2012 VLX transmission failure

[Brett B]

2012 VLX with ~435 hours on it, Monsoon 350 engine.

This past weekend while towing a wakeboarder the transmission felt like it just popped out of gear. The engine kept running at idle but when shifting into forward or reverse the transmission would not engage. The engine would not rev above idle when moving the throttle either direction. Cycling power on/off did not make any difference. Fortunately some friends on the water were able to tow us in (thanks Aaron!)

We didn't hit anything, the prop is still pristine. I can turn the prop by hand, it feels like it has normal resistance. While we were being towed the prop shaft was rotating slowly as expected. Fluid levels are all normal.

I couldn't find anything unplugged at the transmission or at the shifter. Any ideas for things I should look at? I've called my dealer but they did not have any suggestions.

Edited September 18, 2017 by Brett B

[oldjeep]

Sounds like the power to the throttle control has failed.  It controls both the shift solonoids and the throttle position.  Since the solenoid switches and the TPS are completely separate that makes me think that the power leading into the throttle control (power or ground) has been interrupted.  I'd start checking fuses and connections to the ground bus

Edited September 13, 2017 by oldjeep

[Brett B]

Thanks oldjeep. I agree that since the engine won't rev it sounds like an issue with the throttle control as well. I did not find any popped breakers but will look more carefully. Does anybody have access to a wiring diagram or some info on the pin outs for the throttle control? I could troubleshoot it myself if I had one.

[Brett B]

According to my dealer this transmission has suffered some sort of internal failure in the shifting mechanism. Since they do not do any sort of transmission repairs they are saying the only option is to have the transmission replaced. According to Indmar my extended 5-year warranty expired ~4 months ago. Needless to say I am not happy. I do not abuse this boat and have always maintained it in pristine condition, a catastrophic failure at this low of hours is ridiculous. My dealer is contacting Indmar to see if they will allow this to be covered within a grace period, let's hope they do the right thing.

 

 

[DarkSide]

Good luck!  Maybe they will come through, however as Malibu is stepping away from indmar, and doing thier own engines next year.  Indmar is not likely to be overly generous.

 

[JasonK]

Get a second opinion from another dealer. Any dealer. Did you ask your dealer about why the throttle wouldn't respond when you try to rev it up?

OP do you have throttle and shift cables?

Anyone know if that boats' throttle by wire or shift by wire?

[kerpluxal]

35 minutes ago, Brett B said:

According to my dealer this transmission has suffered some sort of internal failure in the shifting mechanism. Since they do not do any sort of transmission repairs they are saying the only option is to have the transmission replaced. According to Indmar my extended 5-year warranty expired ~4 months ago. Needless to say I am not happy. I do not abuse this boat and have always maintained it in pristine condition, a catastrophic failure at this low of hours is ridiculous. My dealer is contacting Indmar to see if they will allow this to be covered within a grace period, let's hope they do the right thing.

 

 

Have you checked your transmission fluid to see if there are any signs of failure (bits of metal or shiny fluid). Can't see how someone can tell your issue without diagnosing it. Mine did the same thing and it was a simple fix, prop shaft came loose at coupler.  Not saying this is your issue.. but needs to be diagnosed before stating its fried.

Edited September 18, 2017 by kerpluxal

[oldjeep]

57 minutes ago, JasonK said:

Get a second opinion from another dealer. Any dealer. Did you ask your dealer about why the throttle wouldn't respond when you try to rev it up?

OP do you have throttle and shift cables?

Anyone know if that boats' throttle by wire or shift by wire?

x2  makes no sense that the engine wouldnt rev.  2012 is shift by wire.

Edited September 18, 2017 by oldjeep

[Brett B]

Thanks for all the thoughts guys. I agree that the chain of events does not make sense. I spoke to the technician on the phone and asked him several questions.

Here is the info that I do have.

9/9/17: Problem first occurred, transmission would not shift, engine would not rev, NO fault codes. Towed the boat home and let it sit.

9/15/17: Checked the boat over looking for any loose grounds or connections, did not find any problems. Started the engine on the fake-a-lake to see if anything had changed (temperature dependency, etc). Engine idled normally, transmission would not shift, engine would not rev, fault codes DID pop up almost immediately, I listed them below.

9/16/17: Dropped it off at the dealer.

9/18/17:

Technician says he cleared the codes and the engine then revved normally.

Tech says he could then hear the transmission shift solenoids clicking when the throttle was moved but transmission would not go into gear.

Tech spoke to Indmar who recommenced he bypass the throttle by powering the shift solenoids on the transmission with 12V directly. Tech says he could hear the solenoids clicking but it would still not shift into gear.

Indmar recommended that he then use the mechanical bypass for the shifter. This involved removing the red cover on the shift linkage and manually screwing in the shaft. Upon doing this he says the transmission still did not shift into gear.

Indmar said with that result something internal to the transmission is broken and the entire trans must be replaced.

The technician did not know why the engine would not rev before. He did not know why there were initially no codes.

I asked if there was a feedback loop for the throttle control where the controller looked to see if a solenoid had activated the gearshift before allowing the engine to rev. He said there was not to his knowledge.

Here are the codes that I took a snapshot of on 9/15 before I towed it down. Does anybody know what they are?

SPN:65604 FMI:2

DATA ERRATIC, INTERMITTENT OR INCORRECT

SPN:65605 FMI:2

DATA ERRATIC, INTERMITTENT OR INCORRECT

Other answers:

I did check the transmission fluid, all looked and smelled normal, but I did not drain it to look for metal shavings.

The prop shaft coupler is intact, it’s one of the first things I checked.

The tech said the transmission drive plate was intact and the internal gears appear to be spinning as normal.

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by Brett B

[oldjeep]

Those are tps errors.  Pretty sure one is on the back of throttle and the other is on the throttle body.  

SPN 65604 FMI 2: Pedal Position (PP) Sensor 2 Data Erratic, Intermittent or Incorrect
SPN 65605 FMI 2: Pedal Position (PP) Sensor 1 Data Erratic, Intermittent or Incorrect

[Andrew63]

Hope you didn't resort to trading the boat, unless you were looking for a reason to update.

While I have a DD Response, I had a similar issue wit the final result being a key in the imput shaft connecting the internal oil pump sheared.

This is internal on the Hydraulic side of the transmission resulting in virtually no transmission oil pressure when checked on the lines to the tranmission cooler.

Fix involved pulling the transmission & sending away to a specialist who broke it down to find this sheared key, similar to the key in yuor prop shaft.

The post if here

 

[jgates237]

Brett B, what ever came of this issue?