DSG: Problems, Questions, Likes and Dislikes

[Candyman]

All good here.. same ol same ol, not having you to stirr things up has been a bit dull but I get by.

LOL

Ive been way too busy with this move to cause trouble and now that I'm up here, the lifestyle, lack of crowds and traffic jams has softened me

Maybe this current fiasco will really shake VW up and they then sort out the quality issues and their approach to customers who pay their salaries.

Mmmm, pigs on the wing ....

[SilvrFoxX]

Re: DSG: Problems, Questions, Likes and Dislikes

Customer servic aside I am a firm believer that progress has a price. The DSG box is possibly the most advanced piece of kit on the market, VW keep pushing the envelope and something has got to give. The trade off is a silky smooth acceleration which chomps manual performance. Where VW appear to have missed the point is they have to stand up and say "we are testing in production" and defects will be fixed under warranty

If you want tried and tested then buy japanese but the tech is going to be a decade behind

[Fumbi]

Customer servic aside I am a firm believer that progress has a price. The DSG box is possibly the most advanced piece of kit on the market, VW keep pushing the envelope and something has got to give. The trade off is a silky smooth acceleration which chomps manual performance. Where VW appear to have missed the point is they have to stand up and say "we are testing in production" and defects will be fixed under warranty

If you want tried and tested then buy japanese but the tech is going to be a decade behind

Agree. The other mistake they made is not to educate buyers re the DSG handling. Should be a separate booklet in the car with instructions.

[Candyman]

Sorry guys, neither of those comments cut it

1. VW admit the DSG has flaws, major ones. False neutrals can be dangerous (personal experience). With the 7 speed, even more flawed. Owners have been seriously "burnt" by this tech. VW aren't the leader either.

2. There should be no need for a DSG "handbook". VW and dealers messed up majorly here, don't shove the blame to owners.

i suck it up about the way the DSG behaves and doesn't behave but VWs attitude and many of its dealers have a woeful attitude to customers and there is no excuse.

[Diesel_vert]

Customer servic aside I am a firm believer that progress has a price. The DSG box is possibly the most advanced piece of kit on the market, VW keep pushing the envelope and something has got to give. The trade off is a silky smooth acceleration which chomps manual performance. Where VW appear to have missed the point is they have to stand up and say "we are testing in production" and defects will be fixed under warranty

Most people tend to be understanding when something goes wrong and given an explanation. Technology is designed by humans after all, so it can't be helped if something goes wrong.

What most people don't tolerate nearly as well, is if there's a perception of avoiding responsibility on part of the technology provider when something does go wrong, especially for something like a car - not just because it's the second most expensive purchase for many people, but just on sheer principle.

Either be open and upfront about the limitations of a particular technology, or don't mention it at all and simply take responsibility and offer proper & real support (in a manner that is not condescending) if something does go wrong.



Though having said that, most customers do not relish at the thought of playing the role of a guinea pig - they'd argue, how were they to know the company was outsourcing their development team onto the consumer when purchasing a DSG-equipped VW?

Is it too much to ask for a properly developed gearbox (that is to be installed in an ordinary passenger vehicle, not an exotic or experimental prototype) to be included with the purchase price?

If you want tried and tested then buy japanese but the tech is going to be a decade behind

At least it'll work.

Agree. The other mistake they made is not to educate buyers re the DSG handling. Should be a separate booklet in the car with instructions.

You mean, tell the customer they have to drive their automatic transmission as if it were a manual transmission or you'll damage it?

Most technophiles and enthusiasts probably wouldn't mind, but ordinary customers would be quite bemused by that... and then buy something else.

[alexhl]

The A45 AMG would be a nice replacement

How did you manage to convince the dealer to replace mech due to the false neutral issue?

I've been having that issue since new and they keep claiming they can't see the problem so won't fix it

As some will know, I had the mechatronics replaced under warranty on my R within a few months of picking it up - due to a false neutral.

Have not had any other mechanical issues since but the DSG is still like a child, good most of the time but has moments of misbehaviour (usually fixed by excessive use of the accelerator and S mode)

After a lot of information coming out about the DSG, the Golf in general and the way VW (and their dealers) have been and are mishandling customers concerns and the impact on resale values, I will not be replacing the R with another VW.

This isn't just about the DSG reliability (I actually bought the R knowing the DSG would cause issues, deciding the issues were worth it) but the other poor quality control issues and VWs attitude to customers have outweighed the attractiveness of the brand.

Unsure what my options are but Mercs hatch seems the only option for me.

I will run the 5 year warranty out I purchased on the R and sell, hopefully without too much loss from this recall fiasco.

[Candyman]

The A45 AMG would be a nice replacement

How did you manage to convince the dealer to replace mech due to the false neutral issue?

I've been having that issue since new and they keep claiming they can't see the problem so won't fix it

They took no convincing at all.

The Service Manager and I have always got on well. I told him I had a false neutral which freaked me out at the time and he organised a replacement. Was all sorted within a few days.

i got a loaner the day they did the replacement.

i am hopeful I can find a service dept like them up here as they were fantastic.

[wai]

Agree. The other mistake they made is not to educate buyers re the DSG handling. Should be a separate booklet in the car with instructions.

The problem for VW was they put all their eggs in one basket. Yes, there can be advantages with this. It is exactly what Apple did when they dropped the serial and parallel ports and replaced them with the USB. In reality, if they had not done that, we would still have serial and parallel ports with all their speed and configuration limitations. Not many would remember all the trouble with getting the serial port parameters just right. Now it is hot plug a USB device and it simply works.

The downside of doing something like that is you need to be on top of things and be ready to respond promptly and genuinely.

Also, it would have been very difficult (probably impossible) to sell the DSG by setting out operating conditions. If they had offered a conventional TCG as an alternative, they could well have had buyers simply opting for it with few sales of the DSG (relatively).

The issue here is that VW have not responded promptly. They have offered up excuses, and most importantly, they continued to sell it with flawed components in the hope that nothing would happen.

The DSG is not new. It has been around for quite a few years. It is the failure of VW to respond that sees us where we are. They should have gone with a belt and braces philosophy to ensure that the transmission could never operate outside its design conditions. Once established, they could have reduced some of the redundancy. Instead they chose to go minimal from the beginning, and so when stressed, problems arose. Their philosophy seems to have been "what's the chance that these conditions would be exceeded".

[SilvrFoxX]

Re: DSG: Problems, Questions, Likes and Dislikes

Simple solution go buy a BRZ

[Diesel_vert]

Simple solution go buy a BRZ

Or don't buy a DSG-equipped car, which opens up a few more options in case one doesn't fancy the Subaru BRZ.

[Golf Loon]

thanks for this thread. ive decied to go for Manual.

Absolutely the best option.

[VR6man]

I wasn't 100% sure about getting a DSG GTI, but I'm glad I did. Ours is a MY13 model. I absolutely love this box, it does everything right.
I find the drive very relaxing , almost lazy.
But my best like is in manual mode, this box likes to be pushed.
No regrets, even if it gives me some hiccups in the future.
Only dislike is the lack of traction off the mark, but learning to go easy on the throttle. Maybe.

[SAINIside]

Does anyone know how I can check what model the DSG box is in my MY13 GTI? I'm assuming its DQ500

Have to say, having been burned before I swore I would never buy a VW or Audi again. I had a 2008 Golf TDI Pacific in which I eventually had the full gearbox and mechatronics unit replaced under warranty. I also had an A5 Sportback Quattro which showed signs of 'something not right' with the Multitronic.

However, after all this, I still went and got a GTI. One drive and I could see they got the new DSG sorted. If you understand that the DSG is a complex piece of tech and learn how to get the most out of it (especially in M mode), it's one hell of a fine and fun gearbox!

PS. I am glad they extended the DSG warranty to 5 years though

[Diesel_vert]

Does anyone know how I can check what model the DSG box is in my MY13 GTI? I'm assuming its DQ500

Have to say, having been burned before I swore I would never buy a VW or Audi again. I had a 2008 Golf TDI Pacific in which I eventually had the full gearbox and mechatronics unit replaced under warranty. I also had an A5 Sportback Quattro which showed signs of 'something not right' with the Multitronic.

However, after all this, I still went and got a GTI. One drive and I could see they got the new DSG sorted. If you understand that the DSG is a complex piece of tech and learn how to get the most out of it (especially in M mode), it's one hell of a fine and fun gearbox!

PS. I am glad they extended the DSG warranty to 5 years though

Your 2013 Golf GTI will have been fitted with the same DSG model as your 2008 Golf TDI, i.e. the DQ250, which is a 6-speed wet-clutch.

The DQ500 is a 7-speed wet-clutch and was never fitted on the Golf.

[thezoneR32]

DSG Shudder (Yes another thread)

Test drove a mk6 gti with only 19k on the clock yesterday. Overall the dsg seemed fine to me ( I have had one before) but just as it came to a stop it would give a little shudder, it was quite subtle and probably livable but thought I would get some opinions on potential issues. The car is not under warranty anymore as it is an My10.