Hi,

 

Strange title, but bear with me....

 

I went to a Steam Rally yesterday and car parking was on the usual adjacent fields.

 

By the end of the day the field was a little soft.  Although you could still see the grass - it had become "flattened" with large patches of damp, compacted soil being exposed.

 

My car seemed to really struggle to get any traction and I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to exit the field as it had a slight incline.

 

It was as though the wheels were either spinning, ( I couldn't confirm this), or the clutch was slipping in some way ?

 

Anyway I managed it, but this has really dented my confidence in the car's ability to deal with potential Snow, later in the year.  ( I travel regularly through the Scottish Highlands). 

 

The car is a MK3 Superb SEL Exec with the 150hp Diesel and 7 speed DSG 'Box.

 

It's only done 6,500 miles, therefore tyres have plenty of tread.

 

Any ideas please ?

 

Secondly, on my return home I switched off and exited the Car - the engine cooling Fan remained running at what appeared to be full speed - VERY loud !  Is this normal ?  (Oil and Water are o.k.  as I had checked them that morning). - I had used the A/C on the way home.

 

Many thanks in advance for you advice / experiences.

The tyres that come with the car are best described as eco summer tyres

These give good mileage and better emissions on warm days in tests.

 

However, as you have discovered, do not work well in other situations.

Was the traction control light flashing on the dashboard, if so would confirm the wheels were slipping.

 

What tyres are fitted, make, type and the size numbers.  

 

If you regularly drive in the Scottish Highlands in Winter then you really need Winter tyres (although winter biased all seasons may do, if want to use them all year).   Now is a good time to order winter wheels with tyres.   There are plenty of recommendations in the tyres section (in technical).  Probably find a company like MyTyres is cheaper than dealer, although you might have good local tyre co which is competitive.

 

The fan staying on is usually a sign that engine or turbo is hot, did your journey finish with fast or uphill section.  For a diesel might have been in a DPF regen when you stopped.  

Edited 4 August, 20196 yr by SurreyJohn

1 hour ago, Fazer321 said:

Secondly, on my return home I switched off and exited the Car - the engine cooling Fan remained running at what appeared to be full speed - VERY loud !  Is this normal ?  (Oil and Water are o.k.  as I had checked them that morning). - I had used the A/C on the way home.

 

As it's a diesel, it was probably doing an a DPF regeneration when you turned it off so the fans stay on to cool things down.

 

Completely normal and nothing to worry about unless it's happening every journey

7 speed DSG is too keen to change from 1st to 2nd at low speed. It will then not return to 1st until the car is stationary. This could well be the clutch slipping you heard. I first noticed this in slow moving traffic on a hill, but have also experienced it when driving through similar “car parks”

 

Try selecting 1st gear manually when in tricky situations.

If traction is low I would think changing up to 2nd as quick as possible/ or even better setting off in 2nd is what you want.

 

59 minutes ago, SuperbTWM said:

If traction is low I would think changing up to 2nd as quick as possible/ or even better setting off in 2nd is what you want.

 

Whilst I would agree with this where traction is poor, there is no confirmation from the OP that the wheels were actually spinning. As above, the DSG7 changes to 2nd gear too early in situations like this and then slips the clutches-A manual hold of 1st gear resolves the issue of the apparent struggle to maintain forward motion.