for those.
These transmissions on the VWs are a completely different animal. I'm sure VW would say they're "better", but I can limp an American slushbox along for years once I know it's starting to go... these just up and quit, because they're not built to be sloppy.
For good or for bad, they just fail. If they'd put a little extra design effort into them, maybe they'd do that up around 200K miles instead of 100K miles. They're cheap.
