[xtremeyolks]

I recently blew out my 2nd gear in my 98 jetta 2.0. I took it into the dealership today, hoping to get the 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty. They voided my warranty b/c of my neuspeed short shifter. Has anyone else had a problem with their 2.0 manual trannies? Should i be able to fight my voided warranty, b/c i really don't have 2,500 that they want for a new transmission. Or should i try to swap in a 16v tranny? Thanks for all your help

 

[SCHALTHEBELKNAUF]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (xtremeyolks)

fight, don't let them try and screw you over. They have to prove that the short shift kit was responsible for causing the tranny to fail. If they can't then they have no grounds for voiding the warranty.

 

[Gaki]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (SCHALTHEBELKNAUF)

exactly.
what was smarter is if you had removed the short shifter BEFORE bringing it in.

 

[FujiTekniques]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (xtremeyolks)

Remove the short shift, find a different dealer. It's worth the drive if it means a free tranny.

 

[Flavourless]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (WolfsburgTekniques)

yah no kidding remove it and put the stock one in and just go to a new one, quick though so they dont have time to make any phone calls..hehehe but def. fight it if anything

 

[xtremeyolks]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (Euro Flavor)

While I was on the phone with the dealership I asked if I could take the short shifter out then go back and have the warranty and they said," well, it's in the computers now that you have the short shifter so it's no use to do that." What am I suppposed to do now? My dad is trying to fight vw of north america right now. They're suppposed to call back. We'll see how that goes...............

 

[TooLFan46n2]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (xtremeyolks)

So how did the shifter cause the the tranny to blow? Technical explanations are a good thing.

 

[xtremeyolks]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (TooLFan46n2)

I have no idea. The dealership is probably just using it as an excuse to void the warranty.

 

[squishy12]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (xtremeyolks)

they have to prove that the short shifter caused it to fail. they know damn well it's vw's crappy second gear (and others) synchro. fight it, make em prove it.

 

[EuroStyle]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (squishy12)

Make them prove it, and the computer is the dealers computer...most of them do not share local notes. Take ti out and find another dealer, although now that your Dad has contacted VWoA, it might not work since they are aware of your car. They need to prove that the short shifter actually caused the synro to fail..they will not be able to do this....
Sean

 

[DUBMON]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (xtremeyolks)

I had my tranny replaced under warranty with an ABD short shifter in my car...twice! The first time was for the second gear, and the second time was for the reverse gear.
Fight it and find another dealership.

 

[97VenomGTI]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided.

I can help you find a used tranny for your car if you'd like. I picked one up with 32k miles for $650.

Not too bad if you ask me...if it comes down to it and you need help finding a used one, let me know - I'll be glad to help out.

Danny

 

[xtremeyolks]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided. (97VenomGTI)

Thank you to everyone who responded. And Danny if it comes down to it i'll let you know. If people with short shift kits are getting their trannies replaced I don't see why mine can't be replaced as well. I guess it's time to find another dealership....

 

[VAG Parts Bin]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided.

Contact SEMA (specialty equipment manufacturers association or something like that). They have a legal arm that handles these things, IIRC.

 

[xtremeyolks]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided. (VAG Parts Bin)

Oh cool! I'll have to look into that. Thank you

 

[k2bum]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided. (xtremeyolks)

I just pulled my transmission out of my car last night and found that I had blown a hole in the bell housing. My guess is one of the rivet head screws used to hold the differential together broke off and shot through there.
Anyway......I called New German Performance in Aberdeen, MD and they are re-building me a 16V tranny(mm......close gear ratio's

). The guy that I talked to there said that a short shifter has nothing to do with it blowing(I have one also). He said that VW is known for having all kinds of transmission problems. At least you have a chance that it will be covered.
Good luck.

 

[EpicVW]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided. (xtremeyolks)

Just so you know...
I had the exact same problem with my tranny, and the exact same response from SantaCruz VW. "Your short-shift kit caused the problem...Sorry, but there is nothing we can do for you."
Took it to Sunnyvale VW with the stock shift kit on it and they rebuilt the tranny with no questions asked.
If you need a stock shift kit, I have a couple lying around I think. Your local, so we could just meet up and you could borrow it for a while. Shoot me an e-mail if you need it. Good luck!
Passatrcr

 

[Astroboy]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided. (VAG Parts Bin)

I feel sorry for xtremeyolks for blowing up his second gear. Ouch, I wouldn't want that to happen to me.
But let us all have an objective point of view.
The sencond gear synchro problems which we all hear about are associated with Mk4 VR6. I doubt if there was a design flaw with Mk3 2.0L of in 98, considering it has been proven to work for the past years.
Do you guys all truly believe that the short shifter was not to blame? The purpose of short shifter is to is to reduce the shift throw thus enabling quicker gear change.
The short shifter may have nulled out the timing tolerance for the gears/sinchros to properly engaged and settled in, resulting in bigger chance of failure, which btw VW did not anticipate.
With this one, I think the dealership's position is legitimate.
What do you think guys?

 

[EpicVW]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided. (Astroboy)

Absolutely not...
I have a friend that used to be a VW Mechanic for VW at the time I had my problem. He told me that VW was "aware" of a flaw with the 2nd gear synchros, but wasn't making it public knowledge. (Big surprise there...

) Whether you had a short-shift or not would not have made a difference. My 2nd gear blew out by 35,000 miles. I immediately put the short-shift kit back in after the rebuild and am currently at 102,000 and the tranny performs flawlessly.
Also if you look at the design of the short-shifter it only causes a throw reduction on the shift linkage to the shifter itself. It does not reduce the amount of engagement to the tranny at all.
Passatrcr

 

[vwsteve]

Re: I need help! Transmission blown and warranty voided (WolfsburgTekniques)

quote:[HR][/HR]Remove the short shift, find a different dealer. It's worth the drive if it means a free tranny.[HR][/HR]​

VW is notorious for not supporting any sort of modification to the stock set-up what-so-ever....and it really is a drag because VW enthusiast types, like ourselves, are great advocates for VW and genuine supporters for thier products...and have been for years.....but I don't think that thier policy will change anytime soon with regard to warranty issues.
I suggest that you take off as much as you can that has been added to the car.....make it look as close to stock as possible and try to take it to another dealer...hopefully, you haven't been red flagged in the computer system and you'll get what you are due.....your tranny covered and replaced....good luck