Love itAscender wrote: Mon Aug 24, 2026 4:20 pm I forgot to disable the interior alarm on my way home when I popped into the shops, but when the alarm went off I got a notification on my phone and a helpful photograph of the culprits.
I had to google which gearbox that is - it appears to have the 6-sp DSG. They are sufficiently mainstream that I bet she can find a specialist to get it repaired much cheaper than that.DeskJockey wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2026 1:03 pm Not mine, but SiL's 17 plate Passat GTE has lunched its Mechatronic unit on the way home from holiday. Cost to repair is in excess of £5k
Yeah, I didn't realise there is a specific hybrid gearbox - missed the GTE bit - and they are quite a bit more expensive to repair. This is what concerns me about hybrid cars...the idea is great, but the tech that goes into bringing both drivetrains together sounds incredibly complicated, so you've gotta wonder how expensive these things can be to fix when it all goes wrong.Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2026 5:04 pm £5k ?? Get out.
Fair enough a garage won’t want to fit a random s/h unit from eBay or whatever and will (justifiably) insist on a properly refurbished item because they need to stand by the warranty, but £5k is mental. That must be a whole new gearbox ?
Edit - although this thread seems to corroborate the £5k figure:
https://www.volkswagenforum.co.uk/threa ... um=organic
Towing in a hybrid does make me wince… my ex broke her Evoque hybrid by driving it in a spirited fashion and I just think the stress testing of hybrids doesn’t cover heavy loads or hard drivingMatty wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2026 6:13 pmYeah, I didn't realise there is a specific hybrid gearbox - missed the GTE bit - and they are quite a bit more expensive to repair. This is what concerns me about hybrid cars...the idea is great, but the tech that goes into bringing both drivetrains together sounds incredibly complicated, so you've gotta wonder how expensive these things can be to fix when it all goes wrong.Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2026 5:04 pm £5k ?? Get out.
Fair enough a garage won’t want to fit a random s/h unit from eBay or whatever and will (justifiably) insist on a properly refurbished item because they need to stand by the warranty, but £5k is mental. That must be a whole new gearbox ?
Edit - although this thread seems to corroborate the £5k figure:
https://www.volkswagenforum.co.uk/threa ... um=organic
Appreciate it, but they've accepted the quote from the garage it is in. It is also nearly three hours from Gatwick, so would need to be recovered there first.Simon wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2026 11:28 pm @DeskJockey you may remember that my wife's mechatronic shat its guts out a few years ago and we got it replaced at a local specialist to here. Over £2k still, but that was a lot cheaper than new from Skoda etc.
Worth a call?
I'd missed the "GTE" bit too. It seems to have a lower towing capacity than the regular models, 1600kg vs. up to 2200kg for some variants, but yeah, a trailer tent is not a big deal. And this isn't a servicing issue (unless VW warranty and lack of service history is their get-out).DeskJockey wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2026 9:38 pm The trailer tent is well within the tow rating for the car. That shouldn't be the issue. Whether the gearbox has ever been serviced might be a bigger thing. They take it to VW, but I've no idea of what the service schedules are like.
A hybrid ought to be ideal for towing, all that immediate torque from a standstill is exactly what you want. As long as it's built to cope with it...
Yes, but apparently the problem is that just replacing that solenoid in the mechatronic is really hit and miss and some of the repair kits don't have consistent quality.jamcg wrote: Sat Aug 29, 2026 9:19 am Some get diagnosed as a mechatronic unit but are actually just a faulty solenoid valve I believe
