I have just tried to sell my1996 FTO and the purchaser told me there was a problem with the tiptronic Gearbox. He said the electronic regulators on the gearbox had been damaged because the battery had been charged on the vehicle and not been taken off prior to charging. He wanted a £1000 reduction on the price to compensate! Is this true and fair. Any help appreciated.
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Has it been charged on the vehicle?
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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First time i've ever heard that one.I have charged plenty of FTOs on the car,no problems,and believe me,when they arrive in the UK from Japan the batteries will very often be flat and need to jump started.Good story,but rubbish.
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Have you experienced any problems?
You have been driving it, know the car, is there any reason that this chap might have said this, apart from trying to hoodwink you in to dropping your price?
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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It sounds as if he has already paid and taken it?
If so, HE may have damaged it.
caveat emptor.
madf
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The solenoids on the gearbox are pretty rugged and will not be damaged by charging on the vehicle.
The gearbox ECU is combined with the transmission ECU on this vehicle. Unless you are using a new-style 'automatic' battery charger then the battery should be disconnected from the vehicle's electrical system when being charged. Old-style battery chargers can output unsmooth half- or full-wave rectified voltage which can peak at well over 40V and damage vehicle electrics. New-style chargers are limited to 14.5V or so, which is fine.
The key question is, does the transmission function correctly? A transmission fault on the FTO is signified by a flashing Neutral (N) light and default to 3rd gear.
Very often a gearbox fault on one of these tiptronics is down to dirty input and output speed sensors. There can easily be removed from the transmission and cleaned (metal particles stick to them and mess up their sensitivity).
Other faults (lack of drive or hard shifting) can be due to mechanical failure of the torque convertor.
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These gearboxes also feature on the Mitsubishi Galant and Legnum (Galant Estate from Japan), especially the VR-4 models. There's lots of experience on www.clubvr4.com about these. I've never heard of this problem in my time with VR-4s, it sounds like the buyer is trying it on.
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the auto box on my fto is playing up. when it first starts off its in first gear but does not change up, then suddenly it will change into third with a bang. after this it stays in third at all speeds. Also when using the manual mode there is only 2nd and 3rd, can you help. rog
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