My 2001 standard transmission vw jetta has been popping out of 5th gear, I read my vw warranty and it states that transmissions are covered for up to 10 years/100,000 miles. My car has less mileage. My question is are there any vw owners who have had this or similar issues with vw, did they give you a hard time?, try to “weasel” out of it? Any suggestions as to how I approach them? My mechanic tells me I need a new transmission. Should I tell them my mechanic has already made this diagnosis when I go? Any advice would be much appreciated. I am so cynical about dealing with dealerships…Thanks so much!
If you bought the car new then you MAY be covered. There’s nothing traumatic about simply asking them if it’s covered so don’t be cynical about this.
Something to consider is this. Warranty is supposed to cover factory defects in materials and workmanship. Driving around with your hand resting on the gearshift lever can cause undue wear and tear on the synchronizer assembly and shift fork. This may cause the transmission to jump out of gear.
Since doing this is not a materials defect or workmanship problem, but rather an owner-inflicted one, it would be best if you do not even mention this when talking to the dealer about it.
This is the one time you want to go to the dealer. This is also a time you don’t want to tell the dealer what you want you think needs to be done, or what someone else said about it. You just tell them about it popping out of 5the gear and that you want them to fix it under the warranty. Stop there and see what they say and do. Ideally they will tell you they will check it and let you know. After they check it, hopefully, they will tell you they can have it done by (fill in time and date here) and that it will be covered by their fantastic warranty.
The only way they may get out of fixing it is the one Tester pointed out. In that case you may want to know what your mechanic may have said the cost would be. I suspect they will cover it, but I can’t be sure. Have you been resting your hand on the shift when driving?
The warranty is for the orignal purchaser of the vehicle. If you bought used your out of luck.
First confirm your warranty with the dealer, if you have one make an appointment and clearly give the symptoms and how and when it occurs. If you have performed the maintenance per schedule related to the manual transmission (if any) you should have no issues getting this done.
I have had good experience with VW for warranty repairs. My daughter had our 2002 Jetta in Chicago for school (we live in Colorado and had purchased the car here). The auto transmission stopped going into reverse, and she had to have somebody help push her back out of the parking space. She was able to drive to a local VW dealer just outside Chicago on the west side. The computer was not throwing any codes, but they also were not able to get it into reverse. There were 60 miles left on the warranty, and they put a new transmission in for her, no questions asked.
I know there are bad dealers out there, but there are also good ones. Check around to find a VW dealer with a good service department, and let them diagnose and fix for you. If you are still under warranty, there should be no questions.
thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it!