The joy!.

Wife rang me up at work saying the car was playing up (Mk2 Kuga Powershift).

Got home and managed to get it to fault again.



Managed to pull code P0766, shift solenoid D stuck.

First port of call is to flush the box, only did the oil change 15,000 miles ago though with genuine Ford oil + filter.

If that doesn't work I'll have to take the 'box to bits and clean/ replace the solenoid (looks quite an interesting job..).

 

Can’t you just hit it with a hammer?

 

Oil hasn't worked so looks like I'll be taking it to bits at the weekend...

 

Well I'd ordered some snake oil to try and clean the valve body/ mechatronic unit (common fault and £1500 for it!).

Already resigned myself to either stripping it myself or farming it out..

My flushing oil was 5.5l twin clutch oil and 700ml of Seafoam Hydra Trans which I added tonight, new oil filter.

Warmed it up on the drive and still cluncking into gear and Transmission Limited Function kept popping up.

Went for a drive round the block and it sounded like gearbox was going to fall out/ harsh shifting, then lost all drive and it went mental. I genuinely thought at this point it was game over for the 'box!.

Restarted and limped it back onto the drive and had codes for 2 stuck solenoids now, worse than when I started..

Left it running and noticed the box was getting gradually quieter (I think this was the clutch packs re priming?), rolled backwards and forwards and it got noticably smoother.

Tentative drive round block again and no errors, ended up doing 20 miles lovely smooth quick changes, perfect from a stop etc!. Had it in Sport Manual and went though all the gears perfectly.

I am truely amazed at what this Seafoam has done and I was ready to spend ££ getting it repaired (wife uses it for work).

Think I'll keep this oil in for 500/ 1000 miles and then flush it again for good measure.

Over the moon!.

 

That’s worth knowing - keep us updated on it. My mate just had a similar problem on his wife’s Polo. New mechatronic unit - £1,800. Ouch.

 

Yep I was looking at a mechatronic unit as well, some companies do refurb them though. Most common fault is sticking solenoids.

Just done a blast down the bypass this morning, smooth as butter!.

Will be adding a bottle of this to every change from now on and go from 37000 mile intervals down to 20,000.

Found a decent German oil in 20l tubs for £110 (does VW DSG as well), got a genuine Ford service kit for £150 last time (local dealer wanted £260 for exactly same thing!).

For the sake of an hour and £70 doing it every 20,000 is a no brainer compaired to what they cost when they go wrong!.

 

Sincerely hope all goes well, Keith - I have to say, this story does nowt to convince me to move to DSG
At 65k, a 'normal' box should have no wear at all.
John

 

The box is quite stout and really nice when towing the caravan, it's just there's that much going on inside even a little blockage can cause havoc!.

Thinking about what's going on inside (especally the clutches under oil) 37,000 mile changes are a big ask!. Think DSG are every 60k?.

I wouldn't go back to a manual for the daily, should be fine on 20k changes.

There are prople who repair them now, dealership would just replace the whole box at £3500!.

 

I'm sure we'll all have them in time to come!
Two incidences in the family scare me, both on low powered cars (Beetle, BMW Mini) where they started to play up at around 50k. Both cars were traded on.
I wonder how they fare on cars like the Golf R and Audi 3.0, with 200+ HP.
John

 

I think they try and string the service intervals out far too long, 60,000 mile oil thats full of clutch debris and been smashed about between the gear teeth etc will be well past it's best.

Having a read over the week (when I was preparing myself for a big spend!), it seems the Mecatronic units are replaced without any attempt to clean them.

Been speaking to a few Kuga owners on 90,000+ miles who also tow caravans and they've had no trouble.

One other thing that came up is the dealerships not doing the gearbox service at all, I can imagine a fair few customers declining a £300+ extra bill at service time..

 

I couldn't agree more....I'm doing Haldex service at 30k now including the filter.
I'm a DSG virgin though! I guess they have a filter too?
John

 

Yep DSG's have a filter, theres a fair few variations on the DGS's, been around a long time!.

Some have an odd level setting proceedure, the drain also has a tube that sets the level?.

DSG and Getrag Powershift also have dry clutch variants on lower torque cars, avoid these like the plague!. The dry clutches wear out far too quicky.

 

Recently done a Haldex service (Strip, clean, new filter and oil) on our Evoque. Supposed to be a sealed for life item. Was well manky after just 45,000 miles.

 

I did a gearbox service on ours just after I bought it, should have only been 13,000 miles old (full service history).

Didn't look like 13k old oil!.

Your Haldex was ready for service!, only reason I can see for sealed for life is lowering the service cost (selling point).

 

I've yet to find a Freelander without Haldex issues .....sealed for life, my ass.
Transfer boxes are another thing - not really fit for purpose but they still sell well.
John