Transmission Valve Body warranty extension (hard shifting)

[fir3start3r]

I'm going to press the issue further next Friday when I take it in. I'll let you know how that goes.

[nappyd]

In late October I had to have my transmission's valve body replaced at an independent VW repair shop for about $3k less than a dealership, then got the letter in November.

From what I understood from the repair shop, even if you didn't have the 40k service or for that matter an 80k service, transmission shouldn't go bad like it did as soon as it started to on all these VW's, just now seeing it from the 2005.5 and 2006 model years though.

[bjork2]

Got the valve body replaced last Tuesday and no problems since then.

[konsole]

I just tried calling VWOA to talk to someone about this but I got the ol' "All our lines are full and we are experiencing unusual volume" crap, so I just resent the following email seeing how I must have missed their phone call response to my original email.

"Hi, recently I received the letter from VWOA about the warranty extension on the Transmission Valve Body due to hard shifting in the lower gears. I am experiencing the issue written in the letter so I took the car to the dealership were I bought the car from 3.5 years ago. They could not duplicate the issue in a 5-10 minute test drive so they said they could run some tests. Just so you know the problem is sporadic so a short 5-10 minute test drive most likely wont duplicate the problem. From what I have read this issue does not show up as an error on the tests so I was going to be charged $99 from them to run the tests that yield no errors. So i am stuck now with this problem that the dealership can't duplicate with its inadequate tests. I don't want to let this problem continue any longer for fear of what other damage it may be causing. Is there anything you can do for me?"

I received an email response a few days after I originally sent this email asking how my experience with the "customer care" went so I assume they did call. So now I'm just waiting for their reply.

[x.D]

i went today to get it checked out. they duplicated the problem of hard shifting mentioned and they said the problem was something to do with me getting a new battery, and how it made the system all messed up or something. so they "reset basic settings on all systems."and said it shifts to factory specifications now....

so i had to pay $135 and i drove it off like normal, and 10 minutes later, the hard shifts come again.
now i gotta call back and complain that they did nothing. and try and get it fixed, which they'll probably have to do another road test to duplicate it.
annoying.

they also said they were able to find codes about the body valve. someone on here said you weren't able to. but i got copies of all the codes that were pulled.

[konsole]

I got a response phone call from the email I sent to VWOA and I talked about the issue with the representative. The rep obviously didnt know the technicals of the issue but claimed to know a little bit about it. From what they said the issue with the valve body doesnt affect the transmission itself and they said that this was determined by VW after doing some extensive research into it. Not sure I can believe that a rough shifting cant possibly harm the transmission at all but whatever. I better not find out that the valve body issue has caused damage to the transmission just after the transmission warranty runs out and they wont cover that transmission damage. They recommended that since I didnt have much luck with the dealership I bought the car from that I should try another dealership, which I probably will, but I don't have much hope for any other dealership with this issue. I have a feeling I am going to be stuck with this problem until it gets frequent enough that a short test drive will duplicate it. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what another dealership can do to identify the problem.

[pharm12]

I've been having the same issue for over a month... My local mechanic was not able to find any problems so then I decided to take it in to the VW dealership where I bought the car and at first they told me they couldn't find anything either. I was so bummed because I knew something was seriously wrong with my car. When I'd drive (for like 20 minutes or longer), my car began to jerk really hard and shift hard into gears (especially from 1st to 2nd and from 2nd to 3rd gear). Anyways, long story short, the dealership said they would continue to test drive it until they experienced the same problem that I was describing. They called me yesterday and said that the valve body in the transmission needs to be replaced and it would be covered under warranty! THANK GOD! Supposedly, a lot of VW's have had the same issue and VW extended warranty coverage on this up to 100,000 miles. Otherwise, this could have cost anywhere from $2,000-$2,500 to fix. Just keep being persistent and tell them to drive it for a while until the issue happens again.

My car: 2006 Jetta
Current mileage: 75,500

[Martell]

I'm going in Thursday to have my car checked.... Wish me luck

The weird part is everyone seems to have this problem in D mode or S. I have my shifting problem in Tiptronic mode.

1 to 2 is fine, 2 to 3 is fine, 3 to 4 is hard. 4 to 5 fine...

Is anyone else have these issues in Tip mode(Manu-matic)?

[x.D]

they probably aren't going to want to fix it for you. but good luck anyways.

[Martell]

Yeah, I'll go somewhere else. As much as I love VWs why does this seem to be a problem?

Its very upsetting bc I love the cars but, my first one (01 Jetta) did the same thing. It wasn't a tiptronic. I complained for years then when it was out of the warranty they tell me my transmission was shot.

I wish they would get a grip...they can never beat out Toyota if they keep screwing over their customers.

[ChrisM]

I wish they would get a grip...they can never beat out Toyota if they keep screwing over their customers.

The ironic thing is that these transmissions (and valve bodies) are made by Aisin, of which Toyota is a major shareholder and partner.

[Martell]

SABOTAGE!!!, lol...I think I was shifting wrong in Tiptronic mode but, I'm still getting a check.

[x.D]

well i just got my car back today. shifts soooo smooth now. i love driving now. aha

[Leia_]

The living nightmare that is Volkswagen Jetta. I'm living it long distance - trying to get some kind of satisfaction on my son's Jetta situation. 2006 Jetta - 2.5 L (automatic). Hard shift since purchasing it in January 2010. Now out of warranty - didn't purchase an extended warranty.

Received the letter December 2010 - we thought it was the answer to the hard shift prayers but instead it has turned into a nightmare.

He took the car into the dealership last week after they diagnosed it as being a valve body problem - covered under this so-called warranty extension. They had to keep it longer than they anticipated because of (supposed) fluid and metal bits. My son drives away from the dealership and several hours later the car is jerking so violently that it is actually shutting off. He calls the dealer and they tow it back down to the dealership - meanwhile, he has to rent a car to get to work (I live in California - he lives in Indiana). They try to duplicate the problem but then relay that it's driving smoothly. We basically beg them to drive it longer and give permission to take it home that night (for a longer test drive). The next morning the mechanic calls back and says that after a 30 minute test drive they were finally able to duplicate the problem and now it needs a new transmission!

Volkswagen of America says "too bad, we aren't covering anything other than the valve body" (which is what their dealership diagnosed as being the problem after receiving the letter). At least prior to receiving "the letter" it was still drivable!

[Leia_]

For what it's worth, I found this post (copied and pasted below) on another message board. I'm posting it here with the hope that it will help other Volkswagen valve body (yeah, but no) "victims" who find this thread in the process of searching for answers. Of course, Volkswagen of America could care less about this but I think it's pertinent and it helped me understand what an enormous problem this is on so many levels.


Copied and pasted:


Here are a few facts I learned from my transmission shop regarding the premature failure of the valve body on the new beetles. This is a very reputable shop (Mr. Transmission) that does warranty work for all insurance and extended warranty companies in the Atlanta area. Normally, the cylinders in a valve would be harder than the pistons but in the VWs the pistons have a hard, wear resistant, plating and the valve body is a softer aluminum (unplated) alloy so the pistons eventually eat up the cylinders to the point where fluid leaks past the pistons and causes all kinds of problems. When the metal starts breaking up it probably just speeds up the process. Because the valve body wears out instead of the pistons, the whole valve has to be replaced. I just paid $4800 for a total rebuild on my daughters 2004 six speed convertible and the valve was the main culprit. I also got the letter from VW and will be filing a claim.

Here's the link to the post: http://newbeetle.org/forums/transmis...-warranty.html

[Leia_]

The real story is in addition to the 2.0T, VW also produced a 2.5L I5 available with an optional 6 speed tiptronic transmission.

I know it sounds like a wives tail to the GTI/GLI guys, but it's the truf. Deyz out there!

Yes, this is the model my son bought used just about a year ago. Volkswagen of America says it's a Model 1K27N3. I can find very little about the "S" designation in his VIN number. VW of A, when pressed, says it's a AQ250 transmission which I've seen come up as a code on VAG diagnostic codes.

Additionally, VW says there is just one specific transmission for this car (??).

[mdonis]

I took my 05.5 Jetta to the dealership this morning and they claim that my car is good. Go figure...! , but they did manage to put a scratch on my driver side door now I got it take to it to their body shop to get it fix.

[clintg60-16v]

Took my '06 Passat to the dealer with 68K on the clock. They replaced the valve body and some other unrelated work in about three hours.

Looks like the dealer gets paid about $1600 for the job from VW, from looking at the paperwork.

[nappyd]

Ugh, they lost my warranty submission, so now I get to fax over a copy of the repair order and bank statement showing what was paid and for what work. Great times.

[Merton]

We had to have our daughter's transmission rebuilt last September. It's an '06 Jetta 2.5 and had ~ 75k. It's symptoms were rough 1-2-3 upshifts and severe slippage in 1st & 2nd. We tried having a full service and fluid change without success. The local Atlanta dealer said it needed a new tranny and wanted $ 6,500. An indy shop in Memphis, where she goes to college, wanted $ 4,500 for a rebuilt one. We wound up getting a rebuilt one from StreetSmart for ~ $ 1,800 and had it installed by one of their affiliates for ~ $ 750. Unfortunately StreetSmart is now out of business, so the year warranty we got with the tranny is useless. Fortunately, the tranny is still working well. As was explained to me by the StreetSmart salesman, the original transmissions were prone to failure because of the design of the valve body, and the rebuilt one would have a redesigned valve body.

I was thrilled when we got the notice of the warranty extension which invited me to submit receipts for reimbursement for expenses previously incurred due to a failed valve body. On February 8 I submitted receipts for all repairs related to the transmission failure. These totaled $ 2,820, including the service performed before the tranny was replaced.

I was not so thrilled today, March 18, when I received a letter from VOA denying my entire claim. ...."This Warranty Extension was issued for customer comfort, as the valve body has not been found to cause situations that result in transmission failure".:.... There were several more sentences of blah blah "I'm sorry a more favorable outcome is not available."

The extent of my transmission knowledge is from when I replaced the synchros in the 4-speed manual of an old BMW 2002, and then I had a master technician standing over me to help. Can a failed valve body cause transmission failure? Should VOA have offered at least some assistance in this case?

I just bought a Touareg 3 weeks ago. Though I still love the treg, I might not have been so eager to buy another VW if I hadn't been impressed with my mistaken belief that VOA was standing behind their product.

Thanks

[konsole]

I decided to revive this thread after seeing a thread on another forum relating to the same issue. I still experience the same problem, but like before it doesnt happen that frequently so I learned to just live with it for the last year or so. The problem occurs about as frequently as it did when it first started, which is about once every couple hours or so of driving. Mainly the feeling of being "rear-ended" when slowing down in lower gears, and less frequently a feeling of the transmission hesitating to change gears when accelerating in low gears and then the eventual "jerk" when it actually does change gears a second or so later. I originally planned on taking my car to another dealership after having no success with the dealership I bought it from, but I kinda got tired of the whole thing and never got around to it. So after seeing the thread on another forum I decided to really try to get this thing fixed once and for all. First I'll try a few other dealerships and see what they say. If I have no success from that then I'll push alot harder with VWOA with phone calls and or emails.

Just for reference this is my car.....

2007 - VW Rabbit - 2.5L - Tiptronic Automatic - 36k miles

And the issue is this.....

Transmission Valve Body warranty extension (letter sent out to some owners) - relates to hard shifting in lower gears

So does anyone have any more experience with the issue like how hard it was to convince a dealership to fix it for free, or how the car now rides long after the Transmission Valve Body was replaced?

[konsole]

Here is what I am talking about. Second picture shows a side view when I removed the rubber trim piece and raised the black plastic up. See how easily water can splash down through the grates in the black plastic and collect inside the "bowl" of the front strut mount? Does anyone else have a cover over the mount hole or is mine how the car came for everyone?

I took these pictures after I sprayed some PB blaster down in there and then gooped it up with some heavy grease.

[vwmattb]

I too, received the Extended Warranty letter from VW regarding the transmission valve body issue. My car has been doing the hard shifting from 1st to 2nd and sometimes 2nd to 3rd. Exactly what the letter explained the issue was......I took my car in along with the letter and they are telling me its not that and its error code P0730 Gear Ratio Malfunction and that I need a total transmission replacement $6,113.00. Nuts right? How can I get them to do the work on the Valve Body? Anyone else experience this with a 2005 Jetta 2.5????

[jaso028]

Since we got her 05.5 new.. we been bitching since day 1 about this Valve Body issue but as usual the techs can never replicate it! so I drive them and make it happen... guess what they still don’t feel it!! lol right, anyways 1st couple years we bitched every month about it.. still nothing..
finally get the letter bring it in with the letter.. they test drive and diagnose.. still nothing...

I work @ a private shop.. might just fix it myself and submit the bill to VWOA...

[x.D]

I had my body valve replaced by VW. First time I went in they Said they couldn't replicate the issue, they said they changed programming that could have been causing it. They are full of ****. Lol they charged me $100 for diagnosing the car. I knew it didn't solve the problem as I could feel it driving home from VW. Like 2 days later I called back and said I could still feel it and brought it back down. They took it for a few hours to test drive and I got a call saying they are going to replace it.

It drives amazing after its replaced, felt like a new car after. Those with this issue know how annoying it is. Also got my $100 back.

Just have to go in there and expect it to be fixed. Make them keep driving it till they find it. Don't let them stop until its solved

Are you still able to get it with a 2005.5 anymore? I thought it was a 5 year or 100,000 mile warranty?

[09Jettarj]

Does anyone know the years/models that this affected? I'm wondering if it includes the 2009 models as well?

[dubluv2003]

Not that it's related, but my mk4 had the same problem with the valve body as with many did on the automatics, but VW wouldn't cover the cost or issue a recall on them. Glad they did for the next generation at least.


Reply pulled from my arse.

[pete1.8t]

I just brought my 06 3.6 passat in for hard shift but of coarse vw being the a**holes that they are, will not warranty it because there was no codes in the computer. So once again I am really upset with vw dealerships and even vw customer help line. They are getting so big as a company that they are turning into pricks. They don't care about the customer as long as they get the sale they don't care.

[jaso028]

Does anyone know the years/models that this affected? I'm wondering if it includes the 2009 models as well?

Think mostly the 05.5's and some 06 were more prone to this issue..
But any automatic could run into the issue as well..

[malav91]

I had/have the same problem...Basically if you are over7yrs and/or the 100k warranty extension, they wont help you out with the repair if you still have it, but they may reimburse you if the repair/replacement of the trans show that it was done before the car hit 100k

I had received the paper in the mail when my Jetta 103K....boy was i pissed ha

Word of advice..either rebuild the trans or get an aftermarket trans if available...DO NOT get the junkyards Transmissions , you WILL run into the same exact problem!!

[Thescootinator]

Hey guys -

I have ran into the same problem.. I read through this whole thread, and didn't notice if any of you have gotten a solution besides the ones who were lucky enough to have the problem solved.

My car has 112,000 miles on it. It's an 07 Rabbit. And I am having these shift issues from the first couple gears..

Questions:

- If my car is UNDER 7 years, does the warranty still count?
- Did any of you guys get your cars fixes, and how much did it end up running you?

[machziro]

Hi guys, new poster here. This forum has been a lot of help so here is my contribution. I see a lot of empirical evidence here so I'd like to provide a more technical approach.

I have a 2006 Jetta 2.5, 52K miles. Car started shifting hard in 1-2-3 upshift about 2 weeks ago. I setup an appointment to have it looked it, they did the warranty work no hassle. It states they test drove it but the mileage was no different, guess they took my word for it.

Comments: tech diag, 50 tu, no dtc present, test drive to verify, read value blocks, and shift pattern test, replace valve body under warr ext, reset basics, vc tfd.

Parts: (no pricing info as under warranty)
One 09G-325-039-A valve body
One 09G-325-429-A strainer
One 09G-321-370 gasket
One 09D-321-181-B washer
Six WHT-000-307 bolt
Four WHT-000-311 bolt
Two WHT-000-313 bolt
Five G-055-025-A2 atf oil

Took about 5 hours to have this done and an oil change on a Saturday. The computer estimated $1200 for parts, and about $350 for labor. I feel sorry for you guys that had to fully pay.

What I did was basically let them know my concern when booking the appointment. When I spoke to the service advisor I let them know how how well I had been treated in the past and how optimistic I was to have this resolved quickly. This worked for me, and they even covered the clockspring repair although it is not under warranty anymore. If this loooong post helps anyone else, fantastic.

[Evil_Charles]

I have a 2006 Jetta 2.5 with 97,000 miles and it might be doing that also. It is only occasional but shifts a little hard. Do I qualify for the replacement valve body and fluid mentioned in the recall? I know I should get it to the dealer quick if I am still covered. If anything I just want the free fluid change, I don't know if it has ever been changed. I know that these tiptronics are serviceable and not really sealed but have no dipstick. I also know that there is no real "lifetime" transmission fluid after all, no transmission fluid is that good and I would still change it. I would rather let the dealer do it as long as they or Volkswagen would pay for it but I know Jamie Jenkins (the guy who runs that shop) is really a good mechanic and I would take it there if I had to pay for a repair.

[classicjetta]

Sounds like you're still covered, go check it out with the dealer.

[Evil_Charles]

Does it get worse unless fixed? It would be a good idea for me to get it in there ASAP. I have a bit more than 97,000 miles and that last 3,000 goes quickly (before you realize it) so if any of you have the tiptronic you might want to get that in the shop also, you only have 7 years or 100,000 miles and either one goes by fairly quick.