Good Day Folks

 

i need your kind help with 2 small questions if you please 

 

1-In Heavy Traffic with DSG gearbox is it better (for the gearbox durability & Wear & Tear) that every time starting to move to just put stick to D & let the car start moving by itself then apply throttle gently? or should it put the stick to D and then immediately apply gently throttle helping it to move?

 

now i am using the first method to let it move by itself for seconds but this method give little harshness when moving till it shifts to 2 , by i have no problems with those mi-seconds of harshness if this helps the gearbox , the other method if i press throttle immediately i feels that there is no harshness but i am afraid that i am rushing the gears & Clutch this way which could cause faster wear & Tear.

 

 

2-after about 12K KMs of use my A/C starts giving bad smell in the first few seconds of activating the FAN , so i needed to ask where is the A/C filter & if it is easy to reach it to clean it & Spary it with cleaner & deodorizer , and is there any tips while using the A/C to prevent this bad smell in the future?

 

thanks in advance for any help about those 2 questions

The smell is normally caused by a bacterial build up in the evaporator. You can buy an air-con sanitiser canister 'bomb' that you let off in the car with the air-con on re-circulate, and it kills the bacteria. I haven't looked where the pollen filter is on the MkIII, but on the MkII it was behind the glovebox, and accessed from the passenger footwell.

For the DSG question, both methods should be equally fine for the gearbox.

Everything is controlled electronically so you shouldn't be able to damage it with a different driving style when pulling away.

The engagement, torque limitation etc is all done between the gearbox & engine controller.

The smell is normally caused by a bacterial build up in the evaporator. You can buy an air-con sanitiser canister 'bomb' that you let off in the car with the air-con on re-circulate, and it kills the bacteria. I haven't looked where the pollen filter is on the MkIII, but on the MkII it was behind the glovebox, and accessed from the passenger footwell.

I tried one of these in my Passat as it used to smell of mouldy old trainers sometimes. Never was sure if the smell went away because of the bomb or not though as it lingered for some weeks after using it. Worth a punt though as they are not expensive

Make sure the evaporator drain is clear.

Make sure the evaporator drain is clear.

 

very sorry for my ignorance but what & where is the evap. Drain?

For the DSG question, both methods should be equally fine for the gearbox.

Everything is controlled electronically so you shouldn't be able to damage it with a different driving style when pulling away.

The engagement, torque limitation etc is all done between the gearbox & engine controller.

 

1st thanks very much for your reply,

 

but i need to ask if both methods are OK , so why the DSG is very well know to fast Clutch wear than Manuals & Than normal torque converter autos? i read that it is related to how you drive it esp. in Heavy traffic?!

I have asked similar questions about using the DSG and haven't really got to the bottom of it. However, the manual is very clear about NOT holding the car on the accelerator.

Holding the car on the foot brake when stopped in D disengages the clutch. Releasing the brake brings it to the bite point I.e. at that moment it is slipping. Depending on the gradient and the amount of creep that is more or less tantamount to holding on the accelerator.

So my conclusion is that it is better to be either on the brake or the accelerator. Makes sense to me.

I do not sit in gear with handbrake on (manual on Roomie). It does not disengage the clutch. Only selecting N or being stationary with foot on brake will do that.

I have asked similar questions about using the DSG and haven't really got to the bottom of it. However, the manual is very clear about NOT holding the car on the accelerator.

Holding the car on the foot brake when stopped in D disengages the clutch. Releasing the brake brings it to the bite point I.e. at that moment it is slipping. Depending on the gradient and the amount of creep that is more or less tantamount to holding on the accelerator.

So my conclusion is that it is better to be either on the brake or the accelerator. Makes sense to me.

I do not sit in gear with handbrake on (manual on Roomie). It does not disengage the clutch. Only selecting N or being stationary with foot on brake will do that.

So to make it more clear

Do you think when moving and lefting foot from the brakes should i start giving it throttle gently or let it move by herself first?

What i noticed is that letting it move by herself produces some harshness from a second or something , while immediatly giving it gentle throttle overcome this little harshness/vibration

So to make it more clear

Do you think when moving and lefting foot from the brakes should i start giving it throttle gently or let it move by herself first?

What i noticed is that letting it move by herself produces some harshness from a second or something , while immediatly giving it gentle throttle overcome this little harshness/vibration

 

Just my thoughts - I don't claim to be an expert on this gearbox.

 

My instinct is that is better to use gentle acceleration initially to get the car rolling, and the clutch fully engaged.

 

One of the compromises you make with the DSG is that using it as you might a torque converter (TC) auto is going to create more wear in certain conditions.  One of the joys of a TC is being able freely to  'creep' in the knowledge that there are no wearing parts involved in that, and to use it to hold the car on a slope.  No harm (within reason) is caused to a TC this way or if you sit in gear with the handbrake on for that matter (fortunately, most people don't - so when they convert to a DSG, they are more likley to use the footbrake, as they should). 

 

With a TC you can also control the car very easily when manoeuvring with creep blanced by gentle application of brake. 

 

The DSG I find less convenient.  Holding the car on the accelerator is verboten, as is being stationary with handbrake on when in gear - you can feel the tug so the clutch is clearly partly engaged and must be slipping.  In addition, those dabs of brake when 'creeping' don't just slow the car, they also disengage the clutch, so when the brake is released there is a short hiatus while the clutch comes back to the bite point and that can get very annoying when manoeuvring in a confined space.  Another irritation in a less confined space like a multi-storey car park ramp sequence, but where control and low speed are still required, is the DSG's habit of changing into second almost immediately after setting off, because of its low first gear.  I am grateful to the member in another thread who suggested that switching to manual and just holding first gear is a good way to deal with this.

 

For myself I prefer either a well designed and built TC auto (e.g. a six speed with lockup on all gears) or a manual;  but the Roomie is "her" car and she likes automatics:) 

 

To the point that the program 'manages' all this - well, yes it does;  when the clutch pack gets too hot, it will trigger a warning and if necessary just stop working.  But many drivers aren't very sympathetic, and  it would be very inconvenient and unacceptable if that happened with any regularity, so I suspect the compromise is to allow too much of what I would think of as abuse.  When the overheat routine kicks in, some damage has been done, in all probability.

 

Of course there is a legitimate point of view that clutches are for slipping and wearing away, and it's better to just drive:)  I'm still getting used to it, so I may relax a bit as time goes on.

1st thanks very much for your reply,

but i need to ask if both methods are OK , so why the DSG is very well know to fast Clutch wear than Manuals & Than normal torque converter autos? i read that it is related to how you drive it esp. in Heavy traffic?!

 

I don't see that there is much different to the clutch with either method.

A DSG is essentially 2 mechanical clutches, so when you pull-away there will always be slipping (the same as a manual clutch).

I'd imagine the clutch is closed fairly quickly in both cases when the vehicle begins moving (whether you apply the accelerator immediately or not).

However, as Manatee says you should avoid holding the car stationary on a HIL using the accelerator & instead use the brake.

 

If you are moving lots of very short distances (like in very heavy traffic) this is perhaps not ideal conditions for the clutch.

This is the same problem with a manual clutch when creeping in traffic.

However, again I don't see that either option is better than the other in this case.

 

I'm not familiar with VAG DSG's so I dont know about any problems with fast clutch wear.

However, if you are really that concerned about this I'd recommend talking to your dealer.

Many thanks guys for the great info

I don't see that there is much different to the clutch with either method.

A DSG is essentially 2 mechanical clutches, so when you pull-away there will always be slipping (the same as a manual clutch).

I'd imagine the clutch is closed fairly quickly in both cases when the vehicle begins moving (whether you apply the accelerator immediately or not).

However, as Manatee says you should avoid holding the car stationary on a HIL using the accelerator & instead use the brake.

 

If you are moving lots of very short distances (like in very heavy traffic) this is perhaps not ideal conditions for the clutch.

This is the same problem with a manual clutch when creeping in traffic.

However, again I don't see that either option is better than the other in this case.

 

I'm not familiar with VAG DSG's so I dont know about any problems with fast clutch wear.

However, if you are really that concerned about this I'd recommend talking to your dealer.

 

I don't disagree with any of that.  When driving my manual Outlander (as with every other manual car I've had) I don't move a yard at a time in congestion - I try to keep rolling slowly, rather than rushing up to the back of the queue, and if I do have to stop I wait for a gap to build up before I set off again.  Surprising though how many people get impatient when you have 50 clear yards in front of you!

 

I suppose the difference is that you at least have a sensation of what is happening with a manual clutch, as it's your foot on it.  You have to guess more or less with the DSG.

 

Incidentally - on the 'holding on a hill' point, I was pleasantly surprised that 'Hill Hold Control' is standard on the DSG Roomie.  That made a lot of sense to me (given that the handbrake does NOT disengage the clutch) so I wrongly assumed it was standard on all DSGs - and was surprised to see it was a few quid extra on an Audi I looked at! It works a treat - I may as well quote from the manual -

 

When driving on slopes, HHC allows you to move your foot from the brake pedal

to the accelerator pedal without having to use the handbrake.

The system holds the brake pressure produced by the activation of the brake

pedal for approx. 2 seconds after the brake pedal is released.

 

The brake pressure drops gradually the more you operate the accelerator pedal. If

the vehicle does not start off within 2 seconds, it starts to roll back.

 

HHC is active on slopes of >5 % when the driver door is closed. HHC is always only

active on slopes when in forward or reverse start off. When driving downhill, it is

inactive.

 

2 seconds is plenty of time to transfer foot from brake to accelerator, and to set off gently rather than being tempted to mash the pedal before you roll back.

 

The only time it didn't work properly was the time I forgot to put the car in gear first (slaps head).  So I hope you have HHC on your Octy, too.

I have this hill hold feature already on my octy

I don't disagree with any of that.  When driving my manual Outlander (as with every other manual car I've had) I don't move a yard at a time in congestion - I try to keep rolling slowly, rather than rushing up to the back of the queue, and if I do have to stop I wait for a gap to build up before I set off again.  Surprising though how many people get impatient when you have 50 clear yards in front of you!

 

Another thing most drivers of modern cars don't realise is that the engine does not need accelerator input to drive.

Once the clutch is fully engage the car will drive quite happily on the idle controller (the idle speed is increased to 950rpm on my diesel when the car is moving).

On a diesel (and probably the new TSI petrols) this works great in all gears & is especially useful in very slow moving traffic.

Stick it in 1st, bring up the clutch & let the car drive on the idle controller at 10kph.

No clutch slipping & much easier on the drivers legs..!

 

Many people don't use this great feature because they think the engine will stall if you don't press the accelerator.

Another thing most drivers of modern cars don't realise is that the engine does not need accelerator input to drive.

Once the clutch is fully engage the car will drive quite happily on the idle controller (the idle speed is increased to 950rpm on my diesel when the car is moving).

On a diesel (and probably the new TSI petrols) this works great in all gears & is especially useful in very slow moving traffic.

Stick it in 1st, bring up the clutch & let the car drive on the idle controller at 10kph.

No clutch slipping & much easier on the drivers legs..!

 

Many people don't use this great feature because they think the engine will stall if you don't press the accelerator.

 

 

 

i think you meant Manual Gearbox with this feature?

Edited 8 August, 201411 yr by Mohamad

i think you meant Manual Gearbox with this feature?

 

Yes for a manual gearbox.

All cars with electronically control injection system will have the same function.