After giving it a little extra gas it would jump into gear?

MTHOMAS16

MEMBER
1997 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
160,000 MILES

I have a 1997 VW Passat VR6. Recently it started to fall out of gear into neutral at stop signs after giving it a little extra gas it would jump into gear, as if I was learning to drive a standard, with that problem still occuring 1week later it was having problems changing gears and would rev a lot in 1st gear before it started moving. A few days later while dealing with the same issues smoke started coming out of the tail pipe and hood after I stopped mostly from the right side. The smoke didn't seem to have much of a tint mostly gray/white. The car does not go into gear at all.

1 Reply

BORIS K

MECHANIC
757 POSTS

Hello,

It sounds like the transmission is low on oil.

I would suggest to first check that the transmission oil has not leaked into the coolant of the engine cooling system. Check at the expansion bottle (cold engine) and see if there is any red/pink sludge in the coolant, see picture below.

If this has happened then this will indicate that the transmission oil cooler, part of the radiator on your vehicle, has failed.

If the coolant is still clean then next check the transmission fluid level. Locate the dipstick for the transmission, start the vehicle and let idle. Pull out dipstick and check if any oil is showing between the marks. If none or very low then let the vehicle get to operating temperature. Check the oil level again. If still low or nothing is showing then add the correct oil, check with your local parts store. How to add oil please see instructions below.

How to service a automatic transmission.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-service-an-automatic-transmission

General automatic transmission issues.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/automatic-transmission-problems

Please let us know how you get along.

Cheers, Boris

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