I have a 2003 s type r and I'm having transmission issues the car only has 46,000 miles on it, it has been babied its whole life never even floored the car really, it sits in a heated garage, not driven in the snow.
The car has been serviced by the dealer at all correct service times.

The past month it has been giving me a gearbox fault code on the instrument cluster, I get this code when driving on the highway at about 65-70 mph then the car will lock itself in gear and I will have to pull over, turn the car off and restart it, this makes the gearbox fault go away and it shifts fine. It doesn't happen every time I drive it it's intermittent.
I did notice before I started getting this gearbox fault it would shift rather hard at times I believe from first to second.
I took it to a reputable jag shop to diagnose the problem the shop told me the transmission is ruined, they told me the tranny fluid was black (fluid was changed 2500 miles prior to them checking it) they said it was getting stuck in 5th gear and the clutch was probably burnt a bit.
The car has only 46,000 miles on it and has been babied its entire life.
They said I would need a re manufactured transmission at a price of $5250!!!
I do not see how this is possible at such low mileage on a babied car.
I got a second opinion and they also said it would need a new tranny

Is this something that sounds true or is there something else that could be done rather than a new tranny?

Any info will be greatly appreciated as I am lost at this point and don't want to be screwed into $6000 of repairs if that's not necessary

 

There have been a number of cases reported on this forum where owners have been advised to replace their transmissions due to transmission codes and faults popping up. A couple of owners actually went ahead and had their transmissions rebuilt or replaced costing them several thousand dollars....

It turns out that often times these ZF transmissions begin burping and throwing codes due to a failing battery. These cars consume massive amounts of electricity, and when the battery begins to fail they often throw spurious, erratic codes....

So how old is your battery?

Don't become an owner who dropped five grand on a new transmission when all you may need is a new battery....

 

Although it COULD be the trans and the fluid COULD be bad, it sounds highly unlikely and I'd be very suspicious.

+1 on battery

 

Did you see any of the fluid?

Be aware it does look different than the normal bright red. It's more of a gold/yellow color depending on how many miles are on it. Generally darker with more miles.

Second question. Are you 100% SURE the fluid level is correct. I know you don't have a leak but you had funny shifting and you did nothing. If the transmission was low on fluid and you kept driving it (even easy like you say) that will burn the transmission up. Even with your low miles.

So check the battery as was posted above.

Get some of the fluid and put a drop on a white paper towel. Take a picture of that and post it back here.

Get the fluid level checked. It's not that simple and you might consider calling a dealer to see what it would cost. Just to insure it was done properly.
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Thanks for the input

I'm not sure about the battery, I'll have to look at my maintenance log but idk if I have ever replaced it, as far as my memory, I do not ever remember replacing it.

I did not see the tranny fluid when the shop told me it was black, I assumed they would know what it should look like. I will get a drop of tranny fluid when I get a chance take a pic and post it, thank you for that suggestion.

As far as the tranny fluid not being filled to the correct level, I assumed that the jag shop I took it to filled it to the correct level.

I have been told by a buddy of mine that when the tranny fluid is changed there is an additive that must be added similar to the differential additive, is this true? If this was not added to the tranny fluid could this cause the problem?

I am going to take the car to another shop to test the fluid and see if it was filled correctly, as I'm almost positive the person who serviced the car is responsible for it throwing this gearbox fault code.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks for all the help, its greatly appreciated

 

The additive is no longer offered as the ZF long life (lifeguard 6) fluid contains all the additives needed.

The fluid should be renewed at 10 year intervals so it is time even though your mileage is low.

You might even check the software level and maybe perform a 'clear adaptations' with a suitable diagnostic computer.

I had a customer from this forum that was told by 2 shops that the trans in her 2003 S-Type needed replacement when all she needed was a new oil pan and fluid change.
The pan was warped and dripping causing a low fluid condition. I installed the pan and fluid over 2 years ago and the gearbox is still working fine.

The other shops just read the codes and never looked under the car!!!!!!!

You might need a gearbox.... but you might NOT.

bob gauff

 

The tranny fluid was changed by the same shop that diagnosed my car with a bad tranny about 2500 miles ago (at 43,500 miles) so I was wondering if they could have done this wrong and messed up the tranny, if so is there anyway I can test the fluid to see if it is right, or take it to another shop and have them test it?

I will find another shop and have them check the software as motorcar man suggested, would you recommend only a dealer to do this as some shops may say they can but you never truly know.

Thanks for the tip on the additive

I know the car has never leaked a drop of fluid my garage has a polished concrete floor so I see everything.

 

It's only been 2500 miles since the fluid change I would still suspect fluid level problems and with the cost of repairs it will be worth it to get a second shop to check the level.

Just a note about that additive. It was only for a small noise problem. So no purpose other than that and it is NOT required.

While it is now supposedly in all Lifeguard6 fluid I will say my 2005 STR had no transmission noise at all until I had it serviced. Now when it's cold outside I have a low "whoop" sound until it warms the fluid up a bit. I am debating if it's worth another fluid change to see if I can rid of the noise.
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never floored it? fix it then floor it... you might wanna take it to the dealer for a trany service and not tell them anything before hand and see what they say...

 

Yes I saw that too??

Can I ask why you bought a 400HP supercharged V-8 car and then never floored it? Don't mean to come across as a smarty pants but the STR is much more complicated and uses more fuel than the other versions of the S-Type.

I get a buzz every time I floor it and find it's very addictive! Especially the passing ability as the factory programing kinda kills the low end somewhat.
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I have found I don't have any problems passing from a stand still..I'm always first off the line.. my friends are always amazed.. even more so when I say "we never even made it out of second gear"