I know that the 7 speed DSG gearbox has suffered major issues due to originally being filled up with synthetic oil but I believe that they are now filled with mineral oil from circa 2015. 

I’d like to know what the reliability of the box is on cars from 2015 onwards. 

I’ll be buying a nearly new car very soon and an Octavia 1.6 TDI with DSG is very much on my shopping list. The 2.0 TDI with the wet clutch 6 speed DSG is a bit overkill for what I need but I don’t want to buy a 1.6 TDI dry clutch DSG if it is a ticking time bomb. 

Likewise, I think the dry clutch is sealed for life whereas the wet clutch needs a £200 service every 40k. (But is this a ‘save now, pay later’?)

My plan is to buy a car that will do 120k miles over 4 years. 

Thanks in advance.

you dont need reliability, you need luck.

 

if you dont have luck, it wont be reliable.

That is quite a lot of miles. Will that be mostly open highway or taxi urban?

Mostly A roads, some motorway but hardly any city driving. 

 

I would call myself a ‘swift’ driver but I don’t do any traffic light Grand Prix and the car does long journeys and is fully warmed up. 

 

My current car car is a company car and is manual.  It’s doing my back in, literally. 

Edited 11 January, 20188 yr by a900ss

I'd have thought with those amount of miles, £200 would make little or no difference on top of the overall running costs.

 

If money was a concern and given your mileage and the fact you're buying a used car, I'm not sure I'd be looking at VW group. 30k per annum means the warranty will only last 2 years without any scope for extending it (I believe you can only extend manufacturer's warranty why buying a new car.) Having a dry clutch box without any warranty or any DSG out of warranty? I'd be having many sleepless nights.

 

From the date of registration, Renault will offer you 2 years unlimited miles warranty + 2 years up to 100,000 miles max. That also includes 4yr roadside assistance. Nearly every manufacturer offers a better warranty with Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, topping the list. Even BWW (3yr unlimited miles) would be better. Honda for example will offer a 3yr 90k mile warranty which you can extend when it expires.

 

Does it have to be Auto? Reason I say is because Honda are getting rid of their Civic estates and are selling diesel tourers at really good prices. On the whole, it's a very reliable car + has the warranty to back it up. 

Edited 11 January, 20188 yr by Guest
word change

23 minutes ago, Scot5 said:

If money was a concern and given your mileage and the fact you're buying a used car, I'm not sure I'd be looking at VW group. 30k per annum means the warranty will only last 2 years without any scope for extending it (I believe you can only extend manufacturer's warranty why buying a new car.) Having a dry clutch box without any warranty or any DSG out of warranty? I'd be having many sleepless nights.

 

There is a Skoda Insured Warranty that can be taken once the manufacturer's warranty has expired. Personally, I've had silly quotes out of it for my VRS DSG, but I think others have had reasonable quotes for lower trim/engines.

 

https://www.insurewithskoda.co.uk/Products/ExtendedWarrantyCover/

I’m not sure I buy into the long Renault or Kia warranties. 

 

I do circa 30k a year and Kia offer a 7 year unlimited miles warranty. If my engine went pop at 200k in 6.75 years time, it’s hardly a manufacturer problem. It’s fair wear and tear. 

 

Likewise Renault, at 100k, a lot of engines are a significant way through their usable life and you have to prove manufacturing fault. You’d only get a small contribution at best. 

 

I’d rather choose a brand that offers inherent reliability in the first place. (Check Autotrader and how many brands have cars over 125k for sale, that’s where you can judge reliability)  

 

Also, you have to drive a Renault....

 

 

PS - I want an auto for relaxed driving 

Edited 11 January, 20188 yr by a900ss

2 minutes ago, a900ss said:

I'd rather choose a brand that offers inherent reliability in the first place. (Check Autotrader and how many brands have cars over 125k for sale, that’s where you can judge reliability)  

 

Have to disagree here... It doesn't give any indication as to the work it's had and the components that have been replaced (under warranty or not) to get it to 125k and beyond.

 

If you want something that offers inherent reliability, then you buy Japanese. There's a reason that the Japanese brands always come top of the reliability surveys and it has nothing to do with used cars on autotrader 

In answer to the original question, I'm on my second Octavia 3 equipped with the 7 speed gearbox, the first run for 3 years, the 2nd for 18 months. During that time neither car (or gearbox !) missed a beat, have never required any attention, and have run exactly as intended. I have not done the mileage you intend A900SS, but approaching circa 50k now in total, I have total faith in the 7 speed DSG.

JKW 

Skoda Extended Warranty bought after the 3 or 5 year (2 year extension warranty) excludes Taxis along with some other Business / Commercial uses does it not, if it has the same T&C's as the Skoda Approved Used Car Warranty that Car Care Ltd did.

 

How can people know if a DSG from 2015 on is reliable after 3 or 4 years until 3 or 4 years have passed.

 

Skoda have now built 2 million DQ200 DSG and after their issues 2009-2013,

SERVICE CAMPAIGN '34F7' To put in Mineral Oil/ Software Update.

then the ongoing 2013-2015, surely they have finally cracked it, 

SERVICE CAMPAIGN '34H5' Software update after failures from there being Mineral oil from 2013, or what ever failings they had, oil pressures.

So finally cracked it or at least stopping any cracking as there was 2013-2015 with some DQ200.

ŠKODA produces 1.5 millionth DQ 200 dual-clutch transmission at Vrchlabí plant - ŠKODA Storyboard (1).mhtml

ŠKODA Vrchlabí plant_ 500,000th DQ 200 transmission - ŠKODA (1).mhtml

Edited 11 January, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

@AwaoffSki correct, private hire and business use is excluded as part of the terms. OP seemed to indicate he was buying and no mention of it being used for business, other than a previous company car mentioned. Perhaps OP can clarify usage.

 

Under the Approved Used warranty I was never asked about usage, and I do occasional business mileage, but perhaps they are more stringent on a car doing 30k p/a!

 

Warranty would need to be taken before 100k too which may be an issue depending on how many miles the used example has and how long left on Manufacturers warranty.

 

Full terms for eligiblity:

• You don't live in the Isle of Man or the Channel Isles
• You are not in the motor trade or deal with the buying, selling or repairing of motor vehicles
• You are not looking to use the vehicle for anything other than personal use
• You are not looking to use the vehicle for hire or reward (taxi), business, courier services or emergency services use
• Your vehicle has not done more than 100,000 miles
• Your vehicle was not manufactured by anyone other than ŠKODA
• Your vehicle is not a kit car, grey import or powered by fuel cell(s) or LPG
• Your vehicle has not been modified from the manufacturers' specification (manufacturer fitted optional extras are not classed as being a modification)
• You must make sure your vehicle is serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s schedule

Edited 11 January, 20188 yr by ahenners

Sorry, i read taxi, where the OP never said that.

 

When the Underwriter has a bill coming for a few thousand quid, or maybe just when you are asked to sign a claim form you might find you are asked, 

and when they have a Loss Adjuster check your insurance they will see if you have 'Business use as well as Domestic & Pleasure'.

If you have proper insurance cover then that might just mean you purchased a Extended Warranty and that was a waste of money.

On 11/01/2018 at 00:16, a900ss said:

I know that the 7 speed DSG gearbox has suffered major issues due to originally being filled up with synthetic oil but I believe that they are now filled with mineral oil from circa 2015.

The Mk III Octavia has now been on sale for about 5 years. If there are common major issues with the DSG gearbox, they haven't been reported here.

On 11/01/2018 at 00:16, a900ss said:

I’d like to know what the reliability of the box is on cars from 2015 onwards.

Cars from 2013 seem to be reliable, so presumably newer ones are too. The most common problem seems to be the water pump on some diesels.

I heard frome the dealer that dry DSG has more chance to last than the wet DSG, when I was on a test drive with my friend who bought Audi A3.

I'm convinced that the 7 speed DSG is reliable by now, but last longer than wet DSG? No way.

My wife has Fabia 110hp TSI with 7 speed dry DSG, and my Octavia 180hp TSI 4x4 has the 6 speed wet DSG.

Personally I dont like how the 7 speed DSG behave. So try one before you buy.

First off a disclaimer, I do not own and never have owned a DSG gearbox, but as I'm not getting any younger and fewer vehicles are available with a manual box it is increasingly likely our next vehicle will be an auto of some sort and so I do follow what is reported.

The 'dry' dsg lubrication problem was particularly bad in Australia with our hot and/or humid climates where the failure rate was horrendous and the VW group took a justifiably terrible public bashing that severely damaged their reputation here.

The reliability of the 'dry' box is now far better but there is an aspect that has to be considered. There have been a few reports of the 'dry' DSG clutch packs wearing and needing to be replaced. Some drivers have had more than one set replaced and nearly all have claimed not to be aggressive drivers. I tend to believe them. 

Australians have preferred auto boxes for years, and of course these were the traditional torque converter types which always 'drag' a bit when stopped in gear at the traffic lights and the driver has their foot on the brake waiting for the lights to change. Not a problem for a torque box but I don't think that sort of driving behaviour is necessarily good for the dry DSG.

Similarly I believe (others please confirm) that driven lightly then the DSG pulls away in 2nd gear for greater smoothness. Something I'd never do on a manual unless on a steep downhill start.

British drivers are far more used to manual boxes and I think they would drive the DSG boxes with more 'mechanical sympathy' to the type because I cannot recall a report of clutch pack replacement in Briskoda (again I'm open to correction)

Incidentally, in Australia, clutch packs are now being changed by the dealers without questions, charges and out even of warranty in an effort to recover some of their reputation.

 

The type of miles you are doing are unlikely to stress the 7 speed dry DSG box at all and the 1.6D offers more than adequate performance for the open road and potentially great economy. However with that sort of intended mileage I tend to agree with those saying the 'wet' DSG has a much better reputation for reliability and the 2.0D is also capable of excellent economy. 

Just watch out for those water pumps on any VW diesel though.

 

Thanks all. 

I'd say the dry 7 speed DSG is plenty good enough to last & I FULLY tested mine before it went back.

 

Mine probably took 3 times the punishment of its 43k miles with being tuned & driven hard for all of its time with me.

What sort of prices are people seeing for an extended Skoda warranty on a DSG car? (specifically considering a lightly used FL 1.4 TSI SE L, head says manual will be less potential for grief, so I guess the comparable cars hitting the end of their manufacturers warranty would be a pre-FL 1.4 Elegance DSG).

 

I'm assuming the "comprehensive" extended warranty would cover the DSG inc mechatronic unit.

Edited 26 February, 20188 yr by uchuff

26 minutes ago, uchuff said:

What sort of prices are people seeing for an extended Skoda warranty on a DSG car? (specifically considering a lightly used FL 1.4 TSI SE L, head says manual will be less potential for grief, so I guess the comparable cars hitting the end of their manufacturers warranty would be a pre-FL 1.4 Elegance DSG).

 

I'm assuming the "comprehensive" extended warranty would cover the DSG inc mechatronic unit.

This a topic I started earlier this month

 

Thanks, I had seen that but now I see you have DSG, did you get a quote at other excess levels by any chance? I'd guess an SE L might be a little more than an SE but that gives a good estimate for sure.

Edited 26 February, 20188 yr by uchuff

No, I just went with that as it's what I can afford.  But I haven't had to use it yet. (super reliable)

On 1/15/2018 at 01:11, Gerrycan said:

Australians have preferred auto boxes for years, and of course these were the traditional torque converter types which always 'drag' a bit when stopped in gear at the traffic lights and the driver has their foot on the brake waiting for the lights to change. Not a problem for a torque box but I don't think that sort of driving behaviour is necessarily good for the dry DSG.

The dry DSG disconnects the drive completely when your foot is on the brake. My tip for a smooth getaway is to take your foot off the brake, wait for half a second for the clutch to engage then accelerate smoothly away without any jerking.

On 15/01/2018 at 00:29, norsko said:

I'm convinced that the 7 speed DSG is reliable by now, but last longer than wet DSG? No way.

My wife has Fabia 110hp TSI with 7 speed dry DSG, and my Octavia 180hp TSI 4x4 has the 6 speed wet DSG.

Personally I dont like how the 7 speed DSG behave. So try one before you buy.

 

Interesting to read.  My vRS has the six speed wet.  My wife's Polo GTI has the seven speed dry, and I like the way it behaves.  I looked after a friend's Fabia TSI while they were away for a month, and didn't like the way that seven speed dry behaved, which quite surprised me because I thought they'd be exactly the same.  The Fabia felt, for want of a better expression, that it didn't engage drive, but I mused afterwards that maybe it was just me and it's picking up drive was either a whole load smoother, or not so noticeable given the smaller engine.

 

Either way, both these Fabia and Polo seven speed DSG's have been utterly reliable.  Both '65 reg cars btw.

 

Gaz

^^^ Vorsprung Durch Technik.

 

They should be totally reliable after VW Group Recalled Millions up to 2013 world wide & Millions needed the Service Campaign.

Then another Service Campaign on thousands from 2013-2015 because they had still c0-cked up.

 

So Skoda have built over 2 million DQ200 7 Speed Twin Dry Clutch DSG since expanding their plant in 2015.

We will see maybe how reliable they are now after 3 or 4 years and if the Quality Control is all it should be.

The Software on a DQ200 for a car with a 105ps engines is not the same for one with 180 / 192 ps.

ŠKODA produces 1.5 millionth DQ 200 dual-clutch transmission at Vrchlabí plant - ŠKODA Storyboard.mhtml

ŠKODA AUTO produces two-millionth DQ 200 dual-clutch transmission at Vrchlabí plant - ŠKODA Storyboard.mhtml

Edited 5 March, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki