2006 T5 Multivan - Gearbox Life Expectancy

[LoveTheVan]

I have been told that the gearbox in my van (VW Multivan Sport turbo Diesel 2006) was actually designed for the Golf and not really designed to cope with the weight or load of the van. As such the gearbox has just been rebuilt for the 2nd time (1st known rebuild being 6 years ago by the used car dealer under warranty).
What are people's experiences with the transmission.

[LogicprObe]

I'm guessing it's an auto?
Because the manuals are nearly indestructible.

[Sunny43.5]

A stupid design from VW from day one of the T5 model , they sold the van to unwary customers {myself included } with no mention of the fact the transmission did not or could be serviced routinely , the dealers "service section just stated "sealed for life ". When ours showed early signs of problems with lumpy changes and occasional flaring {slipping like a worn clutch } I was told bad luck we cant sevice them if you want if fixed dig deep for a $12000 repair bill at only then 60000 km. Finally after another 50000kays VW changed their minds and said yes now we can service them , so after fleecing us of around $700 for the service we only got 5km from the dealers to suddenly find ourselves rolling into the middle of an intersection with no drive . After battling with VW Australia NO ONE would tell us what Sealed for Life meant and what time frame or kilometres driven was involved . It finally destroyed itself due to VW,s supposed service they did at that 110000kays mark . Inside the box is the main filter , all the service dept did was drain the box via a bolt at the bottom and refill it via another bolt at the top . Now anyone with basic mechanical knowledge knows that you change oil you change filter , I had ours rebuilt by an independant transmission shop . They showed me that the filter was completly blocked as the new fluid added had flushed out worn particles which blocked the filter causing complete failure of the box . The sump inside was covered in a slimy residue that I was able to write my initials into all because they would not remove the 15 bolts to clean it and then fit a new gasket $15 and a filter $45 so $60 bucks could have saved a $12000 repair bill . And the worse part is we tried to trade it in on a new VW van and because it was a Auto the valuer at the dealership made the point of saying in front of me to the salesman that "as its an auto I wouldn,t trust it " so we were offered between $4000 and $8000 on a one owner van fully custom fitted inside with only 110000kays and in perfect condition plus the fact that we had already spent $8500 to have the box rebuilt by an independant shop. The dealers knew the reputation of the autos and did not want them second hand on their own lots , ended up selling it privately for amore realistic price . The more likely failure of that design is that VW in Europe did not bother to test under Australian conditions , any fool could tell them that any sort of fluid will decay under load and our heat , couple that with not changing fluid or the filter and you are courting a disaster . I stand by my personal opinion that VW knew it was a ticking time bomb as why would they turn around in 2012 and suddenly say oh yes we can now service them . PS after two years from the failure and a relentless online complaint from me which ended with the ABC TV stepping in VW finally paid a "goodwill "payment for 50% of the rebuild cost .

[Umai Naa!!]

I have been told that the gearbox in my van (VW Multivan Sport turbo Diesel 2006) was actually designed for the Golf and not really designed to cope with the weight or load of the van. As such the gearbox has just been rebuilt for the 2nd time (1st known rebuild being 6 years ago by the used car dealer under warranty).
What are people's experiences with the transmission.

Service it every 60K with the correct oil and don't forget to drop the pan and do the filter.

If it starts to play up, either move it on, or get it seen to asap. They're really quite hit and miss. Have seen some do well over 200K unopened, while others died still under warranty.

[Transporter]

A stupid design from VW from day one of the T5 model ,

It’s actually ASIN transmission (TOYOTA),

and to be fair the Toyota automatics from that era don’t last either, despite they had scheduled servicing.

The majority of automatics have internal filter Sunney, including 90% of Japanese. I know only Subaru had external spin on filter in no so distant past.

[BrianJ]

My 2006 has done 280,000 and until recently worked perfectly, the only maintenance I did was have the oil changed every 100,000km. This I suspect is not enough because at around 280,000 it started to become a bit erratic in changes only when hot, and also when stopping at red lights it would hold in say 3rd gear then at the last second before stopping it would thud back to 1st. I had the oil and filters changed at that time, which seemed to do very little. A scan showed no errors, so it just seems to be due to sludging up.

The thing that did make it usable again was to put into it this additive; AUTO TRANS RESTORER - GERMAN OILS & ADDITIVES

It still occasionally acts a bit less than optimum, but essentially it is completely drivable now and here's hoping it will continue for another 10 years. I only wish I had been using this additive since new.

[Sunny43.5]

The majority of automatics have internal filter Sunny, including 90% of Japanese. I know only Subaru had external spin on filter in no so distant past.[/QUOTE]
But how many of those had the same Sealed for Life BS that VW came up with , I remember a journalist asking a VW executive some years back during the hoo haa over the Golf DSG problems about why Japan had recalled them and not Australia . His answer was classic , he told the journo that Japan was a hot climate country with lots of stop start traffic . As the journo stated it was the best case of an executive shooting himself in both feet at the same time with one bullet . When ours died the repair bloke showed me the residue still on the inside of the sump and it was as black as night time , the fluid was burnt due to heat build up which broke down the viscosity of the fluid , he also fitted a transmission cooler which he reckoned should be standard on Aussie autos .

[LoveTheVan]

Thank you ... yes, it is an automatic .. 6 speed with the option of the "manual" override. I am hoping the rebuild I have just had done was a better job and will get it serviced regularly.