Hi, So i think my car has a mind of its own. Since I bought the car 2 months ago this transmission would only go into third gear when its in drive. If i manually put it in 1st or 2nd it would go into them but as soon as i put it into drive it would go to 3rd and stay there. It would even red line without shifting into 4th. I wouldn't down shift either. Well about 1 week ago the car just started working again after i flushed the coolant system... Well last night it went bonkers. I was driving, had it in D and it just put its self in neutral. The drive selector stayed in D but the tranny was in N. Anyway i dropped it into 3rd felt it shift but could tell when i hit the gas it was slipping badly. So I put it in 2nd, same thing. First same thing. R didn't go anywhere. So I put it back in 3rd and it just worked like it should. So i drove it home. Now after looking it over i unplugged the long plug on the tranny that tells the shift selector on the dash what gear i was in and tried to start it. It wouldn't, so i plugged it back in and it started. Now the transmission worked like it should. But the drive indicator on the dash always says drive. After i drove it a mile i stopped put it in reverse, it backed up, put it in drive, it went forward, i hit the gas sped up and it shifted into second. I thought, yay i fixed it loose wire. But i put it into reverse again to back up into the driveway and nothing. No reverse. So i put it in drive then pulled into the grass.
Anyway that's prolly the longest story ever in the history of the world but what cha think.

its a 98 2.0 jetta

 

also i drove it to work this morning because i dont have another car and it drove fine sometimes. Then other times i could be driving and it would just act like it was in nuetral. So i would drop it down into 1st and it would act like it was in drive. Shift through all the gears fine. Eventualy it would act like it was in nuetral again so I would put it into drive and it would drive fine for a while more.

 

My son's 2001 2.0 AEG engine with FDF auto tranny was doing the same things. Basically, you're in emergency running mode or limp mode when the car will only drive in 3rd gear with the shifter in "D". After finding a reputable European repair shop and having them drain fluid, replace filter and selonoids, we had a VSS "vehicle speed sensor" error code. Basically, this is an electronic sensor that sends signals from the tranny to your transmission control module (TCM). There are 3 of these types of sensors, this one was "G28" (I believe). The part costs about $50 and the labor can be done by just about any shop. You could start diagnosising this issue by going to an Autozone or similar parts store and have them scan your car for codes. Sometimes, clearing the code will work allow your tranny to shift correctly for a short time but usually comes back after turning the engine off and then back on. Let us know what you find out.

 

Thanks for the tip... I was told by my vw dealer that the tranny fluid costs 40 bucks a qt. Any ideas on that one?
Also I've read online that it could be a bad ground to the tranny computer. Or a badground or badwire. But I will def try what yousaid too. Thank you

 

I've heard $40/qt also. My repairman didn't charge me that much, but it was expensive. I imagine if VW makes the repairs then you'll pay their price.

 

Also, I just looked up the price on ecstuning.com and they sell the genuine ATF for $18.30 per liter (just about a quart). I'm sure your local parts stores have it also or can order it in cheaper than VW sells it.