Sorry about the over dramatic topic title. I am only trying to convey the tone or context of what has happened in the last hour.

 

I took my Superb L&K to get it's 40K DSG gearbox service today at a SKODA service center that I am not going to mention just yet.

 

I waited the 6 hours it took, paid the money and drove the 30 miles home to relax.

 

Suddenly the phone rings about 17:00 (I presume finishing time), and one of the girls at the front desk is on the phone in a panic telling me that they think they have put normal gear box oil into my DSG.

 

She tells me that they need to send a lorry to pick up my car and that under no circumstances am I to drive it. She tells me I will get a courtesy car, it will be picked up tonight and we will phone our manager to get advice as he is on holiday, etc, etc. She was very panicky sounding!

 

Five phone calls later in the space of 15 minutes, that gives me the impression that all the staff are in 'we need to cover our arses' mode, she tells me that all is taken care of and that I have nothing to worry about :think:

 

So I ask 'You say that I have not to drive the car under any circumstances and yet I have already driven it 30 miles. Is there a chance that the gearbox is already damaged and this is why you want to collect the car and put it on a lorry'.

 

She replies 'Well we do not want any further damage...' Then she stops that sentence half way. NOT GOOD, I thought.

 

So it's all arranged. I am getting a courtesy car and my car is being collected tomorrow.

 

Five minutes later, another phone call for her to tell me. 'Panic over, we got your car mixed up with one of our own cars that was also getting the gearbox serviced. The mechanic got mixed up'

 

So the cynic in me is wondering if they did manage to get a hold of their manager and he is went into 'Company Damage mitigation' mode and told them to deny all liability.

 

So I am asking you guys for advice on this.

 

What will happen if normal gearbox oil is put into a DSG?

 

Since I do a lot of driving on motorways, is my life in danger?

 

Do you think they are at it?

 

The fact that their possible mistake has got as far as that the customer knows about it has me worried.

 

 

 

 

If they are that mixed up they should still collect your car and check it, just to be certain

 

 

If they are that mixed up they should still collect your car and check it, just to be certain 

 

That is exactly the reason my son is taking me in his car back tomorrow to get it in writing that they are certain that everything is OK as far as they are concerned.

 

I realize that this may be that they are only showing that they have the customers interests at heart, but I cannot afford to take any chances.

 

Especially since they seemed to be 'all over the shop' in how they were going to solve the situation.

You'll never get the truth, from now on any hiccup in any shift that the gearbox does will be closely monitored by yourself for signs of impending failure

Edited 29 November, 201411 yr by peterposh

what is the correct oil?

Get it looked at and checked by another garage.Then take it from there.

If it goes back to the dealer that did it ..and if they have made a mistake.. They could rectify the wrong oil and say nothing.

If the manager has told them they should not have called you... He could use the opportunity to get out of the poo....

Better check

I made the trip again to the dealer/service centre again today to get a more detailed explanation.

Speaking to their senior mechanic, he explains to me again that I have nothing to worry about and that somehow they got my car mixed up with another car that also happened to be in on the same day getting the 40k DSG service done. This other car also happened to be their own car...apparently.

I explained that I will not be satisfied until I get a written and signed confirmation that I have nothing to worry about from them. He then said that I will have to wait until Tuesday before the manager can do this and that he can see no problem that I get this. Analysing and conveying to you guys how this has transpired, it looks like I have nothing to worry about, but seeing the body language, tone and general demeanour from both him and the customer service personnel in person, I am not convinced.

I am thinking of getting the car checked independently from them to check that I have the correct oil and I am genuinely worried to drive my car as I have already said, I do a lot of motorway miles.

Yes I may be reading into this too much, but after 33 years of owning cars and being shafted left, right and center, it feels to me that nothing much has changed, regardless of how reputable the dealer are perceived.

For me, this is the last straw as far as I am concerned. It's a case of 'nice cars, shame about the dealer network'. I am now seriously considering getting rid of the car and turning my back on Skoda. It's not as if may car is a lemon or anything, because if the dealers I have had to deal with just fixed the bloody thing in a competent and respectful manner, then everything would be great. It's very frustrating, because I still believe that the Superb is still a league above a Mondeo or an Insignia, but I just get a weird vibe from the three dealers that I have dealt with, that they themselves do NOT believe in the product. And this is ridiculous considering I own what is meant to represent the best car that SKODA present.

Sorry for coming across as being so pi$$ed off.

For your own sanity, get the oil checked by an independent. That's the only way you'll ever know for sure. It might cost you a hundred quid or so, but this is small beer compared to what you are thinking about doing: chopping in your car.

Then if the results are clear, you have peace of mind. If not, then you have a great case against the dealer.

 

What will happen if normal gearbox oil is put into a DSG?

 

I am now taking time off work to get it checked. But I do need to know something.

 

Do you think that putting in the wrong oil could be 'The kiss of death' for the gearbox even after 30 miles. I got the impression that they seemed to think so.

 

My invoice states the correct part number of G052182A2.

 

I know it is not something someone would test just to see what happens.

Looking on the positive side with a  guarantee from the manager in writing if a problem does occur it will be  rectified , which can only be known by driving,  you could end up with a nice new  DSG box. Mistakes undoubtedly do happens sometimes, it appears the dealer has handled the situation  OK so far.

Looking on the positive side with a  guarantee from the manager in writing if a problem does occur it will be  rectified , which can only be known by driving,  you could end up with a nice new  DSG box. Mistakes undoubtedly do happens sometimes, it appears the dealer has handled the situation  OK so far.

They are not going to guarantee something they say they didn't do will not cause a problem in the future!  They might confirm in writing they didn't do it - which is quite different!

Edited 30 November, 201411 yr by Mph25

, o

They are not going to guarantee something they say they didn't do will not cause a problem in the future!  They might confirm in writing they didn't do it - which is quite different!

Sorry . Should have read your post more carefully. If they now thought they made a mistake then one was was not made and your oil is correct, I now see your dilemma, in view of your concerns would it not be possible for them to drain and refill your box with new oil. This would ease some of your concerns. To think the technician thought he made a mistake to the extent of ringing the customer with alarm bells ringing, then think again and say I did not make a mistake is totally unacceptable and some recompense should be offered to you.

 

To think the technician thought he made a mistake to the extent of ringing the customer with alarm bells ringing, then think again and say I did not make a mistake is totally unacceptable and some recompense should be offered to you.

 

At last...Someone on the same wavelength as me. :clap:

It's not as if my car is a £700 Vectra or something. Of course I need reassurance. 

 

What do you think of their story that they got my car mixed up with one of there own that happened to be getting the same procedure done at the same time?

 

Can some one correct me if I am wrong, but I cannot imagine that a 40K DSG service is as much an everyday procedure that they are doing two at once. Why are they so sure that it was the other car they have put the wrong oil into? 

 

I also wished I knew if driving my car is dangerous as much as for my own safety as well as the cars. Could the gearbox seize?

 

Thanks for your understanding so far.

I don't know, but maybe this will help. In my experience, manual gearbox oil is significantly thicker than that in autos, and therefore probably DSGs. If that's the case then your DSG would have misbehaved very badly on the way home. The gearboxes I do know about are very fussy, and even supposedly correct fluids make them behave badly, rather than damage them. On a manual gearbox in one of my cars, I used Castrol rather than the manufacturers oil, supposedly OK, and it was terribly notch. On the same brand car, using the wrong fluid in the auto boxes, makes the shifts jerky, rather than causing things to break.

Even though it wasn't your car (so they say) they've still put the wrong oil in a car. Hardly inspires confidence in the way their workshop is being run.

 

I would be asking the manager for two things as soon as he returns:

 

1) A fresh oil change done at their expense. For your peace of mind, nothing else.

2) Written confirmation detailing what happened.

 

I'd then ring Skoda UK and open a case.

 

Tell them what happened and ask them to put on their system a note that there has potentially been a dealer induced contamination of the DSG. Then, if an issue occurs with the gearbox (even out of warranty) you will be in a far better position when it comes to financial contributions from Skoda.

 

I'd then be able to sleep at night too!

Well it's good to know that if it was the wrong oil then I would probably notice immediately. Thank you for that advice.

 

Asked VW service centre about it, and they say that if a water based oil has been used (I am surprised that there is such a thing) then it would wreck the gearbox. They also said that they could not really sample it, but instead do a full flush out and replace as it is the only way to be sure.

 

Oh well...another £160 is better than three grand.

 

I do realise that maybe I am being too cautious and maybe even a bit paranoid, but I still cannot shake off the nagging doubt.

 

Especially since my car cam was on during the service and captures statements made by the mechanics like 'Making that mistake could happen to anybody', 'OK we'll take it for a spin to see what happens' and finally after returning from a test drive, one guy comes over to the driver as he puts the window down and asks 'Is it all right?' and the driver says 'Aye, its going to be alright man...it's going to be all right'...hmmm!

 

I'd then ring Skoda UK and open a case.

 

Tell them what happened and ask them to put on their system a note that there has potentially been a dealer induced contamination of the DSG. Then, if an issue occurs with the gearbox (even out of warranty) you will be in a far better position when it comes to financial contributions from Skoda.

 

I like that idea very much. I think I will do it.

"Especially since my car cam was on during the service and captures statements made by the mechanics like 'Making that mistake could happen to anybody', 'OK we'll take it for a spin to see what happens' and finally after returning from a test drive, one guy comes over to the driver as he puts the window down and asks 'Is it all right?' and the driver says 'Aye, its going to be alright man...it's going to be all right'...hmmm!"

 

I would say by the comment above it was your car that has been miss-oiled,  Also Dsg oil has significant differences to engine oil different working temps etc, But what i cant get my head around is the dsg oil comes in 1ltr containers from skoda as we use this oil on a regular basis when doing a dsg oil changes and the device for filling the gearbox fits to the 1ltr containers. so how the hell can a technician get this wrong by filling the box up with bloody engine oil. Our engine oil comes in bulk so we use pumps or if we run out of pump oil we resort to 5ltr containers! 

 

can a technician get this wrong by filling the box up with bloody engine oil

 

It was not engine oil but manual transmission oil.

Get a different garage to do a transmission oil change.  Get them to keep the old oil.  Get them to take samples of the new DSG oil that they are putting in.  Then send samples of both oils to this place: http://www.theoillab.co.uk/fuel-testing?Pid=12

 

If it all comes back fine, then you can try to reclaim some of the cost from the dealer and from Skoda UK.  If the analysis indicates that there are contaminants, then contact the dealer principle at your garage, and Skoda UK and tell them what you expect to happen next.

Edited 2 December, 201411 yr by JakeBlade

Well it's good to know that if it was the wrong oil then I would probably notice immediately. Thank you for that advice.

 

Asked VW service centre about it, and they say that if a water based oil has been used (I am surprised that there is such a thing) then it would wreck the gearbox. They also said that they could not really sample it, but instead do a full flush out and replace as it is the only way to be sure.

 

Oh well...another £160 is better than three grand.

 

I do realise that maybe I am being too cautious and maybe even a bit paranoid, but I still cannot shake off the nagging doubt.

 

Especially since my car cam was on during the service and captures statements made by the mechanics like 'Making that mistake could happen to anybody', 'OK we'll take it for a spin to see what happens' and finally after returning from a test drive, one guy comes over to the driver as he puts the window down and asks 'Is it all right?' and the driver says 'Aye, its going to be alright man...it's going to be all right'...hmmm!

To be honest if it is such a catastrophic error that they were panicking I simply cannot see that they would then decide "Oh bugger it we will pretend we didn't do it"  That would be so stupid that it seems really unlikely.  If they will confirm in writing that they used the right oil I would accept that.

Especially since my car cam was on during the service and captures statements made by the mechanics like 'Making that mistake could happen to anybody', 'OK we'll take it for a spin to see what happens' and finally after returning from a test drive, one guy comes over to the driver as he puts the window down and asks 'Is it all right?' and the driver says 'Aye, its going to be alright man...it's going to be all right'...hmmm!

That would be ringing severe alarm bells, along with their initial comments. Keep the recording, you may need it. As above, get someone unrelated to drop the oil and get it tested.

To be honest if it is such a catastrophic error that they were panicking I simply cannot see that they would then decide "Oh bugger it we will pretend we didn't do it"  That would be so stupid that it seems really unlikely.  If they will confirm in writing that they used the right oil I would accept that.

+1

From the dash cam footage it sounds to me that they filled it with the wrong oil, realised their mistake and replaced the oil before you drove it home.

 

Before you collected it they took it for the customary test drive to ensure all was well, the results you can see on the camera?

 

Either way you now have damming proof the car was miss-oiled.

To be honest if it is such a catastrophic error that they were panicking I simply cannot see that they would then decide "Oh bugger it we will pretend we didn't do it"  That would be so stupid that it seems really unlikely.  If they will confirm in writing that they used the right oil I would accept that.

 

Like I said in the first post, they said they needed to phone their manager for advice as he was on holiday. What advice did he/she give them, I wonder.

The other thing I do not like the feeling of, is that they are phoning the customer in a panic, before they did what they said they had done to find out it wasn't my car. I.e go to the workshop bin and look at the part number on the bottle. It could only have taken a minute if there is any truth in this excuse. So they are all either incompetent idiots, or liars. This is the choice I have to make.

 

Yes some people make mistakes, and my hunch and some of the comments on my car cam still have my 'alarm bells ringing', but I am going to find out the truth whatever the cost, and if it turns out they have knowingly sent me away with a 'ticking time bomb' in my car, they are in serious doodoo.

 

I have already had a reply from the dealer principle and he apologises for the way the matter was handled and states that the correct oil was put into my car. On who's say so? The mechanics?

OK, so I have his letter, so that counts for something if anything does go wrong. The problem is it could go wrong in 500, 5000 or 50,000 miles.

 

He also says that the next time I come to their place to get any work done that he will deal with me in person. Oh that's reassuring. :no:

If his guys can commit a fundamental 'school boy error' on ANY car such as this, I would not even get them to change a light bulb, so I do not bloody think so!

 

All that said though, I like some of your advice. Like informing SKODA of the potential mistake and ask them to take a note against my car. Also the link to the oil testing site is very handy.

 

So have decided to get it redone and send samples to the test site.  I will let you know of either outcome.