VAG DSG reliability
Discussion
I always thought VAG DSG gear boxes were reliable .Mine decided to miss 1/3/5/7 and only engage 2/4/6/ gears . This was back in late August /September . Skoda were offering diagnostic appointments late October (bang went out planned trip with the caravan ).and repair dates late November /early December
I then spoke to the indie that my son uses for his R32 (The Phirm Blackwater ) , happen to know them well , without a diagnostic ,they said problem pointed to the Mechatronic , I took the car in 5mins on diagnostic and their diagnosis was confirmed , and told me it will be a two week turnaround
The car went in just over two weeks ago , picked it up Friday dun and dusted . For the princely sum of £1250 , a lot better than I thought it would be ( cost covered by Car Care Plan )
When I dropped the car off , got into a conversation , and it turns there were 4or 5 cars parked outside the unit , all with faulty Mechatronics !
I was having the MX5 MOT carried out at a Mazda garage , and whilst it was being done (passed BTW not bad for 22 year old MX )chatting to a salesman , he said they are reluctant to accept DSG cars for part ex due to the reliability problems ,hummm
I then spoke to the indie that my son uses for his R32 (The Phirm Blackwater ) , happen to know them well , without a diagnostic ,they said problem pointed to the Mechatronic , I took the car in 5mins on diagnostic and their diagnosis was confirmed , and told me it will be a two week turnaround
The car went in just over two weeks ago , picked it up Friday dun and dusted . For the princely sum of £1250 , a lot better than I thought it would be ( cost covered by Car Care Plan )
When I dropped the car off , got into a conversation , and it turns there were 4or 5 cars parked outside the unit , all with faulty Mechatronics !
I was having the MX5 MOT carried out at a Mazda garage , and whilst it was being done (passed BTW not bad for 22 year old MX )chatting to a salesman , he said they are reluctant to accept DSG cars for part ex due to the reliability problems ,hummm
Had 2 DSG equipped cars. First (wet clutch 6-speed) bought at 16k miles run for 6 years; 2nd (dry clutch 7-speed) run for 5-1/2 years so far. Friends also have/had DSG with no problems; one for over 100k miles.
Like most things on the Internet, only those owners who have experienced problems usually bother to speak up.
Like most things on the Internet, only those owners who have experienced problems usually bother to speak up.
Some are near flawless, some are a bit crap.
Throw in driver behaviour, tuning, and crap maintenance to that mix.
A 2009 S4 that's never had gearbox oil will break sooner rather than later. A 2012 A3 quattro with oil changes on time probably give no grief at all for many, many miles.
Too many different gearboxes with too many different use-cases to even attempt tarring them all with one brush.
Throw in driver behaviour, tuning, and crap maintenance to that mix.
A 2009 S4 that's never had gearbox oil will break sooner rather than later. A 2012 A3 quattro with oil changes on time probably give no grief at all for many, many miles.
Too many different gearboxes with too many different use-cases to even attempt tarring them all with one brush.
Dr G said:
Some are near flawless, some are a bit crap.
Throw in driver behaviour, tuning, and crap maintenance to that mix.
I have a 2018 Golf 1.4 TSI 125 (7.5 I think) with DSG...I guess remapping may not be a good idea? It would be nice to have an extra 25 bhp but if it impacts longevity of the DSG then might not be sensible.Throw in driver behaviour, tuning, and crap maintenance to that mix.
There are so many variants of DSG, dry clutch, wet clutch, 7sp, 6sp etc. Some have better reputations than others, some are happier being driven hard than others.
Mechatronic units are usually what fail, although clutch packs do too if you really give them a hard time.
The cause is often owners either don't know or are unwilling to spend the money on oil changes for them. I'd say 99% of non-enthusiast owners wouldn't even consider something that isn't part of an annual service or MOT. Dealerships don't see to mention it.
OP mentions a caravan, if I was towing with a DSG, I'd likely have the oil changed more often than if I wasn't, VAG are pretty vague on service intervals for them.
Mechatronic units are usually what fail, although clutch packs do too if you really give them a hard time.
The cause is often owners either don't know or are unwilling to spend the money on oil changes for them. I'd say 99% of non-enthusiast owners wouldn't even consider something that isn't part of an annual service or MOT. Dealerships don't see to mention it.
OP mentions a caravan, if I was towing with a DSG, I'd likely have the oil changed more often than if I wasn't, VAG are pretty vague on service intervals for them.
VR99 said:
I have a 2018 Golf 1.4 TSI 125 (7.5 I think) with DSG...I guess remapping may not be a good idea? It would be nice to have an extra 25 bhp but if it impacts longevity of the DSG then might not be sensible.
I don't know the exact details of that gearbox; certainly earlier versions of it were known for marginal clutchpacks that could start juddering or misbehaving with a few miles on. I imagine it's been updated since then, but don't have any personal experience. I typically work with the higher power and four wheel drive stuff.If you tune any automatic car it's essential that the gearbox software is also updated to suit. If the TCU expects 200nm and you throw 400nm through it you'll give it a fit and break/wear stuff.
MXRod said:
I always thought VAG DSG gear boxes were reliable .Mine decided to miss 1/3/5/7 and only engage 2/4/6/
picked it up Friday dun and dusted . For the princely sum of £1250 , a lot better than I thought it would be ( cost covered by Car Care Plan )
Pretty cheap.picked it up Friday dun and dusted . For the princely sum of £1250 , a lot better than I thought it would be ( cost covered by Car Care Plan )
I hear that's the issue when it happens. That said, I had an Ibiza FR with DSG for over a year and there were no problems with the gearbox. I'm sold on DSG and similar gearboxes.
Also, compare it to the Ferrari California - when it skips gears, it's a faulty speedsensor... inside the gearbox... costs about £6k to fix.
FWIW a Polo here with >100k miles and it's the 'crap' 7 speed dry clutch version - no problems yet.
Garages seem quick to mis-diagnose the gearbox when it's usually the mechatronics - I expect this one will go at some point but it's worth it for a nice drive and I'm not convinced a clutch/manual set up is much less costly in the end.
Garages seem quick to mis-diagnose the gearbox when it's usually the mechatronics - I expect this one will go at some point but it's worth it for a nice drive and I'm not convinced a clutch/manual set up is much less costly in the end.
P-Jay said:
There are so many variants of DSG, dry clutch, wet clutch, 7sp, 6sp etc. Some have better reputations than others, some are happier being driven hard than others.
Mechatronic units are usually what fail, although clutch packs do too if you really give them a hard time.
The cause is often owners either don't know or are unwilling to spend the money on oil changes for them. I'd say 99% of non-enthusiast owners wouldn't even consider something that isn't part of an annual service or MOT. Dealerships don't see to mention it.
OP mentions a caravan, if I was towing with a DSG, I'd likely have the oil changed more often than if I wasn't, VAG are pretty vague on service intervals for them.
The common 7 speed dry clutch DQ200, used on most lower power FWD models, doesn't have a service interval.Mechatronic units are usually what fail, although clutch packs do too if you really give them a hard time.
The cause is often owners either don't know or are unwilling to spend the money on oil changes for them. I'd say 99% of non-enthusiast owners wouldn't even consider something that isn't part of an annual service or MOT. Dealerships don't see to mention it.
OP mentions a caravan, if I was towing with a DSG, I'd likely have the oil changed more often than if I wasn't, VAG are pretty vague on service intervals for them.
Wife has that on her 1.5TSi Karoq - it always feels a bit "iffy" in a way that the wet clutch DQ500 in her 4 Moton diesel Tiguan didn't. I don't like the way the clutches judder a bit when cold, and they engage sharply so it's needs thinking about when pulling out of a wet junction to not spin up the front tyres.
I wouldn't run one out of warranty cover - if you time it right you can get the VW Group All In package until the car is 8yrs old, although I think clutch pack failures can still be debatable.
I read VW was planning to get rid of DSGs and replace with torque convertor autos, but they canned the project as ICE deadlines were put into place.
Deerfoot said:
I've had four DSG cars over the years and have covered around 200,000 miles in them without any dramas.
Perhaps I'm just fortunate, even the dry clutch 7 speed in my wife's Mk7 Golf TSI is great.
so 50 000 each is that right? There's no way you should have had the slightest of problemsPerhaps I'm just fortunate, even the dry clutch 7 speed in my wife's Mk7 Golf TSI is great.
Another sample size of 1: 120k miles from new on a 6 speed 2015 dsg box. Never skipped a beat. Serviced every 40k. When I was considering whether to keep the car at 80k I did some digging and found reports of the 'boxes lasting over 200k miles without issues. So I figure if not abused, kept serviced and on a fairly dull engine they can last.
loskie said:
so 50 000 each is that right? There's no way you should have had the slightest of problems
I probably worded that poorly. I've not taken four new DSG cars from 0 to 50,000 miles, my Octavia Scout had 93,000 miles on it when it went, my Golf is now on 84,000, my Passat left with around 77,000 etc
To add:
I'm on my second DSG, a 2014 S4 Avant, on 44k miles and had no issues. Previous was a 2004 A3, 3.2 quattro (so one of the earlier 6 speed wet clutch DSG) in which I did around 90k miles over 12 years with no issues, both had service/oil change at correct intervals.
I like them and am a DSG convert.
I'm on my second DSG, a 2014 S4 Avant, on 44k miles and had no issues. Previous was a 2004 A3, 3.2 quattro (so one of the earlier 6 speed wet clutch DSG) in which I did around 90k miles over 12 years with no issues, both had service/oil change at correct intervals.
I like them and am a DSG convert.
Tim Cognito said:
Interesting, I'm in the early stages of researching a t5/t6 and wasn't sure on whether to avoid DSG or not. My default for reliability is to head towards the least complicated solution.
I've had 3 Transporters with DSG boxes, no issues at all and I've got several mates all with DGS's and no issues.Cant say the same for EGR coolers and valves though, although mine have been fine, my mates all run on cheap diesel have all had replacements.
I have a 7 speed DSG in my '19 Audi A4. The car has done 81k and has had both of the 40k interval DSG oil changes and FSH. It drives well but I did have an issue a few weeks back that brought up the gearbox malfunction light joined by a bang from the gearbox and temporary lost drive. The car immediately prior to the failure showed ABS/TPMS/Stop Start failure and later I saw communication errors with these components when I read the codes once home.
Since resetting the codes the car has been fine so I am waiting it out. It does have an Audi extended warranty until 100k so not too concerned and my hunch is the gearbox error was related to failure from the other systems. I guess the DSG computer must use road speed and data from the ABS sensors to calculate gear.
I don't think I'd want to own one of these outside of warranty though.
Since resetting the codes the car has been fine so I am waiting it out. It does have an Audi extended warranty until 100k so not too concerned and my hunch is the gearbox error was related to failure from the other systems. I guess the DSG computer must use road speed and data from the ABS sensors to calculate gear.
I don't think I'd want to own one of these outside of warranty though.
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