firstly it's an automatic,

1.4ltr mpi, i don't think it's the 100bhp engine because it looks like a single cam engine. dunno if that means it's the same as the 1.4mpi in my Fabia which i thought was a skoda engine.

anyway... on her 40min commute to work the car "failed to respond and didn't pull off" or "started to pull off then lost all power" 5 times on her journey and making it clearly unsafe for her to drive imo

now i know next to nothing about automatics, does this sound like an auto box problem or is it likely to be anything else???

is plugging it into a vag-com gonna bring up any codes if it is the box???

she's had the car 4months and not even checked the levels(i did the other day, and they are fine)

I am going to check her transmission fluid level tonight but if anyone has any ideas of what else to look for please let me know

Edited 6 June, 201115 yr by Sonner

Mileage? If it's over 50k, I'd try changing the transmission fluid (well, given how smelly old ATF is, I'd suggest getting a garage to do it for you).

it's not a simple job to change the ATF fluid on an 01M transmission jimbo.. you need vag-com to check the temperature of the fluid, and the fluid needs to be filled/topped up within a certain temp range.. the drain plug on the bottom of the box is actually an overflow, undoing it wont release any fluid, without drawing a diagram of how it works it's hard to explain but basically there is an oil sump on the gearbox, the drain/overflow tube is level with the top of the oil level, hence the oil only comes out when the level goes over the top of the tube which is also a handy way of not overfilling the box...

you need to be a bit more specific when you say it's loosing power, it the engine revving and the gear not engaging? what happens if you select the gears 1 2 and 4 manually?

without driving it it's anybody's guess wether it's gearbox or engine related, but i would recommend getting the ecu and gearbox ecu's codes read

this is the thing, i drove it for an hour yesterday and didn't notice anything wrong... she has only described it to me via text message and in women lanuage.. so without being in the car i can't be sure of exactly how it's playing up..

she didn't have any paperwork with the car when she bought it, but it has around 65k on the clock,

i wanted to do what i can before taking it to a garage, but i won't try to change the fluid myself. but i was told by my dad i could check the level easily(well he said you can on beemers and mercs so why not vw)

i just don't want her to take it to her local garage and get ripped off or have unecessary work done on it...

is there a list of everyone on here that has a vag-com because i would like to take it to someone local and see if any codes come up before it goes down the garage.

i was gonna clean up the throttle body whilst i was under the hood as well. i am even tempted to change the crank position sensor and temp coolant sensor if they might be the cause of the problem, but ultimately until i drive it myself and it happens to me it's difficult to know..

thanks for the input so far guys

i would leave the crank sensor well alone, the engine won't run if it's not working so you can more or less rule it out.. i suggest giving it a drive and trying to replicate the problem, i might be able to suggest something then

although the car has a low mileage it does not necessarily mean anything in terms of reliability, my grandad's lupo only had 12k on the clocks 1 year old when he bought it, and that then subsequently had a brand spanking new auto gearbox and torque convertor under waranty a few months later

Cheryl has the same set up, it's a 60bhp 1.4 SOHC so not the same as the Fabia MPI (which is OHV).

Fault codes are stored in engine and gearbox and can be read by VAG COM.

forgot to say as well, the differential has a seperate oil system from the rest of the box, which has it's own filler and drain plugs

does anyway in my local area... East or West Sussex, and kent but only really soouth and west kent. have a vag-com i can plug it into then..

i will leave the crank sensor well alone. thanks tom

when she said it was a 1.4 auto i assumed it would be the 100bhp motor however when i drove it i quickly realised it wasn't

but 60BHP THAT'S TINY, by the time you take into account mechanical drag that car can't have more than 35WHP, no wonder it's so slow!

Well i'm gonna drive her to brighton and back in it on saturday so hopefully it play up a little then i can report back as tio exactly what it's doing... so watch this space

so i still haven't driven her car yet to find out exactly how it's playing up but after reading around on a few forums then consulting my ex's-dad that works as a mechanic at VW it is becoming clear that the Crank Sensor(engine speed sensor) causes the exact problems she has described

now i have been trying to find one online but need a part no, i found a part no 047 906 433 which is a crank speed sensor for a 1.4mpi but i'm pretty sure thats the ohv skoda engine not the AKK one... but is the part no the same?? if not where can i find the part no online??

Edited 9 June, 201115 yr by Sonner

also i will pose the question again, does anyone within 30miles of me have a vag-com i can get plugged into

a bit of an anti-climax in the end... i spent 4hrs behind the wheel of her car this weekend and didn't play up once for me... it seems completely fine in my opinion, i told her we will sell it in a few months and get her a manual instead, cheaper to run etc etc

a bit of an anti-climax in the end... i spent 4hrs behind the wheel of her car this weekend and didn't play up once for me... it seems completely fine in my opinion, i told her we will sell it in a few months and get her a manual instead, cheaper to run etc etc

I had a similar problem with my 06 Octavia DSG v dangerous when overtaking! Other symptoms were that the cruise control ceased to function. Turned out to be an electrical problem solved by updating the loom. The problem was identified by Audi my local Skoda agent had to really search for the correct solution.