As I wait for my 5 month old car to return to me with a new /replaced DSG gearbox, it's got me wondering if there are general best practice for driving a DSG. I drive my car moderately and well within its limits. I have used S mode twice. I drive it below 2500 revs while cold. My daily journey of 10 miles each way comprises of mainly town driving and some stop start. I have a tendency to put the car into N if just stopped at lights or in non moving traffic rather than leave it in D. Is this recommended? I'm confident the fault is a manufacturing fault as its so young, I don't think my driving has caused it.

How do you drive yours?

Booble just been unlucky with yours; wouldnt have been anything to do with the way youve driven it im sure.

Drive is OK for just rolling round; very eco focused though so it just changes up at the first opportunity. Its actually a bit frustrating if trying to make progress. Manual mode is OK but with so few revs on offer I find the amount of paddle twitching you have to do to stay in the right power band a bit wearing after a while; also when slowing down to a crawl it keeps putting the car in 1st rather than rolling in 2nd which is also a bit annoying.

S mode actually works best for me, seems to change gears at sensible intervals without massively overrevving the engine. My CR seems to quite like being revved up to 4.5k before the tail off becomes chronic but it will usually shift around 4k which is more or less bang on peak power.

Is strange as my old 7 speed Fabia vRS was carp in S, pretty good in D but best in manual mode, it also would roll around in 2nd rather than shift into 1st on most occasions.

Cant talk for the Octy vRS TSi DSG as havent driven one.

I have a tendency to put the car into N if just stopped at lights or in non moving traffic rather than leave it in D. Is this recommended?

Yes, it is recommended in the book that you do this, to avoid undue wear/heating of the clutches. But whatever way you've driven it, it won't have caused a 5 month old box to fail....manufacturing defect.

I just leave mine in D nearly all the time.....only occasionally use S but use manual from time to time if I am trying to drive really economically!

the good thing about The DSG box is it adapts to your driving style hopefully yours is sorted soon

Yes, it is recommended in the book that you do this

My handbook specifically states that putting in neutral isn't necessary. I would only put it in neutral if I was sat in stationary traffic for more then a couple of minutes. I certainly wouldn't do it when I'm just waiting at the lights.

Booble, I don't think anything you've done has contributed to the failure, it's just bad luck. What actually failed with it? What were the symptoms before it happened, if any?

Thanks for the feedback.

JB, I started noticing a audible clunk now and again when I took my foot off the accelerator when in a low gear such as 2nd, it sounded as if it was coming from underneath the car. I took it in to the dealer and they heard the noise too and said the gearbox was generally overly noisy, they tested it it and it came back with an electrical fault. They sent the diagnostic file to Skoda who asked them to bring it back for further testing. Since then they were instructed to (by Skoda) strip gearbox and look for any shards of loose metal which they didn't find. They then rebuilt and retested, and sent a sound file to Skoda which showed the noise was still there.

They felt they may ask them to check fly wheel, but Skoda have instructed they will replace whole gearbox (which apparently costs them close to 4k inc labour). It wasn't screwed by any means, it drove perfectly other than the noise, but I'm glad they've taken it seriousley and are replacing it.

Customer service from Mitchell's has been excellent too.

I will see what happens once the new DSG gearbox is in.

Sheesh. I boot mine in S everytime opportunity I get then knock it back to D when I'm at my required speed.

Booble, can you describe in more detail the audible clunk when releasing the throttle that you have been experiencing with your previous box? There are quite a few threads describing clicking sound when downshifting to 2nd gear regardless of the DSG mode (e.g. http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4375066-Dsg-noise-when-downshifting-in-drive-clicking or http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/182361-dsg-quiet-clicking-sound-normal/) Could you compare your experience with the above threads. And do you know what "overly noisy"means? I'm asking because I am sometimes also hearing clicking sounds in the low-speed range.

I'm sure it's not you! There are two of us both driving two DSGs in a range of styes from economy to hooning it just for fun. Just use it as an ordinary car and don't worry.

My handbook specifically states that putting in neutral isn't necessary.

Only if you are stopped for a very short time, such as at a cross roads. Stopped at Lights and in traffic, I'd put it in N.......but it's a free country!

ive always been told keeping your brakes pressed (at traffic lights) isn't good for your brakes, as they may seize up?

hence why i try to not press the brake pedal at traffic lights (when stationary) which means neutral

is this wrong?

Don't know about brakes seizing but you would be dazzling the unfortunate behind you with your high level brake light! My way - if it looks like more than 30 seconds, put it in neutral, handbrake on, relax! It takes a second to slip into drive and take the handbrake off.

Seems the most reassuring thing about this is how well you've been looked after. Well done to the dealer :clap:

ive always been told keeping your brakes pressed (at traffic lights) isn't good for your brakes, as they may seize up?

hence why i try to not press the brake pedal at traffic lights (when stationary) which means neutral

is this wrong?

Yes that's rubbish. What about when you stop and apply the handbrake.

Havent the DSG from VW always had an issue with reliability?. I know that when a couple of friends wanted to sell their audis, nobody wanted to touch them.

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Havent the DSG from VW always had an issue with reliability?. I know that when a couple of friends wanted to sell their audis, nobody wanted to touch them.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

No their pretty good; more to go wrong than with a manual but less likely to encounter clutch wear issues given that the human factor is removed.

The 6 speed wet box is more proven than the 7 speed dry clutch and so long as its oil is changes every 40k as part of normal servicing the gearbox and clutch packs should more or less last the life of the car.

I also didnt want to do without a MFSW so thats another nice thing the DSG equipped car brings; particularly nice with the MFD and phone controls

Edited 16 February, 201313 yr by pipsyp

ive always been told keeping your brakes pressed (at traffic lights) isn't good for your brakes, as they may seize up?

hence why i try to not press the brake pedal at traffic lights (when stationary) which means neutral

is this wrong?

Not at all. The highway code specifically states you should do this so as not to dazzle the person behind with your brake lights.

Your brakes won't seize if you hold them on.....however if you brakes are hot and you hold them on when stationary, as they cool you risk warping your discs.

Obviously if you are in a situation where your brakes got hot, your front discs are going to be much hotter than your rear discs, so putting the handbrake removes the risk of warping the front discs....and the rears are less likely to warp anyway.

Booble, can you describe in more detail the audible clunk when releasing the throttle that you have been experiencing with your previous box? There are quite a few threads describing clicking sound when downshifting to 2nd gear regardless of the DSG mode (e.g. http://forums.vwvort...-drive-clicking or http://www.briskoda....g-sound-normal/) Could you compare your experience with the above threads. And do you know what "overly noisy"means? I'm asking because I am sometimes also hearing clicking sounds in the low-speed range.

uisats, i can't access the video in that thread (it looks to be removed). however its not a clicking noise, its more like a clunk or knock when coming off the accelerator. its not gear change related, but happens more in 2nd gear at the lower speeds. It doesn't seem to clunk when you come of the accelerator at higher gears / speeds. you can hear it more if you open the window. I can only describe it as having a loose tin (of beans) in the boot and it banging into the metal with a bit of force?! It sounds like a rod or something is loose somewhere in the transmission. However when they stripped the transmission they couldn't find anything obvious.

If you put the handbrake on at the lights the car sits down a bit but then you feel the clutches disengage even though its in D. That's what I do in all the autos I drive.

Booble,

Drive mine pretty much identically to yours.

39k and no issues so far.

You just had a bad 'un IMO.

H

Booble, it sounds like bad luck with your gearbox instead of anything that you have done to break it - it is really good to hear of the excellent service that you've been receiving from your dealer though and hopefully it'll all be sorted quickly.

the good thing about The DSG box is it adapts to your driving style hopefully yours is sorted soon

.

This is not such a good thing as it is the wife that uses mine mainly - I've already established that D is fine for her but S suits my driving style a lot better

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Don't know about brakes seizing but you would be dazzling the unfortunate behind you with your high level brake light! My way - if it looks like more than 30 seconds, put it in neutral, handbrake on, relax! It takes a second to slip into drive and take the handbrake off.

Doesn't the handbrake run the hi-stop light? It does in other cars, but I've never checked on my Octavia.

If you use the foot brake, the car gets the signal you are using the foot brake and will likely release the clutches in the box. If you apply the handbrake and feel the car pull down at the back, then it's loading up the clutches in the gearbox.

IMO the foot brake is the far better option.

the good thing about The DSG box is it adapts to your driving style hopefully yours is sorted soon

This is not such a good thing as it is the wife that uses mine mainly - I've already established that D is fine for her but S suits my driving style a lot better

It only adapts to your current driving style in as much as if you're driving gently is changes up at lower revs, and at higher revs if you're giving it some heavy right foot. It doesn't 'learn' or 'remember' your driving style as some people think it does.

Doesn't the handbrake run the hi-stop light? It does in other cars, but I've never checked on my Octavia.

No....I've never seen this at all in the UK.

Doesn't the handbrake run the hi-stop light? It does in other cars, but I've never checked on my Octavia.

If you use the foot brake, the car gets the signal you are using the foot brake and will likely release the clutches in the box. If you apply the handbrake and feel the car pull down at the back, then it's loading up the clutches in the gearbox.

IMO the foot brake is the far better option.