I have a 5 month old Fabia 3 SE estate with 1.2 110 Ps and DSG gearbox. Lovely modern car, beautifully quiet smooth and powerful engine and  a supple and responsive chassis and a the tricksy DSG gearbox. I have never owned an auto before and the reason I chose it was because my wife said she would learn to drive if I got an auto. I have driven fluid flywheel-type autos before but the DSG is not the same. Every time I pull away from a halt, I have to be soooo very gentle on the pedal to avoid a neck snapping lurch that my wife is constantly complaining about the lumpy petrol I am using. I find that I have to be patient. Every time the lights change to amber, I first take a deep breath  and bight my tongue and think 'here we go again', then release the brakes to restart the engine then let the car roll forward before I caress the pedal so softly to avoid the sudden jump and then breath out again and put my tongue back, but this leaves me at the front of a queue of impatient drivers who have no idea of the concentration involved in this simple manover. Parallel parking is even more nerve racking,

 

Elsewise, the gearbox is brilliant, it knows when you are going downhill on a light throttle and holds the gear so that it provides engine braking, it knows when you are driving in a low speed area and changes up quicker than usual, and you can select 'S' mode to change down a gear when you are approaching red lights to save on the brakes. 

 

I hardly ever use the manual change mode because with 7 gears, I just can't change quickly enough, but sometimes on a fast and empty road I do, just for the fun of it (put it in 'S' mode first or the gearbox will override your input).

 

How are other drivers managing with the DSG? Has anyone got any hints on how to get the best from the gearbox.

 

You will just need to learn where is that point that makes the car start softly. If it stopped on a red light, wait a second before pressing the gas pedal. Try to make it run only with the brake pedal, and only then accelerate.

Disable the eco-mode at first start.

As above, turn off the stop/start function by pressing the button and see what a difference that makes only problem is that you have to remember to turn it off after every restart! 

Been driving conventional autos since mid 90s, with a break for the Mk1 vRS. Had my DSG for couple of weeks and, apart from the very rare lurch away at lights...mainly on an incline, it"s a dream. Changes, up or down, are hard to detect other than the numbers change. Have figured out how much brake pressure is needed to control the STOP/START and thouroughly enjoying it. Think the key is just that micro-delay you need to dial in from all stopped to gas on. Just let the mechanical bits get themselves organised. Quite interesting as the DSG needs more finesse, at that point, than a traditional slush box...particularly one mated to the glorious Volvo D5 engine with a mountain of torque. Not played with manual changes yet, but will do once I've got some more miles on "Baby Bear". Would I go for DSG again? Without reservation.

I have a 5 month old Fabia 3 SE estate with 1.2 110 Ps and DSG gearbox. Lovely modern car, beautifully quiet smooth and powerful engine and  a supple and responsive chassis and a the tricksy DSG gearbox. I have never owned an auto before and the reason I chose it was because my wife said she would learn to drive if I got an auto. I have driven fluid flywheel-type autos before but the DSG is not the same. Every time I pull away from a halt, I have to be soooo very gentle on the pedal to avoid a neck snapping lurch that my wife is constantly complaining about the lumpy petrol I am using. I find that I have to be patient. Every time the lights change to amber, I first take a deep breath  and bight my tongue and think 'here we go again', then release the brakes to restart the engine then let the car roll forward before I caress the pedal so softly to avoid the sudden jump and then breath out again and put my tongue back, but this leaves me at the front of a queue of impatient drivers who have no idea of the concentration involved in this simple manover. Parallel parking is even more nerve racking,

 

Elsewise, the gearbox is brilliant, it knows when you are going downhill on a light throttle and holds the gear so that it provides engine braking, it knows when you are driving in a low speed area and changes up quicker than usual, and you can select 'S' mode to change down a gear when you are approaching red lights to save on the brakes. 

 

I hardly ever use the manual change mode because with 7 gears, I just can't change quickly enough, but sometimes on a fast and empty road I do, just for the fun of it (put it in 'S' mode first or the gearbox will override your input).

 

How are other drivers managing with the DSG? Has anyone got any hints on how to get the best from the gearbox.

I have exactly the same problem with my wife's Fabia, same engine but hatchback. I have a 140 Yeti that's as smooth (or fast) as you like from start. Could it be that mine's diesel? or 4X4? or  a combination of both?

 

Whatever the reason I don't like the DSG in the Fabia as much as the Yeti's. You shouldn't have to "think" every time you pull away. 

 

That's the only thing that stops it from being a fantastic car - oh, and not having 1 touch electric windows.

I press the start/stop button to deactivate start/stop function before driving.

Am not so keen of this 'EU invention'.

 

However sometimes i use it manually, ie. when stopped I press the the button to stop the engine, and when the traffic light turns yellow press the button again to start the engine.

 

 

 

 

I press the start/stop button to deactivate start/stop function before driving.

Am not so keen of this 'EU invention'.

 

However sometimes i use it manually, ie. when stopped I press the the button to stop the engine, and when the traffic light turns yellow press the button again to start the engine.

 

Why disable the auto function then continue to do it manually anyway, there's years of research gone into perfecting this 'EU invention', just don't put it in neutral and release the clutch if you're not going to be stopping for long.

Why disable the auto function then continue to do it manually anyway, there's years of research gone into perfecting this 'EU invention', just don't put it in neutral and release the clutch if you're not going to be stopping for long.

 

Hi

I forgot to mention that the start/stop feature will stop the engine when it is still cold, and I do not like that.  

 

Am experimenting with start/stop behaviour.

 

For short stops at traffic light I hold it on the brake with the engine on. Occasionally the anticipated short stop turns out to be not so short. In this instance the manual stop/start by pressing the button is used.

 

If it is dark I put it in neutral an apply hand brake, so the driver behind me is not annoyed by the rear breaking light.

In neutral the start/stop function is disabled ab. factory, so the engine is always running idle.

 

For really long stops, I put it in Park and stop the engine by pressing the button.

When shifting gear lever from Park to Drive, the enging will start automatically.

 

Hmmm - it seems I have a habit of complicate things ...

Edited 23 September, 201510 yr by torslunde

you can select 'S' mode to change down a gear when you are approaching red lights to save on the brakes. 

 

Isn't that the wrong way round? It's surely easier to replace brakes than DSG clutches?

I'm sure he means changing down systematically for engine braking the same way we normally would on a manual

Hi Davidy. The DSG always changes down through the gears when the car slows to a stop and shifting to S mode just makes the changes at higher road speeds and this provides more engine braking, but is completely within the design range for the clutches. Apart from that, I was taught  to change down through the gears when slowing because it provides more control if you have to speed up again and I have always driven that way. I have never had to replace a clutch and on my last car, the front pads lasted 60000 miles, but that was truly exceptional.

 

I have been using Torslunde's method and I like it. I do not like keeping my foot on the brake at any time and I think it may be the combination of the auto stop start and the hill-hold-assist that cause the car to jump. I think that was from my original learner days as well, I mean that it is safer to put the handbrake on than keeping pressure on the brake pedal.

 

Oherwise, the DSG combined with the 1.2 TSI 110 engine is brilliant: in 'D' mode, the engine engine is kept by the selected gear ratios within 1000 and 2000 rpm, except on the motorway where 70 mph comes at about 2500 rpm, At these revs, the engine is almost silent and the fuel efficiency is high. I guess the turbo is not doing much at these revs. Put the DSG in 'S' mode and the engine stays between 2000 and 'red line'. At these revs, I guess the turbo is constantly busy.The engine makes its presence known, both by its power and its note.It is nicely noisy inside the car, and probably unexpectedly sporty for a Fabia estate for anyone outside the car.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions from the other replies. I want to use the stop-start but it does seem to be a bit urgent. I mean, it always kicks in when the car stops and you have your foot on the brake. It should not operate when the engine is cold and it should wait a second or two after halting to see if you reduce the brake pressure. For example, if you are waiting at a busy roundabout where you really need to make a quick move into the traffic, it's just no good at all.

 

I have been driving my new Fabia DSG for the past 3 days. I have found that if you lightly press the brake when stopping the stop start does not kick in.

 

Only when the brake pedal is pressed quite hard does the stop start  take effect.

 

Also its worth waiting for the engine to restart and wait a second before using the accelerator.

 

This is from my personal experience but hope this helps.

Not got Fabia but do have a DSG.

My findings are:

1. Lightly press brake pedal at a stop and engine stays on -hold assit kicks in

2. Whilst in No1 - press brake harder the stop/start kicks in.

3. Whilst in No2 - just before lights change etc very lightly touch accelerator engine re-starts, then squeeze accelerator some more hold assist gently releases and away you go with no jumping.

4. Ignore above press brake pedal hard engine stops, when lights change press accelerator engine starts and a nice jump/jolty pull away

Not got Fabia but do have a DSG.

My findings are:

1. Lightly press brake pedal at a stop and engine stays on -hold assit kicks in

2. Whilst in No1 - press brake harder the stop/start kicks in.

3. Whilst in No2 - just before lights change etc very lightly touch accelerator engine re-starts, then squeeze accelerator some more hold assist gently releases and away you go with no jumping.

4. Ignore above press brake pedal hard engine stops, when lights change press accelerator engine starts and a nice jump/jolty pull away

Agree with that. Just makes joining busy roundabouts a bit more of a thoughtful exercise. No bad thing, IMO.

Agree with that. Just makes joining busy roundabouts a bit more of a thoughtful exercise. No bad thing, IMO.

Ah, for me I pull the lever back into "sport" which livens it up and lets me have a bit of instant kick in your pants action but having nearly 300 horses helps on that front too

Also your DSG being a 6 Speed Wet Clutch unit which does not equate to lots of rpm and not that much more go as with the 110 PS and the 7 Speed Dry Clutches. (6 speed in 'S')

Mr goneoffSKion1, I have noticed that 'S' mode drops a gear at any speed to give you 'Mr. Hyde' and when you reselect 'D', the engine returns to 'Dr. Jekyll'. Even cruising at 70mph, 'S' mode holds 6th gear. But do you know what happens (in theory) at higher speeds? Will 'S' mode change up to gear 7 at, say. 100+ mph? Just curious.

Not on a 3rd Generation 2015 Fabia.  it is 6 Gears in 'S' & 7 in 'D',

As it was in the Mk2.

Some do act differently, and not as the Owners Manual describes.

 

There are DQ200 DSG Boxes in some MK2 Fabia vRS at 127 mph or so in 'S' 6 will go to 'S' 7.

Under load and full acceleration.

 

You can be in D7, and select Cruise Control, move the stick back to 'S' and some cars show 'S'7, 

but actually they are still in 'D'7.

You know this by the rpm if you switch off the Cruise Control.

*try it and see.*

 

............

Going to 'S' might well drop 2 gears, depending on Speed and throttle position.

Get thee behind me Mr goneoffSKion1. One day I might just have to try it and see for myself. Meanwhile, I will just continue to practice a gentle start, or get to love the jump/jolty pull away.

 . 

I had hill hold on my Audi A3 1.6 diesel. It was always a jumpy start unless you adopted the slight accelerator press to restart engine first. On my Fabia I do not have hill hold . I do miss it but the restarts and moving away are much smoother. I had put it down to the slightly longer restart of the Diesel engine but looking at the post it may well have been the hill hold function. Waiting with your foot on the brake and engine off is obviously not adding any wear to the dog clutches.

Just done some theoretical top speed testing. The TSi 110 estate is specc'ed at 124 mph top speed, So I looked at the performance at 60 mph which is as good as half top speed and far more legal, 60 mph comes up at 2000 rpm in 'D7' and 2500 in 'S6' which is what the gear box selects if in 'S' mode. So 2500 rpm equates to 5000 rpm in 'S6' at 120 mph and 5000 rpm is just short of the middle of the published max. power output band, so in theory, the gear box can easily stay in 6th gear all the way to flat out if in 'S' mode. 

As above. You need to just learn to feel the brake pedal and only lightly press to prevent it from stopping if you know you will be setting off again very soon.

 

I once drove a Touareg 3.0 V6 TDI with the 8 speed gearbox (think it's the ZF one). It worked exactly the same as DSG. I could just lightly hold the brake and the engine would stay on. Push it right down and it switched off. So waiting at a junction you can hold the pedal right down, then release slightly once you're getting ready to go to restart the engine.

 

Yes top speed is achieved in 6th gear on the 7 speed. It needs the engine to be revving a bit more to produce the power it needs to overcome the air.

 

Even in D with your foot flat to the floor it will remain in 6th. It may eventually change up to 7th if the speed is fast enough (probably down hill). It's similar with the 6 speed DSG. Ours stays in 5th for ages up to about 120mph. On the flat or down hill it changes into 6th but any slight incline keeps it in 5th. All this tested on the Autobahn.

Quite simply you can do Maximum Speed in D7 with a Petrol engine and a 7 Speed DSG, it does not only do it in 'D6' 

and you do not need to be in 'S6' to get the car flat you.

Being in 'S6', does not even mean you get to flat out quicker than in 'D7'. 

 

All tested in a New Fabia on 'a private piece of road', brand new car not even run in & with 95 ron unleaded..

Going back to torslunde's advice from 23rd September, I use the DSG box like he describes most of the time now when it comes to waiting in a queue. That is, put it into park if you want to let the engine stop and put the handbrake on and let the engine stop if you are going to wait for more than, say, 20 seconds. If anyone else does this they must be aware that the car must be absolutely still before shifting into park or you get a very nasty bang from the gear box as the pawl engages which can't be doing the gear box any good. In park, the engine will stop without foot-brake pressure according to whether the stop-start button is pressed and you can hold the car on the handbrake. 

    Also, I have discovered that the display panel will loudly complain if you attempt to drive away without releasing the handbrake.

Edited 16 October, 201510 yr by SoupDragon