Gearbox needs attention

Q I have owned my 2010 Peugeot 207 SW 1.6 VTI Sport Tip auto with a petrol engine since April 2013 and it was absolutely fine until recently.

Three or four months ago it developed an occasional fault. As I’m driving along as normal, I hear a beep and a message on the electronic display appears saying the gearbox needs attention. Then a snowflake symbol and an ‘S’ sign appears bedside the ‘D’ and a small warning triangle lights up. The car drives as normal though, and when I switch the ignition off and on again, the symbols and triangle go out.

I have had it looked at by my local Peugeot dealer and two independent garages, one of them an automatic gearbox specialist. Peugeot quoted more than £1000 to replace the solenoids in the hydraulic block, which I wasn’t prepared to pay. My local independent garage didn’t have a clue and the auto gearbox specialist diagnosed it as a faulty multifunction switch and replaced it. This was done in February, but in May the problem reappeared on a particularly wet day.

Having read your feature on the Peugeot 207 1.4 petrol (CM, June 2014), I was wondering if wet weather and dampness could be the reason for the fault? Greg Hertfordshire

A It should be possible to use a dedicated scanner to read the fault codes from the gearbox ECU and this should help clarify the cause of the warning lights. I am

assuming the Peugeot dealer carried this out when they inspected the vehicle.

The most likely solution is the one that Peugeot originally indicated. The job requires the replacement of the two modulating solenoid valves, then resetting and updating the software for the gearbox and engine ECU. When the valves are changed, the gearbox fluid will need to be replaced at the same time. The electro valve does have a cable connection outside the gearbox and, as

you noted, the problem occurred after a wet spell, so it may be worth checking and cleaning the connection. This should be found towards the rear of the gearbox just above the diff housing on the nearside of the vehicle.

I would also inspect the ECU connecting plugs. To do this you will need to remove the battery cover, air box, nearside front wheel and inner shield to access and remove the ECU cover at the end of the gearbox.