Hi all,

It's just 4 days I got the car, a MKII vRS and I must say it feels fantastic but this incident has happened twice, once yesterday morning when I thought It would be a one-time thing, and once again today so I thought about posting about it.

So in Tiptronic mode, as I have found out so far, the car shifts-down automatically If it determines the REVS are getting low for the selected gear. The problem is that sometimes I may want to do the shift-down myself as I foresee that I am about to need that extra torque but maybe just a 0.001" sec earlier the car has already shifted down, so I end up 1 more gear down than I should normally be at, ie instead of 2nd, I end up with 1st and some unnecessary breaking. Now that's not my problem as I think I will adapt my style to it in the next hundreds of kilometres.

The reason I described the above is that I believe this is what's causing the behaviour that troubles me. So there I was, in the morning, after less than 5' drive, and I slow down to reach a cross-road. The guy in front of me is clear and he can go on, so I assume he will and I dont brake a lot, but for some reason decides to stay at his position so I have to break more, nothing extreme mind you, and shift-down from 5th th 2nd. There it happened again, the car beat me to it, and the 1st gear was in instead of 2nd, and then.... Nothing! I stepped on the gas pedal to leave but no acceleration. The car was moving with this "creep" speed as when you release the brake in 1st gear. Two more efforts of accelerating with no success, the gas pedal was just not responding. Finally, after 10 meters of rolling at creep speed, I switched the stick from Tiptronic to D 2 times, and the gas pedal was working again...

Same thing happened yesterday morning, when I decided to brake more before a curb, shifted down myself from 3rd to 2nd but the DSG has already shifted down once, so I ended up with the 1st gear, and then nothing... Pulled over, swtiched from Tiptronic to D 1 or 2 times, and there it was again.

So, If you could please enlighten me If this has happened to any of you and maybe it is a weakness of the DSG, I would appreciate it...

Edited 2 September, 201114 yr by newbie69

I've heard of this before although it hasn't happened to me. What you have to understand about 1st is the car only uses it for standing still and up to 4-5mph. If you suddenly jumped down into 1st or went into 1st at 10mph+ then I think it'll get unhappy.

I believe other's have commented this could be the gearbox protecting itself from overrevving.

Like you say, at least it's a problem you can adapt to and will go away with a change of driving style.

Use Auto in Urban areas and Manual on country roads.

Then you wont get these problems

I've heard of this before although it hasn't happened to me. What you have to understand about 1st is the car only uses it for standing still and up to 4-5mph. If you suddenly jumped down into 1st or went into 1st at 10mph+ then I think it'll get unhappy.

I believe other's have commented this could be the gearbox protecting itself from overrevving.

Like you say, at least it's a problem you can adapt to and will go away with a change of driving style.

You're right, I know the car isn't supposed to be thrown the 1st gear and as I said I didn't select it on purpose but it was rather that the DSG beat my click so I was more gear down!

Does this mean that you always leave the car to shift down totally by itself?

Use Auto in Urban areas and Manual on country roads.

Then you wont get these problems

So, nothing to worry about you think? Truth be told, the first days I had to drive 2 awfull hours in full city traffic, so I had it in Auto, and nothing happened then.

Maybe I shoud start having a little more confidence on it shifting-down in time?

IMO from the way you are describing it, I'd say you were possibly in to higher gear for the speed you were doing... My car doesn't change down instantly when breaking, only when the revs drop to 1500rpm (approx)... obviously I have had my car a lot longer and it is something you need to get used to and car will get used to you

Damo

The same has happened to me a few times alright....I don't like leaving it in D going around roundabouts as it tends to choose too high a gear, I would prefer to be in a lower gear ready to boot it if I have to. I've started shifting into S just before a roundabout and it chooses lower gears giving instant response if needed.

The same has happened to me a few times alright....I don't like leaving it in D going around roundabouts as it tends to choose too high a gear, I would prefer to be in a lower gear ready to boot it if I have to. I've started shifting into S just before a roundabout and it chooses lower gears giving instant response if needed.

that's the response I was looking about... So it IS a DSG characteristic, no need to drive to the dealer's for this... I wonder however why it is happening as the manual says it has an over-REV protection for both late shift-ups and early shift-downs, so the way I see it it shouldn't shift down to 1st in the first place if it is thinking it will damage the motor rather than shifting down first, and idling then waiting for the revs to go down... :think:

Guys, I wouldn't be driving around in manual.

That's what the paddles are there for - you can select a lower gear immediately before the roundabout and then let the car do its thing at the other end.

Personally I've had 3 DSG cars and never had a problem with going around roundabouts in them.... (In D all the time, that is.)

its just a case of learning it, you'll figure it out... personally (as chris says) if im stopping i'm in D, if im driving down a country road, i'm in tiptronic.. as others have said, I have heard of this, but never experianced it (15,000 miles now!)

Also the car is new and ecu will adapt to your driving she's still learning, plus definate as chris said use the right system for the road your on auto or manual

I've had a couple of posts about this already! Has happened to me 4 or 5 times. Once when I stopped to allow for a lorry reversing and couldn't move the car, i tried everything (turning the car off and starting her up again, typical IT guy fix haha) and nothing would get her moving, i had to sit in the middle of a very busy industrial estate with my hazzards looking a right idiot until eventually she started back up. My car will be going in shortly, whenever I can find the time because "the engineers don't work att he weekends" and I work during the week, nowhere near the bloody garage!

I have avoided using 'manual' mode when pulling off or stopping, the DSG box just seems to choke about 70% of the time.

On another note though, I still love the car haha!

I've had a similar thing happen to me once before. Bottom line is this - if you are travelling at speeds low enough that you might come to a stop then you shouldn't be using tiptronic mode.

I've had a similar thing happen to me once before. Bottom line is this - if you are travelling at speeds low enough that you might come to a stop then you shouldn't be using tiptronic mode.

Why not? :S

Why not? :S

Well, I guess because you can occasionally "mess" with the DSG's shift-down as I did and confuse it (make it idle for a few sec). Now that I recall it more clearly, it was like this:

I had 5th gear in, I slow down and the car goes 5 > 4 > 3 by itself. Now when I saw the road ahead and figured I would need to have 2nd gear, I saw there was still the 3rd one in, I then looked again at the road and clicked the shift-down to go to 2nd as I didnt't think It would go down to 2nd by itself. The thing is, that at that glimpse of an eye that I looked at the road again, the car DID shift-down to 2nd, so my click made it change consecutively to 1st gear, which it did, and then got idle.

What I just dont get, is why it shifted down if it foresaw a problem, or maybe it couldn't foresee it? Don't know about that...

Bottom line for me, either swtich to Sport Mode before situations like this, or let it shift-down completely by itself... No need to put it in Auto but let it do the shift down alone, and then go on

Edited 2 September, 201114 yr by newbie69

Why not? :S

Its just so much easier to use D or S at low speeds -let the auto do the work for you. Paddles and tiptronic are fun but only really make sense for higher speed driving/ B-road blast.

A couple times I've come to a stop in tiptronic mode then pulled away again thnking I was in auto and found myself revving the nuts off it in 1st looking like abit of a tool .

Trundling around at lower speeds in tiptronic just tends to confuse the poor thing -it will have made down shifts that you weren't aware of so when you come to make your gear selection manually you end up with wrong ratio as per OP experience.

Its just so much easier to use D or S at low speeds -let the auto do the work for you. Paddles and tiptronic are fun but only really make sense for higher speed driving/ B-road blast.

A couple times I've come to a stop in tiptronic mode then pulled away again thnking I was in auto and found myself revving the nuts off it in 1st looking like abit of a tool .

Trundling around at lower speeds in tiptronic just tends to confuse the poor thing -it will have made down shifts that you weren't aware of so when you come to make your gear selection manually you end up with wrong ratio as per OP experience.

But my point being, it has the option to use it, and quite simply, if i pay £15000 thereabouts for a car, i want the thing to do what it's meant to do? It shouldn't be k.o'ing regardless. Sure you can find a work around, but you'd surely just rather the thing just worked how it's meant to, no?

But my point being, it has the option to use it, and quite simply, if i pay £15000 thereabouts for a car, i want the thing to do what it's meant to do? It shouldn't be k.o'ing regardless. Sure you can find a work around, but you'd surely just rather the thing just worked how it's meant to, no?

Fair enough comment. The DSG as good as it is isn't perfect or psychic tho -its still reasonably easy to catch it out at times, particularly when over-riding its programming using tiptronic or paddles at low speeds or stop/start. You ask it to do one thing whilst its doing another and frustration can arise.....

it happend to me like 3-4 times , usualy when i change gear on my own as the same time the ecu wants to (as you reported)

ignition off/on and it works perfect again . rpms wount go over 1.2k and the car sound like runing on 2 zylinders .

it happend to me like 3-4 times , usualy when i change gear on my own as the same time the ecu wants to (as you reported)

ignition off/on and it works perfect again . rpms wount go over 1.2k and the car sound like runing on 2 zylinders .

Right! Well so many people have experienced it already, I wonder why it is not mentioned anywhere in the user manual as a note of atention for when you use the Tiptronic mode. It would have saved us the worry that something is wrong, and would also make us more careful when approaching situations like this... So, no need for a trip to the dealer's...

that's the response I was looking about... So it IS a DSG characteristic, no need to drive to the dealer's for this... I wonder however why it is happening as the manual says it has an over-REV protection for both late shift-ups and early shift-downs, so the way I see it it shouldn't shift down to 1st in the first place if it is thinking it will damage the motor rather than shifting down first, and idling then waiting for the revs to go down... :think:

It is a DSG characteristic. On trackdays etc when really braking it just doesnt change down quick enough meaning your very often at least 1 sometimes 2 gears above what you should be for a corner.

Its easily rectified though. when you approach the round about leave the car in D, but change down yourself with the paddles. Simple as that. The car will then go back into D on its own when you get on the otherside. If you want it back in D quicker, hold the right paddle in.

The change down issue is my biggest gripe, but its so easy to drive around that im not bothered by it now

It is a DSG characteristic. On trackdays etc when really braking it just doesnt change down quick enough meaning your very often at least 1 sometimes 2 gears above what you should be for a corner.

Its easily rectified though. when you approach the round about leave the car in D, but change down yourself with the paddles. Simple as that. The car will then go back into D on its own when you get on the otherside. If you want it back in D quicker, hold the right paddle in.

The change down issue is my biggest gripe, but its so easy to drive around that im not bothered by it now

That's good to know. Can't wait to get it so I can start experimenting with it. Most on here have said you need to change your driving style with DSG. In any particular ways?

That's good to know. Can't wait to get it so I can start experimenting with it. Most on here have said you need to change your driving style with DSG. In any particular ways?

thats to hard to explain. you are basically learning a new system. If for exmple you pick up your car, and I'm sitting with you, you may say, "I didn't want that.." or "I wanted this gear then ..." ect, I would be able to say "do this ..... , and you will get what you want.." so many different variables, because so many different situations (infinate in fact) you can get in any given driving experiance, this is why the software will never be able to cope completely! too many possibilities.

That's good to know. Can't wait to get it so I can start experimenting with it. Most on here have said you need to change your driving style with DSG. In any particular ways?

took me a fair while to get used to it, especially when making 'progress', but once you are used to it,its awesome.

All the bad publicity about DSG, IMO is journalists not being used to driving a DSG car, so having trouble adapting, so they summarise it as taking the enjoyment and involvement out of the experience. I assure you, its absolutely awesome to use, especially on a track

took me a fair while to get used to it, especially when making 'progress', but once you are used to it,its awesome.

All the bad publicity about DSG, IMO is journalists not being used to driving a DSG car, so having trouble adapting, so they summarise it as taking the enjoyment and involvement out of the experience. I assure you, its absolutely awesome to use, especially on a track

I totally agree. Don't get me wrong, this was not a complain post, just a question of this issue being present on other DSG's too or not.

A few days only and still learning it, but I already think I wouldn't want to buy another car without it.