Putting DSG in P at 30mph...

[mikecsmith]

So I utterly  ed up today.

 

I had the DSG in S after overtaking someone a few minutes before, I was coming into a 30mph zone from a 60mph zone so went to break and decided to switch from S to D at the same time. For some godforsaken reason, I pressed the button on the gear stick as I was shifting from S to D and my hand slipped forwards throwing the car into P whilst I was travelling at about 30mph.

 

Not exactly sure what happened next as I ended up doing the emergency stop to end all emergency stops and cacking myself in the process. Immediately turned the engine off and put the hazards on, sat there for 30 seconds to get over the blind panic and then turned the car on, put it in gear and pulled over.

 

Long story short I need a new pair of trousers and I'm wondering what I should be looking out for with the Occy. So far it seems to be fine, I drove it home and took it for a couple of test drives on some hills. Put it in P on a small hill without the handbrake to make sure it holds and put it in on a steeper hill to check it too (I normally put the handbrake on first before engaging P) and except for a minor movement (50mm?) it holds the car fine. There's a small sound made when shifting from P into R or D if it's the only thing holding the car still on an incline but pretty sure that's normal and just the sound made when the pressure is released from the gearbox.

 

Right now the car seems fine - have I just been a lucky git or should I be seriously worried and getting myself down to a garage?

[KenONeill]

@mikecsmith - My first thought is that you may have damaged the ratchet and pawl that lock a transmission when you select Park. I'm also surprised that the engine didn't stall out.

[mikecsmith]

Thanks for the comments, that's my worry too. On the engine stalling I think it did stall - I just instinctively turned the key into the off position after stopping.

[snowathlete]

I always wondered what would happen in this situation, seems much too easy to do, so don't blame yourself. It also sounds like maybe you haven't done too much, maybe not any, damage? I hope it's all ok.

[Rustynuts]

The parking lock gear ring on a DSG box is part of the differential, not the actual gearbox assembly. If anything has been damaged it'll be the diff assembly.

[Phillips]

The DSG Shifter is electronic isn’t it? I’m wondering if the software is programmed in such away that it doesn’t allow it to go into P even if you have selected it when moving.

[Defenderben]

14 minutes ago, Phillips said:

The DSG Shifter is electronic isn’t it? I’m wondering if the software is programmed in such away that it doesn’t allow it to go into P even if you have selected it when moving.

If that's the case the OP wouldn't have performed the emergency stop of all emergency stops as he has reported.

 

I'm amazed nothing has been damaged and also wondered this situation myself, I have managed to engage park at a crawl of 1-2mph and it stops dead. Always hoped that the situation you encountered wouldn't happen but obviously it is not overridden by any sort of speed detection sensors :(

[kelper]

On 14/01/2018 at 21:22, mikecsmith said:

Not exactly sure what happened next as I ended up doing the emergency stop to end all emergency stops

Did you put your foot on the brake pedal or did the car brake for you?

[SoupDragon]

I found that shifting to P was a way to allow the engine stop/start stay in its stopped mode without having to keep the brake pedal pressed down. So I often shifted through to P when the car had stopped and took my foot off the brake pedal. All very good until I shifted into P while  rolling up to lights. Not 30 mph, more like 7 or 8. I also experienced the big surprise emergency stop. My Fabia DSG was not damaged but doing that at 30 must have been a really big one. It's even worse that your left foot hitting the brake pedal thinking it's the clutch to change down a gear. I've done that too. Now I have a manual Octy. When I collected the brand new car, I was shown the controls etc. and the salesman waited to waive me off. I rammed the car straight into 1st without putting the clutch down. Very embarrassing.

[bmbmdmb]

What exactly does park do? It locks the drive wheels, but what mechanical bit in the auto box is used. This could have some serious damage.

 

At least reverse was not selected...

 

I always go to neutral when stopped, apply handbrake , let off footbrake then park. This relieves the gear box of the car's weight.

[Rustynuts]

It doesn't lock the auto box. The parking gear is part of the differential.

[SuperbTWM]

Did the wheels lock up? If they did then you know for sure it did actually go into P and not just activate some sort of full on braking system

Edited 3 February, 2018 by SuperbTWM

[Phillips]

Thought I’d see what google would throw up! 

 

YouTube

[mikecsmith]

Hey Guys,

 

OP here. The car itself seems fine and has done another 1500-1800 miles since the incident (it's being driven between London and Cornwall regularly). Haven't had it up to inspect the underside but driving it and using P I can feel absolutely no difference.

 

Wheels felt like they locked up but because it was a couple of weeks ago can't really remember. It was definitely a brown trouser moment though.

 

I honestly feel like I've been a bit of a lucky SOB and gotten away with it. I think there should have been a crap load of damage.

 

Would not recommend testing it yourself.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[mikecsmith]

Just watched that video - my experience was nothing like that... Full blown emergency stop with a lot of noise. 2012 Octavia Estate.

 

Kelper - car braked for me. I was just braking gently when it happened and stopped dead pretty much immediately after my hand slipped.

Edited 3 February, 2018 by mikecsmith

[Rustynuts]

The Youtube vid is a conventional torque converter gearbox, not a dsg. I suspect it'd behave in a different way.

[SuperbTWM]

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-52559.html

 

Looks like this tool was not so lucky

Edited 7 February, 2018 by SuperbTWM

[SoupDragon]

I only read the first few lines but that is exactly what I did, throw it into P at low speed. Maybe he was unlucky and his speed was low enough to allow the Park selection and high enough to wreck the pawl mechanism. You would think that Park would be unselectable until the car had stopped completely, the car electronics and the gear box always know the road speed.

[KenONeill]

@SoupDragon - IS DSG like a "normal" automatic in that you have to pass through Reverse to get from Neutral to Park? If so, then Why In the Name of Sanity would anyone even attempt to select Park unless stopped? On a normal auto (include CVTs here) there is a mechanical lockout that you have to deliberately over-ride to get from N to R!

[SoupDragon]

KenONeill: Not with DSG. There is no lockout at low speed, but there might be at higher speed. Reverse position lingers for maybe half a second before selecting reverse gear and you can easily pass through R without selecting. The reason I did this was because I wanted the stop/start to operate but I did not want to stay still with my foot pressed on brake pedal. Normal use requires that when stationary you keep the brake pressed when stopped, but Park position keeps the engine mode the same as when selected ie if running , the engine is running and stays running and if stopped it stays stopped. I did not want to stay stationary with my foot hard on the brake for at least three reasons: I was taught not to do that, I am aware that the constant brake lights are annoying for the car behind and it I did not want to keep the pressure on the pedal. There is no lockout on P on the DSG, however, there might be a lockout above a certain road speed, but it seems from the previous post, not. I think that the handbook states that you can switch from D to R without restriction so that the car can be rocked to get out of a snow drift.

[Rooted]

Do you not have 'Auto Hold',  and also an Electric parking brake for stopping in 'D' without a foot on the brake?

(Some cars with Auto hold still put the brake lights on, other do not'.)

[SoupDragon]

Hi Awayoffski, if you are asking me, I had the Fabia estate with DSG, There was no electronic brake but there was eco start stop. Someone on this forum said that you could keep the engine in its start/stop mode without keeping your foot hard on the brake if you selected P and I often did this. It was just once that I selected P before the car came to complete stop, and it did come to a complete stop as soon as I selected P. I posted about it on the Fabia section of the forum at the time. I only did it once. It annoyed me that when you braked to a standstill the engine stopped but if you then selected N the engine started again and when you pressed the brake pedal to move from N to D the engine momentarily stopped and then started again. I never really came to love the DSG and I am now manual again with a new Octavia 111. 

Now I am complaining about the unpredictable way the engine will suddenly rise to about 2000 rpm without driver input during slow manoeuvres. 

[Rooted]

My bad, i assumed you were posting about what you did with your Octavia.