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2005 beetle 6speed trans shifting problem :(

21143 Views 12 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  jfoj
I want to cry. :( I bought my dream car 3 months ago, I love it so much but it's been more like a nightmare than a dream since I got it. It's a 2005 2.0 automatic tiptronic 6 speed, I got it with 89k miles on it. Got it checked out by a mechanic and he said it was in good condition, just had to have the timing belt changed. A month later the starter died on me, that was over $500. Now I've starting getting that shifting problem when I've been driving it for about 10-15 mins that I've seen mentioned on this forum (it jerks when shifting gears, then yesterday when it tried to go into third gear it just went whrrrrrrrr and I had to let go of the accelerator, thought the car was gonna stall on me. Scary). Took it to my mechanic yesterday and he told me that the transmission is finished, that I need to get a new tranny. :( I just bought it 3 months ago, I'm so upset. He didn't get any error codes when he plugged in his diagnostic took. He doesn't specialise in VWs so he told me to take it to a VW dealer and ask them to verify that it's not the transmission fluid (and to see if their reader gets any codes from it), but he says he's 99% sure it's the transmission.

So I'm going to the VW dealer tmw, I'm just here for advice please. This is my very first car, I'm not knowledgable about cars but I'm trying to learn a crash course here. From reading posts here on this forum, could it be the body valve in the transmission? So if I told them this and asked them to replace just the body valve, would they take me seriously? Apologies for my n00b status, I'm just very sad that this has happened. I paid $5000k for the car, I can't afford to pay the same again for a new transmission. Any advice would be so welcome, thank you.
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Does your shifter have a silver band with the letters DSG on it? If it does you have a DSG trans. $5k to get a new one in my car last year. If it is a regular 6 speed auto you should be able to get rebuilt and a reman valve body for around $3500+/_. Look up on the site for a VW guru in your area. These cars have issues with their valve bodies.
Lurches forward (bucks) while downshifting

I can totally relate. WE bought my daughter a 2005 convertible beetle bug. It had 85,000 on it when we purchased it. The problems started with it shifting hard (especially downshifting) We kept taking it in to get checked, but was told they couldn't get it to happen and everything is fine. Well, after about 6 months of that intermittent problem the transmission went bad. We had it rebuilt and spend $3,800 in the process. It worked for about 6 months and now it's starting to shift hard again!!! Engine light came on. We were told it was an 02 sensor and Mass Air Flow sensor. They said this would cause it to buck. Had it home 1 day, engine light on and a horrible sound. There was a hose loose (which I believe could have caused a fictitious reading on the MAF, but of course they deny that). Since we have purchased this vehicle we have replaced the water pump, radiator, window mechanism, transmission, MAF & 02 sensors, timing belt, rotors, brakes, tires. Both headrests in the backseat blew off when the top was down. I am beyond sick that it is starting to buck again. We have so much money invested ($7,700 for the car and at least that in repairs) and can't believe that nobody can figure out what is causing this. I'm sure its only a matter of time before the transmission fails again. HELP!!!
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You need a new valve body to fix your hard shifting. I'm sure the trans as a whole is just fine. I have experience with this on out old 05 NBC 1.8T with the 09G trans. It sounds like your mechanic sucks.


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Sorry to hear that you did not find out the valve bodies and soleoids have issues on all the automatics as early as 70k miles.

The question is was the valve body ever reworked??? If not this is the key problem are with these transmissions. The warmer the fluid, the worse the shifting. Usually when the fluid is cold the trans shifts ok.
When they rebuilt our transmission they did "re-condition the valve body". Ours shifts very hard when going 3 to 2 2 to 1, but usually only when cold. The other day it would not shift from 3 to 4 without us letting up on the gas. This is how it started the last time, which resulted in the rebuilding of the transmission. Once it warms up, however, it runs fine? Before getting the tranmission worked on, it was the opposite. It would shift worse when warm.......
95% of all shifting problems are due to valve body or solenoid issues. The valve body is the controller for all things in the transmission.

You need to get the trans back to the shop the reworked it, but also does the shop that reworked the transmission really know what they are doing?
I can totally relate. WE bought my daughter a 2005 convertible beetle bug. It had 85,000 on it when we purchased it. The problems started with it shifting hard (especially downshifting) We kept taking it in to get checked, but was told they couldn't get it to happen and everything is fine. Well, after about 6 months of that intermittent problem the transmission went bad. We had it rebuilt and spend $3,800 in the process. It worked for about 6 months and now it's starting to shift hard again!!! Engine light came on. We were told it was an 02 sensor and Mass Air Flow sensor. They said this would cause it to buck. Had it home 1 day, engine light on and a horrible sound. There was a hose loose (which I believe could have caused a fictitious reading on the MAF, but of course they deny that). Since we have purchased this vehicle we have replaced the water pump, radiator, window mechanism, transmission, MAF & 02 sensors, timing belt, rotors, brakes, tires. Both headrests in the backseat blew off when the top was down. I am beyond sick that it is starting to buck again. We have so much money invested ($7,700 for the car and at least that in repairs) and can't believe that nobody can figure out what is causing this. I'm sure its only a matter of time before the transmission fails again. HELP!!!
Where did you get the transmission rebuilt? VW transmissions are very specialized and most regular transmission shops don't have the proper equipment to work or rebuild a VW transmission. More than likely there was nothing wrong with the actual transmission itself but rather the troublesome valve body that have weak solenoids that start leaking. I would ask them what they did to the valve body itself. By their term "Reconditioning" did they just look it over and clean it up and stick it back on their so called "Rebuild transmission" or did they actually test all of the 6 solenoids and check them for proper operation? More than likely they didn't since you are starting to have the same issues as before. As Jfoy already mentioned in 95% (I would go even further and say 98.999%) of the time it isn't the transmission but the valve body that is at fault.
Also after they put the transmission and valve body back on your car did they do a factory transmission reset? This is very important and unless they specialize in VAG type vehicles they probably didn't have the proper equipment to do so. More than likely you spent way too much for a repair that wasn't performed properly and ended you up in the same place where you started. I would take it back to the shop and demand a refund.
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No need for software or to "reset" adaptations. I had my valve body reworked and it just took about 20 miles running around town for everything to get happy. The first 5 miles made the biggest difference, BUT you need to make sure this 5 miles the trans shifted as much as possible.

Clearing adaptations with software save repair staff time to make sure the repairs were effective, but not required.

The 09G is solid except for the valve body or anyone that does not address the valve body in a timely manner. Like anything YMMV and there can be outlier problems, but most 09G 6 speed Tiptronic transmission issues are valve body and solenoid related.
That is exactly what we are worried about! At this point i'm pretty convinced it was the valve body that everyone was misdiagnosing. So we spent $3800 on a rebuilt transmission with the original problem still existing. We have no choice but to take it back to the transmission shop that rebuilt the tranny and reconditioned the valve body to give them a chance to make it right. This will be our 4th time returning it to them complaining that it is still not right. Our next phone call will be BBB and then my lawyer.....
That is exactly what we are worried about! At this point i'm pretty convinced it was the valve body that everyone was misdiagnosing. So we spent $3800 on a rebuilt transmission with the original problem still existing. We have no choice but to take it back to the transmission shop that rebuilt the tranny and reconditioned the valve body to give them a chance to make it right. This will be our 4th time returning it to them complaining that it is still not right. Our next phone call will be BBB and then my lawyer.....
Sad situation, most of the problems with the 09G trans are all valve body and solenoid issues.

The shop owes you are valve body that works. Did they "really" rework the valve body? Do they have the tools, training and experience with the VW valve bodies?

There are usually 2-3 spool valve bores that wear in the the valve body that need to be reamed and oversize spool valves installed.

Sometimes spring break and need to be replaced.

Solenoids wear and need to be repaired/replaced.

Do not let this shop off the hook, either they short it once and for all or they pay for someone to correct their mistake.

Print this thread and take it to the shop manager. If he needs an education, I will be happy to explain to him the history and what goes on with these valve bodies, this has been a "known" issue for over 8 years, this is nothing new.
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Sad situation, most of the problems with the 09G trans are all valve body and solenoid issues.

The shop owes you are valve body that works. Did they "really" rework the valve body? Do they have the tools, training and experience with the VW valve bodies?

There are usually 2-3 spool valve bores that wear in the the valve body that need to be reamed and oversize spool valves installed.

Sometimes spring break and need to be replaced.

Solenoids wear and need to be repaired/replaced.

Do not let this shop off the hook, either they short it once and for all or they pay for someone to correct their mistake.

Print this thread and take it to the shop manager. If he needs an education, I will be happy to explain to him the history and what goes on with these valve bodies, this has been a "known" issue for over 8 years, this is nothing new.
Thank you so much for all your help! The shop who rebuilt the transmission has agreed to replace the Valve Body and also renew the 1 year warranty. I printed this thread and many, many others all with the same problem as my car. I think they know there is a good chance they misdiagnosed our problem, costing us over $3,800. We aren't seeking refunds at this point, we just want it made right!!
I hope the shop honors their work. If the transmission was rebuilt correctly, a properly operating valve body should solve all the issues and the transmission should shift fine.

There is no need to update the transmission software or clear the adaptations, the transmission software will adapt very quickly. 20 miles of in town driving with a lot of shifting will adapt about 80%, in the next 20-40 miles the TCM should be fine.

VW did have some TCM software updates, this was a software attempt to resolve a mechanical problem and it really is not necessary and will not resolve mechanical issues.

Let us know how things work out when the shop supposedly either reworks or replaces the valve body with a reworked unit.
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