milan_o

My car is now fixed. The torgue converter was replaced and the transmission fluid was changed.

Thanks to am_ver for the information that helped identify the fix.

Tarmac101

I have the same issue and when I gave the car to the dealer to look at the issue, they said they did not find any problem. This was 3 months ago before the warranty expired. Now that it is cold again, the problem is here again and I now I am out of warranty.

Did the torque converter and transmission fluid fully fixed the issue? I might go to the dealer with this info and see if I can have them fix it at no cost since they did not diagnose it correctly when it was still under warranty.

am_ver

The TQ convertor fixed the issue for MilanO. However, for me the issue is not completely resolved. I still get those surges when the car is cold and i am rolling down a hill. Replacing the Tq converter did help a little though.

BlueSander

I'm out of warranty and I do have this issue + the car shakes. For me, this thing takes place when the car is actually warmed up. I have not seen it takes place when the car is cold.

SchwarzS6

Jaguars and BMW's also exhibit this problem. It seems that in some cases a replace/rebuild of the valve body solves the problem. This is easier than the TC swap since the tranny does not need to come out. am_ver, did they replace the valve body when they did the tranny?

BlueSander

It's Christmas Eve and you bet it, I'm freaking out. Couldn't see something like this could happen. My car is schedule to come in this Wed for its official diagnosis. I probably will bring the car in Monday. The prob is getting worse quicker than expecting. I don't want it to damage the tranny.

am_ver

No, they just did the TQ converter not the valve body.

BlueSander

Got my car in today. Torque converter is the problem. They also found metal pieces in the transmission fluid and suggested replacing the transmission itself. I wonder which route to take (replacing just the TQ conerter or the whole transmission). My car is at 93k miles. I'm not so sure if it's worth the money replacing the transmission. The quote for TQ converter replacement is around $2500.

DirtyVegasTT

With that many miles on it and with the repairs you are looking at, how about trading it in before you hit 6 figures on the odometer and get something else? If that is an option of course, and if it wasn't it is certainly worth a consideration IMHO.

Seems like you would be in for over $5K for both tranny and TQ converter. Sounds like you will need both. Between the trade and the money you're looking at for repairs you may have a good down. Just a thought...

SchwarzS6

Just spoke with Nat at Eriksson Industries in Old Saybrook, CT. They are a factory authorized ZF transmission rebuild center. He has seen this problem on a number of other cars, BMW's and Audi's. After I described the problem in detail he told me that the problem is rarely the transmission, it is usually with the engine, either the throttle body or a bad sensor. The one thing he did say was that these transmissions do have a higher failure rate of the valve body compared to the older 5 speeds.

Just one more data point.