# VW MK4 Tiptronic Tranny Behavior Weird? Shift Delay? Fluid Change?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-mk4-tiptronic-tranny-behavior-weird-shift-delay-fluid-change/69281>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** jetta, fluids, volkswagen\
**Created:** [November 7, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-mk4-tiptronic-tranny-behavior-weird-shift-delay-fluid-change/69281 "2011-11-07T03:21:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![neveraging](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/neveraging/32/19463_2.png) [@neveraging](https://community.cartalk.com/u/neveraging)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-mk4-tiptronic-tranny-behavior-weird-shift-delay-fluid-change/69281/1 "2011-11-07T03:21:33Z")

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I bought a used VW 1.8T with Tiptronic Transmission ~88,500 miles, so I don’t know what is normal and what I should be concerned with (I’m a stick shift person, bought this to be the family car). I particularly notice what seems to be a delayed shift when going up hill RPMs go up to ~4k before the shift. Is this a late shift?  
I’ve been reading a fair bit of online fora about the need to change the ATF + filter + clean the pan every 30-40k; what’s the CarTalk take on this?  
THANKS!

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**Author:** ![mleich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@mleich](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mleich)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-mk4-tiptronic-tranny-behavior-weird-shift-delay-fluid-change/69281/2 "2011-11-07T15:14:47Z")

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Double check that whoever does the fluid swap uses the correct fluid–I doubt that a VW can take any “universal” fluids. Most likely will need VW-specific or even VW-branded fluids. This goes for everything, not just tranny fluid. Check your owner’s manual.

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**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-mk4-tiptronic-tranny-behavior-weird-shift-delay-fluid-change/69281/3 "2011-11-07T15:40:21Z")

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“change the ATF + filter + clean the pan every 30-40k…what’s the CarTalk take on this?”

Do a search on this site and you’ll find dozens of threads with people suggesting the same thing.