My transmission has gone into "failsafe mode." The PRND display blinks between red and black. I looked it up in the owners manual.

I had trouble getting it into gear for a few minutes, but I was able to drive it home without any problems. Everything, including sport mode, worked fine. However, I can see that it's leaking fluid onto my driveway.

I'm going to get my brother, a mechanic, to look at it tomorrow. Does this sound familiar to anyone? It seems to be just some sort of fluid leak.

I bought the car Wednesday.

 

3 days?? Call the sob up who sold it a get it fixed... even private sales get 3 days to return it.

 

Ok, I had my brother look at the car. He ran a diagnostic test with the computer thingy and was able to determine that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. This will probably cost me between $1500 to $2500 from the dealership, unless I can find cheaper parts on my own.



When does the 72 hour period begin for returning the car?

The bill of sale was signed Wednesday, but the title wasn't transferrable until yesterday (Friday) since I had to get his signature on correction form from the license commission.

What exactly can I do, especially since its the weekend?

 

A used car is a used car...BUYER BEWARE!

How was the seller supposed to know the TCU was going to go out? Can a TCU even be sabatoged? I would guess you just have bad luck and you are going to have to deal with it man. Just call up a few local parts yards and price a TCU out of a wrecked A6 for a couple 100 instead of a couple thousand from the stealership.

 

i just typed a long reply, but was signed out for some unknown reason. ill sum it up:

i find it highly unlikely that he didnt know about the problem. i have my reasons. but it doesnt matter, these laws exist for a reason. i want to find out if there is any available recourse.

i will almost certainly be the one responsible for fixing the car. its a 2003 a6 3.0L fwd w/ multitronic transmission. can anyone give me the exact part number i should be looking for? im assuming that every car like mine uses the same tcm. please tell me if im wrong. thanks!

 

You need to match up the numbers from your TCM. They might all be the same, they might not. Most of the time they are not.

If this was a dealer, you signed a contract. Any contract can be recinded in three days or less.

edit: make that three business days.

 

The 3 day return policy is nationwide, but applies to dealers only. Who of course have you sign the as-is paperwork to void the return policy. Dealers are not stupid, they would never let you leave their lot with a used, not warrantied car without signing something that voids your right of recision.


In MN you get 0 days to return a used car from a private party and there is no implied warranty rules.

I'm sure MN is not different than any other state when it comes to the 3 day right of recision.

But you might want to sell it simply for the fact you have a CVT.

 

That's pure robbery, or gypping...
I understand the "As IS" disclaimer or own *** coverage for the dealer. However, the car doesn't just go into failsafe mode without some prior symptoms/warnings.
A car dealer SHOULD mechanically inspect every car on its lot, and I bet this particular dealer knew exactly what troublesome car is selling as an "as is".
You could have returned the car immediately after it happened, or you have until tomorrow - 3 business days (unless they were opened yesterday - Saturday).... This isn't like buying a jar of pickles you discover is molded when you open it, and just decide you'd rather throw it in the garbage than making the trip back to the store to return it.
Don't just let those asswipes making an easy buck out of your hard-earned money./

 

its from a private seller. im not sure if theres anything i can do about it.

im just going to get it fixed as cheaply as possible. next time ill be sure to get it checked out by a mechanic before i buy. the diagnostic test is easier and more helpful than i realized.

i do believe that the tcm was failing. the diagnostic test would have found it easily. its my fault. however, if legal recourse is available, ill consider using it. thanks for the replies.

if anyone knows where i can find the right part, please post a link. thanks.

 

Sorry buddy, I understand how frustrating and depressing it can be to buy a car you really like only to find out that you might have been duped. When I was younger I bought a '88 Saab 9000, my 1st in a long line of Saabs to come and I was excited. On my 3 hour drive home from the sleezership I noticed a severe clunk when the car shifted into 4th. About a month later I wrote a check to my local indy German mechanic for $2235.38. I think I only paid 2400.00 for the car.

That was about 10 years ago and it still burns. In the end I loved that car, so much that I bought it again only this time a 92 9000 Griffin. That was a long time ago and many cars past.

Cheer up.

Jeff