Polo 7 Speed DSG Mechatronic and/or Clutch Failures - Please... please share yours !

[steveyoshi]

Hello all,

I am just wondering what everyone has suffered with their Polo 7 Speed DSG (DQ200?)...

I am doing a little project on these DSG's in particular and 'need' to hear each and every person's story on their experiences.

I would love the bare facts with just the basic detail but feel free to add anything you want to say. I will reply with a personal response to all posts.

Would appreciate that you tell me the year and model first... then what happened, how many kilometres, age of car, time in/out of warranty, what was the issue, how was it fixed, who paid for it and did it fix it.

I know there will be many stories out there and would really appreciate your assistance, so please don't hesitate and try to post right now.

Cheers in advance.

[steveyoshi]

Please everyone !!

[Harrydhillon]

Hi
Well I am on my second Polo GTI..
My13.5 1.4 Twin Charger - clutches had to re calibrated twice, shudder on first and reverse, apparently was told I drove it abit hard and clutch wear wasn't even. Prolly had 16000k on the car, sold it before warranty expired as it gave me a few red engine malfunction errors but couldn't be diagnosed.

My15 1.8T - thunk from 3 to 4, and a definite thump from 1 to 2 when cold, was told some of the measurements weren't correct, local dealer admitted something isn't correct and are waiting for VWA to come back with a fix, i am yet to hear. However it seem to be very rare now this fault occurs, prolly because it's been rather warm where I live. However, the hot weather affected the dsg a little, held lower gears longer on very hot days, or an error flashes up on MFD to quick to read and disappears, something to do with don't drive in P? Haven't happened since it was reset the second time. Car now has 20000k on clock, happened when the car was about 7000ks, sort of stopped after a long run I did early march 2017 (3200k drive to Sydney and back) - car performed brilliantly though, loved the instant power delivery especially overtaking road trains.

My sister has MY16 1.2 TSI in Sydney, drove it when I visited, sometimes it thinks it's still in reverse when in P with reverse camera still activated, had to toggle the gear stick to stop this behaviour. And had issues removing the key from ignition, had to toggle the gear stick to remove key. She was taking it back to her local dealer this week.

Hope this helps




MY15 Polo GTI - Red - DA Pack

[DAL344]

Polo GTi MY15 - clunk in manual mode from 2-3. Evident from new (Nov 15) - the DSG was 'reset' twice with no improvement - workshop supervisor accompanied me on a 'test-run' & witnessed the issue - he suggested it was the way I was driving i.e changing gears at revs different to auto-mode??????? When it was 12 months old my wife started using it daily but when I drive it recently the clunk noise was still present. As I wasn't driving it on a regular basis & my wife won't be driving in manual mode I gave up on my quest to find a resolution.

VW dealership claim no complaints & no TPI in the system to suggest a fix. All other 'fixes' claimed by other forum members have not been backed up, no response from follow-up question, or resolution disclaimed by VW when VIN supplied & checked on the VW 'system'.

[steveyoshi]

Hi
Well I am on my second Polo GTI..
My13.5 1.4 Twin Charger - clutches had to re calibrated twice, shudder on first and reverse, apparently was told I drove it abit hard and clutch wear wasn't even. Prolly had 16000k on the car, sold it before warranty expired as it gave me a few red engine malfunction errors but couldn't be diagnosed.

My15 1.8T - thunk from 3 to 4, and a definite thump from 1 to 2 when cold, was told some of the measurements weren't correct, local dealer admitted something isn't correct and are waiting for VWA to come back with a fix, i am yet to hear. However it seem to be very rare now this fault occurs, prolly because it's been rather warm where I live. However, the hot weather affected the dsg a little, held lower gears longer on very hot days, or an error flashes up on MFD to quick to read and disappears, something to do with don't drive in P? Haven't happened since it was reset the second time. Car now has 20000k on clock, happened when the car was about 7000ks, sort of stopped after a long run I did early march 2017 (3200k drive to Sydney and back) - car performed brilliantly though, loved the instant power delivery especially overtaking road trains.

My sister has MY16 1.2 TSI in Sydney, drove it when I visited, sometimes it thinks it's still in reverse when in P with reverse camera still activated, had to toggle the gear stick to stop this behaviour. And had issues removing the key from ignition, had to toggle the gear stick to remove key. She was taking it back to her local dealer this week.

Hope this helps




MY15 Polo GTI - Red - DA Pack

Thank you Harry, that is very good... well not really but I think you know what I mean.

How long have you waited for a response from VWA on the thump 2nd to 3rd ?

Strange that it doesn't occur when the weather is warm but then the Gearbox holds onto gears longer. Seems rather odd that the weather would affect how the gearbox operates. With cold oil I can understand that but not when it is warm.

[steveyoshi]

Polo GTi MY15 - clunk in manual mode from 2-3. Evident from new (Nov 15) - the DSG was 'reset' twice with no improvement - workshop supervisor accompanied me on a 'test-run' & witnessed the issue - he suggested it was the way I was driving i.e changing gears at revs different to auto-mode??????? When it was 12 months old my wife started using it daily but when I drive it recently the clunk noise was still present. As I wasn't driving it on a regular basis & my wife won't be driving in manual mode I gave up on my quest to find a resolution.

VW dealership claim no complaints & no TPI in the system to suggest a fix. All other 'fixes' claimed by other forum members have not been backed up, no response from follow-up question, or in disclaimed by VW she VIN supplied & checked on the VW 'system'.

Thank you for the response... so 2 resets and no improvement... so there is another issue then surely ?

As for the Workshop supervisor saying it is because you are changing gears manually at different revs to auto... did you laugh at him or her ?? I would have not been able to contain myself... that is EXACTLY what Manual mode is all about.

The clunk noise suggests that the clutch is not right and or the mechatronics has, or will fail in the future. I would not be give up on my quest to find a resolution even if it was not occurring in auto mode which is how the car gets driven now.

Can you please explain the last Paragraph ?

In particular what does TPI mean ?

What has not been backed up and by who ? - do you mean that the 'fixes' didn't work ?

What follow up question and to who?

What does "or in disclaimed by VW she VIN supplied & checked on the VW 'system'." mean?

Thanks again....

[steveyoshi]

so... we have the same issue with 1.8 Litre 7 Speed DSG Vehicles made in Nov 15... all the way down to 2011 (I know because I have been told by an Owner.

Seems that they can't get it right can they... and this is just on the Polo...

What on earth is going on ?

[Harrydhillon]

Thank you Harry, that is very good... well not really but I think you know what I mean.

How long have you waited for a response from VWA on the thump 2nd to 3rd ?

Strange that it doesn't occur when the weather is warm but then the Gearbox holds onto gears longer. Seems rather odd that the weather would affect how the gearbox operates. With cold oil I can understand that but not when it is warm.

I reported the issue with my local dealer last October I think, follow up a few times, spoke to VWA - was told that every dealer should be able to fix those sort of issues. I haven't follow since early this as life is a little busy now. It went in for other warranty fixes, but again get told they can't replicate the issue or it's just how it is. I am currently keeping an eye out for my climate control shorting to earth from time to time when it's really hot, lost cooling on a 40degree day, only to work again after a restart.

I think there is another post on this forum re DSG and heat.

So I am thinking hard and long when I am ready for my next new car if I want to stick with VW. Love my car, but just disheartened with the niggles and intermittent faults. Sometimes better the devil you know.

I think the 1.8T is a solid engine, just paired up with a weak gearbox. Manuals are too much of a bother for me so that's not an option for me.


MY15 Polo GTI - Red - DA Pack

[Hail22]

I was asked to comment on here...its been a long time since i had my polo. Long story short 3x gearbox replacements and 2x Mechatronics units replaced (first gb replacement was due to a fault bell housing that was cracked second due to 2nd, 4th not engaging at all / stalled).

[car_nut]

My 2 Polo GTIs, both DSG

2013 Polo GTI
Owned it 2 years before trading in, modified but no issues with DSG

2015 Polo GTI
Just coming up 2 years old
Only issue has been with 2nd to 3rd gear clunk which the dealer could have fixed quickly with a software update, instead got stuffed around by incompetent service and tech. managers who did not even bother to contact VW Australia.
Now has the Harding DSG Performance tune which is fantastic, the way VW should have done it in the first place.

Love the DSGs and I'm not so sure it deserves all the bad comments it gets in this forum and in the media etc. I'm sure there are many happy Polo DSG owners who do not post in forums.

[NuffNuff]

Polo GTI 1.8L 6C DSG ( May 2015)

12,000km in from new, full throttle 2nd to 3rd shift at 5500rpm it had a false neutral which would slam 3rd gear hard. You would feel the slam go right through the whole body of the car.

Essendon Volkswagen lead tech went out for a drive with me and observed something wrong, they did DSG update but it had no affect. He scheduled a new Mechatronics unit to be fit in a months time. Unfortunately when I dropped it off they hadn't even ordered it yet so it sat with them for 2 weeks while I drove around in a sub-par rental car they gave me. Even after explaining my son had special needs they wouldn't budge further in assisting us.

Since receiving the car back we've done since new now about 55,000km, the DSG was fixed from the slamming false neutral fault.

They've now done another DSG update on my car at last service and between 80-100kmh the car surges when cruise control is active. It is due for a service in a couple of months so I'll deal with that then.

issues aside, i love the gearbox. the DSG shift in stock DSG tune is way better than my stage 2 MK5 DSG (also stock dsg tune)

[steveyoshi]

My 2 Polo GTIs, both DSG

2013 Polo GTI
Owned it 2 years before trading in, modified but no issues with DSG

2015 Polo GTI
Just coming up 2 years old
Only issue has been with 2nd to 3rd gear clunk which the dealer could have fixed quickly with a software update, instead got stuffed around by incompetent service and tech. managers who did not even bother to contact VW Australia.
Now has the Harding DSG Performance tune which is fantastic, the way VW should have done it in the first place.

Love the DSGs and I'm not so sure it deserves all the bad comments it gets in this forum and in the media etc. I'm sure there are many happy Polo DSG owners who do not post in forums.

Thank you for responding so promptly, so you had an issue with the stock DSG software and VWA wouldn't or didn't help so you went to Guy H.

Just wondering, how many kms you did in the 13 Model before trading at the 2 year mark ?

[steveyoshi]

Polo GTI 1.8L 6C DSG ( May 2015)

12,000km in from new, full throttle 2nd to 3rd shift at 5500rpm it had a false neutral which would slam 3rd gear hard. You would feel the slam go right through the whole body of the car.

Essendon Volkswagen lead tech went out for a drive with me and observed something wrong, they did DSG update but it had no affect. He scheduled a new Mechatronics unit to be fit in a months time. Unfortunately when I dropped it off they hadn't even ordered it yet so it sat with them for 2 weeks while I drove around in a sub-par rental car they gave me. Even after explaining my son had special needs they wouldn't budge further in assisting us.

Since receiving the car back we've done since new now about 55,000km, the DSG was fixed from the slamming false neutral fault.

They've now done another DSG update on my car at last service and between 80-100kmh the car surges when cruise control is active. It is due for a service in a couple of months so I'll deal with that then.

issues aside, i love the gearbox. the DSG shift in stock DSG tune is way better than my stage 2 MK5 DSG (also stock dsg tune)

Thanks for your reply... so the Software was updated twice and now you have a surge present.

Do you think it is gearbox related or something different ?

[steveyoshi]

My 2 Polo GTIs, both DSG

2013 Polo GTI
Owned it 2 years before trading in, modified but no issues with DSG

2015 Polo GTI
Just coming up 2 years old
Only issue has been with 2nd to 3rd gear clunk

Love the DSGs and I'm not so sure it deserves all the bad comments it gets in this forum and in the media etc. I'm sure there are many happy Polo DSG owners who do not post in forums.

I agree at some level... but I also believe that there are probably people that are having problems and they dont post here or elsewhere either.

[jayc29u]

I have a 2012 GTI and about 1.5-2 years into ownership, had clutch slip and got clutches replaced. Also got many "updates" but I'm not sure if anything was even done...

Since the new clutch packs, I've been pretty predominantly driving in manual to not ruin the clutch now its out of warranty and no problems so far besides the computer thinking i want to downshift when i want to upshift or vice versa which results in a shud/jerk.