Anyone else suffering terrible turbo lag when moving away from standstill? Seems to be getting worse - twice tonight, even in sports mode, you press the gas and nothing, nowt, diddly squat. Makes pulling into traffic a nightmare sometimes.

Is it normal? Anyone had any changes made by their dealer that helped?

I don't seem to have a problem with the lag when pulling away normally.

Sounds like a dealer visit needed, sorry to say.

It is worse when the car is moving just a little bit i.e. drifting up to a roundabout. Taking off from traffic lights is generally ok. Our old 1.1L automatic Picanto was more responsive down the rev range. I know this engine has a turbo but surely a 1.2L is quicker than this?

What you are experiencing is not turbo lag. It is the DSG box. There are certain circumstances as you describe, the worse being as you are still moving, you hit the pedal and nothing, you press harder, nothing, then all hell breaks loose as it takes up the drive, tyres scrabbling for grip, hurtling you onto the roundabout / junction etc. In time you tend to adjust your driving around it, applying throttle earlier than you would in a manual. I think there are two issues, one being the box has preselected the next gear up then has to swap to the next gear down and secondly, emissions control doesn't allow you big throttle openings to prevent you emitting part burned fuel (dirty emissions). These combine to give you this 'lag'

The problem of poor response from a standstill could be that the learning ECU has adjusted delivery in such a way that has generated this over gentle response to throttle. If you get chance (traffic depending) start being a little more liberal with the throttle rather than driving for economy and things will improve. Failing that explain the prob to the dealer who will plug it in, probably say there is nothing wrong and reset it to default values so it can learn over again

Edited 13 January, 201115 yr by Fatbloke

Anyone else suffering terrible turbo lag when moving away from standstill? Seems to be getting worse - twice tonight, even in sports mode, you press the gas and nothing, nowt, diddly squat. Makes pulling into traffic a nightmare sometimes.

This seems to be a feature of these otherwise brilliant 1.2tsi engines (I have only driven two of them - a Fabia and a Yeti). I don't think it is turbo lag because it also happens at low revs, before the turbo kicks in. There may be turbo lag at higher revs as well, of course, but I don't understand why this flat spot is there. I would have thought it could have been designed out.

What 'Fatbloke' is saying...and if the car is still very low miles, the actual gearchange mechanism in and on the box itself will still be on the stiff side and it does slow the up and down change by a small amount. You know yourself just how stiff some boxes on a brand new car can be when you pick them up. It's no different on the DSG. Some are worse than others. Noticed this on the bro in laws new Passat Estate 2.0TDI DSG. There was quite a lag at roundabouts and in some other situations and this was especially noticeable in the first 2000miles and just like turbo lag of sorts. It's now completely normal, he has over 5k on the clock now.

I'm driving a 1.4 60 plate VW Polo (only like 500 miles on the clock) as a hire car, and I too experience the gearbox lag, it's almost like the bite it taking a long time to engage.

Very frustrating at roundabouts, can't wait to have my usual Fabia back which doesn't have this problem!

What 'Fatbloke' is saying...and if the car is still very low miles, the actual gearchange mechanism in and on the box itself will still be on the stiff side and it does slow the up and down change by a small amount.

Then there are three possible causes for lag. The two 1.2tsis that I tested had manual boxes. They lagged at any engine rpm - just step on the accelerator at any speed and there would be a one second delay in response. So it would appear that this (whatever the cause is) and the dsg box can cause lag at any rpm, plus a possible turbo lag at higher rpm.

My Manual TSi only has lag up to 2,000 rpm, then the turbo kicks in and it goes off like a scalded cat. Sounds mental now too!

Never had any delay in response above that, just pulls away. Only thing I can think of is the DSG box might be kicking down if you really shove the pedal. Hence the slight delay.

My Manual TSi only has lag up to 2,000 rpm, then the turbo kicks in and it goes off like a scalded cat. Sounds mental now too! Never had any delay in response above that, just pulls away.

That is my point. If you were to step on the gas at, say, 2,500 rpm, some lag could be due to the turbo. The lag you experience on a manual box up to 2,000 rpm is due to something else.

Turbo lag is the delay you experience between putting your foot down and the turbo spooling up enough to provide suffectient boost. Turbo lag occurs at low engine rpm i.e when relatively low air flow rate from the exhaust and isn't normally a problem at higher revs (i.e the high gas flow rate from exhaust spins the turbo up much quicker). Shouldn't really be much turbo-lag from the 1.2tsi as its quite a small turbo?

Shouldn't be any turbo lag at all really on the vRS as it has a supercharger working low down the rev-range. :wonder:

Turbo lag is the delay you experience between putting your foot down and the turbo spooling up enough to provide suffectient boost. Turbo lag occurs at low engine rpm i.e when relatively low air flow rate from the exhaust and isn't normally a problem at higher revs (i.e the high gas flow rate from exhaust spins the turbo up much quicker). Shouldn't really be much turbo-lag from the 1.2tsi as its quite a small turbo?

At low rpm a turbo supplies less boost and the engine acts like a naturally aspirated engine. It is the lack of boost at low revs that is the reason for adding a supercharger which is not dependent on exhaust flow rate. My experience with the 1.2tsi is that there is a delay to the throttle response at low revs (1,000 - 1,500) where the effect of the turbo should be minimal.

The TSI Engine

Edited 14 January, 201115 yr by Mike Austin

As I understand it nowadays most cars no longer have direct throttle.

When you push the pedel it is actually pushing a sensor which relays a signal to the ECU which then changes all of the relevent settings to achive the desired results. This can usualy be shown aptly in a manual by flooring the throttle and letting out the clutch quickly from low speed you'll usually see the revs drop the engine stutter and then leap into action once the ECU has cought up with what your upto.

With the DSG you've lost the option most people do with out realy being aware of it, which is slipping the clutch a little utill the engine is up and running then letting it all the way out.

Not sure if this is like what your experiencing or if its something worse.

As I understand it nowadays most cars no longer have direct throttle.

When you push the pedel it is actually pushing a sensor which relays a signal to the ECU which then changes all of the relevent settings to achive the desired results. This can usualy be shown aptly in a manual by flooring the throttle and letting out the clutch quickly from low speed you'll usually see the revs drop the engine stutter and then leap into action once the ECU has cought up with what your upto.

With the DSG you've lost the option most people do with out realy being aware of it, which is slipping the clutch a little utill the engine is up and running then letting it all the way out.

Not sure if this is like what your experiencing or if its something worse.

Yes, there has to be an explanation something like this. However, if this were the explanation, why does my Mk 2.0i not exhibit this sort of delay in response?

With out the power torque curves for both engines I'm just guessing but I'd expect the 2.0i to have more low range torque than a 1.2

Edited 14 January, 201115 yr by Can

With out the power torque curves for both engines I'm just guessing but I'd expect the 2.0i to have more low range torque than a 1.2

Actually, I was amazed when I first drove a 1.2tsi because the torque feels about the same. The 1.2tsi is 175Nm @ 1,550 rpm vs. the 2.0i 170Nm @ 2,400rpm. Between idling and about 1,500rpm, the 2.0i is a bit punchier, but the main difference is that it comes on instantly whereas there is a one second delay on the 1.2tsi.

Yes I believe you are right Mike, I think the turbo side of things is minimal in the part it plays for the original poster 'Runboy'. The DSG and ECU software are the main contributors for him I'm sure. I have driven two 1.2TSI's, one fully run in with 6k on the clock and no lag of anykind detectable in normal driving, and another out of the showroom demo car with I think around 400 miles on the clock. This demo car exhibited plenty of lag under 2k rpm even though it was a manual car, I found it very annoying. This leads me to think it is a 'tight' engine syndrome along with software learning in progress. Although the processes are slightly different, it's a bit like your home computer when you first get it or when you start using it after loading a new operating system. Most operating systems learn how you use the computer in various sessions and makes sure it puts the programs you use most often in a priority place for loading. This causes your computer to speed up your normal tasks over a period of time. This is a bit like how the ecu behaves in the first 3k to allow it to learn roughly how your driving habits needs to be accommodated. It analyses the way you have used the throttle and gears, your speeds, the other engine data too. It has an awful lot to learn in the first few hundred miles and some slight misbehaving is I think normal but temporary. But gradually, it speeds up putting on the power, and if an auto, the DSG gear situation. In other words when the miles have gone on it, it is much more ready to drive like you want it to.

Runboy, if your car is still quite new, I personally don't think you need to be worried at this stage, it will sort itself out I feel sure.

Edited 14 January, 201115 yr by Estate Man

At low rpm a turbo supplies less boost and the engine acts like a naturally aspirated engine. It is the lack of boost at low revs that is the reason for adding a supercharger which is not dependent on exhaust flow rate. My experience with the 1.2tsi is that there is a delay to the throttle response at low revs (1,000 - 1,500) where the effect of the turbo should be minimal.

The TSI Engine

Well said and nice link. You are right about how the supercharger works -it is driven directly from the engine and hence there is no lag. 1.2tsi however has no supercharger, its turbo-only so the fact that this 'lag' has also been reported on the vRS (which should be relatively immune from turbolag/low boost issues with its supercharger at low revs) suggests that people are right when they say it is probably related to the ECU/DSG taking its time to decide what to do.

So if one buys a newish Skoda second hand is it worth getting the ECU reset in order for it to learn how the new owner drives or will it not make much difference after a certain amount of mileage?

Edited 14 January, 201115 yr by cb83

There is some turbo lag on the 1.2, there's bound to be, but I think the OP's issue is the DSG.

The vRS lag is completely down to the DSG box, which does get caught out in some situations, as I found on the test drive. Mainly it is when you are approaching a roundabout, moving slowly waiting for a gap. It hangs on to a high gear, then you press the throttle and it has to shuffle gears about to get to the right one, then off you go! Takes a second and is rather worrying the first few times. This is what the OP is suffering from.

It may be worth putting the DSG into manual to deal with that kind of situation, you can then leave it in 2nd and you can just go. If you need to stop completely, pop it back into D

Thanks for the replies. My last Skoda was an Octavia (2007) 2.0 TDI with a DSG (the wet plate/6 speed) and then I found the gearbox was bit hesitant now and again, no where near as bad as the Fabia is at the moment. I can't remember how many miles it had on it at the end but was a lot more then my Fabia at the moment.

Once the Fabia is moving it goes very well so I doubt it is a real engine problem and more likely the gearbox after reading the helpful replies on here. I'm going to try a few more tricks and see if I can adapt to things. The passenger seat is creaking at the moment so I'm going to have to contact the dealer to have that fixed so I can use the opportunity to get them to plug the car in and check the gearbox is ok.

Thanks again for the replies - shows what a great bunch we are!

I have noticed in the manual car that when in 1st gear it feels like you only have 50% throttle available. I'm sure this must be restricted by the ECU. When I picked the car up I had never driven the 1.2 TSI before, a massive leap of faith going off favourable reviews on here in the Yeti forum. It seemed slow to pull away, then I shifted to 2nd, gave it the same amount of throttle and it bolted off like a scalded cat

I'm used to it now even if it seems an odd thing for them to do.

I have noticed in the manual car that when in 1st gear it feels like you only have 50% throttle available. I'm sure this must be restricted by the ECU. When I picked the car up I had never driven the 1.2 TSI before, a massive leap of faith going off favourable reviews on here in the Yeti forum. It seemed slow to pull away, then I shifted to 2nd, gave it the same amount of throttle and it bolted off like a scalded cat

I'm used to it now even if it seems an odd thing for them to do.

Yeah Mike...that's a common things as you prolly know. But for anyone that doesn't, it's to stop turbo over speed and subsequent totalling of the engine!! Amazing how quickly a turbo can go critical. Some of my motorcycles have so much power and torque that a similar system is used in first and second and third gear to limit power output. Just helps keep the front wheel on the ground!

I have noticed in the manual car that when in 1st gear it feels like you only have 50% throttle available. I'm sure this must be restricted by the ECU. When I picked the car up I had never driven the 1.2 TSI before, a massive leap of faith going off favourable reviews on here in the Yeti forum. It seemed slow to pull away, then I shifted to 2nd, gave it the same amount of throttle and it bolted off like a scalded cat

I'm used to it now even if it seems an odd thing for them to do.

You can tell the power`s being held back in 1st on mine now - its soooo quiet compared to any other gear, i get a nice rumble up to 2500rpm as I accelerate now. First is just boringly quiet.