Q: My 2004 vw beetle with automatic transmission bangs into gear from the shift to first gear to second gear. Only When cold

asked by on November 20, 2017

My 2004 vw beetle with automatic transmission bangs into gear from the shift to first gear to second gear. Only does that when cold once it fully warms up the transmission shifts normally. I have no check engine light. UPDATE: got it answered by Tim Charlet, He suggested I get the fluid flushed and changed. My question now is, would it be safe to change the fluid now? Some friends told me that if I do that, the tranny might have got used to the old fluid and start acting weird after the flush? And I cannot afford the fluid change immediately, what can I do in order to not damage it? how can I warm up the tranny before driving so it does not do that? My car has 160000 miles. My car has an automatic transmission.

My car has 160000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

Hey Virusboy. Thanks again for the question. It’s actually a very good question. If there is an obstruction of debris inside the inner transmission hydraulic lines, it needs to be removed. In regards to the transmission (getting used to old fluid), there really isn’t any evidence to support that claim. What happens sometimes with older transmissions is that when you complete a flush, the inner seals will leak - which causes the ’acting weird issues’. It’s a risk that you need to take - or have the transmission replaced. In regards to what you can do, here is what I’d recommend. First, the transmission fluid only warms up when it’s in gear - so sitting an idling the car for a while is not going to help. The best thing you can do is to either add a good transmission fluid additive that can break up debris inside the lines and drive slow (meaning don’t accelerate fast which places more strain on the transmission and torque converter) until the transmission fluid has heated up.

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