My car is a 2007 ff 3.6 tvd8. Lately, I've had the impression that there is some slippage between the engine and gearbox. The engine revs up on the throttle as it should, but the car seems to respond with a little delay, gear changes seem to occur at higher revs and they feel less positive than they used to. When cruising on the motorway at 90kph, the revs are correct and all is fine, but once I'm accelerating up a hill or out of a roundabout, I feel it's a wee bit slower than it used to be and I believe it holds the revs a little longer before changing. Today, upon parking after a good drive, I got "transmission fault, reduced traction" on the dash warning.
She's done 141.000km and the transmission has not been serviced. Now, I have the new sump/filter and zf lifeguard fluid on hand. Is it likely that replacing filter and fluid will help, or do you think I have more serious issues?
Any recommendations on what to try to get closer to a definite diagnosis?

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

changing the auto box fluid is never a bad idea , the more changes the better so do that and see what happens , if its no better then defo get it plugged into to see whats going on

Been here myself just a few months ago. I have exactly the same model as you with 265,000 miles on it (and who says they don't go forever !!)

This is what I learnt:
The ZF tranny is prone to leak so double check your levels first. If it's low try topping up with a tube of Dr. Tranny Instant Shudder Fixx (Yes, its real and costs next to nothing on ebay) and then complete the top up with your normal fluid. It seems to give tired fluid a new lease of life.

If it cures it and all is still ok after a couple of weeks then go for a new filter and complete fluid change.

However, if it makes no difference or your problem subsides but then returns in a week or two then - Go get it checked professionally. Cant stress that enough !!!! It will most likely be the Torque Convertor (known not to be the most robust item on the TDV8) it could be the tranny itself or it could be both !! - but you need to find out quickly as a a dying TC is much cheaper than a complete tranny - and the dying TC will eat that tranny if you give it half a chance.

The voice of experience ! - My baby is now sporting a complete recon box tranny and TC - and that hurt - a lot !!

Good luck

Thanks for posting!
I went for the new filter and fluid. Thankfully, it did the trick. She was better immediately and getting better by the day, it seems

Remember to reset adaptations after changing oil.
And monitor the transmission behavior. Quite often somethings already gotten worn when changing the oil helps. If you're lucky, the level was a bit low and level correction fixed it. Have you seen any signs of leakage? Mine had a 5mm long crack in the filter, and other have reported leakage from the mechatronic connector sleeve. 2007 L322 3.6 TDV8 Stornoway

Henrik07 wrote:

Thanks for posting!
I went for the new filter and fluid. Thankfully, it did the trick. She was better immediately and getting better by the day, it seems

Mine felt like this. Just had a mega flush and it's great now.