406 2.0 Executive Automatic 1998

[carlo14]

Hi all,

Thought I'd share my experience with my latest acquisition, a 406 Exec Auto 1998.

From reading this forum I can see automatics aren't that popular, and even having experienced only a couple of month's ownership I already know of the reputation of this AL4 auto gearbox.

Bought this outwardly very nice car off ebay in April and noticed shortly afterwards that the winter and sports lights were flashing on random occasions, despite the car actually driving perfectly (no emergency 3rd gear lock up, for example.) Well, joined a forum or two and visited three transmission specialists to get an idea what was going on. This is where knowledge (or lack of it) regarding this gearbox seemed to kick in. I was quoted a price of £800 from one gearbox specialist ("the valve body's gone mate, they all do") to "Chuck it away, it's worthless", from another. The car had fault codes but even these varied from garage to garage, making me believe they either had faulty diagnostic equipment or were just blatantly lying/ripping me off.

I eventually discovered a sensible transmission place who read the fault codes, took time to diagnose the precise problem, drove the car; ("Yes, you're right, it does drive perfectly"), and after having checked with some higher authority changed the multifunction switch and speed sensor for £274. Result? No lights flashing, obviously still drives perfectly, and I have a lovely, fault free low mileage car which I came close to giving up on.

Early impressions are that it's wonderfully refined and comfortable but pretty gutless compared to my 405 automatic.

Hope this may encourage any of you with 406 Automatics to always get at least two opinions before making a decision on any gearbox fault!

[DaiRees]

Welcome to the club mate, and thanks for sharing your experiences with us, hopefully that'll help someone else.

The 406 is a big 'ol car for the 2.0l, but I wouldn't say they're gutless, bet the auto box doesn't help matters though . What engine was in the 405?

[teamster1975]

Welcome on in Carlo

[carlo14]

405 used the old 8v 2.0 litre engine, better suited to an auto box in my opinion. I've kept the 405 for emergency (!) use as I love it, though the 406 is growing on me every day. I should know how good they are as I used to sell new Pugs in the nineties.