Hi All, I'm hoping to buy a nearly new Fabia 1.2 Elegance with DSG soon, because I'm fed up with 300+ gearchanges required in daily traffic commute.

 

My question is about using the "creep" of the automatic gearbox, with the old torque converter box it caused no probelms, but does using this "creep" with DSG mean you are in effect constantly slipping the clutch, meaning you will burn out the clutch quite quickly.

 

Slipping the clutch is something I avoid in a manual car and have never had to replace a clutch plate in any car over many years of driving, I'm guessing a clutch plate replacement with a DSG gearbox would be expensive too.

 

Any response on this matter in either technical terms, or views from someone actually having used a DSG for a lot of town traffic work be appreciated as I expect to do about 12,000 milese/year and keep it for at least 5 years, thank you.

 

Happy with your Fabia DSG?

Welcome to the forum.

 

The DSG should be perfect for your needs.

The gearbox is designed to be used in the type of driving you want to do.

Maybe take an extra 2 year warranty when buying the car to have a full 5 years cover on all mechanicals,

cheapest probably at the time of Ordering if buying a new one.

 

george

The 7 speed DSG has dry clutch plates so it doesn't really slip the clutch. It may do slightly when first setting off but once rolling it will fully engage the clutch. Just the same as a manual clutch would be used.

 

Phil

A lot of the guys on the Australian VW forum say it's best to not do the "creep", but only move when you get a reasonable gap. I'm not sure of the truth, but I do notice the car hold its revs slightly higher for a few seconds after you first stop before they drop to normal idle speed: presumably, the gearbox is anticipating you moving off again sooner rather than later.

Having the 7 speed gearbox, 1st is very low geared, suitable for creeping along at probably 5mph without issue.  Only possible thing I've noticed is after a long period of creeping, the gearchanges can be a little jerky compared to normal although this disappears as soon as you've got back up to speed again.

Having the 7 speed gearbox, 1st is very low geared, suitable for creeping along at probably 5mph without issue.  Only possible thing I've noticed is after a long period of creeping, the gearchanges can be a little jerky compared to normal although this disappears as soon as you've got back up to speed again.

 

Noticed this with my 6 speed DSG too after being in stop-start for about 2 hours in London. Went a little jerky and stops slipping into 2nd (which it normally does to smooth it out).

 

I think this is normal. It takes some of the slip out to stop further heat build up.

 

Phil

Just don't leave the gearbox in D and then apply the handbrake as neither component will like it!

The 7 speed DSG doesn't slip the clutch in creep.  1st gear is VERY low.  on the level just select D (or R) and take your foot off the brake.  No throttle needed - it will roll along at 2-3mph on the anti-stall.

Over longer crawls you may want to slip it into tiptronic mode to hold 1st rather than change up to 2nd at which point the speed picks up a little.  When the traffic starts to move just slip it back into auto mode.

One tip I would give is when going up or down in tight multi story car parks is to lock the box in first gear,otherwise it changes up into second when just crawling and won't change down again unless you come to a dead stop.

So if you don't lock it in first it seems to labour in second as you go slowly around the tight corners.

...which is similar advice to the above post.

Edited 8 May, 201412 yr by XK140

I am not wanting to doubt any of the above comments regarding the 7 speed box but I have never encountered any of the 'characteristics' mentioned in 12 months of ownership. The car can be driven as you would drive any automatic and the only difference I have found is that the DSG does it better.

 

I would agree totally with George and say this car would be perfect for what you are asking.

 

Being an old school driver I still find myself engaging neutral if I am stopped for long periods at traffic lights or junctions but as has been said you shouldn't really need to do this and it's just a matter of preference.

 

Take a test drive if you can and yes, do go for the Elegance if you can find one.

Wow, that was quick, thought I'd be waiting days for any replies, so thank you all for your help. Thankfully all sounds generally positive, so I'll carry on looking for one with my requirements and colour.

 

P.S. might need to ask this as a separate question, but has anyone towed a small trailer using a 1.2 TSI DSG? The Skoda brochure gives towing limits for this model, so should be ok, but not for the vRS for some reason - not that I'll be going for a vRS this time.

Wow, that was quick, thought I'd be waiting days for any replies, so thank you all for your help. Thankfully all sounds generally positive, so I'll carry on looking for one with my requirements and colour.

 

P.S. might need to ask this as a separate question, but has anyone towed a small trailer using a 1.2 TSI DSG? The Skoda brochure gives towing limits for this model, so should be ok, but not for the vRS for some reason - not that I'll be going for a vRS this time.

 

As long as you stay within the towing limits of the car it will be fine.

 

The vRS isn't type approved to tow. It was the same with the MK1 vRS too.

 

Phil

Noticed this with my 6 speed DSG too after being in stop-start for about 2 hours in London. Went a little jerky and stops slipping into 2nd (which it normally does to smooth it out).

 

I think this is normal. It takes some of the slip out to stop further heat build up.

 

Phil

 

 

The 6 speed DSG has lubricated wet clutches and will happily slip in 1st and 2nd and feels more like a torque converter auto.

 

If the oil temperature reaches a certain limit it will stop slipping in 2nd and uses 1st more.

 

In D it will try and use 2nd as much as possible in stop start traffic even when creeping. In manual mode or S it will remain in 1st.

 

1st and 2nd are taller ratio's than 1st and 2nd on the dry clutch. 3rd on our 7DSG is similar to 2nd on our 6DSG

 

Neither are as good in stop/start traffic as our other car with conventional auto though.

Edited 8 May, 201412 yr by logiclee

Re Towing,  

a mk2 Fabia vRS Hatch & Estate has no EU Approval for towing, Skoda did not submit weight limits for it.

the 3 sister cars with the same drive train did have

any Tow Bar fitted to a vRS would have to be just for a bike rack..

Re Towing,  

a mk2 Fabia vRS Hatch & Estate has no EU Approval for towing, Skoda did not submit weight limits for it.

the 3 sister cars with the same drive train did have

any Tow Bar fitted to a vRS would have to be just for a bike rack..

Any tow bar fitted to a VRS would be illegal as it does not meet the requirement of being approved for the vehicle.

So thats the legal side of it, and the MOT man should Fail it,

and the Insurance company should be informed and if it is a Tow Bar you should not have Valid Insurance.

 

Luckily in the UK you still get to Modify Cars, fit things like Sump Guards, Fuel Tank Guards & Recovery points etc

& they are not out with Construction and Use.

So a Bike Rack can be securely fitted to a car, as long as it is not for towing.

 

Who is Policing the Illegality of a Towbar with a Bike Rack on it in the UK?

I didn't say the police would come knock your door down and drag you out of your house at 3 in the morning for fitting one, just that it isn't legal Its not just about the tow weight limit, the bike rack would 'exceed' the nose weight limit for the vehicle as there isn't one, which would be an additional offence. If the bike rack fell off on the motorway, you'd have a fun time, I imagine.

 

Anyway, back to DSGs and creep. I've driven a few and they do seem a little grabby in stop start traffic and that was one of the things that put me off them. It just didn't feel right holding it on the brake straining against the clutches when stopped, for the same reasons as the OP mentioned.

Grabby?? Really? This has got to be the smoothest box fitted to any car in this class. I have driven for over 50 years and can honestly say this gearbox is nothing short of superb. I reckon if Huskoda has 'driven a few' therein may lie the problem. They do take a short while to get used to. Having driven mine daily for just over 12 months I can simply not fault it.

They were all courtesy/test/hire cars, so I've not lived with one. My current car has a TC coupling for the CVT so next to that, everything will feel jerky

It is Media & Loaner Cars that most Motoring Journalists drive and then comment on DSG's,

then these articles about Grabby, delays, hesitation get repeated.

 

Its much the same with Demo Cars and Sales peoples Company cars (Demonstrators)

The gearbox when first driven when taken on a roadtest needs to let its self calm down after bad driving habits from the previous drivers possibly,

 

A perfectly good car you have driven for weeks or months can be lent to someone,

& you get back in it and you wonder what they have done to it.

It usually is back to its normal self by the time you have driven a little distance. Thankfully.

 

In other words,

i would never consider a Demonstrator with an auto box or hire car as representative of how a Privately owned car will drive.

I have never been in many cars with Salespeople that seem to drive Automatics like people used to driving Automatics, and asking questions about how they function often throws up some rather amusing answers.

 

george

One thing to note (on the DSG7 anyway) is that it disengages the clutch fully after a period of being stationary - ties in with the idle revs dropping another 100rpm if you look at the tacho.  You can get it to do it quicker if you apply more brake pressure - I think it is the same amount needed to kick in the Hill Hold as well.

 

That's one thing to note that unlike a torque converter auto, the Hill Hold (your anti-roll back) only activates on a certain brake pressure which normally coincides with the amount needed to hold it on a hill, but occasionally you don't need quite enough pressure - so you get rollback.  Apply a bit of extra pressure and it kicks in.

Thanks everyone for their answers and contributions to my original question in this friendly forum, have taken some useful additional information away from it all, looking forward to becoming a Skoda owner, thank you