Jamie1991

Oops, apologies, yes no further problems since the repair was done

I've had a quick look at your thread @hkboi and unfortunately does sound very much like the fault I had. As described in this thread, I ultimately had the mechatronic removed and sent away for reconditioning at an independent auto transmission specialist for £1100. Since then (just over a year and 12k miles) I've had further problems. Let me know if you want any further details (I'd have kept this on your thread but always intended to report back in due course to confirm the repair was still good)

I got the gearbox fixed at an independent garage in Glasgow. I've not had any issues since and have done a trip to Aberdeen and back (as well as daily use) since so fingers crossed. Any future issues I'll check in with the garage again and report back. If future readers are near my neck of the woods (central belt) there are two major independent automatic transmission places in Glasgow who had different options for sorting the issue (one significantly more costly). My understanding is I shouldn't name the garages on the forum to avoid advertising etc. Besides that the gearbox is obviously complex and I'm ignorant to its specifics so I would think it's worth checking Google and speaking to both anyway. I don't tow so can't really add anything in this regard. When the DSG is working I've personally found it to be pretty smooth and haven't found the issues with erratic changes you describe above Good luck with your purchase whatever you decide to do. Would you consider getting an aftermarket warranty (making sure it covers the DSG & mechatronic) for a bit of peace of mind for it's duration?

Thanks for all your responses and apologies for the delayed reply as I've been busy with work. @toot - Skoda customer services and the dealer have declined any goodwill payment / compensation with CS saying "we are not financially regulated" and to speak to the dealer. On asking CS to escalate within their own team they contacted the dealer directly who advised, as expected, they would not support any goodwill or compensation on the basis the car has only been serviced there once (in my defence, that is all that's been due). I've also tried to speak with the dealer directly between times but have got nothing back. @TheClient @grldtnr - thanks for the information you've both provided. I think I will have difficulty claiming the fault was there (as such) when I bought the car as I've had it for over 6 months and several thousand miles on the clock before the fault developed. The suggestion of an inherent fault with the gearbox is the reason I had held out for Skoda offering some sort of compensation but it doesn't look like that's a battle the consumer is going to win any time soon. I suspect as long as VAG maintain the gearbox is fit for purpose (even if there is a TPI for the fault) re-sellers will use this as a defence. Ultimately I want to make it clear I'm not looking for a free ride - I accept that second hand cars will develop faults and it is a risk you run. It is annoying that VAG don't take a different attitude given an apparent abundance of owners with DSG (and specifically mechatronic) failures but, as above, the hassle factor has to be taken into consideration. For me, I have asked the local independent to go ahead with booking us in to have the mechatronic repaired and I hope that will be the end of it! Thanks for everyone's input. Hopefully this thread will be of some use to another reader in the future.

I haven't had contact with Skoda direct - what is the best way to contact them? Would it just be through their customer services number / email?

Didn't get the exact fault beyond it being a transmission control unit but the part number being replaced is 0GC92771HVI1. Looks like they have checked to be fair - the invoice says "Confirmed gearbox warning light on. Carried out ODIS test. Defective mechatronics module. Requires module replaced as per TPI." Unfortunately I'm also just above 50k miles, thanks for the heads up though 🙂

Update in case it is useful for others in future. The car has now been into the Skoda dealer who have, as expected, confirmed a mechatronic module has failed and advised replacement. They have advised that only the failed module, rather than the whole mechatronic, needs to be replaced and have quoted just under £1500 to supply and fit. In the meantime a local gearbox independent has quoted £1100 to remove and send away the mechatronic for repair and I have been quoted £2600 by a separate independent to replace the entire mechatronic with a new one. As the replacement module will be custom ordered with no estimated date of delivery to the dealer (we need the car for several long journeys over the next couple of months) and the independent is the cheaper option upfront it is likely this is the route I will go down.

Thanks for your reply. I wasn't aware of the 12 month warranty. Certainly I had seen the 6 month rule under the sale of goods act (I think) and had ruled out being able to ask the seller for repair as there's no evidence at the moment that the fault was there when I bought the car. Obviously if it becomes evident there was a fault at that time I'll be straight back to them otherwise if there is more protection than I realised could you point me in the way of the relevant legal stuff? The couple of reasons I had been planning to take it to Skoda was the hope of some sort of contribution from them (thanks for your opinion, it looks increasingly unlikely) and other posts on the forum where the main dealer has been suggested for DSG faults. Perhaps have been cars in warranty so I've taken the advice out of context. Thanks for your note on the clutch sensor, certainly it's a very cheap code reader. If more comes to light I'll update here. I've updated my profile 👍

I own an Octavia MKIII 2018 with 7-speed DSG (DQ381). I bought the car 7 months ago from an online car supermarket and have had it serviced once at my local Skoda dealer. Prior to that it has had one service done at an independent garage by the previous owner. It has around 50k miles on the clock. For the past week and a bit we have had an intermittent DSG fault "gearbox in emergency mode, safe to drive on" with an engine warning light and the car not selecting odd (1,3,5,7) gears. The gearbox warning goes away and gears select normally when the engine is switched off and on and the engine warning light goes out after a few miles before the fault recurs over the next couple of days. I have plugged in a cheap fault reader which is displaying P173500 (position sensor for clutch 1 - electrical malfunction passive / ableogenesis). The first available diagnostic slot at either of our local dealers is December but, reading this forum, I suspect the mechatronic unit is failing (though it seems this is more common on the DQ200 gearbox) and, if so, Skoda will suggest replacing it at significant expense. My first instinct had been to let Skoda have a look in the first instance (it may not even be a mechatronic failure..) and impress my disappointment that the gearbox would develop a major fault at 4 years and 50k miles (before its first oil change is even due) in the hope that, accepting the car is out of warranty, they might be able to contribute to the repair cost on the basis of it being unfit for purpose. It looks like this is a bit of a can of worms and the contribution offered (if any) varies considerably. I would be grateful for any insight on other options. I do wonder whether, given the car is out of warranty and the likelihood of significant contribution from Skoda seems low, whether asking an independent transmission specialist to look at / repair / replace the DSG might offer better value for money? Has anyone had this done or does this seem unwise? It seems the general advice is to let Skoda deal with the DSG as it is a relatively specialised component

One pair of dirty hands and knees later can confirm no Haldex! Thanks again.

Ideal, thanks

Thanks, my wife is out with the car just now but will have a nosey when she's back. Nothing in the V5C Thanks for the service schedule infographic. The engine / gearbox are TDI 150 (1968cc) and DSG7. No printout of the service history as such - the only info is an invoice from a "major service" at an independent garage around a year ago. While I agree it would be usual for a person to know what they are buying it's probably not unusual to take the sales information at face value 😇 As you've said above, I suspect this apparently conflicting info may come down to the service desk not knowing servicing requirements for the different models. A shame, as I thought I'd maybe got a free upgrade to AWD..

That's great thanks so much 👍

Hi all I have recently bought a 2018 Octavia estate (SE L trim) and it has alerted me an oil service is due. As I understand the service record is now kept online by Skoda I enquired at my local dealer re. what is due at this service (based on age / mileage / service history). Unexpectedly, the dealer has advised me that Haldex oil is due changed. My understanding is that a Haldex is only fitted to AWD vehicles, and that AWD is indeed an extra option for the Octavia SE L variant but when buying the car it wasn't advertised as such (not that I'll be complaining). At the expense of maybe asking a daft question, is there any way of checking whether I do in fact have the 4X4 option (and so a Haldex) on my car? Would it be straightforward for the very untrained eye to find the Haldex so confirm its presence? Thanks in advance

Thanks all. Will recheck the total current raw this weekend using the method suggested by Wino and JR, and if higher than normal will check circuits per Nige 👍