I have read on here there are good DSG boxes, and there are bad DSG boxes. Something to do with the number of gears? Some reports say there are unreliable, some say they are bullet proof.
Nicole wants a s/h Polo or Golf auto. That means a DSG. is this a time bomb?
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 24 Jan 14 at 19:57
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There have been big problems with DSGs in China and Australia with buybacks and recalls. I believe one of the differences between the 6 and 7 speed boxes is one, not sure which, has a dry clutch system and the other has wet clutches. Google DSG problems Australia and likewise China. I think, but not sure, it is the 6 speed that is the problem.
Last edited by: Uncle Albert on Fri 24 Jan 14 at 20:19
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. I think, but not sure, it is the 6
>> speed that is the problem.
>>
I think that it is the 7 speed with the dry clutch which gives more problems than the 6 speed/wet clutch which is used in the larger engine models I think. However I wouldn't want either of them outside the manufacturers warranty
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Loads of stuff on HJ forum such as: www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=101330
Just search DSG in Motoring
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Yes the 7 speed dry clutch boxes are used on the lower powered cars while the 6 speed boxes with the wet clutches are used in the sporty cars. Mine is the 6 speed version and has to have an oil and filter change every 40k miles this is essential to keep the valves that change the gears from sticking and causing the mechatronic pack to fail.
My Dad has the 7 speed box in his MK6 and that failed very early on, unfortunately the mechatronic packs have to be hand built in Germany to match the cars VIN number so can take a few weeks to come into the UK.
As a note on this, from what happened to my Dad's car it was discovered that the dry clutch boxes do in fact have a certain amount of oil in them that shouldn't need to be changed but it now seems that what my Dad's car suffered from is the same as what as afflicted the cars in Asia, surprisingly the remedy is to change this oil from a fully synthetic one to mineral oil (there are plastic parts in the box which don't like the synthetic oil) also from discussions with the VW service manager this could soon become an unofficial 'update' (read recall) on all 7 speed boxes in the UK.
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We bought one of our reps a Passat diesel estate with a DSG gearbox. It went expensively wrong just as it had gone out of warranty. I want to remember we were quoted around £3000 to put it right. We binned the car to auction and got him an Insignia 160bhp auto estate. He says he likes it better than the VW. Fair enough. I wouldn't have a personal view as I never drove the Passat and haven't driven the Insignia.
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When they are working they are great: smooth and fast gear changes. I am talking about VW boxes here. Dual clutch boxes in Fords and Renaults I have friven have been no more rapid than a decent conventional auto.
The 7speeed dry clutch DGG is very near its torque limit (250nm) in higher powered versions so be careful. The 6 speed wet clutch box is said to be much more reliable and is used on 2.0 Diesels in the VW and Skoda ranges.
I would play safe and get a manual though.
Last edited by: mattbod on Fri 24 Jan 14 at 22:49
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My gf took delivery of her VW CC a few months ago with a DSG. I think its the GT with 170 power, but not looked too closely. (At the CC that is). She rates it far higher than her previous 10plate Insignia Ecotec, and '07 Passat.
She is not convinced by the DSG and still prefers a manual box. Reliability will be the decider as she covers 40k pa, so at the end of the lease period her vehicle has about 120k, mostly motorway miles, on the clock. Hope it doesn't let her down and they give her a Golf as a loan car. She dislikes anything smaller than Passat sized, so a 530d would be perfect for her, although the company does not agree!
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>> I would play safe and get a manual though.
A manual is cheaper, stronger, lighter, longer-lasting and less likely to give trouble of any kind.
Sure, autos are lovely in their way, in some cases. But they aren't vastly preferable. They're inferior really, heath Robinson carp for people who can't drive.
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We have done 40,000 over 3 years in our S-Max Powershift (DSG-type box), and it has been 100% reliable. I've done 6,000 miles in 2 months in my Transporter 180 DSG (7-speed), and it too has been 100% reliable, and it has a nicer gear change than the Ford.
We had a Passat 140 DSG estate at work that recently went off lease after 3 years and 65,000. It too was trouble-free and drove as well at the end as at the beginning.
I drive autos because they are easier in the heavy traffic that I drive in. Even on an open road, I find them nice to drive, and once you are up to speed on a dual carriageway or motorway you never change gear. Maybe if all my driving was on windy twisty country lanes I would chose manual, but it isn't so I don't.
My experience would lead me to chose/drive a DSG again without hesitation.
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"Sure, autos are lovely in their way, in some cases. But they aren't vastly preferable. They're inferior really, heath Robinson carp for people who can't drive"
Join me, in a manual gearbox car, in a 90 minute drive, across London travelling all of 25 miles and then tell me that again.
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>> Join me, in a manual gearbox car, in a 90 minute drive, across London travelling
>> all of 25 miles and then tell me that again.
>>
Glad I had an auto last evening driving about 15 miles out of London.
30/40 minutes to travel one mile due to there being an accident on the A3.
I swopped to an auto to save me old knee on the clutch.
I still enjoy a manual but its a 1.3 Yaris which is not a fireball.
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>> a manual gearbox car, in a 90 minute drive, across London travelling all of 25 miles
Tsk. 90 minutes? Do me a favour. I used to do it 12 hours a day for money. Day shift you made a bit more money and knackered your car and yourself. Night shift you went farther, faster, with less wear and tear, but they were unsocial hours and you made less money.
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>> They're inferior really, heath Robinson carp for people who can't drive.
Like F1 drivers?
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Apologies if this is the question of an ignoramus...but with a DSG (as on gf'sVW CC) can you change manually with some kind of over ride. There is a nought % chance of her even opening the manual. Or bonnet. Or checking tyre pressures. With previous cars I have been on her company insurance, excluding business use, but am not on this one so cannot take it out to play.
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>> Apologies if this is the question of an ignoramus...but with a DSG (as on gf'sVW
>> CC) can you change manually with some kind of over ride.
>> With
>> previous cars I have been on her company insurance, excluding business use, but am not
>> on this one so cannot take it out to play.
>>
Yes you can over-ride by moving the gear selector to the side (similar to a Tiptronic TC box), and some cars also have flappy paddles.
LL, why not pursuade your gf to take you to a quiet private car park one weekend - the other week-end, on the train to London I spotted a Nissan Skyline drifting around an empty industrial estate car-park (not suggesting you should try drifting her fwd Passat, mind ...)
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Well I have the 7 speed VAG DSG in a 2012 Golf and it's (so-far) proved to be excellent, it is the only choice on a petrol Golf (GTi excepted) in a market where auto is the norm and petrol is preferred (Australia). On balance I prefer manuals.
The 6 speed is fitted to cars with higher torque outputs,the 7 speed to others (possibly including the 1.6TDi). The original design lineage comes from the Porsche PDK I think and has (I understand) been improved somewhat over time, there are an awful lot of them (millions) on the road globally and they have by no means all caused trouble.
The problem causing a recall in China (then a campaign by one particularly media 'outlet' goo.gl/xcBqif) in Australia is to fit a new mechatronic unit. I understand that the design/manufacturing defect having been that insulation on electrical wiring within the unit breaks down under hot and humid conditions (so China) causing spurious behaviour. Can't say whether this argument justifies the lack of a recall in the UK or not of course.
Separately and pertinent to both dry clutch and wet clutch variants is the ECU software, again this is (possibly) fixed now but I suspect that VW took some time to get it right, one particular 'feature' was (is) a hesitance when (say) you start to move away then back off the throttle, the ECU then disengages drive (thinking you've stopped) and took (takes) a small but noticeable amount of time to re-engage drive, this sort of situation can happen when (say) turning at a junction across traffic without a filter - so I accept it is noticeable. In my car the effect is not pronounced and you can drive round it (by creeping) but I'm not sure it's completely curable. Not sure whether this is analogous to the time it takes a TC impeller to spin up ?
For low speed manoeuvring my car creeps in a manner very similar to a TC auto, you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference. I understand that 1st is very low to allow this, not sure how it works in reverse but I can say that it does. Hill hold is a very useful feature in conjunction with the DSG I'd add.
So, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to choose a DSG but neither would I avoid it, on balance I prefer the driving experience to a TC auto as it feels much more 'connected', even big engined TC autos (like Ford Falcons) seem to take time to 'wind up' and this effect is pronounced (in my experience) in the Corolla 1.8 Auto which is ubiquitous here.
Last edited by: idle_chatterer on Sat 25 Jan 14 at 00:19
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>> Sure, autos are lovely in their way, in some cases. But they aren't vastly preferable.
>> They're inferior really, heath Robinson carp for people who can't drive.
>>
I assume, and hope, this is tongue in cheek AC, intended to wind people up? There are many and diverse reasons that people choose or prefer autos.
Last edited by: Mike H on Sat 25 Jan 14 at 08:55
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AC secretly yearns for an auto, but Herself wont let him have one.
:-)
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DSG Gearboxes. - Old Navy
