2003 VW Jetta shifting trouble?

Asked by Gabriella Apr 07, 2019 at 03:21 PM about the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta Wolfsburg Edition

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 2003 vw jetta 1.8t and it’s been having
issues shifting. I’ll be driving it and all of the
sudden the car will slow down and rev extremely
high causing the car to jerk. I’ve tried putting new
transmission fluid in and that didn’t work.
Someone please help!!! I don’t know what to do
and I can’t afford a new transmission.

2 Answers

3,775

the first thing you need to do is understand the operation of the stick shift. I have THEE same exact car as you do. I started out getting only 330 miles in one tank. I now get 450 miles with just 10 gallons of purchase. Treat the car like a baby ( even though it is german engineering). When you push in clutch ALL the way for EACH gear, bring it out nice and easy. The reason why your motor rev high is because you down shift to prior gear and it's not ready for it. the transmission is not the brake system. When you down shift go to neutral first and rev up motor a good pinch ( like a diesel truck would do ). Then proceed to the next lower gear and it would go a lot smoother! Too many people rely on automatic transmission because they simply don't understand the simplicity of standard. ALSO, I have never heard of a car jerk because the transmission was being used as a brake. Something in your story just doesn't sound right. good luck

3,775

secondly, you probably put oil in the motor because for a standard transmission, there is NO way you could put transmission fluid into a standard.. a shop must do that. Or you simply telling a lie about your transmission. maybe you simply don't understand the vehicle.

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