98 VW beetle stuck in 3rd? Auto trans

[Anthony]

This is a friends car?
Any idea what the fix is?
Thanks!

 

[Rand]

how can it be stuck in third.. you couldnt even start the car?

please explain in more detail.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: Rand


please explain in more detail.


Agreed.

 

[Anthony]

Ok well I'm guessing its going straight to 3rd when the shifter is put into drive.

Looks like it may in some sort of fail safe mode.

 

[NHGUY]

That sounds like limp mode.Like Chrysler defaulting to 2nd.You should have some check engine light on.On a 14 year old car with probably 160K miles,it doesnt bode well for the trans.

 

[91344George]

Originally Posted By: Anthony
Ok well I'm guessing its going straight to 3rd when the shifter is put into drive.

Looks like it may in some sort of fail safe mode.


This.

You need to put a scan tool on the car and pull trans codes at the least.

However you might be able to disconnect the battery and reset the transmission control module. See if that makes it function normally again.

 

[Trav]

Could be a speed sensor, there are a few of them.
You need to scan the TCM codes. Not all code readers have this capability. It will probably be a PO7xx code.

 

[Anthony]

The code was P0715 ,but I'm sure she probably just took it to a parts store , and used a basic scan tool.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Thermo1223]

the dreaded 01M trans...

Get in touch with CoolAir on TDIClub.com He rebuilds these for a living. Odds are it is the valvebody.

http://www.kansascitytdi.com/01mvalvebody.htm