thamestrader

The Touran has a multi link rear suspension, my 2.0 Tsi Karoq rear suspension looks very similar if not identical. I assume your 1.0 Tsi has the same rear suspension. I had the lower arms replaced, they come with the bushes already fitted, it’s quicker less labour so lower overall cost. I was getting uneven rear tyre wear on the inner edges which apparently is “feature” of the VW multi link suspension on PQ35 platform vehicles. Front suspension required the consol bushes which are the ones in the big alloy casting. Again front tyre wear was the visual trigger. Even at 108,000 miles it was still on original shocks. I must admit I was surprised how different it was to drive after the 4 wheel laser alignment, which was necessary after the suspension work. The steering was more precise, the ride around corners was much smoother.

It’s quite possible your 5yr old Karoq would beneficially from having the suspension bushes/mountings replaced. I had Touran prior to my Karoq and after replacing front and rear suspension bushes followed by a laser 4 wheel alignment it felt much better.

I will be changing to Cross Climates on my Karoq, I really liked them in my previous car, was on my third set, used to get 30,000 miles per set, which I felt was pretty good and road holding and grip was excellent.

You can disable/enable that feature in the setup menu. The feature appeals to me but I have it disabled, following experience with my previous VW, twice found all windows had been left open overnight while parked outside. Fortunately on the drive and not visible from the road.

Try the Retrofit specialists, I've used HazzyDayz in Markyate and Richter Sport in Bletchley, but they are quite a way from SM3. There must be equivalent specialists around the M25. It is likely to be expensive though, Hazzydayz website lists the heated steering wheel for a Mk8 Golf at £1195. Suspect a Karoq would be similar. I have a heated steering wheel as standard in mine (not used it yet). The heating is swu=itched on by a button on the wheel.

Retrofits - try Richter Sport in Bletchley or HazzyDayz in Markyate.

Prior to the Karoq I had a 2013 2.0 TDI 140 bhp DSG VW Touran, at 70 mph on A and M roads on journeys over 50 miles it would regularly do 60 to 65 mph. I only ever used Shell V power diesel though.

In the test drive of the 24 plate Karoq, I'm pretty sure that the display the Salesman selected from the Menu for SoundAktor had a volume slider, whereas the menu on my 73 plate (2023) is for Modes which has a simple on/off tick box on individual. I have a licensed version of VCDS so I will have to investigate further. Currently I have individual set to Normal, Sound off, and Sports steering. For the other modes the display shows the settings but doesnt allow changes. Interestingly the digital manual that comes up for my Karoq lists Comfort and Offroad, I don't have the offroad pack or the Dynamic Chassis option so I assume these two relate to those options.

VAG don't make it easy do they, I will experiment over the week and see what I get. I'm fairly sure that when knocked into Sport the engine 'Sound' is, the same as Driver Select, and it blips the throttle when changing down. Have I introduced another variable feature by mentioning Sound? I have a 2023 build Sportline, before I bought it I test drove a 24 plate demonstrator. In the Menu system the salesman was able to configure the Sound feature I think for every Driver Selectable mode, as I was driving I was paying more attention to the road than the Infotainment screen!. My 2023 Karoq only allows the Sound to be enable/disabled in the Individual Mode configuration.

2 litre is very quick, amazingly the 2.0 TSI performance data matches that of the original Audi Quattro (engine capacity, bhp, 0-60, top speed)

@logiclee Tests conducted, S and M do not coast. My 2023 Sportline DQ381 has multiple ways to select modes, but I've not seen an enable/disable option in the menus. I use the Mode button next to the gear lever to select one of Eco, Normal Drive, Sport, Individual and Snow. Sport mode can also be selected by flick the gear lever back when in Eco or Normal, flicking again returns to the previous mode. Manual can be selected by knocking the gear lever sideways OR via the paddles. It would be nice if the Modes Menu could be customised to remove unused modes, I use Eco and Normal and have Individual configured with Normal and Sport steering. If I need Sport mode I use the gear lever.

I have conducted some tests and our Fabia does have Hill Hold and it works correctly in Reverse and Drive. The slope of my drive is too shallow to activate it - hence it runs back if the accelerator is not pressed. as the dry clutch requires accelerator input to engage the clutches. All working as expected and this driver will now learn to drive it correctly. Thanks to @logiclee for the explanation in the KAroq forum.

Its rolling back immediately the brake pedal is released. This is on a slope up to the house and garage where my other two DSG equipped vehicles (DQ250 and DQ381) would move forwards on tickover without rolling back. From your post @logiclee in the Karoq forum I realise I've been expecting the dry clutch DSG to behave the same as the wet clutch DSGs, which Ive had for much longer, and I now know that it doesn't. I will have to do some tests to see whether its driver at fault and or there is an issue with the Hill Hold. On this slope I find I have to increase the revs slightly to engage the clutches and 'catch the car' as it rolls back. I do suspect that the Fabia may have a slight problem with the clutches as the revs will rise and fall without any alteration of accelerator position, you can feel the drive engaging and disengaging.

I will conduct some tests to verify S and M mode coasting - M mode coasting does seem an odd thing. What I have noticed with coasting is that it requires a very gentle release of the accelerator, removing the right foot abruptly leaves it in gear

@logiclee Thank you for the explanation, its useful to know. I think I might have a problem with our Fabia. My drive has a slight slop up to the house and garage, both my Touran and now the KAroq will creep up the drive without rolling back, but the Fabia always rolls back until you can 'catch'it' on the clutch by increasing the revs. Its either not working at all or the slope is not steep enough to be detected. I will have to investigate further.

Thats very interesting. DQ200 Coasting is quite different to DQ381 coasting. My 2.0 TSI Sportline will coast in all modes, ECO, Sport, Drive and Manual when it shows E, S D or M respectively in the gear indicator. It also coasts from any gear.

There are different versions of the DSG gearbox, to suit different engine power outputs. The 1.5 (and 1.0) petrol use a 7 speed dry clutch version (DQ200). We have a 2015 1.2 TSI Fabia ( 8 years) with the 7 speed dry clutch, a 2023 2.0 TSI Karoq with 7 speed wet clutch (DQ381) which replaced a 2013 2.0 TDI Touran with the 6 speed wet clutch (DQ250) (11 years and 108,000 miles) - still drove as smoothly as when it was new, There are differences in how they behave, predominantly in the way they move off from rest. TDI engines have torque at low revs, in my experience this allows the DSG to engage a clutch without the driver pressing the accelerator, this aids a smooth pull away from rest. The 2.0 TSI has the 7 speed wet clutch DSG and this has sufficient torque at low revs to move off, on level roads, without pressing the accelerator. In other words they will 'creep' like a torque convertor automatic. As others have said the DQ200 7 speed does not engage the clutches so readily at low revs, it does not creep so readily, which may be the reason why getting out of junctions quickly can be difficult sometimes. The footbrake has sensors on it which the DSG software uses to determine what to do. With the footbrake pressed firmly the clutches disengage, stop/start will stop the engine, moving ones foot quickly from footbrake to accelerator will generally lead to the car leaping forward after a delay while the engine is restarted, a gear is engaged (very often 2nd) and the clutches engage, pressing the accelerator further causes the DSG to select first gear before pulling away rapidly. Footbrake pressure can be used to control what the DSG does; Firm press will stop the car, disengage the clutches and stop the engine (if S/S active), reducing the pressure slightly (on the Fabia and Karoq) restarts the engine,, reducing the pressure further causes the clutches to engage (revs drop slightly). Releasing the footbrake then usually results in the car starting to creep, once moving pressing the accelerator as normal. Basically its using footbrake pedal pressure to control what a clutch pedal would on a manual. Thois might sound complicated but it becomes second nature. Hill Hold assist also comes into play. The Fabia does not have Hill Hold so requires accelerator pressure sometimes to pull away on a slope. The Karoq does have HillHold, this has the effect of delaying the release of the brakes when pressure is removed from the footbrake pedal which prevents rolling back. I would advise going for as long a test drive as possible , I don't think you will have any issues with DSG in most driving situations but perform parking maneuvers, reversing especially, stopping and starting on slopes. DSGs all have Sport mode and the ability to manually select gears. I tend to use Sport mode in the Fabia because I fell it creeps more readily and pulls away easier. Although the Karoq has paddle shifters I don'trealy use them and don't use manual mode. FInally a really clever thing with the DSG is the way it uses cruise control. Once cruise control is active the DSG will select whatever gears, higher or lower, it needs to maintain the set speed, and you won't even feel the changes.

Having a few posts about pan roof leaks and enduring the drains weren’t blocked. I bought a tool for pushing through the drain tubes. Does anyone know where these drain tubes terminate? I was hoping that I’d be able to see the end of the cleaning tool emerge somewhere under the front wings.

As per the title. We've had our Fabia bought used in June 2016, ex Motorbility car had only done 900 miles. Its my partners car. Since getting my petrol Karoq I've realised that the Fabia appears not to have Hill Hold, On a slight uphill slope in D it will roll back on releasing the footbrake back unless the accelerator is pressed, which is not ideal. I thought all DSG VAG group cars had Hill Hold. So should the Fabia have Hill Hold and its not working?

Suggest you go to somewhere with 4 wheel laser alignment equipment. I use my local Kwikfit. The equipment they use has a display screen in the waiting area, it quite clearly shows Toe in/out, Camber and Castor angles, not all are adjustable. At the end they provide a printed copy of the before and after position. Again they only charge if it needs adjustment.

If you have a Nextbase Dashcam the Nextbase OBD port power cable is an easy fit and doesn’t need an earth connection. Costs the same as the Nextbase fuse box hardwire kit.

My partner has a 1.2 TSI 110bhp with 7 spd DSG, the initial pull away from stationary and creep was no where near as smooth or flawless as my Touran with 2.0 TDI 140 bhp 6 spd DSG. My Karoq 2.0l TSI 7 spd DSG is as good as the TDI Touran was.

For those of you looking for good rear seat space. May I suggest the VW Touran. It’s a very under rated car. I had one for 11 years prior to Karoq, bigger boot than Tiguan, more rear seat space, flexible removable rear seats. Why did I change to a Karoq, needed 2l petrol and that engine not available in the Touran.

I would suggest selecting Neutral if manual or Park if DSG, and applying the handbrake BEFORE switching off the ignition.

I'm 6' 4" there is enough headroom with the drivers seat right back and fully lowered, however to avoid compromising rear passenger legroom behind the driver the backrest needs to be fairly upright. The rear seats in the Sportline would not fit 3 adults, the centre rear seat is a child width and the transmission tunnel affects legroom. Only the backrest of the rear seat folds forward. no where near as adaptable as the Vario Flex which is not available on the Sportline. Front Sports seats have fixed headrest compared to SEL which has adjustable headrests, also front sports seats have very firm side bolsters, seat squab is quite narrow, becomes noticeable after a while but not on a 20 minute test drive. 2.0l TSI performs well but is thirsty, I came from a 2L TDI DSG where mpg was always 45 around town and 65 longer runs, getting 25mpg around town and 45mpg on longer runs from the Karoq. You may want to compare the list price of the SEL vs the Sportline in relation to the £40k threshold for the additonal RFL rate, currently £410 on top of the standard £190 for years 2 to 6, first year RFL is based on emissions so a 1.5 TSI is less than the the 2.0 TSI.