DSG driving advice

[bigfoot]

^^^yep, just get in and drive. It's not rocket science

[azzdat16]

I'm new to the whole DSG world, and have been driving my GTI around for a month or so. I did feel I had to change my driving style a little when getting into the DSG equipped car. Mind you, this is the first auto I have ever owned, as I've always had manuals, but the city traffic does my head in!!
A question I do have is - When coming up to a stop in traffic and the car is stationary such as red lights etc, does it automatically go into neutral? I know the MFD says "D1" but wondered whether the DSG sits in neutral when stationary??

[rabbitz]

Adding to the above post, should you put a DSG in neutral while waiting at lights if you are stationary for some time? That's what I do in a manual.

[Guest001]

Adding to the above post, should you put a DSG in neutral while waiting at lights if you are stationary for some time? That's what I do in a manual.

No as it will take longer to take off as it then has to find the gear. You should leave it in gear and keep the brake on hard enough to stay stationary. Dont lift off to let it creep then when lights change just lift off an it will start to roll and away you go

[wai]

A question I do have is - When coming up to a stop in traffic and the car is stationary such as red lights etc, does it automatically go into neutral? I know the MFD says "D1" but wondered whether the DSG sits in neutral when stationary??

Just come to a halt . When the car comes to a stop with the foot brake applied and the switch activated, the clutches are disengaged. As long as you have your foot on the brake, the clutches will remain disengaged.

The VW also has a feature where when reducing road speed, the transmission will freewheel. The transmission will only engage as soon as accelerator position is sensed. If you are on a steep downhill section, then the transmission will engage and use engine braking to maintain speed. Touch the accelerator and you will feel the transmission release.

Now you do not have to do this over and over again, but this will let you know the difference.

Come to a complete stop and leave the transmission in drive with the foot brake depressed.

Apply the hand brake, and let the foot brake off. You should hear/feel the transmission engage and the engine note change (engine revs will also drop) after around 1/4 second.

Reapply the foot brake and you will feel the load taken off the engine.

By the way, do not put it into neutral when stationary at the lights. Also never "dead stick" the transmission when you know you are coming to a stop. In a driving test, the test will be terminated immediately and you will be failed. Actually dead sticking at any time is an automatic fail.

[Sunny43.5]

This last reply is the reason I have mistrust of this technology so many ways of driving to SAVE the auto just does not make sense . I hate the downhill bit as our van is screaming its tits off on a large downhill near our place touch the accelerator and up some gears it goes then you need to slow down touch the brake and bingo down go the gears its a pain . As for placing the car in neutral as someone suggested even their manual is downright dangerous , you have no control if an accident were imminent and driving away was an option at that moment plus the test fail reason as well . I will add my own experience with a DSG fail in our new T5 van ,almost out of the box at only 2000 kays I backed out of our driveway engaged drive lifted the foot off the brake and down the hill the van went backwards . It took a second or so to realise what was going on . Slammed on the brakes put the van back to Park then re engaged drive for a second time and down the hill it went again . Third time lucky , now how would VW handle the insurance claim if I had hit someone as I would have to tell the insurers that the auto would not engage because some silly electronic part did not live up to its job . Yes I know about hill start etc this just did not engage at all no drive it was like it was in neutral. You see I was stung by VW and their "Sealed for Life Tiptronic " in our previous van . That little exercise cost me around $9000 when the auto failed because VW would not service the auto , stupidly there is a filter inside the auto just waiting to become blocked with decaying fluid and debris from wear and tear . VW would not remove the sump so it is a time bomb waiting to explode . With the DSG they seemed to have learnt from earlier faults , the filter is on the outside and they do service them every 60000 kays sort of says that they new there was mistake with the service regime on the Tiptronic .

[ParaBul]

... engaged drive lifted the foot off the brake and down the hill the van went backwards . It took a second or so to realise what was going on.

Handbrake start.

[Tuan]

Adding to the above post, should you put a DSG in neutral while waiting at lights if you are stationary for some time? That's what I do in a manual.

Doing just this has almost fkd me up... TWICE!

Get to a red light ... shift DSG to neutral .. wait wait wait .. lights go green .. engage into drive .. CAN'T get into DRIVE !!!! WTF !!!

Remember that your foot needs to be on the brake to change gear.. almost got rear ended twice. (My usual car is stick so none of this foot on brake to change gears **** lol)

What happened both times was that I was on a slight decline so I must have let foot off the brake and the car started rolling when lights went green - I then proceed to step on the accelerator (forgetting I am still in neutral) then when I realise I am not and car revs it's tits off and doesn't move, I can't get it from N to D because my foot is NOT on the brakes. In stepping on the brakes (sudden stop) car behind me also needs to jam on their brakes !!!!! Fk me ... worst experience ever

I suggest to not go into N

[rabbitz]

Brain fades can happen for sure.

Why I asked the question is the Yeti manual only mentions stopping for a short time and that the transmission is never completely interrupted (their words).

Quote from the manual:
Stop
Depress the brake pedal and bring the vehicle to a stop.
Keep holding the brake pedal until driving is resumed.
The selector lever position N does not have to be selected when stopping for a short time, such as at a cross roads

What defines a short time and are they suggesting to put it in N if stationary for longer periods?

[Tuan]

I'm gonna drive it as an auto from now i.e. unless I reverse or park, I am leaving it in Drive. Not worth getting run up the arse due to smarty pants safety features especially when my DD is manual.

A few search results.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f149/put-dsg-into-neutral-lights-83005.html

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f97/dsg-gear-box-when-stationary-lights-74267.html

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f40/dsg-idling-gear-not-ideal-66037.html

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f112/dsg-neutral-44655.html

[wai]

I will add my own experience with a DSG fail in our new T5 van ,almost out of the box at only 2000 kays I backed out of our driveway engaged drive lifted the foot off the brake and down the hill the van went backwards . It took a second or so to realise what was going on . Slammed on the brakes put the van back to Park then re engaged drive for a second time and down the hill it went again . Third time lucky , now how would VW handle the insurance claim if I had hit someone as I would have to tell the insurers that the auto would not engage because some silly electronic part did not live up to its job.

Yes, you have to do a handbrake start to control this. It does not take long to learn the technique. You basically have to release the handbrake around 1/4 second after you take your foot off the brake.

In fact you do this for going forward up a hill, and for going backwards up a hill.

It's nothing more than practice.

[Sunny43.5]

Sorry I don't get what you mean Handbrake start ? why would I back out of a driveway backwards and put the handbrake ON I use the same foot to drive and then accelerate . So the normal routine I have used with all my automatics since living here for the last 35 years is to reverse out put right foot on brake engage drive then move same foot to accelerator and drive away . The van should not have rolled backwards at all , normally when I engage drive you can feel the van move slightly as it engages drive in this case there was NONE it had no drive whatsoever . Someone described the symptom as a "false neutral"

[wai]

Handbrake start is a handbrake start on a slope. In a manual, you hold it on the handbrake and release the clutch until you feel the bite point at which point you can release the handbrake and this prevents you from rolling in the "wrong" direction.

On a torque converter auto, the fluid coupling is effectively slipping all the time, so as soon as you release the foot brake, the car will try and move as per the selector.

With a DSG, there is roughly a 1/4 second delay between releasing the foot brake and the clutch starting to engage in 1st gear. During this time the vehicle will roll down the hill. The handbrake is applied to prevent this, and needs to be held long enough for the relevant clutch to start to engage.

The 1/4 second is not too bad, however it is only for 1st gear. For reverse, the delay is considerably longer and what you end up doing is applying more accelerator. Then the clutch bites and you are launched backwards. You jump on the brakes, and the clutch disengages, and the cycle starts again. Applying the handbrake and feeling for the bite point you can eliminate this on a DSG.

It takes a little practice, but once you get the feel, it is not an issue.

[daMama]

Having only driven DSG WV cars, I find it a breeze to drive. I can drive manual, not confidentiality. I know enough to know when I need to do a handbrake start (ie hill start both fwd and reverse) which I self discovered.
Just tune in to the DSG and you will soon learn how to drive it.

[ParaBul]

...since living here for the last 35 years ...

You've had a license here for 35 years and never had to learn how to perform a handbrake start aka handbrake hill start?

Thanks for making me feel old!