DSG on hills and parking

[MrGadget]

Hi, as a potential GTI DSG owner I have been reading alot about the DSG and one thing that got me a bit nervous was how the DSG behaves when stationary on a hill (eg traffic lights) and when reverse parking.

I have read that the car will rollback when the brake is released and its hard to take off smoothly because 'you quickly put you foot on the accelerator' to avoid this roll back. Is this really a concern? I should note that my wife (automatic transmission driver) will be driving the car 90% of the time.

Reverse parking (especially on a hill) seems to be a challenege also from what I have heard. Is this because to avoid roll back you need to press the accelerator and you may press it too hard to go up the incline and risk hitting the car infront? it seems that reverse sensors are almost a requirement so you know how much rollback occurs and you can quickly brake to avoid rolling into the car behind.

Having said all this, i also read that if you trust the DSG it will actually only rollback a inch or so.

What happens when stopped on a flat road and release the brake, does it move forward slowly like a normal auto or does it just sit there waiting for the driver to press on the accelerator.

Thanks guys, just trying to understand the pros and cons of the DSG. I'm going to test drive one this weekend.

[GTI32]

I have an MY09 which has hill assist. So if you are considering buying new, this should not be a problem for you.

Cheers

[VW Convert]

Hi, as a potential GTI DSG owner I have been reading alot about the DSG and one thing that got me a bit nervous was how the DSG behaves when stationary on a hill (eg traffic lights) and when reverse parking.

I have read that the car will rollback when the brake is released and its hard to take off smoothly because 'you quickly put you foot on the accelerator' to avoid this roll back. Is this really a concern? I should note that my wife (automatic transmission driver) will be driving the car 90% of the time.

Reverse parking (especially on a hill) seems to be a challenege also from what I have heard. Is this because to avoid roll back you need to press the accelerator and you may press it too hard to go up the incline and risk hitting the car infront? it seems that reverse sensors are almost a requirement so you know how much rollback occurs and you can quickly brake to avoid rolling into the car behind.

Having said all this, i also read that if you trust the DSG it will actually only rollback a inch or so.

What happens when stopped on a flat road and release the brake, does it move forward slowly like a normal auto or does it just sit there waiting for the driver to press on the accelerator.

Thanks guys, just trying to understand the pros and cons of the DSG. I'm going to test drive one this weekend.

As GTI32 has said, the current model has a hill hold facility not fitted to earlier models. There is a knack to driving earlier models and yes it is disconcerting that when you take your foot off the accelerator on a hill it does roll an inch or so before the clutch takes up and it is difficult to build up trust in the DSG to do this. I've adjusted to the characterisitics of the DSG and can do hill starts with no problems, but I sometimes use the handbrake if I'm on a very steep hill just as a precaution.

The DSG will creep forward like a conventional auto on the flat, parking is actually quite easy as you do not need throttle at all.

All said, I'm a great fan of the DSG.

Cheers

George

[MrGadget]

Thanks, that eases my concerns. I'll just have to make sure that VW are selling MY09 models on the runout and not MY08 models. Is the GTI (and R32) the only golf models with an AUX input? This seems a little strange to me not have this simple (but useful) feature in lower models too.

I am considering the GT Golfs if I can't get a good price on the GTI but the extra grunt and features of the GTI seem to be worth more than the price between the GT and GTI.

Even fuel consumption on the GTI (on paper) is better than my MY05 121Kw Subaru Liberty, although it does require 98 ron.

[CatonaPC©]

I have an MY09 which has hill assist. So if you are considering buying new, this should not be a problem for you.

Cheers

+1 on that. The DSG works fine.

[Paul_OH]

Even with the non hill hold models hill takeoffs can be done smoothly with no rollback. If you 'ease' off the brake the DSG will slowly take up the pressure and hold position or crawl forward. If you lift off the brake quickly the software takes a short time to find the friction point to hold probably 100mm or so? It's discnocerting the first time but you get used to it pretty quickly.
Otherwise the handbrake works well and allows the DSG to take up pressure and away you go!

As mentioned already MY09 models have this issue sussed so you shouldn't have an issue

Paul

[GTom]

Thanks, that eases my concerns. I'll just have to make sure that VW are selling MY09 models on the runout and not MY08 models. Is the GTI (and R32) the only golf models with an AUX input? This seems a little strange to me not have this simple (but useful) feature in lower models too.

I am considering the GT Golfs if I can't get a good price on the GTI but the extra grunt and features of the GTI seem to be worth more than the price between the GT and GTI.

Even fuel consumption on the GTI (on paper) is better than my MY05 121Kw Subaru Liberty, although it does require 98 ron.

Have alook around saw some at drive away prices of 39990 for the GTI DSG (2k extra than the GT TSI DSG and i think close to the same price as the GT TDI DSG????)

Both are good cars.... theres a thread in here somewhere about who wants what from the GT and GTI

[spawn]

I normally use the handbrake before taking off on a slope. Seems to work for me.

[Brew]

I had also read the posts on this issue.
I have just bought a MY09 Pacific with DSG and HSA. It works like a dream - you should have no concerns if you get a MY09

[WEDEL.1]

I wonder if my Edition has it? How can you tell if it has?

Maris

[Brew]

Hi Maris, this is the quote from VW Golf for MY09:

Hill Start Assist (HSA) holds the vehicle when the foot brake is
released by temporarily locking the brake pressure (for a maximum
of 1.5 seconds) to provide comfortable starting-off without rolling
back. Hill Start Assist (HSA) operates on inclines greater than 5%
and is fitted in combination with the Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG).

I think if you give it a try you will know. Basically it feels like a "normal auto" to me.

BTW love the TDI door sil panels you have shown on another thread - can you PM me the details ie how do I get them

[WhiteRabbit]

Or you can get a GTI and use Launch Control on Hill start

[Guest212]

try doing a smooth reverse park, uphill.

Yer I have mastered it in that the car doesn't move forward much more than if I were using a normal clutch but it sounds a) terrible and b) jerky.

Its a completely normal characteristic of the DSG apparently.


Don't buy DSG. Its not worth the trouble.

[VW Convert]

{deleted text}

A normal characteristic? I don't think so...... seems you have many problems with the DSG that most other users don't. A great pity for you as you seem to be missing out on all of the great features of the DSG........I wonder what the problem is?

Cheers

George

[mtj007]

I reverse parked uphill today and it was completely smooth.
Foot on brake > D to R > Accelerate (HSA held the car), as far as I know all MY08 onwards DSG equipped cars have HSA.

My mum's 2007 Passat TDI (doesn't have HSA) is fine reversing uphill too, it rolls forward a tiny bit and then the clutch takes up and it goes like a regular auto. I would still describe it as smooth. It gets driven like a regular auto too, we never use Auto Hold or the parking brake.