Audi gearbox service!

[Sheepshanks]

cjb44 said:

None of this had been available to me on the Audi owners portal....

I don't know if that's the same as the VW one, but a few years ago that was ridiculously inaccurate - VW gave up and shut it down! Though perhaps something has replaced it.

[dan98]

A similar story on a (much more humble) 2015 Polo TSI DSG.

Nobody seems to know whether if / when it should be serviced.

Opinions vary between 'sealed for life' through 'only change it if it's showing signs of...' to 'change it or it'll blow up after X miles' .

Baffling for such a mainstream device.

[stevemcs]

cjb44 said:

The answer was that no the gearbox does not require an oil change during it's entire life!
He also confirmed that the car has just had an oil change and filter, new plugs and the brake fluid changed; this brings the Audi history upto date for the car.
None of this had been available to me on the Audi owners portal that they supply as it is different to the official Audi service history; goodness knows why surely this does not need to be a secret.

I think there are two systems - or some i'm led to believe. I can check and log histories however for my brothers car it didn't list everything yet he had paperwork to show it had been carried out by an Audi dealer as part of a service pack. Stupidly with the online portal we can only print out services we have added but can view services added by others, yet with JLR or Mercedes we can view and print the lot off for customers.

[FMOB]

stevemcs said:

cjb44 said:

The answer was that no the gearbox does not require an oil change during it's entire life!
He also confirmed that the car has just had an oil change and filter, new plugs and the brake fluid changed; this brings the Audi history upto date for the car.
None of this had been available to me on the Audi owners portal that they supply as it is different to the official Audi service history; goodness knows why surely this does not need to be a secret.

I think there are two systems - or some i'm led to believe. I can check and log histories however for my brothers car it didn't list everything yet he had paperwork to show it had been carried out by an Audi dealer as part of a service pack. Stupidly with the online portal we can only print out services we have added but can view services added by others, yet with JLR or Mercedes we can view and print the lot off for customers.

The keeping it secret is part of the knowledge desert that car manufacturers (particularly VAG) are creating to try and protect their servicing market or if they can't then monetising the knowledge others need.

Edited by FMOB on Wednesday 28th February 22:13

[Dr G]

cjb44 said:

None of this had been available to me on the Audi owners portal that they supply as it is different to the official Audi service history; goodness knows why surely this does not need to be a secret.

There is a 10 day lag before entries become public on erwin and the app.

The dealer should be giving you a printed service log regardless. They are generated automatically when the service entry is created and there's no excuse for not providing the customer a copy.

An irritating coverall excuse from franchise dealers is "...to the Audi standard". This seems to mean we don't know or can't be bothered, so we'll use this meaningless phrase to avoid the question.

[Dr G]

dan98 said:

Nobody seems to know whether if / when it should be serviced.

The factory data is on erwin/elsa. Same as everything else. This is the only official line.

I don't have a VW licence (the brands are charged separately) but pretty sure I can access it from digital service which is free. Send me your chassis number and I'll do the same.

[matchmaker]

I've a Superb with the wet clutch 6 speed DSG. 40000 intervals. My trusted indy did the 80000 service recently. It's apparently a very easy job, taking under an hour. The expensive part is the oil!

[wildoliver]

Generally no such thing as sealed for life. But boxes with no recommended change are a thing. And it's a bad thing. From mercedes autos "sealed for life" that do need changes otherwise that life will be much shorter. To my dad's stronic 7 speed wet clutch which is supposed to only have one changeable fluid in it. Well the "non changeable" gear oil came out filthy. And the box is noticeably smoother feeling following a proper service.

Take these recommendations with a pinch of salt just like the super long engine oil changes these days. Great if you only want the car for the first few years, but mechanical killers long term.

[Lotobear]

I had a precautionary oil change on my A6 Allroad 7spd DSG yesterday at 58k miles.

£229 at my local VAG indi. Worth it for peace of mind.

[Dr G]

Had it already had its first change at 40?

[RammyMP]

cuprabob said:

austina35 said:

Good question this. I have a 2019 T Roc with a 1.5 engine and 7 speed auto which is a dsg.

It's going in to VW for a service in 2 weeks and is just about to reach 40k. I'm thinking that the auto box may need a fluid change at some point and was wondering if I am correct.

No, that will also be the 7 speed dry clutch version that has no scheduled fluid changes.

As I understand it,

6 speed wet clutch - every 40k miles
7 speed wet clutch - every 80k miles ( fitted to higher torque engines)
7 speed dry clutch - no service schedule. ( fitted to lower torque engines)

That can’t be right, I’ve got a Q5, 7 speed DSG, gearbox service is needed every 40k. Costs £350 at the main dealer but to be fair the car seemed to shift better at slow speed after the service, still not as smooth as a ZF box though.

[Sheepshanks]

RammyMP said:

That can’t be right, I’ve got a Q5, 7 speed DSG, gearbox service is needed every 40k. Costs £350 at the main dealer but to be fair the car seemed to shift better at slow speed after the service, still not as smooth as a ZF box though.

Do you know which DSG it has? It won't be (exactly) the same as the other cars mentioned in the thread as the engine layout in Q5 is different.

VW Group diesels with 4Motion use 7 speed wet clutch DQ500 and that's 40K interval. Had ours (wife's car) done at 40K when it was 7yrs old and I couldn't tell any difference at all.

Edited by Sheepshanks on Saturday 2nd March 17:15

[dcb]

cuprabob said:

6 speed wet clutch - every 40k miles
7 speed wet clutch - every 80k miles ( fitted to higher torque engines)
7 speed dry clutch - no service schedule. ( fitted to lower torque engines)

I have a 2016 Mark 3 Skoda Octavia petrol estate 1.4 on 47K.

If the above is true, then I have the 6 speed wet clutch
and so I should be pestering the local dealer.

Pound gets a penny they won't have a clue and so I'll be off
to the local auto gearbox specialist.

Having had previous bother with "sealed for life" auto gearboxes failing
expensively, I am somewhat keen on some preventative maintenance.

[stevemcs]

dcb said:

I have a 2016 Mark 3 Skoda Octavia petrol estate 1.4 on 47K.

If the above is true, then I have the 6 speed wet clutch
and so I should be pestering the local dealer.

Pound gets a penny they won't have a clue and so I'll be off
to the local auto gearbox specialist.

Having had previous bother with "sealed for life" auto gearboxes failing
expensively, I am somewhat keen on some preventative maintenance.

I thought these were 7speed dry

[PistonBust]

Similar thing with OH's MX5 ND, manual gearbox & diff "sealed for life" but owner forums full of advice to change at least once from new.

Same when VAG introduced long life servicing to the delight of lease companies. I stuck religiously to annual oil changes.

[Lotobear]

Dr G said:

Had it already had its first change at 40?

...not sure about that hence the precautionary change. Paper service record showed a gearbox oil change in the last few years however the price on the invoice looked far too low.

[dan98]

Dr G said:

The factory data is on erwin/elsa. Same as everything else. This is the only official line.

I don't have a VW licence (the brands are charged separately) but pretty sure I can access it from digital service which is free. Send me your chassis number and I'll do the same.

Thanks - I've PM'ed you

[Dr G]

I tried but yours is before digital service records so I can't look it up without paying.

[dcb]

stevemcs said:

I thought these were 7speed dry

I don't think so.

I've had it for a couple of years and 30K miles and never noticed 7th.
Unless it only comes in at a speed not tolerated in the UK.

Is there a way to tell the gearbox from the first few pages of
the owners handbook ? It seems to be covered in random data
strings.

[stevemcs]

It may list it on the sticker where all the options are.