Hi, Today I was driving home from a friends house during a snow storm with my 2008 VW Passat (with 2800 miles on it) during the drive, i noticed i was having traction problems in the city and noticed that on the highway my car would not shift any further than third gear… nor would it downshift into first gear. I pulled over put the car in park. turned off the traction control, put the car back into drive and felt a horrible clunk. The transmission slammed into gear, but not into first, right into 3rd gear. Fortunately it shifts to reverse so it’s somewhat driveable… It ended up being towed to the dealership because i’m worried there is a major problem. My question is could something have happened to my transmission from driving in snow? Could the transmission somehow have gotten frozen in 3rd gear? Is this something that the car is supposed to do during inclement weather? I’m grasping for hope on this one this car replaces a 2007 Jetta that was in the shop for over a month without resolution.
The good news is no matter what it was, it is now the dealer’s problem, not yours. Well you will be without a car for a while, but the dealer is responsible for finding out what it was and correcting the problem. Cost is of no interest to you (doesn’t that sound good?)
The solution to your problem is spelled w-a-r-r-a-n-t-y. You do not have to know what the source of your problem is, nor do you have to worry about the cost. That is what a new car warranty is for.
As long as you have not been in an accident (mechanical damage related to an accident/collision is not covered by a new car warranty), then whatever went wrong (and with a VW, the possibilities are…many) is at the expense of the manufacturer.
Hopefully, you purchased the car from a dealer who gives free loaner cars when you bring your car in for maintenance (that is the only way that I will do business), so that you don’t have to pay for a rental while they repair/replace your transmission.
Normally a trans problem is not your concern; that’s for warranty to worry about.
The exception might be the definition of “traction problems” during a snow storm. Does this mean you were hammering the car hard (both RPMS wise and yo-yoing back and forth between forward and reverse gears) in an effort to get moving or what?