Need new transmission advice

[PeteF]

Hi There. My MY13 Auto needs a new transmission, apparently. Oil is practically black. Previous owner did not service it at all and my own mechanic missed the second service. Funny thing is, the car is running fine. I have two questions - could it be just the clutch that is going making the oil black and, if so, do I need to replace the whole transmission.
If I do need a new gearbox, where can I find one. VW has said the end of July is the first they can have one here and they want a 50 per cent deposit and my left testicle as insurance. Anyone know where I might find a 2nd hand transmission so I don't have to wait months? ASV doesn't have one.
Thanks PF
p.s. What happens if I keep driving it? Can it affect the engine?

[Lucas_R]

What car? Is the car automatic or DSG?

Im struggling to understand how the car is driving fine yet for whatever reason you have been told you need a new transmission?

[PeteF]

Multivan. Sorry. Automatic transmission. 7 speed. Yes, they are just basing the diagnosis on a fault reading for 'gear select' and the black oil. Apparently it should be clear, and the black colour comes from ground up clutches or gears or something.

[Lucas_R]

Ok so im not very knowledgeable on the Multivan in particular, but i do believe they use a 7 speed DSG transmission which is essentially a manual gearbox with a computer that controls the clutch operation and gear selection. Inside the vehicle, the gear selector etc looks like a normal automatic. VW market the transmission as a DSG automatic so most people do not know any different.

If this is correct for your vehicle then the gearbox should have been serviced at 60,000km or 4yrs. So unless your vehicle has many more km's than this, is not too overdue from a time perspective - not enough to kill a gearbox surely.

These transmissions themselves are quite robust, but obviously they need to be serviced every 60,000km or 4yrs and the clutch packs will wear with use, and obviously the clutch wear be exaggerated depending on how the vehicle is driven (towing/heavy loads in vehicle/slipping clutches in stop/start traffic).

The computerised brain that controls the whole transmission (called the mechatronics) is usually quite reliable but if this plays up, it can cause issues like what you mentioned (gear select errors/clunky gear shifts etc) because this controls the clutches and the 2 gear sets in the transmission. It is possible that lack of servicing and the dirty oil has caused the mechatronics to fail in your case.

- Mechatronics can be repaired/replaced (but given you are in Lismore i dare say you will have to go to Brisbane or down to Sydney or Melbourne for repairs)
- Clutches will wear. Depending on how many km's your vehicle has travelled and how it has been used (towing etc) they may be knackered or they might be fine still.
- You might be lucky enough to get away with a service on the transmission with new oil and filter

[Transporter]

Get a second opinion. You can’t see the oil until you remove the drain plug. So, if it drives ok, get the DSG serviced.

[brad]

If it's changing gears OK then change the oil (and filter if it has one), clear the codes and see what happens.

If the transmission is damaged then why not get it rebuilt locally?