Auto Transmission Failure - Previously Intercooler Hose Identification Thread

[jfoldbar]

Can you support that?

well, i know of few posts that could be supported. unless a pic could be posted. i couldnt post a pic of such a thing. so i guess the answer to your question is no i cant support it. i also cant support they have lasted hunderds of ks either. trying to support it may get an ex vw employee(he left) i know into trouble. so i wouldnt even try to support it.

[Diesel_vert]

As for the tranny, VW have confirmed there is a problem with it (they won't elaborate any further than that at this stage)...

I know there has been some recent discussion regarding 'sealed for life' versus service every 60k, however my tranny has now failed with less than 60k on the clock.

VW obviously got it wrong the first time with their 'sealed for life' suggestion, who's to say they haven't got it wrong again with the 60k service interval?

I'll be erring on the side of caution with my new box and having it serviced every 30k or 2 years.

That's assuming the failure was due to worn out ATF.

VW have always said to change the ATF every 60 000 km for hot countries, but the problem was that it wasn't until recently that Australia was included in that list.

Australia a hot country? Gee, who would've thought?

It has been serviced by VW all it's life...

People say that as if it actually means something in regards to the gearbox.

Unless there is a problem with the gearbox, they don't touch it.

... and the service history shows the tranny as untouched.

Precisely.

Do we know where these 6spd were manufactured?

They are made in Japan by Aisin.

Has there been any commentary or tech bulletins from VW regarding the underlying cause of the failures?

I believe the valve body has been known to go wrong at all sorts of mileages, but I don't know any more than that.

[Sunny43.5]

Our T5 intercooler hose blew off after it backfired ?????? lots of black smoke and no power . refitted it with a click and again bang off it flew . I noticed that with the hose in place it had a lot of loose play , I think that with acceleration etc the hose moves and wears out the alloy lip that the spring clips over . End result for me was to fit two very cheap and simple screws on opposite sides has never come off again . Much cheaper than VW wanting to replace the whole lot and risking it happening again . PS never found out why it backfired probably crap diesel fuel.

[Transporter]

Our T5 intercooler hose blew off after it backfired ?????? lots of black smoke and no power . refitted it with a click and again bang off it flew . I noticed that with the hose in place it had a lot of loose play , I think that with acceleration etc the hose moves and wears out the alloy lip that the spring clips over . End result for me was to fit two very cheap and simple screws on opposite sides has never come off again . Much cheaper than VW wanting to replace the whole lot and risking it happening again . PS never found out why it backfired probably crap diesel fuel.

I taped all such connection that I could reach when I got the van with the self fusing rubber tape to minimaze the movement in there.
After 7 years it's still all good.

[bluefin321]

I'll be erring on the side of caution with my new box and having it serviced every 30k or 2 years.

That's assuming the failure was due to worn out ATF.

Fresh ATF every 2 years or 30k can't do any harm can it? IMO, it's a relatively low cost preventative maintenance measure and i'll know that i won't have a tranny failure attributable to old ATF.

It has been serviced by VW all it's life...

People say that as if it actually means something in regards to the gearbox.

I wasn't suggesting that it means anything regarding the gearbox, i was merely stating that the previous owner chose to have the van serviced exclusively by VW and they decided that it didn't require servicing. Just painting a picture.

Has there been any commentary or tech bulletins from VW regarding the underlying cause of the failures?

I believe the valve body has been known to go wrong at all sorts of mileages, but I don't know any more than that.

Might be a long shot, but if there are known mechanical issues, wouldn't a recall be initiated? I'm sure VW wouldn't have to foot the entire bill. I'm no lawyer but there may be grounds for a professional indemnity claim against the manufacturer of the failing components.

---------- Post added at 10:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 AM ----------

End result for me was to fit two very cheap and simple screws on opposite sides has never come off again...

I taped all such connection that I could reach when I got the van with the self fusing rubber tape to minimaze the movement in there.
After 7 years it's still all good.

Both good suggestions, although i've never heard of the tape. Which other connections did you tape up? I'm guessing a roll of the tape won't be cheap, so i may as well tape everything in sight.

Would you advise against using Loctite on the connections? I guess it won't be reversible should i ever require to disconnect the hose.

[MultiplexMan]

@bluefin321
- I'm guessing high temperature self amalgamating tape? 3M and Denso are two manufacturers that make very good tapes.
- Loctite will not work. The hose couplings are akin to quick release hydraulic unions. There is a quad o-ring that provides a gas tight seal internally.

@Transporter
- good tip! It has been reported that the coupling may fret and wear. There was a revision to the design ~2007.

Re the auto transmissions. Half a dozen reported first hand transmission failures on vww and maybe twice as many reported on the Brickyard out of >1,000,000 T5 (not sure what percentage are auto) does not make a design failure.

I agree that the auto transmission should have been made a service item but I have no idea what "pressures" resulted in the "sealed for life" decision. If I was guessing - marketing combined with a misguided green directive to limit hydrocarbon consumption for the vehicle life.

I will be flushing my auto every 60K. Flushing it every 30K or 2 years will certainly be better than just leaving it.

[Diesel_vert]

Fresh ATF every 2 years or 30k can't do any harm can it? IMO, it's a relatively low cost preventative maintenance measure and i'll know that i won't have a tranny failure attributable to old ATF.

Certainly not, but the main point I was trying to make is that not all automatic transmission failures can be solely attributed to worn out ATF, especially when it occurs at relatively low mileages.

My guess is that there was some internal fault causing the gearbox to either slowly malfunction and wear out prematurely, or had knock on effects on other components or the fluid itself (or a combination of all factors). If that were the case, multiple fluid changes would've just delayed the inevitable.

Probably the most unfortunate thing is that the cause of failure didn't make itself known during the warranty period.

As for low cost, that depends on whether you purchase the ATF from VW or direct from the supplier.

I wasn't suggesting that it means anything regarding the gearbox, i was merely stating that the previous owner chose to have the van serviced exclusively by VW and they decided that it didn't require servicing. Just painting a picture.

Yeah sorry, didn't mean to single you out, but I've read many posts where people try to come to terms with it by saying, 'but it's always been serviced by xyz dealer' mistakenly assuming that gearbox maintenance fell under the service schedule.

Might be a long shot, but if there are known mechanical issues, wouldn't a recall be initiated? I'm sure VW wouldn't have to foot the entire bill. I'm no lawyer but there may be grounds for a professional indemnity claim against the manufacturer of the failing components.

Unless it's related to safety, I wouldn't get my hopes up.

Re the auto transmissions. Half a dozen reported first hand transmission failures on vww and maybe twice as many reported on the Brickyard out of >1,000,000 T5 (not sure what percentage are auto) does not make a design failure.

If you live in the UK or Europe, you won't see many autos.

[bluefin321]

Re the auto transmissions. Half a dozen reported first hand transmission failures on vww and maybe twice as many reported on the Brickyard out of >1,000,000 T5 (not sure what percentage are auto) does not make a design failure.

Having never owned a VW prior to the Multivan, i was still well aware that the A/T is potentially the weak point of the vehicle. Being a motoring enthusiast and a long time member of other car clubs, these sorts of conversations tend to come up at club meets where others have owned VW's or know of first hand cases. In addition, my mechanic, the A/T specialist that diagnosed the problem and the tow truck driver all were aware of this "common fault" as they put it. Where there's smoke, there's fire if you ask me.

---------- Post added at 12:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:47 PM ----------

As for low cost, that depends on whether you purchase the ATF from VW or direct from the supplier.

I thought 'Fuchs Titan 4400' meets the required VW G 052 990/055 025 specs, and is a much cheaper alternative to the outrageous OEM ATF price?

[Cousin]

Re the auto transmissions. Half a dozen reported first hand transmission failures on vww and maybe twice as many reported on the Brickyard out of >1,000,000 T5 (not sure what percentage are auto) does not make a design failure.

Completely disagree with this statement Multiplexman

I'm not a mechanic and I'm over most of the diy with my vehicles now, BUT, before I bought this van my VW mechanic told me not to buy an auto, they're nothing but trouble. His words, and he works on Volkswagens all day.
I couldn't find a second hand manual when I was looking for one, so got an auto at a price that could accomodate an auto rebuild.
Good move cos the auto went 30,000 ks after I bought it.
I went to one of the better European auto rebuilders in Melbourne to get it worked on properly.
He also told me the Volkswagens have a lot of trouble with their autos, and not just in the T4's and T5's.
During our discussion he said they replace the original valving with larger American valving, as the VW valves are known to be troublesome.

So, getting back to my first statement, I'm not a mechanic, but listening to others that are very good at what they do, Volkswagen have a problem with these autos
Firstly to say it's sealed for life is ridiculous, that's their first stuff up
And secondly there does appear to be a design fault with the valving in these autos, I have seen it mentioned on this forum as well

I had the same issue with a Mk 4 Golf
It was a manual, and it went one day. Just spat bits through the casing.
Took it down to the mechanic, he said common problem for these boxes and 2g to rebuild
Fixed it and sold the Golf
Been driving Rex's since and have not had one problem with them

When I'm finished with this Multivan, as much as I love driving it and others rave about it, they are bit of a money pit and I will be looking at alternatives
And it's a pity, cos I've had two T4's prior, sold both around 400,000 ks each, and years later both owners say they're still going strong.


M

[Sunny43.5]

In reply to Diesel Vert Quote[Unless there is a problem with the gearbox, they don't touch it.} Obviously VW dealers wont touch the auto as they did not have tooling or direction from VW the only response I got when ours started to play up around 50-60 thousand kays was as stated before they are "sealed for life" and if it plays up just hand over your money and we will gladly fit a new one. If they had a service schedule for the transmission right from the start I would have gladly paid each time as I believe now after the fact the present problems may have not have ocurred if fresh fluids were done at each regular service interval. Its no comfort for T5 owners to now be told oh now we reccommend they be serviced at 60.000 because the damage has been done . VW and the transmission makers should do the right thing here and admit an error was made and do the right thing . If this had been a safety issue they would have fallen over themselves to fix it . If these valve bodies are the culprit then the manufactureres should pay as some thread contributors on this forum have been told by specialist that they will fit an alternative valve bodies when rebuilding.