T5 and DSG

[craig_the_german]

Hi everyone,
My wife and i are looking at purchasing either a late model used or new (depending on finances) T5 Crewvan.
Although we both prefer a manual gearbox, it seems many (most) used Transporters are DSG.
As we currently own a MK 6 golf, we have lived through the hysteria of the DSG recalls etc....despite our golf being a manual.
Of those of you who own Transporters with DSG, how reliable are they? Are they effected by the same issues as the Golf ones, though just not reported.
Is there anything else we should be looking for?
Thanks in advance

[Sunny43.5]

There are articles related to the DSG's in Transporters in this part of the Forum , myself personally have listed some small concerns with our now 12 month old T5 DSG . But from what most of the members have posted the DSG in the T5 is the 500 series and so far has not had any of the widespread problems of the smaller versions as fitted to Golfs etc. I will only add most of the T5's are now just approaching the 3 year mark and no major problems so far .Read this article but it is only "one " van and as was pointed out the Golf problems with DSG's were starting to happen just after purchase new http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/...elp-84527.html

[IN2VWS]

The T5 DSG is pretty reliable. As Howard mentioned, the DSG in the Transporters is a different model than the DSG fitted to the problematic passenger cars.
I think one of the problems with the Transporters, which has not been talked about much, is the EGR valve failures. My van is on it's 3rd EGR valve. A mate with a 2010 Transporter had his fail last week, and it was out of warranty. It is getting replaced for free, as VW know there are problems with them.......you just have to argue with the asshöle dealerships to get it done for free.

[Transporter]

Also, it's worth to mention that, no automatic gearbox in the past (any brand) and the DSG is no exemption was perfect and they all had the odd shift, late shift or misbehaved somehow once in their lifetime and still lasting many 100's k km.

[Sunny43.5]

Agree Transporter but the good old days before technology was loaded into trannies they were more resilient and easier to service and fix . Submerging electronic components inside a sealed environment with boiling hot fluid is a recipe for problems , even the most cynical would agree . Yes I know car makers worldwide are aiming for economy but there are downsides sometimes in their ideas, as has been documented loss of drive /hesitant drive is not something we should have to experience , its just plain SCARY

[Tig-uan]

On T5 DSG hesitant start/lag issue. I think there is none as such in T5 DSG because the first gear is low thus it starts off easily.
But, what might feel like a lag, is that if you have not come to a complete stop, say just slowed down to 3km/h, then when moving on again, DGS might remaind in Second gear, and the Second gear much slower to take off in, considering that the turbo might be off-boost as well.

IN2VWS, what are the symptoms of EGR troubles, and how this may be communicated to dealer?

[IN2VWS]

IN2VWS, what are the symptoms of EGR troubles, and how this may be communicated to dealer?

Symptoms - warning light on the dash.
The first time mine failed, the van went into limp mode. Removing the key and starting up again, was good for another 20km. This had to be done regularly to get the van home.
The second time, I only had the warning light on the dash. Could still drive OK.
Supposedly, I have a new improved EGR in the van now.

Communicated to your dealer - I don't know what sort of relationship you have with your dealer, but my dealer bends over backwards to help with any issues that I have. All my services are done at that dealership.
Without going into the legalities of it etc. - but if you only go to the dealer for warranty issues, and no service, I wouldn't expect them to try real hard to fix problems. My 2.2 cents worth (gst inc.)

[Sunny43.5]

My wife still cannot get a smooth take off and those micro seconds are off putting to lots of people , and if as you say slowing down to 3kmh is going to cause the problem then in my personal opinion its not good enough petty ? yes I know I am . You read so many stories about how good the DSG can be quick changes etc but there are some issues my mates T5 same years as ours has some very lumpy changes . Never had that sort of problem with our older T5 Tiptronic auto instant take off every time [wont bring up its catastrophic death last year ]. oops sorry that slipped out .

[Transporter]

Warning! The rant!
...
...

The DSG or not, the statistics are there showing that today's cars are more reliable than those built a decades ago. It's just the internet that makes a little problems look much bigger than they really are. Take Sunny43.5; he had posted his one transmission problem at least at 10 different places of the vwwatercooled at different times. That's just one person, with one fault. He is well within his rights to complain. Now it's up to you, who want the reliable information from the internet to sieve through the chaos and the information overload to find out what if there is a real problem or not. It safe for me to say that all other makes forums are the same in that regard, full of repetitive complaining coming form the same bunch of people.

I see the younger generation of drivers posting here their problems even before the car gets properly diagnosed and when diagnosed and problem has been found to be not a problem, they don't go back to their post and admit, "hey that was me I did something wrong and the car just reacted to it".

Today's automatics incl. DSG's are more reliable than the automatics from 70' that were still used in 90's. They will not necessarily last 300,000km because like everything today they probably don't build them to last that long. Which is not just the car manufacturers fault, the buyers don't want to pay more for their purchase and most of them keep their cars 3-5 years.

To those buyers who like always a new, there is really nothing to complain about. You've got what you wanted. A new fancy car every 3-5 years for show of, so you have to suck up the rest that comes with it.

The end of rant!

[craig_the_german]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It is good to get feedback from actual owners rather than all of the reviews and opinions from people who have never actually driven one.

[Tig-uan]

You'll like a DSG if:
* You like your transmission response crisp, and don't like the 'rubber band' feel between transmission and engine in traditional auto.
* You previously enjoyed driving a manual and understand how clutch/gears work.
* You prefer superior function over long term reliability.
You'll hate a DSG if:
* You drove nothing but traditional auto all your life.
* You will not accept that you need to readjust your driving style to suit DSG (including sometimes using manual input).
* You could not care less about clutches/gears and technical side in general.
* Cars to be judged mostly by how realible/easy-to-fix they are.

[Sunny43.5]

Okay lets see yes guilty now my turn to RANT but Transporter you for got to mention the number of posts on VW's Facebook Page that I have made , and believe me I have not held back on how I was treated by their Customer NON Care team last year in response to an $11000 rebuild of a major part of our van which I honestly expected to last a hell of a lot longer than it did if anyone thinks 135000 kays from an auto is acceptable today then they must have more money than sense .I also raised other questions in regards to our new T5 and they also gave me the lame factory excuses for their shortcomings . As for Old Autos out of all of the cars I have driven and owned over the last 47 years not one of them ever needed to be rebuilt and I had autos in all but one . I could also say that out of all these autos they were serviced at regular intervals and were coupled to either V8 engines or powerful 6 cylinders . . My beef has been VW saying they do not need to be serviced and just trot out some lame reason that their engineers can make something to last all over the world . As has been proven VW admit that a hot climate country will be detrimental to an autos life expectancy .End Rant part 1 . Part 2 Tig -uan I do now how to drive and enjoy both manuals as my work T5 is a manual , but I do not agree with the sentiments if you prefer superior function over reliability NO , disagree I do not care how good it goes I do care how long it will last because it will cost a bloody fortune if it does fail and do you honestly think VW will help NO {unless its inside warranty} I also do not agree that I have to adjust my driving for something that should not happen , why should I have to change from auto to manual mode to descend a hill because If I don't the engine revs it 's tits off !! Same for open road driving pull out to over take and as happened recently pulled out to over take and the DSG downshifted to such a low gear that I had for some seconds no forward acceleration I had to very quickly make other arrangements to get back into my side of the road > And you think that's acceptable today ?
No as I said previously even the Tiptronic did not behave this way and without a shadow of doubt none of the "old "autos had this problem .END OF RANT no more input from me on this one , I do hope Craig can find what he is after and that our personal opinions do not put him off buying a T5 , last bit Craig I love our VW vans to drive etc but I just hate some of the stupid technology .

[Sharkie]

Spanning a driving history of over 25yrs, I have owned in excess of 30 cars. All but 3 were manual, with these 3, 2 were conventional auto and 1 DSG (a 2011 Multivan no less).

I liked the speed with which the DSG could run through the gears 1-7 in sequence, BUT

Hated the very noticeable hesitation when pulling off, in my opinion dangerously so. I could never with confidence "grab" a gap in traffic, the response I needed was simply not there.

Further, very often the DSG was in a gear with the wrong next gear preselected. 5th with 6 ready, when the conditions demanded 4th next .... This always resulted in a delay in deselecting 6th and engaging 4th, rubbishing VWs quick gear change claims ....

Had no reliability issues at all, occasional missed gears is all, but the worry about it all breaking was always (possibly unrealistically) present.

Needless to say, until the major issues I have with DSGs are fixed, I will NOT be buying another DSG car. If that's all that VW offers then ill be buying elsewhere.

[Lams]

I second what Sharkie said above
Ours is now 118000km and going strong BUT VW is determined to flush out the manual options on all passenger vehicles!!
at 120000km we'll be due for a DSG oil flush and that will be expensive too.
But it's good to know this thing can handle a lot more torque than the problematic 7spd DSG I had in my Caddy
I vote Sharkie as the new president of VWA

[Sunny43.5]

If there were a third supporter for the vote , count me in too , sad part for us is that our personal needs with two wheelchair kids is that the VW ticks the box for access / internal room / and obviously other qualities . As my wife is the primary driver the auto is what is a requirement for her needs a pity really .PS LAMS are you aware if you want the filter changed YOU have to ask for it , apparently VW will not do it as part of the 60k interval services to the DSG because as someone pointed out the filter is mounted behind some pipes and is a bitch to get at .