The Beast from the East saw us stranded on a snowy hill that even our snow socks couldn’t help us get up.

 

A helpful tractor driver towed us up the hill, although his 4wd Massey Ferguson was struggling for traction.  In order to lighten the load manually selected 2nd gear and put some drive in

 

We got up the hill.  

 

Then we got towed by a S2 Land Rover when the lane we where on got overwhelmed by snow drifts.  Again, I manually selected 2nd and applied drive to keep momentum up.

 

Fastforward a couple of weeks. Car is at dealers as it keeps going into limp home mode. Multiple error codes (gear selector, speed sensor, high pressure in fuel rail).

 

Did the tow upset the ECU?

Hi Winmoz,

 

I am no expert (and this is my first DSG equipped car although I have had autos before) but my understanding is that if you are being towed for a short distance (less than 20/30 miles...?) with engine off then popping into neutral is okay BUT on a FWD car thereafter the front wheels should be raised to avoid damage to any non-running gearbox (no oils moving around etc.). From what you have said the car was running all the time (and in 'Driven' mode) over a short distance so I can't quite see how any damage would have been done if you were 'driving' the car whilst being towed....

 

With an AWD DSG I would assume that what I am thinking above also applies as drive/power is split electronically? Is yours FWD or AWD?

 

There is the risk of potential component damage through heat transfer if you are towed in 'N' on four wheels for more than that 20/30 miles breakdown scenario I imagine. The DSG is a complex gearbox with all its mechanical & electronic set ups. Because of that sophistication the heat transfer would be a real issue without any oils/lubrication cooling going on i.e. with engine in idle or not engaged mode (although I believe the clutch is disengaged fully when in 'N' mode?).

 

There is a written reference in the handbook under 'Controls and Equipment ' which gives the following warning: "If you allow the car to roll with the selector lever in position N with the engine switched off, the direct shift gearbox will be damaged as it will not be lubricated". Although my manual is in French i am sure the message is the same

 

Be interesting to read/hear what the garage says...sounds like an ECU glitch rather than a mechanical one though...so a 'reset' will hopefully cure the issue. 

 

Good luck with it.

 

Dave