Sharan Auto Box Issues.

[delphius1]

I have a friend with a Mk1 Sharan (same as the Galaxy and Alhambra).

I have a problem where the gearbox is reluctant to change up into 4th... the revs carry on rising but it doesn't change up. I can get it to change up by easing off the accelerator. Then it will change up. It will also change up easier while running downhill, when the throttle isn't depressed as much.

In just wondered if there's something like a kickdown cable that can be adjusted on these cars. Anyone know the adjustment procedure?

Also, I wondered if it could be a fluid level issue, but there's nowhere to check the fluid level and top it up. Does anyone have details of how to check the auto box fluid levels?

Thanks in advance,

Mark.

[Dozz]

There's no where to check the fluid from what I understand it has to be plugged in to diagnostics to check and fill. No kick down cable it's fly by wire throttle but could be the kick down switch which also has to be calibrated by the diagnostics again. You say 4th what about 5th? Or did the early ones only have a 4 speed auto? in which case what i've typed won't be relevant to you

[delphius1]

I finally got to look at this last week.

The diagnostics are used to make sure the gearbox fluid is at the correct temperature, nothing else. Because the gearbox is sealed, the expansion of the fluid due to heat has to be within certain limits. To do that, you fill the gearbox and check the level with the fluid at a known temperature. Filling the gearbox with cold fluid means that the fluid will expand beyond the usual limits.

The level is set using the gearbox sump pan drain plug, which is in two parts. There's an inner plug, which is set inside an outer plug. The outer plug is more like a tube, which sticks up into the transmission fluid. To check the level, the inner plug is removed, leaving the outer in place. Fluid is poured into the gearbox until it reaches the top of the outer plug, then pours out through the centre of it. Once fluid pours out of the plug, thats the level set. To drain the gearbox, you remove both the inner and the outer plugs. Then once drained you replace the outer plug for level setting.

The filler is at the front of the gearbox. There's a red plastic shroud round a cap to hold it in place, it simply unclips. Then the plastic cap can be prised off with a screwdriver. Filling is difficult because there are obstructions directly above it.

It looks like this gearbox was filled with cold fluid, and therefore overfilled. As soon as I removed the inner plug to check the level, fluid poured out. A good half litre of fluid came out. Signs of overfilling were present too, fluid had pushed past the seal between the gearbox body and the gearbox sump pan. The small leak had made the owner think his gearbox was leaking and the problem was caused by a lack of fluid.

I can only assume the overfilling caused problems. The fluid was brown.

I only had a litre of fluid to hand, as the owner thought the fluid was low, due to the leak, rather than overfull, so I removed that much and replaced with fresh fluid.

My friend has reported that the work has made a difference. Most likely because I paid attention to checking the level, rather than adding just a litre of fresh fluid. However, I think a full drain and fresh fluid fill is on the cards in the near future.

[=TSR= Sadham]

Hi i just did a full drain and refill on my vr6 sharan 3.5ltr's is the recomended level of (VWATF)(at £7.78 per ltr so you have to buy 4ltr's and i struggled to get the 3.5ltr's in cold fluid in a cold engine my old fluid was also a real dirty dark brown and the new was a nice light brown

[hsgheorghiu]

OUr 2002 sharan 1.9 TDI auto gearbox has just gone so I wanted to check with this thread whether they had any guidance on what we should look out for with a garage repair - in terms of price etc. Is this a common flaw in this car? It was revving hard when changing up during acceleration beforehand so we took it to the garage and they claim it seized up on them - don;t know what they did to it as it was still working when it went in. Now they suggest we send it to another garage as they cannot deal with it! Great - any thoughts. Glad of advice.

[Dozz]

Hope your sat down. Mine went at about 70k miles. It was like driving a manual with a slipping clutch. So to take out box repair box with new bits and have the torque converter overhauled at the same time came to 1800 quid!!!!! Labour was cheap it was the parts which hurt lots of solanoids inside which even though they were ok then are known for being problematic. This wasn't done by any trans specilalist by the way. My mate runs a manual gearbox overhaul specialist and it was done through him to a company they use for all auto box problems. So there was no rip off on the price. Also the box had been done once before there's a plunger which crack and somebody had just replaced that part and it had failed again. I now have uprated internals to stop this happening again. Sorry fella there's no happy ending if you buy a secondhand box if it dosen't already have a problem it will probably fail later on. Apparently the boxs were uprated but from which year on I don't know

[Ozzy]

Sharan 2.0c auto 1999
Hi Guys.
Had this problem, sticks in 1st revs like i dont know what then may change to 2nd and 3rd if i'm was lucky but never 4th gear.
Was told to top up auto oil dont do this waste of time, does'ent work
had a diagnostic with no help.

Finally bit the bullet, i took the sharan to Guilders in 2 days they sorted it
turned out to be the brain £425+vat. better than paying £1600 for a new gearbox.

[Neddy]

I have had exactly the same problem and went down the route of changing the fluid to no avail. Then topped it up with wonder gear fluid. Still wondering what it did, oh yeah ..nothing. Decided to go to a referbish gearbox garage in Romford. First time it improved no end then after about a month it started not finding the gears again. They replaced the Turbo and other bits. It's a very random thing. Took it back where they replaced the gear memory thing and it occationally won't find 4th.
The problem is I live in Guildford and it costs me a fortune each time I go to Romford as I need to take 2 cars so I can leave mine with the garage. So thinking of cutting my losses. Does any one know a good dealer in Surrey who may be able to get it right? Cheers