The Volkswagen transmission has been documented by consumers to have a few issues that prevent the car from being a joy to ride. The Volkswagen models that have been affected by these transmission problems and have been recalled by the manufacturer are the Jetta, Jetta Sportswagen, GTI and Eos. The problems are mainly due to a fault in the Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) system. Volkswagen has also had problems with its high-end paddle gearbox, the Tiptronic transmission system.
. The Tiptronic Transmission
The Volkswagen’s Tiptronic transmission is very modern and uses cutting edge technology. However, it has a few inherent weak points. These have been identified by the manufacturer and steps have been taken to resolve them. The problems with this transmission are hard shifts from gear 1 to 2, erratic shifting from gear 3 to gear 4 and a shudder in the torque converter. These can be rectified by following the Volkswagen service bulletin and downloading the latest software.
2. Solenoid N89 Failure
In certain cases, an important solenoid, N89, has failed. This causes a sudden shift from gear 4 to gear 1, when the gear gets stuck at the shift from gear 3 to gear 4. This causes a sudden deceleration, similar to when the brakes are suddenly engaged.
3. Faulty Temperature Sensor
A faulty temperature sensor in the DSG system of models of the Jetta results in a false negative lighting of the warning lamps on the dashboard. In rare instances, this sensor results in transmission slips, causing the vehicle to shift suddenly to neutral. The affected vehicles have been recalled.
4. Faulty Clutch Component
A faulty clutch component of the mechtronic unit causes sudden downshifts. Affected vehicles have been recalled by Volkswagen.
Before you buy a Volkswagen, you should be aware of the above problems in the transmission and select a model that isn’t affected by these troubles. Otherwise you should wait until the problems have been completely resolved by the manufacturer.