superb 1 automatic gearbox problems

[superb1000]

Hi, i have just bought a 05 1.9 pd tdi elegance Superb with automatic gearbox, the car has high mileage 185000 miles, i was told the gearbox and torque converter were reconditioned at 183000, over the last three days i have noticed a couple of things going wrong, firstly, when you pull up and select reverse, car goes back nicely, then you select drive all the selestor lights come on on dash display,that is park drive neutral etc, then the car crawls as if its gone into limp mode, no power, if i stop turn car off ,restart select drive everythings perfect for another few hours, the next thing ive noticed is the car has been acting fine,i slow up then accelerate away and again its dead, no power , but d is the only light lit up on selector, it stays in automatic mode when switched over to tiptronic, not allowing you to manually go up and down the gears, any ideas as to what the problem is, as car drives perfectly smoothly,when behaving itself, could this be something as simple as a sensor or am i looking at a rebuild, would diagnostics help locate the problem, looking forward to some suggestions, thanks.

[mannyo]

it really needs to be hooked up to the diagnostic kit, a fault code should be recorded since you have gone into limp home mode. Hopefully its something simple since the transmission is ok the rest of the time, have you checked the fluid level in the transmission.

[oh_superb]

it really needs to be hooked up to the diagnostic kit, a fault code should be recorded since you have gone into limp home mode. Hopefully its something simple since the transmission is ok the rest of the time, have you checked the fluid level in the transmission.

Beware if fluid does need topping up, DO NOT USE normal ATF fluid. It's a VAG "special" only, £15 a litre. On my 2.5 auto though there is no way of checking the level, not sure if the 1.9 has a similar gearbox arrangement where you have to "throw the fluid up" with a pump and fill to max until it start pouring out of the top then drain a set amount off the drain plug. All done at a given temperature too, as fluid changes density with temperature - procedure is in fact some complicated that I have left my gearbox oil and filter change job to the dealer. :yes: But in your case sounds a bit of an electronic issue.

[gilesk]

have their not been issues with the mechatronics geabox ECU, http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87837 i do not know if the tiptronic has one but they can be costly.

[Supurbia]

1st check is wet carpet's, get that out of the way because it plays havoc with the electric's, I don't think it will be that though, now the bad news, autoboxes that get repaired seldom work properly afterwards or for very long either.

[oh_superb]

1st check is wet carpet's, get that out of the way because it plays havoc with the electric's, I don't think it will be that though, now the bad news, autoboxes that get repaired seldom work properly afterwards or for very long either.

Possibly because they fill up with standard Dextron ATF??

[Supurbia]

Possibly because they fill up with standard Dextron ATF??

Possibly, but everytime I or a friend has had a rebuild it hasn't lasted, I had a cavalier that they simply gave up on and got a factory recon that did another 70k, another had his Omega box rebuilt 3 times, each time it was 17k max, and finally another who had to have his rebuild done 4 times in 3 weeks, finally sold it on in the end, and he was a bit uncertain as to how long it was going to last this time, factory recon is the only way, then it's built to proper spec rather than a guy and a torque wrench.

[oh_superb]

Possibly, but everytime I or a friend has had a rebuild it hasn't lasted, I had a cavalier that they simply gave up on and got a factory recon that did another 70k, another had his Omega box rebuilt 3 times, each time it was 17k max, and finally another who had to have his rebuild done 4 times in 3 weeks, finally sold it on in the end, and he was a bit uncertain as to how long it was going to last this time, factory recon is the only way, then it's built to proper spec rather than a guy and a torque wrench.

,,, fine tolerances and hairy blokes with spanners and a can of Fosters.... lol

[Supurbia]

,,, fine tolerances and hairy blokes with spanners and a can of Fosters.... lol

You got it in one.

[superb1000]

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that replied, and give you an update incase anyone else is experiencing the same trouble, ,firstly i checked carpets front and rear,bone dry, thankfully ,i didnt know that they use there own specific transmission oil, so thanks for that, if anyone has the specifications on that id appreciate it, the car went in on monday to get timing belt, waterpump pulleys and tensioner changed, i asked them to run a diagnostic after telling them what the car had been doing,and it showed up a fault in the gearbox elecs, the transmission range sensor switch, with the car lifted up we found the problem,whom ever changed the gear box, managed to break the clip on the sensor plug and did a lousy job of taping it back together with insulating tape, when we peeled it and opened the plug, water poured out of it, we dried it sprayed electrical contact spray into itand used an air gun to blow out any excess,clipped it back together and sealed it up properly, and im happy to report the car is driving perfectly, so far. I was going to get the gear box oil and filter changed while it was in, but the mechanic who was working on it, who is a volkswagen trained mechanic, informed me that i should give it to the main dealers for this job, as its the same as Oh Superbs 2.5liter Superb,there is no way of checking transmission oil level,the oil is drained from the bottom and the new oil is pumped back into it from the bottom.Now onto the next project replacing all the front arms upper and lower to get rid of creaking noise when turning right.

[Supurbia]

.Now onto the next project replacing all the front arms upper and lower to get rid of creaking noise when turning right.

Try the drop link bars 1st mate, cheaper and quicker to fix, , and another way is to spray the suspects with WD40 one by one until the noise goes, then you have the culprit.

Edited 13 October, 2010 by Supurbia

[forge_garage_VAG]

Hi.

Glad you got sorted with not much cost to you

Chris K

Edited 14 October, 2010 by forge_garage_VAG

[superb1000]

Thanks Briskodian, i will try that with the arms in the front over the weekend, but the saga of the gearbox continues, yesterday started car selected reverse, felt it engage then boom engine management light, emmisions something or other across multifunction display and we are back in limp mode, turned it off and back on, now its out of limp mode but still showing engine management light and emmisions warning, drove to garage, car was plugged in , showing no faults, mechanic tried a few more things with car and plugged it in again, transmission range sensor fault, rang Skoda parts they hadnt heard of this as auto Superbs are not very common over here, so i put the mechanic on to him, Skoda faxed over the skematics of the gearbox, the mechanic picked the part he wanted on Skodas computer this is called a multifunction switch, which i will have on friday afternoon for 180 euro, the car is booked in to have work done to it on Monday morning, so now its driving fine with engine management light on and emmissions workshop across dash, i have a lot of driving planned this weekend, the car is starting to worry me, dont know whether to take the chance and knock it off and start it again each time it acts up, or cancel the weekend plans, il keep you up to date on the outcome of the work being carried out, hopefully this will be the end of it.

[oh_superb]

Sorry mate to hear of your never-ending troubles, but I'm sure at some point it will get fixed and then you will have one fine motor to cruise in. I love my superb to bits, build quality to rival audis, and a lot cheaper. I can live with the badge prejudice.

[forge_garage_VAG]

HI get the oil level checked.

You do need a diagnostic system but only to check the temp of the oil for the level but the toping up is a tw--t of a job but can be done with out the proper tool.

If you have breakdown cover just use it over the weekend

As the Irish say feck it LOL

Chris K

[superb1000]

Fingers crossed its fixed, decided against driving it at the weekend, incase i did anymore damage, i collected the part from Skoda main dealer friday morning, rang the garage the car was booked into on monday and asked if they could take it in sooner, they were fantastic,told me to drop it in saturday morning 9am, got a phone call one hour later from mechanic, to tell me bad news its the right part, a multi function switch, but not the right part for my Superb, i went back up to the garage, part bolted to gearbox perfectly, but the plug that goes into the main loom was circular, where as the Superb loom plug is rectangular,disaster, put old part on, dropped car, car would now not start, rang Skoda, parts dont open on a saturday, left car with garage, no choice really. Monday went to main dealer with the switch, in fairness the guy in parts was great to deal with, he couldnt understand why it wouldnt fit my car as it was ordered off the chasis number, and only one part was showing up on his system to fit my car, finally after 30 mins we figured it out, on the system its a 10 pin switch,on the part we had it had 8 pins, the part number on the bag it came in matched the 10 pin correct switch, but the bag contained the wrong switch, somebody had returned the wrong switch in the wrong bag to Skoda UK, it was then picked and sent to me, now we knew what happened, the new part was ordered again on fast track, got it 11am tuesday, got car back at one, running smoothly, mechanic explained why tiptronic is not working, he reckons whom ever butchered the gearbox reconing it, took the selector out and broke it,if i replace this everything should work, its not a big deal to fit.so has anyone any idea how much that is,availability ,part number,its the wood effect one. The part number off my switch is 01v 919 821 b, but check with your main dealer against your chasis number before ordering.Although its costing me time and money, i still love the car, yesterday i fitted the aero wipers, cable tied the bad fitting plastic guards on the underside, and got day running lights fitted, off to wax it now, i think i need therapy!

[Supurbia]

Tip knob is about £60 from Winchester Motor Company, the wood is just a sleeve, you may break it removing it, but it can still be used but won't be secure, there is a process for fitting them, I have done a rough guide in the how 2 section, and shop around, my mate paid £180 for a knob, but when I needed one the quotes were around the £60 mark, hth.

[oh_superb]

momo knob

They are only about £50-60. My lever has a nasty crack across it and the chrome buttons are wobbly. Not sure what happened (previous ownership).

[Supurbia]

momo knob

They are only about £50-60. My lever has a nasty crack across it and the chrome buttons are wobbly. Not sure what happened (previous ownership).

No good, that one is for a manual, and the Superb lever will only accept a Superb head on the auto's.

[oh_superb]

No good, that one is for a manual, and the Superb lever will only accept a Superb head on the auto's.

MOMO "automatico" is, according to MOMO, an auto shifter compatible with virtually all automatic cars, the chrome bit on the top is pressed down to engage gear. If it works on Audis why would it not work on the Superb? Here is a thread on the installation of the Momo knob on a Mark 4 gold, which has a side button for selecting gears similar to the superb but not tiptronic as such click here here

[Supurbia]

MOMO "automatico" is, according to MOMO, an auto shifter compatible with virtually all automatic cars, the chrome bit on the top is pressed down to engage gear. If it works on Audis why would it not work on the Superb? Here is a thread on the installation of the Momo knob on a Mark 4 gold, which has a side button for selecting gears similar to the superb but not tiptronic as such click here here

Pretty sure you'll find that is a different selector in a 53 Golf, I'm not certain but I do believe the selecting on a Sup auto is done through the side and not the top of the stick, if you notice the knobs are different in shape, you could still be correct though, but until someone gets the top off one we can't be certain, I know when my mate had one break he was running about using a pair of pliers to change position, if there is a top actualor he shouldn't have needed pliers.

[VRSPhil]

The wood doesnt come off. Trust me, I butchered my old knob to get an answer.

The wood elegance knob is around £140. I don't understand how the knob would affect the tiptronic function. If the knob works ok otherwise (releasing the selector shaft) then I would suggest that the fault may lie with the shaft, or whatever switch/sensor is activated when you push the knob over to the right.

Edited 24 October, 2010 by VRSPhil

[jimbof]

Old post I know but an update which might be useful for some; my car is on a Skoda Approved Used Warranty and they've just agreed to replace my auto stick/button as the button is starting to stick and looks to become unserviceable shortly. Result!

[jill261010]

we are having a similar problem first of all the reverse gear was playing up and now all the selector lights are coming on and no power. we are not driving this as also emiision workshop light has come on. could anyone help and advise what the problem may be and probable cost to fix this.

[zar786]

Hi ,

Did you manage to sort your problem out?

I have had the same problem now

Please help

Thanks