Drove to the gym after work tonight and everything was fine. Got in the car after my workout and noticed that the gear indicator wasn't lighting up (i drive a 4sp tip) Thought it was weird but i thought it was just the light, selected reverse and the car jolted slightly, again thought it was weird but reversed out and then went to take off, only to find that i couldn't change gears in tip mode or auto mode. It's stuck in 3rd gear!
I pulled over down the street and checked the gearbox fluid levels which seem to be fine, then proceeded to check all the engine bay fuses just in case and they seem to be fine as well.
What the hell is going on?
There isn't really a garage down here that would be of much help and i doin't really want to drive back to melbourne with only 3rd!
Sounds like your box has gone in to limp mode...i.e.. found something wrong with the tip and sticks it in 3rd so you cant damage it..
Could be any number of things from the box or torque convertered being damaged to the more common problem of a bad speed sensor...I actually had a very interesting experience when my heater matrix inside the dash leaked coolant onto my ecu and took me a cople days to figure out what was up.
Anyway I suggest you do a diagnostics check to see if you get any error codes. Unless you were thrashing it before you got to the gym then chances are its electrical.
Damn Slither... Sounds like what I've just been through!
If I Had A Dollar For Every Time Someone Said "If I Had A Dollar For Every Time Someone Said <...>" Well... Then... I'd... Have A Dollar For Every Time Somone Said "If I Had A Dollar For Every Time Someone Said <...>"!!!
Actually it sounds like what's been happening to almost every tiptronic FTO out there.
This problem is becoming increasingly common in the UK as well.
Your best bet is to start with the easiest idea and work your way up.
As for driving back to Melbourne, your car is most likely drivable, you just won't be able to use fourth gear without it dropping back into "limp" mode. I've had to drive around a bit in third (I now choose not to drive it at all to save doing anymore damage) when it first happened, you can make it, but be veeeery gentle on the 2nd - 3rd change...and try to keep it in manual mode to stop the computer from changing up.
Plus i can't change gears at all, in tip or auto mode. It's just stuck in third gear permanently.
Alight start with the footwell fuses, check error codes for stuffed sensors then start looking at the torque converter and the tip box. Oh please let it be something simple and inexpensive
I had this in mine and I could smell coolant as well. Heater core had busted and leaked straight onto the tip ECU which is right underneath. Could be worth a look. I took mine out and dried it, reinstalled in a different position to avoid it happening again.
N was not flashing on mine either. Also check the connections to the Tip ecu, if they are loose that will also not allow gear changes but you can still drive.
Anyways sorry for the late update, i had an electrical short that blew the TPS as well as lots of lovely fuses things. All sorted out and back on the road and in an amazing coincedence my wallet got lighter at the exact same time
Slither wrote:and in an amazing coincedence my wallet got lighter at the exact same time
Gotta hate that!
Funny how these things happen.... after just spending a bomb on suspension bits, my air con decided today (31 degrees in Sydney... still is!! ) that it would run out of gas
Just out of curiousity Ethan, how much did this set you back??
As it would appear this may be my problem.....my voltometer plays up when indicating and I'm having very similar problems to those you described in the first post.
And the gent who has my car at the moment believes it may be a stuffed TPS.
If you could enlighten me a bit to your solution, here or on MSN that'd be sweet.
Damn Slither... Sounds like what I've just been through! 
