Brand new 1.5 DSG not Superb at all

[StephenCarter]

Bought a new 1.5 DSG Superb III yesterday and thought for the first time in my life I would have a car with adequate performance.  I'm a sedate driver but like to feel the car responding.

 

Desperately disappointed.  The car has good brakes and rides and handles fine, but the engine/gearbox is so unresponsive.  If I had noticed this on our test drive of a 1.4tsi with switchable mode gearbox, I would have walked away.  Has the performance in everyday use deteriorated since then?   Is it stuck in a valet/delivery mode? 

 

The ultimate performance when you floor the throttle is ok, but trying to get it to respond when on an A road is dreadful.  You notice you need to speed up by 2mph and your foot goes down and down with no change at all, until you floor the throttle and it shoots up to speed.  Then it is quite likely to drift down again as you are cruising.  This must ruin the fuel economy.  Same thing with Cruise control.  Travelling at 35mph, and choose cruise speed of 40mph and it can take about 16 seconds to leisurely creep up to speed.  To have the level of responsiveness expected I had to select semi-manual tiptronic settings and change down 2 gears.  Not to make the car accelerate but just to make it responsive enough to be able to maintain a steady 40mph in the fashion I am used to.  (I also drive a VW Up! which is much more responsive, and much easier at roundabouts as you don't have to wait for the engine to restart and the gearbox to kick in - I'd be onto the roundabout in my Up before the Superb had started moving.)

 

I returned from my first drive feeling worn out with trying to maintain my usual pace.  Maybe I just have to change my driving style?

 

Anyone any advice on whether the gearbox settings can be altered?

[Ootohere]

Welcome.

 

Something is not right, it has 150ps.

Are you sure it is not in ECO mode?

 

There are 1.5TSI EVO issues as you will see if you look in the Karoq Section.

 

Best talk ASAP with the Dealership Principal, not the Service Desk staff. 

[Nick_H]

Try the same drive using manual mode. Treat it as you would a manual and see how it compares.

[xman]

Take it back to your dealer and complain.

 

Ask them to check that "Transport mode" has been deactivated and request a copy of the PDI checklist.

 

*special mode used during delivery of cars.

[shyVRS245]

I know exactly what you are describing because I had the Mk3 Superb (148bhp) with the 1.4TSi engine but with the excellent 6 speed manual gearbox. Yes it's no rocket ship but you can hustle it along quite nicely. However the DSG box is known to be unresponsive with the wrong engine and I experienced it in a Mk3 Octavia Vrs 64 plate and despite having 181bhp I think the Superb manual could have beaten it in several situations. Perhaps a Pedal Box might solve the unresponsive throttle for you and this new 1.5TSi engine doesn't like to be hurried (ours has now done nearly 16,000miles in our manual Karoq).

[StephenCarter]

Just been out for a second run and checked the acceleration under cruise control.  25-40mph about 12 to 16 seconds.    35-40mph about 12 to 16 seconds.   40-50mph about 12 to 16 seconds.

Is that not a bit weird?  As it approaches the desired speed, the last couple of mph take many seconds.  

 

I think the car would go well enough in tiptronic mode.  It also goes reasonably well in kickdown.  Just frustrating in normal auto, like you are the captain signalling the engine room and they don't really respond until you start swearing at them.

[k.young]

Try a TPS reset.

 

Switch ignition on (don't start it) push the throttle pedal to the floor (slow but steady) 3 times, then turn the ignition off again.

 

[StephenCarter]

Thanks for the tip.  I'll try that now.

[daveo138]

I have to admit, mine can be a bit sluggish. I’m beginning to wish I’d had another diesel. 

[StephenCarter]

k.young - thanks for that tip.  Just back from a test run and it's like a different car.  Still not a fireball, but it is more about being able to speed up from 29mph to 30mph without thinking about it.  The responsiveness is back, and it is much easier to get kickdown without mashing the accelerator.   The cruise control is the same - embarrassingly slow to pick up speed, whereas in hired cars I've had before you can actually feel the acceleration when you press Restore.

 

I feel a little tearful - I thought I was shackled to a rubbish car for the next 5 years!   Would it have picked up the correct throttle position eventually, or do you need to do that reset?  Wondering how many other people are suffering in silence.  Could the dealer have spotted this in the PDI?

 

Yours very gratefully, Stephen.

[Nick_H]

Is it a brand new car ? If so it will also loosen up. I wouldn’t be losing sleep about how the car accelerated on cruise ! Mine can be a little slow from a standstill if I just engage cruise say from a red light but it’s not something I would do very often.

[StephenCarter]

Thanks for the advice, Nick.  I'm sure it will loosen up, however that is no longer a concern since the throttle settings have been reset and the responsiveness has been corrected. 🙂

 

I'm not worried about the cruise control acceleration, I just thought it might be a symptom of some other fault, compared to all other cars I have driven with cruise control.  There seems to be an option to change this value, so I will see if it is available on my model.

[Nick_H]

Fantastic news  :-)

Edited 2 June, 2019 by Nick_H

[freelunch]

@StephenCarter  You can create an Individual mode setting that allows a Sport cruise control setting with Normal or Comfort suspension. This will help your pick up.

[digifish]

11 hours ago, Nick_H said:

Is it a brand new car ? If so it will also loosen up. I wouldn’t be losing sleep about how the car accelerated on cruise ! Mine can be a little slow from a standstill if I just engage cruise say from a red light but it’s not something I would do very often.

 

Mine is the 2.0 220 ps, but I did notice a significant improvement in responsiveness after about 500 miles. Freeing up.

[xlray]

I have a 1.4 TSFI (150 BHP ACT) , DSG  in an Audi A3. Took about 7000 miles to really loosen up and give reasonable pull low down and with good top end.

 

Be patient !

 

 

[SuperbTWM]

23 hours ago, StephenCarter said:

As it approaches the desired speed, the last couple of mph take many seconds.  

 

 

Its designed that way to give you a smoother experience instead of accelerating hard and then lifting straight off the throttle once it hits the desired speed. It also helps fuel economy.

 

If you want to get from 40-50 mph you don't just floor the throttle and then lift off when the speedo hits 50 do you? Not unless you want to make your passengers sick anyway You press the throttle until you feel the car pick up and then gradually ease off.

[silver1011]

Is this issue resolved, or is it another example of the software on Skoda's latest petrol engine strangling performance for the sake of hitting stricter emissions?

 

 

[StephenCarter]

8 hours ago, silver1011 said:

Is this issue resolved, or is it another example of the software on Skoda's latest petrol engine strangling performance for the sake of hitting stricter emissions?

 

That's exactly what I feared, but the Throttle Sensor reset has resolved the issue for me.

 

The cruise control acceleration under resume is still too slow (this site would have to renamed Lazyskoda as it's definitely not brisk) - I appreciate the comments about making passengers sick, but that is not the way I normally drive and the cruise control doesn't even match my laid back habits.  I've altered a setting on the screen (no mode select button on this car) which changes it from NORMAL to SPORT and it may be a little better or it could be my imagination.  Cars following me would definitely wonder why I wasn't' getting on with it.  Easily solved by using my own right foot until I catch up to speed and then triggering the cruise control.

[l4wrence]

You may wish to consider using a 3rd party product to further improve pedal response.

 

[mulsoft]

Yes I agree on the pedal box, transformed my 220 🙂

[Ootohere]

Dealing with a car / engine out a while and needing a bit of an upgrade to perform is one thing, 

 

doing it with a 1.5TSI EVO that might have fundamental software / engine management issues while VW Group are failing to address them with Skoda engines and a cars is in Manufacturers Warranty is just a bit risky, and first let VW / Skoda get their act together and have a car that performs correctly and efficiently.

They are still doing 'Software Updates / Enhancements and even withdrawing them before a Dealership gets around to admitting they exist and applying them.

[StephenCarter]

I'm happy enough with what I've got for now.  Advised my wife to turn off the stop/start when approaching busy junction or tricky rush hour roundabout, and the performance is now ample for our use.  How often do throttle sensors need recalibrating?

 

[adamjackdrew]

Are you sure it's not just the standard Skoda Superb sluggish throttle response?  I've read that "Audi Mode" can be enabled via VCDS, although I wouldn't even contemplate on a new car for fear of voiding warranty. 

 

I'm happy with sluggish responses on my L&K DSG (TDI 190 4x4) but she picks up her skirt and runs when I want her to.

 

Give it a few miles to bed in and then mash that peddle to see what she can do!    

[z1ts]

2 hours ago, adamjackdrew said:

I've read that "Audi Mode" can be enabled via VCDS, although I wouldn't even contemplate on a new car for fear of voiding warranty. 

Audi mode can indeed be enabled by VCDS, makes one heck of a difference, won't affect the warranty BUT and here's a MASSIVE BUT do not do it if your car has standard cruise control - it must have ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) otherwise this simple tweak will play merry hell with your car!!!!

 

Have fun!