I was driving to work on Friday afternoon when all of a sudden, the gearbox disengaged and a "Gearbox Fault" came up on the display. Pulled over to the side of the road, turned the ignition off and on again but no joy, tried to manually select a gear, but still no dice.

 

One call to the RAC later (patrol turned up in 15 minutes, compared to the 45 they'd guessed) and he told me the car had decided to dump all of its transmission fluid. Also called my usual Dealer whilst I was waiting, and they said I could drop it off but they wouldn't be able to look at it 'til today. Fortunately the RAC guy could hook it up to his van so I didn't have to wait for a flatbed, and off to the dealer we went.

 

Got a call back this morning to say the Mechatronic unit had failed and needed to be replaced (this is a 13 plate Mk3 with 46k miles on the clock). Luckily, as I'd always got it serviced through them, they were prepared to put it through as a warranty job (which is a good thing, as it'd cost the best part of £2k if I had to pay).

 

When I dropped it off, I wasn't expecting a loan vehicle given it was an emergency booking, but they'd had one back in that very morning so were in a position to loan it out again. Unfortunately, I went to go shopping today only to discover it had been clamped by the DVLA for no tax, and dhecking on GOV.UK revealed it had been SORNed! So I'm waiting another call back from the dealer to find out what's going on there...

It never rains but pours. One problem after another; hope you get it sorted without having to put your hands in your pockets.

Oooooooo

Epic fail by the dealers

All sorted...kind of. They sent a driver out with a (Manual) Fabia to replace the DSG Rapid (which is still clamped...and is gonna be "fun" if it gets taken to the pound, but that's the Dealer's problem, not mine). Hoping they'll swap it out for another DSG model when they get one back in, as there's a two week lead time on the replacement unit.

Did you serviced DSG at 60.000km?

Still some issues with DSG then. Wouldn't want one out of warranty, and be suddenly landed with a £2k bill.

Still some issues with DSG then. Wouldn't want one out of warranty, and be suddenly landed with a £2k bill.

Alternatively, you can count how much time you need to change gear in your car's lifetime  

Gear whining, mechatronic failures and jerkiness on the DSG's date back to the MK5 gti golf - over ten years ago.

 

I guess it's just one of those things where anything complex requiring electronics for operation is bound to have problems at some point.

 

Hope it gets sorted 

Which DSG box do you have?  The DSG6 or DSG7?

Am I not right in thinking you can get this fixed for under £1,000 these days? From an independent anyway.

Alternatively, you can count how much time you need to change gear in your car's lifetime

 

Dont get me wrong, I like autos, I've had 2 quite recently and my next car will be one. Manual is too much work on our congested roads.

 

Just shame on VW for not making DSG more reliable and expecting us drivers to pick up the repair bill out of warranty. Why dont they give DSG a longer warranty, 3 years isnt enough.

 

Every couple of months there is a clutch pack or mechatronic failure on this forum. Not good enough VW,  the old torque convertor autos are a lot more reliable.

Alternatively, you can count how much time you need to change gear in your car's lifetime

 

You present a false dichotomy, sir.

 

You save no time from not having to change gear, you are sat in the seat anyway and couldn't be doing anything more valuable.

You present a false dichotomy, sir.

 

You save no time from not having to change gear, you are sat in the seat anyway and couldn't be doing anything more valuable.

You dont save time but you save a lot of things, like comfort, composure, relaxation, whatever..

 

Personally, once I have tried auto, I cant drive anything else.

 

Why would I?

Dont get me wrong, I like autos, I've had 2 quite recently and my next car will be one. Manual is too much work on our congested roads.

Just shame on VW for not making DSG more reliable and expecting us drivers to pick up the repair bill out of warranty. Why dont they give DSG a longer warranty, 3 years isnt enough.

Every couple of months there is a clutch pack or mechatronic failure on this forum. Not good enough VW, the old torque convertor autos are a lot more reliable.

Which is exactly why I took the 2 year extension to the manufacturers warranty when I ordered mine. I would not run a DSG without a warranty, but sods law I've never had any problems with both the 6 and 7 speeders I have owned.

Which is exactly why I took the 2 year extension to the manufacturers warranty when I ordered mine. I would not run a DSG without a warranty, but sods law I've never had any problems with both the 6 and 7 speeders I have owned.

So you want it to go wrong to test how good your warranty is?