The Official Mk6 Golf DSG Clutch / Shudder / Squeal Issues Thread

[djbazzab]

I've had my golf 90tsi since October 2010 and basically have had a 'shudder' issue on and off since day 1.
Within the first two weeks of having the car I lost all power (no acceleration) in the middle of traffic twice! As you can imagine I was furious. The dealer said that the car required a software update. Hah! You'd think that a new car would have the latest software when it is picked up right? No, VW would prefer to put the the new owner in serious danger.

After this the car shudderednon occasion. First service at 15000kms I told the mechs about the problem, and fealt as though I was Palmer off. Problem persisted until 2 weeks ago when we again lost all power, again in the middle of traffic, again putting my safety at risk. Car gets towed as it would engage at all, just revved when put in D. The service centre said that they couldn't look at it for 4 days, and would not provide a courtesy car. I complained, I called vw customer line, and got no where. No one seemed to care that they held $30k of my hard earned money in there service yard as a result of a well known fault with their product, and were not prepared to provide any compensation of any sought. Anyway finally they looked at it, and have since change the mechatronics.

After this the car was ok for one whole day until the shudder came back, drove it straight to the dealer, a mech jumped in the car but I couldn't replicate the shudder. Argghh!!! The mech said that the dsg needed 200km to relearn anyway and they wouldn't run any other tests until then. I have since driven 200km and the shudder is no better..

After reading through 35 pages of this thread I am both relived to know that I am not alone and also disgusted that I am not alone...

I will be calling them tomorrow to ask for a new clutch pack. Hopefully this solves the problem.

I would like to say that on the odd occasion when the golf does not shudder, she truly is a beautiful piece of engineering though it's getting hard to see the bright side these days.

VW aus needs to stand up and take responsibility, we the owners deserve what we paid for.

Grumble grumble,

Baz.

[rockDAhouse]

hey djbazzab, i feel ur pain bro, i had exactly the same problem not long ago. car get towed in to dealership on monday, and since then no one ever call me. i call everyday asking for an update and their call center always tell me someone will call me back !! email and phone call to VW customer service and even email inchcape which own VW. BUT guess what no reply and no follow up. After waiting for 8 business days without 1 single phone call i get extremely piss off, call VW customer service again, tell them if no one call me back in 1 hour time i will call a current affair!! guess what, in less than 30 mins, the dealership call me and gives me all the update i want. car is fix in 2 days !! AND when i said i will call a current affair, i am not bull ****ting them, as I am going to do it. I pay hard earn money to buy this car and we don't deserve this kind of customer service. Once I have enough money, i will sell this car and say good bye to VW for good.

[rockDAhouse]

I rang up the ACCC but as I am a 'sole entity they can do nothing. Advise me to go through fair trading etc.

If there were few peoplethen togetther we may have a cchance of getting VW Australia to do something about it. I notice that VW in other countries are notifying people through their (VW in that country) facebook page so I guess they are being pro-active.

VW AU though is taking advantage of the laid back style here.

My uncle bough a Lancer 6 monhts before I bought my golf and for $11k less - he is far happier, no issues at all.

count me in Cavill, im ready for a fight. my clucth has been replaced twice in less than a year and also mechatronics. i am now sick of risking my safety as the car will loose power in the middle of traffic !!!

[djbazzab]

Count me in on any action against VW.
Already sent an email complaint to the ACCC, but nothing has come of that so far.

I say that if VW won't man up and take responsibility then we force their hand!

And by the way, for the dealership to say we can't look at your car at the moment as they are the busiest dealership in NSW, is not a valid excuse!!!! If you are the busiest you increase your capacity to deal with problems, rather than always having a 1month+ wait for services!!!

VW knows there is a problem, yet chooses to ignore it and puts our safety at risk! This is absurd. This is negligent. This is criminal!

If you are listening VW, be warned I for one will not let this slide.

I'll look into the best way to set up a little group of unhappy VW customers so that we can make the biggest splash possible.

[TheGee]

Had clutch pack changed all good so far, now begins the waiting game....
See how we go.

[glennbot]

I also have had the Mechatronic placed, Pistons replaced, waterpump/supercharger clutch replaced and the Clutch packs replaced and now 6months on I'm getting the shudder back again.

I have sent over 4 letters complaining to VW and now they are ignoring me.

The dealer on then other hand has been very helpful and if it wasn't for them I would have driven this bloody car through VW Aust's front window.

Luckily my 2009 car was repaired under warranty and the new clutch should be also replaced under the spare parts 2 year warranty.

As you can imagine, in the next few months all the 2009 cars will be out of warranty. If people are complaining now, how are people going to react when they are told it's going to cost them $2,000+ to fix it.

I'm sure everyone here feels the same as me.... Love the car but will never buy another VW again and plan to sell it in the future.

I agree that the only way people will get VW to be responsible for they questionable design is to build a join class action against them or maybe get the press involved.

Here's the issue -

If the general public find out through the media that many MK7 Golfs have this issue then who the hell is going to buy my car when I go to sell it in a years time???

It's a catch 22 situation.
We can't win?

[Ryan_R]

I was actually thinking of upgrading to a 6psd DSG Golf (GTI or R) which haven't had any of these issues. Only trouble is I've got quite a unique car as far as options go and it would be a bit hard to say goodbye.

[gavs]

Contact the ACCC, they are VERY aware of the issues with this motor/gearbox combo and apparently according to another member with a polo GTI, are in the process of trying to get VGA made accountable for these issues.

Personally I think this is crap because it's been going for so many years without a result but you never know.

[bluefin321]

Just an idea, but why don't all effected owners turn up with their cars to the same dealership at the same time and refuse to leave until you get a satisfactory response? Might be a little drastic, but hey, could work.

[djbazzab]

Bluefin might be on to something there

I think the first step should be a letter/petition to VW Australia showing that we are all unhappy, and willing to take further action, this gives them one final chance to do something about it.

If nothing comes of that we then approach the ACCC, media, Fair Trading, consumer affairs, etc.

This will only work if enough people come together, so the question is how do we go about putting together a list of names and vehicles? A simple Google Doc will work well, but need to get people to actually submit their details.

In the mean time, I am about to call my local dealership to organise yet another service to address the shudder issue once again...

[bluefin321]

@djbazzab it's like were brothers or something

Are you guys getting the same response from different dealerships, or are some more supportive than others? The reason i ask is that i recently dealt with Bill Buckle Brookvale for a major A/T issue in my T5 van, and they were very supportive and kept me in the loop at all times.

[Bel]

Bluefin might be on to something there

I think the first step should be a letter/petition to VW Australia showing that we are all unhappy, and willing to take further action, this gives them one final chance to do something about it.

If nothing comes of that we then approach the ACCC, media, Fair Trading, consumer affairs, etc.

This will only work if enough people come together, so the question is how do we go about putting together a list of names and vehicles? A simple Google Doc will work well, but need to get people to actually submit their details.

In the mean time, I am about to call my local dealership to organise yet another service to address the shudder issue once again...

I'd be keen - let me know what to do and I'll write out my story (which is on the forums anyway).

TBH I was originally pretty p*ssed off with the water pump being replaced (x2) and the clutch pack being replaced..And at around 30k seemed to have some oil consumption issues begin... It has made me purchase an extended warranty. BUT I love my car and if I had to do it all again I would, just for the reason that I still smile when I drive it.
The service that I get at Wangara VW has been faultless when dealing with warranty items so I don't have any issue with them but an extended warranty from VWA (equivilant to what I just purchased) would be nice.

[Stelex]

Bluefin might be on to something there

I think the first step should be a letter/petition to VW Australia showing that we are all unhappy, and willing to take further action, this gives them one final chance to do something about it.

If nothing comes of that we then approach the ACCC, media, Fair Trading, consumer affairs, etc.

I think you'll find that you will get a very generic response from VW saying that they have addressed the issue, the problem is fixed and that you are covered under warranty, which is essentially true.

The problem with DSG is only with 2009 and 2010 built cars. Since then the VW has changed the supplier and any DSGs after this seem to be fine.

What we need to do is to go directly to ACCC and pressure them to order VW to issue a DSG recall for all 2009-10 DSGs, so that people who are affected and not aware of it yet, get their cars fixed without having to pay for it. As far as I've heard, they have issued the DSG recall in the USA, but not so in Australia. We need to hold them accountable for this.

Media approach would be helpful as well.

If ACCC fails to force VW into a recall, then we need to consider a legal class action.

[djbazzab]

I have booked in for my next service, see how we go.
Also contacted VW customer line, and now have a case officer looking into my issue. I told them that this was not just my issue as there are many others out there. Have also told them to pass on my details to upper management as i intend to put a group of golf owners together who are unhappy, so that we can take class action.

So with this in mind, I have set up a new email account : golfowners@gmail.com
For all those who are interested please email me at this account with your car woes/experience. Once you have emailed me I will give you access to a google doc (will put this together in the next few days) where you can add you details so that we have a database of unhappy golf owners.

Your help would me much appreciated, the more people we have the more likely something will come of it. So if you are concerned about your car, the warranty period, future DSG problems or your safety it is in your best interest to send a short email.

Can anyone think of any other way to contact unhappy golf owners?

cheers,

Baz.

[djbazzab]

The problem with DSG is only with 2009 and 2010 built cars. Since then the VW has changed the supplier and any DSGs after this seem to be fine.

What we need to do is to go directly to ACCC and pressure them to order VW to issue a DSG recall for all 2009-10 DSGs, so that people who are affected and not aware of it yet, get their cars fixed without having to pay for it. As far as I've heard, they have issued the DSG recall in the USA, but not so in Australia. We need to hold them accountable for this.

Media approach would be helpful as well.

If ACCC fails to force VW into a recall, then we need to consider a legal class action.

If this is true about the newer DSG's being fine then is it possible to get one of the newer versions into the older model cars? Seeing as though new mechatronics and clutch packs are hit or miss as a fix.

I am happy to put in the time and effort to resolve this issue even if it goes all the way to a class action against VW. To do this I need everyones support, please send emails to golfowners@gmail.com