Auto Transmission Failure - Previously Intercooler Hose Identification Thread

[bluefin321]

I'm trying to identify a particular hose on a 2006 T5 TDI Auto. It's approx 3" in diameter and visible from the top of the engine underneath the coolant reservoir.

I think the following picture is the same engine, and it's the large hose on the right hand side.

http://photos.tradeholding.com/attac...619/t5auto.jpg

[Umai Naa!!]

It's the hose from the intercooler. It travels up to the intake flap and EGR.

[bluefin321]

Thanks Umai, The reason i ask is that our van completely broke down on the weekend and i'm trying to pinpoint the problem before it gets towed back to the dealer tomorrow.

The van was due to go back to the dealer this week to have the valve body in the auto transmission replaced due to slipping between gears (under warranty).

So we are driving up a gentle slope on the weekend doing about 80km/h and the a/t attempts to downshift gears and i feel a heavy thud, followed by a lose of power and the van shaking pretty violently before coming to a complete dead stop. The engine will start, however heavy shaking and surging badly when in gear, impossible to drive. There was no visible lose of fluids, oils or water from under the car or inside the engine, however i did notice that the above hose was completely disconnected at that middle connection, with no hose or spring clamp in sight!

Not sure if the breakdown was due to the a/t completely disintegrating, or if the disconnected intercooler hose could be the culprit?

The dealer did some other minor work on the van last week, but it was no where near that hose, so unsure if they pulled it apart or not. I've only owned the van for 3 weeks, and the dealer is the only place to have touched the engine.

EDIT: Reading some other forums the symptoms we experienced are consistent with an intercooler hose blowing off. I guess the loud thud could have been the hose blowing off. What would cause this?

[MultiplexMan]

The hose is retained with a captive spring type clip. The hose ends are specially prepared with embedded connector couplings. You should be able to reach in and refit the hose. You will hear a click once it positively engages.

[jfoldbar]

imo (and my experience) if you disconnect maf and the symptoms are the same then the hose coming off is not the culprit. intercooler hose off would mean ratio of air to fuel is incorrect which could cause those symptoms if ecu doesnt accomodate,(ecu doesnt know hose is off) , taking off maf would set ecu to default, so engine wouldnt notice anything wrong. the same as an old car goes the same whether air filter hoses are on or not.


you said, ""heavy surging and shaking badly when in gear"".
does that mean when not in gear engine is not shaking badly and surging? if so that would point to tranny prob, not engine prob.

[bluefin321]

thanks for the replies. i could re-attach the hose, but whatever caused it to blow off in the first place may happen again whilst driving to the dealer and since i have free towing, may as well use it. Like i said, it was due to have the transmission worked on this week anyway, so i'll leave it to them to re-attach and scan for any engine codes etc.

[bluefin321]

Just an update, the hose was re-attached and no engine code errors detected. As for the tranny, VW have confirmed there is a problem with it (they won't elaborate any further than that at this stage) and are seeking a goodwill claim from VW Australia given the service history by the previous owner and the low kms. Either way, i won't be paying. Either VW Australia cover it under a good will claim, or the non-VW dealer i purchased it from will cover it under the 3 month statutory warranty.

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. It has been serviced by VW all it's life and the service history shows the tranny as untouched. 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.

Do we know what the lowest km tranny failure is?

[jfoldbar]

Do we know what the lowest km tranny failure is?

Mods: Feel free to change the title of this thread to reflect it has now become a transmission discussion

i know a few people that have had them fail at 10-20k. and others have done hundreds of k's. its a bit of a pot luck thing.

[Transporter]

i know a few people that have had them fail at 10-20k. and others have done hundreds of k's. its a bit of a pot luck thing.

Can you support that?

[bluefin321]

i know a few people that have had them fail at 10-20k. and others have done hundreds of k's. its a bit of a pot luck thing.

10k-20k... wow!

Do we know where these 6spd were manufactured? Has there been any commentary or tech bulletins from VW regarding the underlying cause of the failures?