More recently, the problems of preselective DSG boxes were on everyone's lips, and alternative hydromechanical box gears on VW and Skoda cars was considered by many as real solution Problems. But four or five years have passed, and now the US is sounding the alarm. The new automatic transmissions of 8 and 9 speeds turned out to be out of step with their ancestors, although the six-speed gearboxes had a far from outstanding resource. And given the high complexity of hydromechanical automatic transmissions, their repair is much more expensive than the repair of "robots", which means that all owners of cars with "automatic machines" are in the same boat.
Moreover, the Consumer Report says that even the owners of cars with CVTs have not avoided problems, although the design there seems to have not changed much. But the desire to get the maximum dynamic range and at the same time lighten the design undermined their position.
It seems that the goal of squeezing the last juices out of classic designs, investing only in marketing, against the backdrop of new initiatives, leads us not to a bright future, but to a dead end. But if the problem is so obvious, then why is the locomotive of the industry moving in this direction anyway?
More steps, more problems
It would seem that a five-speed automatic transmission provides minimal fuel consumption and dynamics at the level mechanical boxes... But now they have already made six-steps - are these really the most economical? Further, any improvement efforts run up against the simple fact that the driver is not perfect. It will still use more fuel just because it decides to race, does not see a red traffic light in time, exceeds the speed limit, warms up too little or too long, gets stuck in a traffic jam ... If six steps compared to a five-speed give a maximum of 5-10% reduction in consumption fuel, then adding two or three stages leads to an even smaller result.
Up to a certain point, you can justify a slight complication of the box, while the “extra” gears are given easily, but after all latest generation"Classic" automatic transmissions are essentially different from the classic four-stage as heaven and earth. Beginning with six-speed boxes, is not at all the main part of the box - it is only one of its set of friction clutches, only able to open a little.
For the most part, it doesn’t work exactly like a gas turbine engine - even with very smooth acceleration, the linings are partially blocked, and just press the gas pedal and they will block almost completely. In fact, it has become a consumable, but for some reason it is still included in the general hydraulic scheme The automatic transmission does not cost at all as a set of friction clutches, but as a full-fledged part.
The number of planetary gears has already doubled, the hydraulic unit has now become two orders of magnitude more complicated, solenoids are not just valves, they are now responsible for a smooth change in pressure, constantly changing the flow area of the channels. In a four-stage, at the start, it was like this: a pair of solenoids worked, then another pair worked, then another one turned off, and now the car was moving. During all this time, the valves switched once, and the wear of the clutches in the automatic transmission was only brief moments switching.
In a modern eight-speed box, everything is much more complicated. At start, several solenoids are activated, which are responsible for turning on the first or second gear. Next, the lock solenoid first unlocks the gas turbine engine, and then immediately begins to regulate the degree of lock slip, for the sake of smooth switching the gear clutches are closed with "overlapping", and their slippage at this moment is regulated by linear solenoids.
Thus, with each shift, there is more action and more wear. There are also more shifts from gear to gear, because in urban mode not two or three gears are involved, as on the old 4-automatic transmissions, but already all five. It is easy to guess that even if a significant resource is laid in the design of the box, it will be exhausted pretty quickly.
So what's the point?
The car manufacturer gets the fluidity and prestige it needs so much. Yes, yes, buyers are still being led by numbers - marketers do not chew their bread in vain, this harmful profession will lead us all to the apocalypse to the beat of drums. And of course, the manufacturer gets a few percent savings in fuel consumption in an unrealistic driving cycle, which is carefully maintained by brilliant "environmentalists" as a measure of the harmfulness of a car to the environment.
At first glance, it is more difficult to explain the motives of the automatic transmission manufacturer in this vicious carousel, because it is he who is responsible for the guarantee. But he also has good reasons. First, the car manufacturer puts pressure on him to get his way. Secondly, if something successful and simple is delayed in production, it will become cheaper - you will have to cut the cost of research and development.
The idea will be copied to the heap somewhere in China, and the rate of profit will immediately fall. You can’t feed yourself with licenses for the unit alone, and it’s difficult to improve your unit hardworkingly. It is necessary to do again what the “progressive” development departments have already abandoned - full-scale tests.
In turn, to develop something new, you only need software, the balancing act of the mind of a certain number of engineers and the ability to produce a new multi-stage monster. In addition, the more steps a gearbox has, the easier it is to make it lighter, theoretically, torque pulsations decrease when switching, and you can post another manifesto from the series “we did it, we are the best again” on the site.
A paradoxical situation has arisen: in an attempt to force car manufacturers to abandon their own developments in terms of transmissions, in particular from the further progress of DSG, boxed "monsters" made their automatic transmissions more interesting from a driving point of view, but in terms of reliability they fell down with a bang. And they begin to lose to the “non-professionals” of the “box business”.
It seems that the moment is not far off when the consumer will turn up his nose from the “classics”, preferring a robotic transmission that is easier to repair, rather than hydromechanical troubles. Moreover, the global problems of the most malicious one seem to have been sorted out after the next modernization.
In fact, history has made a circle, because everyone remembers how they were afraid of automatic transmissions fifteen years ago, and only a very successful series of four- and five-steps made it possible to overcome this fear and ensure the main sales of automated machines. However, I am fully aware that the level of training of drivers on this moment is such that most of them simply will not be able to refuse “automatic machines”, which means that there will be a demand for any crafts that will be offered.
You should not, however, think that any "robot" will be simpler and more reliable. Gorgeous on paper honda box, which combined a preselective robot and a gas turbine engine, turned out to be among the most problematic transmissions in the US according to the same Consumer Reports.
And by the way, not all six-steps are "equally useful." Anyone who reads aftermarket cars knows that ZF six-speed automatic transmissions have a number of pressure and vibration problems and are significantly less reliable than their five-speed ancestors. But in comparison, the new generation of GM/Ford jointly developed boxes turned out to be even worse. And only the release of new ones, even less successful transmissions does not allow them to be recognized as truly unsuccessful. After all, everything is known in comparison ...
What's next?
Automata, classic and not so, have become very complex - it’s not without reason that almost all developments in this area have been farmed out to a couple of specialized firms from Europe and Japan, while the rest are trailing in the rearguard of progress, trying to copy successful solutions and repeating the same mistakes.
Some along the way are trying to do something completely “their own” based on a “robot” or a variator, with mixed success, but sometimes making small revolutions. But I'm afraid it will all be over soon. We will not wait for twenty-speed automatic transmissions and twenty-six-speed “robots”. The victorious march of hybrids clearly hints that soon the internal combustion engine will remain on cars only in the form of a distance expander, and electric motors and batteries will do the main work.
There is a common myth: "If the oil is burnt, it is better not to change it, otherwise the car will stop."
Indeed, such a pattern can be traced. And there is an explanation for this:
What happens inside an automatic transmission when the oil smells "burnt"?
From a lack of oil pressure (and not from overheating), the friction clutches are not compressed strongly enough by the hydraulics with each other (or to the steel discs), they slip and start to heat up from this.
More often than others, the "eaten" friction lining in the torque converter burns oil. ( on right)
This is the first stage of automaton disease.
There are tables for which operating temperature oil traditional friction linings (paper) begin to char. And although at the very beginning of work, when the friction clutch touches the steel disk, the temperature on the surface can increase pointwise over 300 degrees, but the oil cools the surfaces quickly enough and the average friction clutch temperature is kept at about 100-130 degrees - oil temperature. It is as safe as lightly touching a hot iron with a wet finger.
And just as a finger burn occurs when the iron is touched for a long time, so the charring of the clutch paper begins with prolonged exposure to temperatures above 130 degrees,
When the oil temperature reaches 150 degrees, the process of charring of traditional friction linings occurs like an avalanche, since charred paper does not hold oil and the surface is no longer cooled by oil - the adhesive layer turns into a brittle resin, crumbles into pieces and the lining falls off the metal.
And the pieces of the lining peel off and fly away with the flow of oil into free swimming. The heating of the friction surfaces reaches the "flash point" of the oil, which leads to irreversible changes in the structure of the oil itself and a characteristic odor.
But the smell and quality of the oil are not so critical for the operation of the automatic transmission. Worse - Consequences: Particles friction lining they clog the channels and plungers of the valve body, which leads to a lack of oil in the packages and at the shaft axes, in the nodes of the planets and beyond - no longer sliding, but rubbing parts of the pump, bushings, etc. are worn out.
The very charring of the clutches leads to the same effect as a burned-out clutch manifests itself on the "mechanics" - the car seems to pull, but with an increase in engine speed, the speed of the car does not increase. Subtly at first, then more and more. ( see "List typical faults automatic transmission") Steel discs with such overheating get iridescent "tint stains". And they need to be replaced too.
At the second stage of raping the automatic transmission, the thrust disks and rubberized pistons overheat. Then - the clutch drum itself and neighboring nodes burn.
But what is even more unpleasant - the smartest part of the automatic transmission - the "brains" (valve body) is also wearing out intensively. Paper dust from the friction discs turns the oil into a thick abrasive pulp with small and large "sandblast" type particles.
Like sandblasting, this hot stream under high pump pressure grinds out all the bottlenecks of the aluminum valve body, thinning the walls in places where the valve-regulators open and close the channels. Numerous fountains of leaks are formed. ( left, click to enlarge) Mechanical "stroke". The valve body after this is practically not restored and must be replaced. Horror?
But this is not the worst thing for our machine. The lack of oil pressure is primarily felt in the central part of the box - near the axle. Remaining insufficient oil centrifugal force curls up to the edges. And with a general lack of pressure, dry bushings near the axle, bearings wear out, the axles themselves wear out, the torque converter hub burns, the bearing parts of the drums, covers, planetary gear sets with the sun gear, accelerated wear almost all nodes of the "iron".
In short: horror, horror.
But this is - box main resource. The "old age" of the box is measured precisely by the general wear of the rubbing surfaces of the above "iron" parts.
resource transmission can be considered such a state of all the main (expensive) components of the box, when the cost of replacing or restoring worn-out parts (usually a pump, valve body, planetary gear sets, shafts and drums, a torque converter, a cover ...) is cheaper or comparable to replacing a box with a high-quality BU box and after such an overhaul, the transmission will last at least another couple of years.
That is, if several important nodes, and the rest are on the way, then usually the masters recommend changing the box.
And this end is approaching very quickly if you operate the automatic transmission with burnt oil or insufficient oil pressure. Like a year in three during the hostilities. Or a pension 10 years earlier when working in a tunnel face.
Will it help if you replace the burnt oil with a new one? Even the most expensive?
Burnt oil is no longer a liquid, but a thick suspension of frictional dust and oil breakdown products. It is thanks to this thick friction suspension that the remnants of bald clutches somehow cling to each other and pull the car. They cry from burns and terrible pain, but they pull.
1. Once you make their job easier by replacing thick slurry with clean fluid oil, so they (frictions) in exhaustion will stop clinging to steel discs and begin to slip, deciding that their well-deserved rest has come.
2. In addition - new liquid oil easier to go through cracks worn bushings and worn pistons, which until then somehow still held the pressure of the old thick slurry.
And finally the main thing:
3. liquid oil with its cleaning properties peels off the remaining "semi-dead" friction linings(see here), which still somehow kept on friction clutches, washes out not yet caked dirt from numerous quiet corners (radiator or heat exchanger) and drives all this suspension into the channels of the valve body and clogs tightly solenoids and plungers.
All in all, simple replacement burnt oil does not solve the problem, and can only exacerbate. In such cases, immediate hospitalization and repair is indicated. Minimum - removal and inspection of the pallet with magnets.
At an early stage of the "disease", diagnostics may require: changing consumables and friction clutches, if the process has not gone too far. As a maximum - autopsy will show. A sad master will leave the operating room and, sparing your feelings, will sadly read you a list of "dead" or "dying" organs that need to be removed and transplanted.
Or vice versa - he will say that one Direct package burned out, and everything else is in good condition.
There is always a chance for a healthy life after a major overhaul. The only questions are: "how long did you delay the repair" and "who will repair"
And if you do not change the burnt oil and still ride?
A normal person always has hope for a miracle: "What if it goes away by itself?" Or "We will solve the problem when the box rises!"
It would be inhumane to take away a person's hope for self-healing. Does a cold go away on its own?
Therefore, read above about "automatic transmission ending resource" and search in Yandex: "contract automatic transmission". The later you start treating the problem of burnt oil, the higher the likelihood of falling in love with your box to death.
How often should you change the oil in an automatic transmission?
The fact is that synthetic oils, called "non-replaceable", really do not change their composition with time and temperature, unlike semi-synthetics and mineral oils 20th century. But still, there is nowhere to escape from the suspension that appears in the oil from wearing out friction clutches. The clutches of the box itself can last a lifetime and have a sufficient resource even after 300 tkm, but only if they have always worked with sufficient oil pressure.
The most important friction clutch, on which the period of the first overhaul depends, is usually the friction clutch of the torque converter. And with the introduction of the controlled slipping mode of the GDT clutch, its life can quickly come to an end if the driver often forces the automatic transmission computer to turn on this mode with the gas pedal.
Therefore, as soon as the entire working layer of this clutch is eaten up, in addition to the dust from the clutch, the adhesive composition also gets into the oil. All of these components can be so small and dissolved in the oil that they are not retained by the filter. And when their number reaches a critical concentration, then the accelerated aging of the nodes begins, as described above.
So the oil should be changed not according to some standards, but based on its degree of contamination. Moreover, the older the clutches, the more often you should check and change ATF oil. Read more - read here: ALL ABOUT AUTOMATIC GEAR OIL.
What if the oil already has a burnt smell?
In a mild case (this is like going to a doctor at an early stage of the disease), you will have to change all the clutches of a burned-out clutch pack, repair the torque converter (donut), buy a repair kit for gaskets and seals and clean everything that is being cleaned, including the radiator. Well, if the master has tricky devices to really clean the radiator from the inside and out. But sometimes it makes more sense to replace the heat exchanger or radiator or install an additional one.
In a neglected case, the box is so worn out that only someone who is used to dragging his dog (or cat) to droppers to the very end, regardless of spending and the result, will undertake to repair it. But most throw away such a box and look for a replacement BU.
In the middle, there are options when the "weak points" of the box are on (see the corresponding page of the automatic transmission). Weak spots automatic transmission is still good. This means that, for example, by replacing ZF 5HP18 burnt oil (with consumables) and Drum F (the craftsmen will evaluate the pump as undamaged) you can be almost sure that the rest of the iron will pass for a few more years without the risk of getting another overhaul.
Contract BU-machines are considered quite big risk. Of course, if there is not a single automatic transmission repair service within 500 km in the district, then the automatic transmission control unit is the only way out.
In general, if you missed the replacement period and the oil has become dark dirty and has a burning smell, go for diagnostics and repairs as soon as possible in order to save the life of your box.
Or take apart the box yourself. Most 4 mortars are easily repaired in the garage with patience, Yandex, a camera, skillful hands and a real "male spirit".
There are a couple more alternatives. For example - to buy a lottery ticket along with a used box and then quickly sell a car to a naive compatriot, trying to hide remorse behind an honest look.
By the way - in the film Brother-2, most likely, just such a case was described, when a car with a problematic automatic transmission was sold cheaply.
It is the most difficult and one of the most expensive car components to repair. A lot of hard work goes into an automatic transmission. True, the engine experiences much more overloads than the automatic transmission. Therefore, many car owners believe that, unlike power units automatic transmissions do not require regular maintenance. But it's not.
It is because of the erroneous opinion about gearboxes that many drivers neglect the maintenance of automatic transmissions. For example, where do you think, besides the engine, you need to change the oil regularly? Of course in the transmission. After all, work automatic box directly depends on the gear oil. The oil in the gearbox transmits hydraulic pressure in order to shift gears. The oil also lubricates all moving parts of the automatic transmission.
Unlike engine oil transmission fluid has an extended service life. But, nevertheless, over time, the oil in the automatic transmission loses its chemical property. As a result, if the oil in the box is not changed in time, its parts will receive insufficient lubrication, which can lead to transmission failure.
First of all transmission oil loses its property from the high heating temperature of the gearbox and due to high speed rotation of its components.
Therefore, keep the oil in the box in full frequency at the desired optimal level, it is imperative that the transmission does not fail earlier, set by the factory manufacturer, service life. It is also important to use in the box only the transmission that is recommended to be filled in the automatic transmission by the automaker.
Where is the oil dipstick located in an automatic transmission?
In order to find out exactly where the automatic transmission oil dipstick is located, refer to the manual of your car, which necessarily contains information on the location of the oil dipstick. As a rule, such information is located in the section " Maintenance vehicle".
Here are some examples in the form of photographs, in which we marked with an orange arrow the location of the gearbox oil dipstick in various vehicles:
Automatic transmission check
On most cars and trucks, you can easily check the transmission oil level yourself with a transmission dipstick, just as you would when checking the engine oil level. Check your car's manual to know exactly how to check the gearbox oil. The point is that for different cars level check process transmission fluid in automatic transmission may differ.
For example, on most cars, the oil level in an automatic transmission is checked at idle engine when, as on most cars, the transmission oil level in the automatic transmission is checked with the engine running, at the moment when the box is in park mode.
But some cars and trucks do not have an oil dipstick to check. Such vehicles The transmission oil level can only be checked by technical center dealer or other car services.
Here is an example of how to check the oil level in an automatic transmission on a Mazda 6 car:
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1. Park the vehicle on a level surface and install parking brake(raise handbrake). 2. Let the engine run for about two minutes in the neutral position of the automatic transmission. Depress the brake pedal. 3. Move the gearshift lever through all ranges and set it to the "P" point (Switching the gearshift knob to each mode, put the gearbox in the "Park" mode) |
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4. With the engine running on Idling, pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, and put the dipstick back into the transmission. |
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5.
Pull the automatic transmission oil dipstick again and check the fluid level.
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*This is what a transmission fluid oil dipstick looks like in real life. In this photo, the oil level in the automatic transmission is normal and the transmission fluid does not look too bad (in color). But, nevertheless, soon the color of the oil will change and it is recommended to change the oil to a new one in the box of this machine.
To see the real condition of the transmission fluid, it is better to drip a drop of oil from the dipstick onto a white paper towel. New or fresh automatic transmission oil should usually be red.
Over time, automatic transmission oil deteriorates and becomes more brownish and cloudy in color.
* An example of how to determine by color whether it is necessary to change the oil in an automatic transmission, and an example is also given normal level transmission fluid in the box
You can also sniff the dipstick for the transmission. If you smell a burnt oil smell, then it's time to change the transmission fluid to a new one. The main thing is to do this before the automatic transmission oil turns black.
What is the oil change interval in the gearbox?
Transmission fluid change intervals for automatic transmissions range from 40,000-50,000 km to 100,000 km. In some vehicles, automakers do not specify automatic transmission oil change intervals, as some transmissions are considered maintenance-free.
For exact spacing scheduled replacement oil in the box, you must refer to the vehicle manual or contact the dealer.
What can damage an automatic transmission?
Most problems with automatic transmissions start from overheating. For example, with a heavy load while towing a heavy trailer, or driving through snowdrifts in which the car is slipping. Or if the car for a long time moving in hot weather. Also, the box can overheat during dynamic sports traffic. At high temperatures the oil in the automatic transmission oxidizes and loses its lubricating properties.
As a result, oil deposits form in the box due to oxidation. If you check the transmission oil dipstick immediately after it has overheated, you will find that the transmission fluid has become dark and dirty and is very burnt.
Also, very high temperatures cause rubber seals and O-rings in automatic transmissions to become hard and brittle. In addition, the metal parts of the automatic transmission are deformed (for example, the transmission valves that regulate the pressure of the transmission fluid in the box).
Sooner or later, these changes in the gearbox will lead to its failure.
For example, there are often stories on the net of car owners who literally burned their automatic transmissions while trying to get out of the snow or mud, stuck on the road. The worst thing is that this can happen even with a new car, which just recently drove onto the road for the first time.
However, automatic transmission overheating is not the only reason a transmission can fail. Sometimes an automatic transmission fails due to flaws in its design or due to factory defects. Also common cause failure of an automatic transmission becomes its improper or complete absence.
Remember that too low level oil in the automatic transmission, as well as too high can cause problems with the operation of the box. Including in the case of using the wrong transmission fluid (for example, using a gearbox oil that is not recommended by the manufacturer), problems with gear shifting may occur. Also, the wrong automatic transmission oil can lead to a complete breakdown of the box.
How to increase the service life of automatic transmission?
Regularly check the parking lot for transmission fluid leaks. Remember that after parking the car, under it on pavement you should not see fresh liquid stains other than water stains. It is better to notice an oil leak from the gearbox in time. Otherwise, you risk that due to transmission fluid leakage, its level in the boxes may drop to a minimum (or even worse, below the minimum), which will naturally cause costly problems with a box.
Therefore, in order for the automatic transmission to last as long as possible, it is necessary to regularly check the level of transmission fluid in it. If your car is not equipped with an automatic transmission oil dipstick, then you can only check the oil level in it at a service station. For example, some cars may or may not have an oil dipstick. Therefore, the owners of such vehicles should at least once a month check the level of transmission fluid in the gearbox at the technical center.
If, after checking the oil level in the automatic transmission, it turns out that it is low, then somewhere there is a transmission fluid leak, which must be eliminated.
Also, be sure to observe the oil change interval in the automatic transmission in accordance with the scheduled maintenance schedule. technical work set by the automaker.
If the gearbox oil has become too dark or cloudy (more brown or black than red), then be sure to replace it with new one.
The choice of a car of a certain brand, especially in the secondary market, is often the choice of a transmission. "Robots"? Because of the jerky nature, our motorists try to avoid them. Fashionable "preselective" DSG? Behind him ... And the CVTs also did not deserve trust. But the classic "machines" are considered by many to be the standard of reliability. And in vain! The reputation of the "classics" was greatly spoiled by 4-speed boxes, which are placed on popular models Renault-Nissan and Peugeot-Citroen, hiding behind the DP0/DP2 and AL4/AT8 indices, respectively.
French automatic transmissions owe their appearance to ... Volkswagen. In 1994, the Germans released the "automatic" 01P, which was installed on many cars of the concern. This transmission was a development of old developments, moreover, not very successful - the box did not tolerate overheating and oil pollution at all. However, low reliability did not prevent the 01P family from holding out until 2010, when Skoda Octavia first generation. Now this Volkswagen automatic transmission own development only machines for the Chinese market are equipped.
But how did the German transmission appear on the "French"? Very simple: this four-stage immediately after the debut on cars concern VAG bought Renault to establish the production of such boxes at a factory near Lyon. In 1999, the unit was thoroughly shaken up (in particular, by making it adaptive - the “automatic” learned to adapt to the driving style of a particular driver), moreover, fellow countrymen from PSA were offered to chip in for modernization. So on Renault cars an automatic transmission called DP0 appeared, and on cars brands Peugeot and Citroen - AL4.
Updated "automatic" to make it better and more reliable. But it turned out exactly the opposite! Moreover, DP0 and AL4 often failed on completely new machines and often suddenly - without alarming symptoms. The box suddenly turned on the emergency mode, allowing you to move only in third gear, and a scattering of alarming symbols lit up on the instrument panel, which meant only one thing: “everything, we arrived.” And it happened that the "automatic" died immediately and forever: no emergency modes - the car just gets up and refuses to go further.
The cause of such breakdowns is overheating. To save money, French engineers provided only a tiny built-in heat exchanger for oil cooling. So, in hot weather, it is almost impossible not to overheat the box, for which the optimum oil temperature is at the level of 75-90ºС! Especially on Renault and Nissan cars, where the overheating protection, which was saved, does not always work correctly ... And if the “automatic machines” on Peugeot and Citroen save themselves by turning on emergency mode, then on new Renault a serious increase in temperature often immediately ends with a major overhaul.
Some buyers, choosing a used car from the category of risk, got the hang of tuning DP0 and AL4. Firstly, there are heat exchangers of increased volume. Secondly, instead of an internal radiator, you can attach an adapter adapter, and an external circuit to it. If this is not done, when overheating, the hydraulic valve block will be the first to suffer - its plate warps, and this is 25 thousand rubles. If the owner does not notice the pokes that have appeared when switching, due to a lack of pressure, increased wear the entire mechanical part.
On warranty car, of course, no one will be engaged in such tuning. Therefore, in order to preserve the gentle automatic transmission, give up abrupt starts and aggressive driving - only smooth movements in space, no accelerations before the cutoff. And also remember the old-fashioned concept of warming up: they started the car, stood for a couple of minutes and only then started off! Even in summer. And in winter, you need to drive the first few kilometers in a whisper, extremely gently pressing the accelerator pedal. Considering that this is a four-stage, and not the most efficient one, the implementation of these recommendations will not cause problems.
Do you think these are all the problems of the French "machine"? Only half! The second part of the failures is caused by the vagaries of the pressure modulation solenoid valves. Most often, the hydraulic regulator breaks down. The torque converter lock-up valve is also not very reliable. In the high-risk zone are cars made before 2003, when Acutex products were installed. However, as soon as the French switched to Borg Warner, the number of complaints decreased markedly. Although we repeat: even updated valves continue to be the main cause of box failure after overheating.
To extend the life of the transmission, experts advise reducing the oil change intervals. For Renault and Nissan, this is Elf, for Peugeot and Citroen, you can optionally choose Esso or Mobil. But! First, do not even try to use analogues of other brands. Secondly, in Renault box you cannot fill in oils for Peugeot and Citroen, and vice versa. In both cases, the hydraulics will immediately start acting weird. By the way, shorter service intervals- about 20 thousand kilometers - allow you to kill two birds with one stone: the absence of wear products will make the life of the valves longer, plus, fresh clean lubricant better heat dissipation.
Connoisseurs french cars they may object that now there is (and, accordingly, put on machines) the next generation of "automatic machines" - DP2 and AL8. Moreover, cunning sellers call them "a fundamentally new generation of gearboxes." And in fact? In 2009, the old but not good DP0 and AT4 simply survived the upgrade, having received German ZF torque converters instead of native French ones, other heat exchangers and valve bodies. Along the way, indexes and firmware changed. So you should not trust car dealership managers: DP0, DP2, AL4 and AT8 are actually the same box.
Unfortunately, the update did not solve the reliability problem, although warranty engineers note that after the upgrade, a much larger percentage of cars began to reach 100,000 km without breakdowns - the warranty expiration date. Largely because the boxes became a little less likely to overheat. Although the key word here is "a little", so advice on mandatory warm-up and gentle pedaling is also a must for the DP2 and AT8. AND frequent replacement modernized transmission oils are also loved.
Surprisingly, the economical French are not going to send the unsuccessful "machine" to a well-deserved rest! Of the models that are currently on our market, this box is equipped with Nissan Almera, Renault Logan And Sandero first generations (on machines of the second generation, most likely, a “robot” will appear), as well as twin crossovers Renault Duster And Nissan Terrano. The PSA Alliance continues to offer old box"Citroen" models C4 and C-Elysee, as well as Peugeot 208th, 301st and 408th series. In general, all the most affordable and popular cars ...
What to do?
What to do if the box went into emergency mode? Stop, wait a few minutes, since, most likely, the “machine” is thus saved from overheating. Usually, after a restart, all alarming symptoms disappear: the gears switch correctly, the symbols on the instrument panel go out. But that doesn't mean everything is fine! Must visit service center, where the mechanic using a scanner - and not "by eye" - will identify the reason for the activation of the emergency mode. And, perhaps, he will immediately prescribe “treatment”.
If the box broke down for write-off, and the car is under warranty, it is necessary to demand the replacement of the entire unit. Dealers know that the DP2 and AT8 suffer from a whole range of inherent flaws, and, as a rule, they exchange a broken box for a new one without talking. But if the guarantee has run out, it’s better not to meddle with the officials at all: the dealers charged us 260,000 rubles (!) for new box. Moreover, at disassembly, a “live” unit can be bought three times cheaper, and unofficial masters are ready to carry out a complete overhaul of the transmission for a maximum of a quarter of the cost of a new automatic transmission.
And there are more than enough such masters. Repair rates are as follows. A maximum of 15 thousand rubles will be charged for the replacement of valves, the same will cost the replacement of the heat exchanger, and completely renovating the valve body will cost twice as much. As the experts themselves note, the spare parts are inexpensive, the time it takes to sort out the French "machines" thanks to primitive design requires a little. In general, in terms of repair costs, the DP0 family boxes are the absolute leaders. Sorry, not in terms of reliability ...
Direct speech
Anastasia Sukhareva, press officer of the Russian office of Renault:
“According to our data of mass technical automatic transmission malfunctions Renault vehicles do not. Lately there have been no changes or firmware changes. On the DP8 automatic transmission, which is installed on the all-wheel drive version of the Duster, improvements have been made for better functioning of the gearbox in heavy road conditions, among which:
- added extra angle gearbox to supply torque to the rear axle;
- modified differential to transfer more load;
- improved oil distribution system: changed oil filters, added an additional air-oil cooling circuit, changed the oil deflector.
All Renault vehicles are guaranteed for 3 years or 100,000 km, whichever comes first. The motorist, if desired, can also extend the base period warranty service car in official dealer centers Renault from 3 to 5 years.
Lilia Mokrousova, PR-manager of the Russian office of Citroen:
“Now the gearbox is quite reliable. There are no problems at the moment. The only recommendation is the timely passage of MOT. In 2011, AL4 was replaced by AT8 and has undergone significant changes:
- New box control firmware. The adaptive control algorithm began to change settings for a specific driver faster (moreover, the AT8 automatic transmission firmware for a local sedan and a French hatchback are different). The hatchback's algorithm is slightly more damped and geared more towards economical driving, while the sedan's gearbox is tuned for more dynamic style driving;
- A new, more efficient ZF torque converter is installed on the AT8 automatic transmission, thanks to which it was possible to avoid jerks at high temperatures working fluid, change the gearbox settings in accordance with the advanced capabilities of the new torque converter. Thanks to the new settings, it was possible to improve the characteristics of the car at the start of movement due to increased torque converter slippage, reduce jerks and improve acceleration - acceleration by reducing the torque converter blocking phases;
- The hydraulic unit uses new solenoid valves providing more reliable performance node.
Remaining in the range of versions with a 4-speed "automatic" is due to the provision of choice to the end user, as this gives customers more wide choose in terms of car value. For the C4 sedan, which accounts for 50% of the company's sales, a 6-speed gearbox is also offered. With the change of generations, more than modern transmissions. So, on the new generation C4 Picasso, a version with a 6-speed automatic transmission. A similar trend will continue for other models of the concern. Below I propose percentage sales since different types boxes on the example of the C4 sedan for 11 months of 2014:
- MCP - 47%;
- Automatic transmission-4 - 32%;
- Automatic transmission-6 - 21%.
Their warranty obligations Citroen carries out under the standard warranty policy. The warranty for cars is 3 years or 100,000 km.
Konstantin Obukhov, PR director of the Russian office of Peugeot:
“There are no particular problems with this gearbox at the moment. Modifications of the valve body valves were changed several times, after the previous replacement, the number of defects decreased. Recently, the firmware has not changed, as far as I remember. AT8 differs from AL4 in torque converter and firmware - this has improved dynamic characteristics. Peugeot fulfills its warranty obligations for these transmissions within the framework of the standard warranty policy.”
Vladimir Verigin, Alexey Kovanov
