NSW GTi DSG shuddering

[GTiNewby]

Hi all,
My GTi 07 DSG is starting to shudder under light acceleration the VW techs had it for 2 days and don't have an idea of a cause and suggested a Mechatronic replacement as a possible fix, as though I would leap at the $3500 possible solution. Anyone had any similar problems.
I love the GTi but the cost of a DSG that may be on the way out screams sell...

[johnw]

sorry to hear that, I had the similar issue in my 08 Passat when i first got it (second hand), jerly take offs and can't creep properly but it was from a dealer and luckily they replaced the mechatronic unit under warranty. $3500 all up is not a bad price (from a dealer), I was told it would have cost $4500.

Not sure how well you can sell it with the shuddering gearbox though.

Depends, $3500 may be cheaper than "sell at a loss and buy a new car", if you intended to keep the GTI.

[GTiNewby]

sorry to hear that, I had the similar issue in my 08 Passat when i first got it (second hand), jerly take offs and can't creep properly but it was from a dealer and luckily they replaced the mechatronic unit under warranty. $3500 all up is not a bad price (from a dealer), I was told it would have cost $4500.

Not sure how well you can sell it with the shuddering gearbox though.

Depends, $3500 may be cheaper than "sell at a loss and buy a new car", if you intended to keep the GTI.

Thanks for the update.
Yeah mine was 2nd hand and a little jerky nothing too major but very noticeable after I test drove a new Golf R.
Did the replacement mechatronic fix the problem you had? I will only have to cough up 1500 as the part is under extended warranty.

[buzuki]

could also be the clutch.

[Blitzen]

Welcome to the forum, and welcome to the joys of owning a DSG gearbox equipped car. I hope things get sorted, and if you get it fixed, get rid of it like a dog that chews on the furniture. You will have nothing but problems with it. I have read more bad things than good about these things. Just type in 'DSG Faults' into the search bar...

[johnw]

Thanks for the update.
Yeah mine was 2nd hand and a little jerky nothing too major but very noticeable after I test drove a new Golf R.
Did the replacement mechatronic fix the problem you had? I will only have to cough up 1500 as the part is under extended warranty.

Well mine was major, I could see the car bunnyhop from the lights when I followed my missus driving it. But it is now almost as smooth as a torque converter auto and no problems whatsoever. DSG is great, just don't treat it like a torque converter, its a manual box with synchros. I was scared by all the "research" I did for the dsg faults too but no one will rave about a working DSG, just a broken one.

Ah yeah extended covers 2k, well if you intend on keeping the car, I personally think its worth it. Just makesure the they diagnosed the problem correctly because as buzuki mentioned, faulty clutch could also cause shuddering and you don't want to replace the mech unit for nothing. I say this because my dealer misdiagnosed my EPC brake switch fault 3 times before finding the real problem (towbar module) but had changed the master cylinder and brake switch already which would have cost 1200 if not for stat warranty.

Posted from my idroid4 Galaxy HD 7

[brimway]

[QUOTE=Blitzen;697970]Welcome to the forum, and welcome to the joys of owning a DSG gearbox equipped car. I hope things get sorted, and if you get it fixed, get rid of it like a dog that chews on the furniture. You will have nothing but problems with it. I have read more bad things than good about these things. Just type in 'DSG Faults' into the search bar...[/QUOTE

Strange advice, my mechatronics was replaced under warranty and it has worked perfectly over the 16,000 ks since.

[GTiNewby]

sorry to hear that, I had the similar issue in my 08 Passat when i first got it (second hand), jerly take offs and can't creep properly but it was from a dealer and luckily they replaced the mechatronic unit under warranty. $3500 all up is not a bad price (from a dealer), I was told it would have cost $4500.

Not sure how well you can sell it with the shuddering gearbox though.

Depends, $3500 may be cheaper than "sell at a loss and buy a new car", if you intended to keep the GTI.

Cheers.
fair point. I shudder 'no pun intended' at the risk of fixing the Mechatronic and then finding out it's a clutch and then finding out it's a complete DSG unit. I'm more disappointed at the fact the OEM can't accurately diagnose a mechanical or electrical issue. Will get an independent to check it out and see if it all adds up.
I will miss the plush, heated, leather seats and once lighting quick and smooth gear changes if it all goes south.
Thanks for the reply.

[buzuki]

I agree, even VGA tech support are lost at times when it comes to diagnosing these DSG's. I find we replace complete gearbox most often just for the 'what if' factor. I mean the box is simple to understand, but knowing whats going on inside the mechatronics/ecu is hard to decipher.

[johnw]

Have a look at something like this, might give you a better idea as to what the service guys are telling you, or even what might be wrong

http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_308.pdf

I don't quite understand why VW would recommend replacing the WHOLE DSG box.

Besides the mechatronic and the clutch pack, the rest is literally a manual box, which, unless the synchro is gone or something mechanical fails, there is no reason to replace.

Unless I guess labor is to replace the clutch and mech unit only is too expensive.

[ozgti]

Mine's supposedly booked in for a clutch pack replacement, but they haven't hinted about anything regarding the stalling or no gear engagement at all in the middle of an intersection!

[wai]

OK, I hope I don't offend anyone. Right...got that in so now I can

I have a Caddy Maxi Life with a DSG and it has been a very quick learning curve. Here is what I have observed and learned.

First, it is a manual gearbox that operated automatically, and not an automatic gearbox in the traditional sense. As such you have to drive it as you would a manual. There are some very bad habits people develop using both automatic and manual gearboxes.

You should not attempt to hold the vehicle on an incline using the accelerator pedal. I know many with both automatic and manual gearboxes who look on it as a "skill" to do this. It is the quickest way to destroy a clutch or overheat the transmission fluid in an automatic, apart from showing a lack of mechanical sensitivity.

When you come to a stop in traffic or at lights, you must hold the vehicle with the foot brake and not the hand brake. When you have your foot on the foot brake and are at a standstill, the clutches are disengaged. If you have the hand brake on, the first clutch will try and engage and eventually the safety will kick in and disengage it, only to try and engage it again. If you do not want to hold the vehicle with the foot brake, the transmission must be in Neutral or Park and the foot brake must be pressed to move the transmission into Park.

Do not try and creep (I do mean creep) along for too long with the transmission in 1st. For 1st and reverse, the engagement of the clutch is gradual, whereas when all other gears are selected, the clutch engages fully more quickly as the controls assume you are moving and so less likely to stall from a quick engagement. So it is OK to creep in 2nd or higher, just not 1st. It is highly unlikely you would do this in a conventional manual so don't do this in a DSG either. In heavy stop/start traffic, wait until there is a reasonable gap and then move forward.

Now this does not mean that you are not going to have issues even if you follow this, just that you are more likely to have issues if you do not.

[brimway]

Vw know what this is!!!!

Mine's supposedly booked in for a clutch pack replacement, but they haven't hinted about anything regarding the stalling or no gear engagement at all in the middle of an intersection!

This thread probably needs to be moved.

An interesting thing to google is "VW FALSE NEUTRAL"


VW decides to replace my DSG Mechatronics unit!

[GTiNewby]

You wouldn't believe how this one has turned out.
I had a kick arse mechanic prior to the VW purchase so decided to get a second opinion on the shudder from him before I coughed up the money. He took it for a spin, said the DSG seems fine, If it were a DSG issue it would happen all the time, took it for another spin and drove through the shudder until he got a fault.
Hey presto he pops the bonnet and says there's your fault, and points to the uneven engine vibration. Turns out it was a coil on the way out and the sensor was not allowing the right fuel injection hence the vibrating. He hooked up the computer and low and behold right there in front of me is an error"2 x cylinder error-misfire". You can't beat a good old fashioned hands on mechanic. He said take it back to VW it's under extended warranty and reproduce the error for them while they are in the car with you. It's now getting a new coil for $88.
If I were made of money I'd give my old mechanic the change from the Megatronic quote. What a relief.

He's then

sorry to hear that, I had the similar issue in my 08 Passat when i first got it (second hand), jerly take offs and can't creep properly but it was from a dealer and luckily they replaced the mechatronic unit under warranty. $3500 all up is not a bad price (from a dealer), I was told it would have cost $4500.

Not sure how well you can sell it with the shuddering gearbox though.

Depends, $3500 may be cheaper than "sell at a loss and buy a new car", if you intended to keep the GTI.

[ozgti]

OK, I hope I don't offend anyone. Right...got that in so now I can

I have a Caddy Maxi Life with a DSG and it has been a very quick learning curve. Here is what I have observed and learned.

First, it is a manual gearbox that operated automatically, and not an automatic gearbox in the traditional sense. As such you have to drive it as you would a manual. There are some very bad habits people develop using both automatic and manual gearboxes.

You should not attempt to hold the vehicle on an incline using the accelerator pedal. I know many with both automatic and manual gearboxes who look on it as a "skill" to do this. It is the quickest way to destroy a clutch or overheat the transmission fluid in an automatic, apart from showing a lack of mechanical sensitivity.

When you come to a stop in traffic or at lights, you must hold the vehicle with the foot brake and not the hand brake. When you have your foot on the foot brake and are at a standstill, the clutches are disengaged. If you have the hand brake on, the first clutch will try and engage and eventually the safety will kick in and disengage it, only to try and engage it again. If you do not want to hold the vehicle with the foot brake, the transmission must be in Neutral or Park and the foot brake must be pressed to move the transmission into Park.

Do not try and creep (I do mean creep) along for too long with the transmission in 1st. For 1st and reverse, the engagement of the clutch is gradual, whereas when all other gears are selected, the clutch engages fully more quickly as the controls assume you are moving and so less likely to stall from a quick engagement. So it is OK to creep in 2nd or higher, just not 1st. It is highly unlikely you would do this in a conventional manual so don't do this in a DSG either. In heavy stop/start traffic, wait until there is a reasonable gap and then move forward.

Now this does not mean that you are not going to have issues even if you follow this, just that you are more likely to have issues if you do not.

You can't creep in 2nd. The dsg won't allow you to creep in 2nd unless you get to a certain speed. Even in manual mode, you can't change to 2nd.