DSG: Problems, Questions, Likes and Dislikes

[paulcito]

Just wanted to start a thread for any DSG owners out there who wish to vent their likes/dislikes/frustration

I have ordered a GTI with DSG and was wondering what the DSG community thought of it.
Would you buy another one ?

I've heard comments that it is jerky at low speed, sudden downshifts and not smooth in city driving (compared a 6speed auto like Honda)

[Maverick]

Just wanted to start a thread for any DSG owners out there who wish to vent their likes/dislikes/frustration

I have ordered a GTI with DSG and was wondering what the DSG community thought of it.
Would you buy another one ?

Pointless asking this after you just ordered one.

I've heard comments that it is jerky at low speed, sudden downshifts and not smooth in city driving (compared a 6speed auto like Honda)

I've heard comments that it's smooth at low speed, smooth downshifts and smooth in city driving (not compared against an automatic transmission as they share absolutely nothing in common).

If you want feedback on the DSG use the search button, there are numerous threads on this forum about it and all your questions will be answered.

[Escell]

Paulcito, I've driven a DSG for four years and there were a few times in manual mode when downshifts were jerky. Pressing the accelerator a bit before down-changing helped. DSG downshifts for you even in manual mode anyway, so it's only worth manually down shifting if you want a kick in torque/speed, not to shift down at lights.

If you try to drive a DSG in sport mode in low speed traffic, it will always feel abrupt and over-rev strangely because it has no room to shine. You'd always leave it in D.

I had a mate who's a professional race car driver in my GTI two nights ago and he couldn't get over the smoothness of the DSG when it's driven how it's intended. He also just thought the GTI was fantastic in general.

[Doug VeeDub]

I'm new to VW and.......love the DSG. Coming out of a Liberty GT spec B paddle shift auto which was bloody frustrating and dim witted, the DSG GTi is awesome fun. The only downside imo is that fluffy fart on upshift which I love but makes me drive it hard all day which means 11+ L/100km. Love the throttle blip on downshift. Love how it allows you to downchange into a lower gear with high revs (Subie would beep away and refuse to downshift for a corner aaaaaarrrrrggghhhh!) DSG being a manual box means much more direct drive and engine braking than slushy auto box too.

Low speed jerkiness is a small price to pay and you can drive around it once you get used to it.

When the GTi comes up for update in 3 years or so, it will be very hard to go non DSG. I guess by then many more manufacturers will be emulating VW.

[3Putt]

Maverick, people like you make my blood boil! The thread this bloke started is perfectly legit. Leave him alone!

These forums are for sharing information, not teeing off on strangers. Go and kick your dog or wife or something mate.

Right then...

The DSG is an interesting piece of kit for sure. Great when its all working. Its the reason i bought my VW 3 years ago instead of a Liberty. I was blown away by the smoothness and fun factor of it all. That blip of the throttle as you shift down under braking makes you feel like you're Schuey!

As for reliability, it's been a hit and miss kind of thing. Most owners have no doubt had no problems, but there have been a few horror stories.

The one good thing in Maverick's post was the bit about searching this forum. There's quite a few threads on the subject.

My story - DSG started with roughish upshifts and a clunk from the rear end going from 4th to 5th. After 10mths of troubleshooting and replacement mechatronic unit, VW replaced the whole DSG under warranty.

Then i wrote off the car in a flood! Doh!

FWIW, I went DSG again in my new car, simply because of its fun factor. Plus I wanted to try paddle shifters and launch control!

[Corey_R]

Maverick, people like you make my blood boil! The thread this bloke started is perfectly legit. Leave him alone!

I think Mav was just in a mood because he was replying to a post in the 16th AND 17th thread started by another member of the forums, and then come across this thread which has also been done before.

But I would like to add that I was amazed at how smooth the DSG was in D. Sure, there are some auto's out there that are smoother - but the DSG is a manual which can change gears for you, and I don't know many manual drivers as smooth or quick as the DSG.

As others have said - it can take a bit to get used to it - but once you're aware of how to drive it, it's awesome - and I too will find it hard to go non-DSG in the future. I'm particularly looking forward to the R which apparently has the 'lag at start' issue resolved.

[VW Convert]

Maverick, people like you make my blood boil! The thread this bloke started is perfectly legit. Leave him alone!

These forums are for sharing information, not teeing off on strangers. Go and kick your dog or wife or something mate.

I thought Maverick's points were quite legitimate, it does seem pointless asking the question after having placed the order. Maverick then pointed out that he had heard comments contrary to what the OP had heard, seems legit to me, finally he pointed out correctly that using the search function would lead the OP to a mountain of feedback either way regarding the DSG. So what's the problem?

This thread will lead nowhere, the usual DSG haters will come to the fore and the usual DSG lovers (myself included) will make comments to the contrary.

FWIW, I'm on my second DSG car, no problems at all, absolutely love it, it changes up when I would expect, it changes down when I would expect, is very smooth, changes are lightning fast and is very different to any other automatic both in concept and in operation. Is the DSG infallible? Probably not, but then, which manual transmission driver has got it 100% correct every time?...the answer by the way is none.

Cheers

George

[Corey_R]

Btw - I had a Stage II APR GTI. So there was ~430NM and ~205KW going through it - still very smooth...

[paulcito]

No problems - all comments appreciated.
My wife wanted an "auto" so there wasn't really much choice for a MT

Started this thread because I wanted to know why the VW community loves it or hates it so that I can be prepared for it in late Mar (hopefully).

Will search for the "dislikes". Good to see that the comments in this thread have been very positive

Cheers to all.

[VW Convert]

No problems - all comments appreciated.
My wife wanted an "auto" so there wasn't really much choice for a MT

Cheers to all.

It really boils down to this point, if you want an auto, choose DSG, if you want a manual, choose a manual. Having said that, be prepared for the DSG not to behave like a conventional auto because it is a very sophisiticated computer controlled manual gearbox with no torque converter and that is the main reason it feels so different.

You have made a good choice with DSG.

Cheers

George

[hoi polloi]

When I test drove Golfs before placing my order I went in ready to buy a manual - drove the DSG and it seems to me to be the best of both worlds... Needless to say I ended up ordering a DSG Golf...

Yes, there do seem to be bad DSGs and good DSGs - remember though the unfortunate souls who ended up with the bad ones are more likely to post in forums on the 'net than people who are delighted - so I think the average of 'net write-ups is probably skewed to bad...

Regards,
- Anthony.

[Maverick]

Maverick, people like you make my blood boil! The thread this bloke started is perfectly legit. Leave him alone!

These forums are for sharing information, not teeing off on strangers. Go and kick your dog or wife or something mate.

There are many threads already covering the DSG and it's pointless starting yet another one especially when the OP doesn't even have a DSG so can't contribute anything and doesn't have a specific question.

There are already 29 threads with DSG in their title in this forum and 78 threads with DSG in their title in the Mark V forum (and more in the tiguan forum as well).

If the OP want's to do some research there are plenty of threads to keep him occupied, some of them include

Long term reliability of DSG
Factory Repair Manual for Mk 5 & DSG
DSG servicing intervals
Why not DSG?
Pricing on 15k/1yr service for r32 dsg
Mk 5 DSG Service costs
DSG question
DSG noise
DSG Issue
DSG replacement - more waiting
DSG Issues
7 SP DSG and chip mods
Any Tips on Driving a New Golf6 with DSG?
MT vs DSG survey
Whining DSG box on Golf TDi VI Series
And so forth

[Tux]

For a guy who could be so helpful, what, with a fantastic GTI information site etc, I don't understand why it is such a problem for you Maverick if people start a new thread such as this.

I've read heaps of information about DSG on this and other sites, and have ordered my car with it, but that doesn't stop me being somewhat nervous about whether I've done the right thing or not. If I couldn't buy extended warranty I'm not sure I would have ordered with DSG as it seems there is a strong likelihood of failure which could mean big $$$ in repairs outside warranty. I'm very interested in what owners with DSG say about it. I believe Maverick has DSG on his car but he'd rather waste time flaming people rather than give valuable feedback.

I am also concerned that I could be on a freeway or highway and lose any drive or worse still that could happen with my wife driving! This has been written about here in Oz and overseas.

Having said that I'm taking the risk to hopefully enjoy the benefits of this wonderful technology.

[Maverick]

For a guy who could be so helpful, what, with a fantastic GTI information site etc, I don't understand why it is such a problem for you Maverick if people start a new thread such as this.

Read what I wrote.

I've read heaps of information about DSG on this and other sites, and have ordered my car with it, but that doesn't stop me being somewhat nervous about whether I've done the right thing or not. If I couldn't buy extended warranty I'm not sure I would have ordered with DSG as it seems there is a strong likelihood of failure which could mean big $$$ in repairs outside warranty.

Strong likelihood of failure? Based on what? There are no widespread problems with the DSG and VW have sold over 2 million of them. They would have gone broke if the DSG had a high failure rate. Why do you think VWA don't keep stocks in Australia and instead ship them out by air?

I'm very interested in what owners with DSG say about it. I believe Maverick has DSG on his car but he'd rather waste time flaming people rather than give valuable feedback.

Actually if you bothered to read I did give feedback and if you want to see what users have to say about it (which is pointless as you don't have a car with DSG - why is it that people order something and research it afterwards looking for flaws???) you can use the search facility and this will show you every DSG made on this site which is going to be a hell of a lot more useful than looking at a few posts in yet another thread that contains little useful information.

I am also concerned that I could be on a freeway or highway and lose any drive or worse still that could happen with my wife driving! This has been written about here in Oz and overseas.

I've heard it all now. You're worrying about something that rarely ever occurs and that has been addressed already by Volkswagen. Your wife is more likely to run into Elvis so I'd worry about that before I would be concerned about something that is a non event.

Having said that I'm taking the risk to hopefully enjoy the benefits of this wonderful technology.

So you're not concerned about your wife's safety? If I had concerns for my families safety (whether it was founded or not) I wouldn't be buying it.

[VW Convert]

For a guy who could be so helpful, what, with a fantastic GTI information site etc, I don't understand why it is such a problem for you Maverick if people start a new thread such as this.

I don't believe that making legitimate statements is flaming anyone.

Maverick's point is that there are already 107 DSG related threads in the MKV and MKVI forums, the information is there and as the OP does not have a specific question what is the point of this thread?

Maverick may be controversial and sometimes blunt but it seems to me there are some on here who just want to have a go at him because it is some sort of sport.

I've read heaps of information about DSG on this and other sites, and have ordered my car with it, but that doesn't stop me being somewhat nervous about whether I've done the right thing or not. If I couldn't buy extended warranty I'm not sure I would have ordered with DSG as it seems there is a strong likelihood of failure which could mean big $$$ in repairs outside warranty. I'm very interested in what owners with DSG say about it.

Perhaps reading some of the 107 other threads may help here, do you honestly believe that any earth shattering new revelations will come from this thread? As I said previously, this thread will go nowhere, just a regurgitation of what has already been posted repeatedly. As for the strong likelihood of failure is concerned, my view would be that the likelihood is minimal.

I am also concerned that I could be on a freeway or highway and lose any drive or worse still that could happen with my wife driving! This has been written about here in Oz and overseas.

So will this thread give any new answers that are not covered in the other threads? If you read some of those threads you will gain a much better understanding of those issues and see how miniscule a problem it is in terms of the number of DSGs that are around.

Cheers

George