Golf R 7.5 DSG - what a miserable gearbox

Golf R 7.5 DSG - what a miserable gearbox

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kick buttowski

Original Poster:

68 posts

142 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
We have been running a 2017 Golf R with 7 speed dsg for nearly 20,000 miles and I just don't understand the love for this awful gearbox.

I must be one of the only people who doesn't get on with it judging by the all the plaudits and people who go weak at the knees over it. We had the 8 speed zf in recent 330d and m135i's and that performed really well. I know the zf is a proper torque convertor auto. But this dsg is just appalling.

Some of the annoying characteristics include - desperation to change into next gear asap - on a light throttle round town its in 4th at 20mph, 5th soon after and 7th at less than 40mph. That's barely above tickover. This makes the car feel sluggish and unresponsive. Coming up to junctions or roundabouts, it wont let you accelerate forward gently in 2nd, it changes down into 1st with a delay and a lurch. Its often sluggish to respond from stationary making pulling out onto roundabouts etc pretty hit and miss and often leaving you flooring the accelerator with nothing happening for a second or two followed by a flat out rush. On a 40 / 50 mph a or b road in traffic, the gearbox changes up and down relentlessly, sometimes every couple of seconds, sometimes it will change up then back down immediately and then back up again and so on. At motorway speeds, the slightest pressure on the throttle, even at 75 plus, results in a downshift and then no upshift for ages. The shifts aren't usually very smooth and the damn thing is constantly busy up and down the box even on a steady throttle. If you are in say 4th gear, and lift off for a junction or corner, it will change up through the gears into 7th as soon as it can with a surge between each change, even though you want to slow down gradually.


It was checked at the last service and apparently its performing as intended. Of course I can change gear manually but it still overrides you a lot of the time. I've tried all the different modes and its smoothest and least frenetic in eco mode but we didn't get the car for economy and lower performance.


Are they all like this? Its so bad it ruins the car in my opinion and I would never have another vw dsg. I'm interested to know what are other peoples experiences like?