1.5 SEL first gear issue.

[Janner74]

I wondered if other owners of 1.5 manual Karoq owners were having issues when pulling away on first gear. I just can't do it smoothly. I've tried low revs, high revs and just using the torque of the engine but to no avail. It's hard to explain what happens but I will try. I get the clutch bite point and go to increase the revs as I slowly lift the clutch further but the revs either jump up or bottom out and I "kangaroo" as if I'm a learner driver all other again. I have no issues in other gears as I change into them. Is it because the car is so new? It does get better when the car is warm but doesn't fully go away. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[Orville]

Clutches (like brakes) can be grabby when new. My guess is that things will smooth out as the clutch plate wears-in and glazes a bit. 

[solarfusion]

Me too but I just put it down to me not being used to driving a petrol having driven a 2.0 TDI for over a decade. Could pull away in 2nd in my old Leon and go up a hill in 6th!

[Zengt12]

Took delivery of my 1.5 TSI SE Tech Manual today. Same thing with mine but not every time. Car sets off a few inches then kangaroo's once. To me it seems the EPB has snatched then released.

[Janner74]

8 hours ago, Zengt12 said:

Took delivery of my 1.5 TSI SE Tech Manual today. Same thing with mine but not every time. Car sets off a few inches then kangaroo's once. To me it seems the EPB has snatched then released.

What's the EFB? 

[TheRobinK]

EPB = Electric Parking Brake

[Zengt12]

Hi Janner74. Do you still have issues with 1st gear? Mine still doing it but not all the time. Seems if you give it more revs at start it is less prone to lurching forward. Not very satisfactory in slow moving traffic though.

[Janner74]

3 minutes ago, Zengt12 said:

Hi Janner74. Do you still have issues with 1st gear? Mine still doing it but not all the time. Seems if you give it more revs at start it is less prone to lurching forward. Not very satisfactory in slow moving traffic though.

It's in and off. It does seem better if I don't have the auto brake on. 

[Zengt12]

Strange how several people experience it but none of the media car reviews did. Has anyone experienced it on their test drives?

[shyVRS245]

14 hours ago, Zengt12 said:

Strange how several people experience it but none of the media car reviews did. Has anyone experienced it on their test drives?

Only issue we had was changing from 2nd to 3rd gear, found it likes  a leisurely change rather than a hurried one.

[bone_tone]

Yes, I have this exact issue, and have had since day 1 - it feels like the car is about to stall as you start off, and more like an engine management issue than a parking brake one.

[pryorkshire]

Now driven about 100 miles in our 1.5 Edition and not had any problems pulling away in first gear.  Does this happen when you have applied the parking brake or when you use the auto-hold at traffic lights or both?  I use auto-hold when driving and only use the parking brake when leaving the car.

[shyVRS245]

4 minutes ago, pryorkshire said:

Now driven about 100 miles in our 1.5 Edition and not had any problems pulling away in first gear.  Does this happen when you have applied the parking brake or when you use the auto-hold at traffic lights or both?  I use auto-hold when driving and only use the parking brake when leaving the car.

I didn't like the auto hold on my 16 plate Superb, just kept my foot on the brake to ensure stop/start worked.

[vadimo]

so with our auto 1.5 TSI it very sensitive and now to pull away or park I now tap pedal gently first - now no problems

[TheITGuy]

I have an Octavia (manual gearbox) with the same 1.5 TSI engine and also have this problem occasionally and also over revving when reversing off my drive using idle revs.  It will, every now and then, increase up to 1800 rpm before settling down.  This has been reported by other Octavia III owners with this engine and there is a fix.  I wonder if any Karoq owners are also experiencing this and whether the two behaviours are connected?  Mine is booked into the dealer in a couple of weeks to look at the over -revving issue.

[bone_tone]

5 hours ago, pryorkshire said:

Now driven about 100 miles in our 1.5 Edition and not had any problems pulling away in first gear.  Does this happen when you have applied the parking brake or when you use the auto-hold at traffic lights or both?  I use auto-hold when driving and only use the parking brake when leaving the car.

Happens to me whatever I do, parking brake, auto-hold, or no brake...

[Ricey7000]

We have a 1.5 manual and it definitely can be a bit kangaroo like from cold , its got 1200 miles on it at this stage, I haven't noticed it once its warmed up but I'll keep an eye on it.

[Janner74]

Just an update. We did a 100mile drive yesterday and now covered 600miles. It looked promising at first but as itried to pull away from a roundabout it kangarooed again. The only way I can pull away smoothly is to review the engine and keep rising the revs as the clutch bites. Not sure if this is an engine trait or a fault? 

[Cd1yat]

I had a Fiat that did this and it was a characteristic of the engine management module. It was almost acting like an anti stall system that then conflicted with your own throttle input and caused an odd start and sometimes a clunky 1st to 2nd change.

 

The solution seemed to be to use little or no throttle and let the system raise the revs on its own as you let the clutch out. Not sure if this is similar or would be of help. Also most engine management systems "learn" over the first 3000 miles or so as the driver and car adapt to each other so it may settle done with time? 

[bone_tone]

2 hours ago, Janner74 said:

Just an update. We did a 100mile drive yesterday and now covered 600miles. It looked promising at first but as itried to pull away from a roundabout it kangarooed again. The only way I can pull away smoothly is to review the engine and keep rising the revs as the clutch bites. Not sure if this is an engine trait or a fault? 

Mine still doing it too, with nearly 2000 miles on the clock. One thing I've found that does improve is to set the engine mode to Eco, suggesting that it's an engine management quirk.

[Klingaone]

 

[bone_tone]

1 hour ago, Klingaone said:

 

I have the opposite problem - the revs drop, almost to the point of stall, as I lift the clutch

[love2drive]

The 1.5 SEL I had a test drive in seemed as if the brakes were hanging on when moving off after the autohold had come on. Was told to get biting point and the brakes will then come off  then, I managed a smooth get away twice in a 30 minute drive most times it dragged and jolted but I put it down to not getting it quite right, maybe not ?

[Zengt12]

I have same problem on 1.5 TSI manual. 1st and 2nd gear start at low revs it kangaroos, hot or cold. High revs ok. I noticed today I heard the brakes drag as I pulled away. Listen very carefully when you start. When this first happened when I got the car my initial thoughts were electric brakes snatching. Going to get dealer to investigate.

 

 

[VAGCF]

I have two cars at the moment which pull away as sweet as a nut (diesel and petrol) so this subject is something I shall be keeping a keen eye on before the time comes when I come to change the Yeti for a likely Karoq.

 

Like most of us I take a pride in my driving and car control and something like this would annoy the hell out of me!