[cabodoggie]

Has anyone experienced this? I was driving home from work this evening and I was cruzing between 60 and 70MPH in normal drive mode and traffic was coming to a stop. I noticed that the transmission was not automatically down shifting, so I moved the shifter to the triptronic mode. I manually tried to down shift without success, the transmission stayed in sixth. At about 30MPH the transmission automatically shifted to fifth very hard and when I stop it shifted to third very hard (sounding like the transmission was going to fall out). At that point the transmission would not shift up or down in any of the three modes. I then pulled over to the side of the road and stop the car and turned off the ignition. After waiting for a couple of minutes, I started the car and it seemed to work normal for about 15 miles, then the engine light came on and the digital letters for the transmission became hi-lighted and again the transmission seemed to get stuck in third gear. I again tried to turn-off the ignition and wait and again restart the car without success. At that point I called VW 24 hour road service to pick it up.

 

[aarpskier]

Check "Downshifting after a long drive" on this forum for some ideas.

 

[aircooled]

Have your dealer check to make sure that all of the wiring harness connectors to the tranny are FIRMLY attached.

I take it by saying 'the digital letters for the transmission became hi-lighted' you mean that the orange background appeared under EVERY letter. This happened to me after a service visit, and the dealership forgot to hook up part of the wiring harness to the tranny. It was accompanied with many error lights in the dash. I did not try to drive with it like this.

If all of your connectors are on firm, then you are likely looking at a bad shift control module. The fact that a 'reboot' of the car fixes the problem does not make it sound like a physical problem. Of course if is does not get fixed soon . . .

 

[ironmtnracing]

Hi All,

Really glad to have found this post. Had almost exactly the same thing happen last night. I went from Drive to N and back into drive after discovering the trans wasn't shifting. The "clunk" coming back into gear was severe. It stayed in third the remainder of the drive (not far). Same display experience, all backlit in orange, check engine light on. Stop and restarted a couple times to find the issue remained. No change from D to S or Trip. It will shift to reverse but I t engages hard when it goes into gear.

We are working to get it to the dealer and I'll let you know what they tell me the problem was.

3rd non-scheduled service in 10K miles. We are also going to mention the remote distance issue.

5th VW owned, may be the last

 

[mishref]

That same issue happened to me!

The dealer told me that the wiring harness going to the tranny was messed up. They are replacing the wiring harness.

I am wondering, did that fix you issues? My car freaked me out when it started doing that, If I were on a highway .. I probably would have caused an accident. Lucklily I was driving around my complex to park under a carport during a hailstorm.

 

[ironmtnracing]

It did turn out to be a wiring issue at the transmission. The dealer corrected and now the wife says it's shifting better than it was prior to the failure.

VW was great to work with and they had the problem corrected quicly, even through in a cargo net for the trouble.

 

[4x4s]

It did turn out to be a wiring issue at the transmission. The dealer corrected and now the wife says it's shifting better than it was prior to the failure.

VW was great to work with and they had the problem corrected quicly, even through in a cargo net for the trouble.

Great to hear! You should post the name of your dealer so other folks in your area know of a good place to go. :joy:

 

[mishref]

Same here, one of the wires for the CAN data going to the transmission was loose or something. they replaced the wiring harness, everything is all good now.

 

[ironmtnracing]

we purchased our Toureg from Chaplin's in Bellevue WA.

Abbey is the service advisor we've always dealt with and she's been terrific!

Cheers

 

[ironmtnracing]

UPDATE:

So the egg now is pushing 80K miles and for the most part has been a decent car.

Yes, we've had battery issues, driveshaft replacement and many of the other known issues.

Having just put a new set of BFG TA's on and getting our first snow, I took the egg out for a little "Test Drive". Messed around in the snow a bit. Had a great time and the vehicle seemed to really like the new sneakers.

Well this morning the wife calls on her way to work saying that the car's stuck in 3rd and won't shift.

I'm guessing that this connection has gotten pulled loose again. I'll post an update shortly to let you know what I find.

 

[safford1977]

UPDATE:

I am amazed that you remembered this thread for over four years! If you wouldn't mind can you post the build date and vin i.e. 12/03 39xxx

Thanks

 

[naples39]

happened on my 08'
it was the wiring harness--came loose--maybe when they were replacing the knoch sensors for the second time!

 

[chitown alex]

UPDATE:

So the egg now is pushing 80K miles and for the most part has been a decent car.

Yes, we've had battery issues, driveshaft replacement and many of the other known issues.

Having just put a new set of BFG TA's on and getting our first snow, I took the egg out for a little "Test Drive". Messed around in the snow a bit. Had a great time and the vehicle seemed to really like the new sneakers.

Well this morning the wife calls on her way to work saying that the car's stuck in 3rd and won't shift.

I'm guessing that this connection has gotten pulled loose again. I'll post an update shortly to let you know what I find.

Yup, good ol' safety mode. Happened to me a number of times in my 04'. The connector for the trans wiring harness is the problem. The contacts on the connector get corroded and stop making contact. I disconnected and cleaned the connector myself with cleaner and a tooth pick for the real hard stuff. I called the dealer and they want to replace the whole harness. I'm out of warranty and they want big $$$ to the job.

 

[safford1977]

Yup, good ol' safety mode. Happened to me a number of times in my 04'. The connector for the trans wiring harness is the problem. The contacts on the connector get corroded and stop making contact. I disconnected and cleaned the connector myself with cleaner and a tooth pick for the real hard stuff. I called the dealer and they want to replace the whole harness. I'm out of warranty and they want big $$$ to the job.

Thanks for sharing, going to post a DIY?

 

[Vegas Matt]

Once that connector is cleaned up, is there any way to heat-shrink it to seal it up? I haven't been under there in a while, and am not sure how tight things are around it.

Matt

 

[ironmtnracing]

Well I met the wife at the office yesterday and climbed under to have a look at the connector.

I removed and inspected only to find a very clean contact surface. Plugged it back in and there was no improvement. I noticed a smaller connector just behind the big one but couldn't get it loose without tools. Any idea what this one controls?

It's back at the dealer now so I'll post an update once I hear back from them. :evil_laugh:

I don't have the VIN handy but know its an early one. Have had all the "normal" probs....remote sensor, TPM, light failure, replaced drive shaft, 3rd set of tires and second set of brakes. The egg is pushing 80K.

All I can say is THANK GOD FOR EXTENDED WARRANTY! #-o
More soon.

 

[RL79]

Mine has just done the say thing, VW are telling me its the gearbox has gone and are wanting to charge me £5K surely that cant be right!!

 

[ironmtnracing]

Update

Well it turns out it was the connector and that I had inspected the wrong plug.

Now the mechanic is telling me the lock on the connector is broken and that the only way to replace the end that's busted is to get into the valve body assembly. Worst part is that it appears that our extended warranty won't cover the repair.

I'm hoping someone here can help direct me to the location of the plug so I can inspect it myself (the mechanic wasn't much help). I'm wondering if I couldn't get some heat shrink tubing around the connection to help stabilize.

Thoughts?