Cheers. Such a nightmare when Skoda know this is a common fault. I’ll keep you updated and thanks for all the comments previously gives us hope that can get it sorted without being ridiculously insane 

 

Remember that I drove to Poland and picked the new unit myself, but I'm sure you could get something similar arranged.

I'm sorry to say that after this experience I lost confidence in the company, the vehicle and the repair carried out under the warranty - I sold it the day I collected it from the main dealer who repaired it. I had driven Skodas for twenty years but that didn't seem to matter at all. I replaced it with a RAV4, and it's a terrific car. I wouldn't go back, but it's still a shame.

It's a shame that there is no direct competitor to the Kodiaq on the market really.... Before I bought my 2nd Kodiaq, tried few cars and only few were equally spacious and comfortable, but they were much, much more expensive. I am buying my cars with cash, so even if I had that much cash, would not like to part with 40-50k on an Q7 or Cayenne or something like that...

 

Modern cars have so many systems that make the ride great, when these systems work, we take them for granted.... but any time any of these systems goes wrong, we're facing huge bills. I am pretty sure that if you bought something from the higher end market, the average time between repairs is similar, but the costs are much higher than Skodas

 

What drives me nuts, is the pricing discrepancies between the countries. UK really became "rip-off Britain" in last 15 years, my story with the mechatronic unit is just one of many. All the flights to UK are much cheaper than the flights on the same dates in the opposite direction. 4 years ago my sister visited us for Xmas with her family, total cost of flights and luggage - £400. When I tried to initially book the flights for the same days in the opposite direction, the total was £2300 for the same amount of people and luggage.

I know lots of my friends are now booking the holidays in exotic countries from Poland, as it is cheaper to fly to Poland, get accommodation before/after flights, and go for a holiday (e.g Dominican Republic, Egypt etc) than to fly there directly from the UK. You'll lose one-two extra days travelling (in some case you get an extra wee holiday in Poland), but in some cases the savings are huge. 

 

Ok, rant over, coffee break over, back to work :D:D:D

Brexit means Brexit 😀.

Just my 2p, I think it has started waaaaay before Brexit  The way I see it, living 21years in UK, there was a big change following 2008 crash. Before that time, lots of products (like electronics, appliances etc) were cheaper in the UK by some margin, there was also usually better selection of the products in the UK. After 2008, prices in the UK started climbing up very fast and everything on the continent became cheaper... I think after Brexit, the selection of products became very limited compared to the rest of Europe. 

 

Anyway, this is discussion for another forum,  I diverged quite a bit from the "mechatronic" topic, apologies!  

On 12/08/2024 at 16:51, rbss said:

Damn, just read the referenced website.... DSG lifespan approx 250kkm, bearing/other issues around 200kkm .... not great knowing my car has done nearly 165kkm!

 

I had Superb II 2,0 TDI, 6 speed DSG, sold at 390 000 km. Present car has done 440 000 km (DQ 500). No worries on gearbox at all on both cars.

To Linni - Google the topic. Many DSGs fail well before that, especially models between 2019 and 2021.

13 hours ago, linni said:

 

I had Superb II 2,0 TDI, 6 speed DSG, sold at 390 000 km. Present car has done 440 000 km (DQ 500). No worries on gearbox at all on both cars.

I think good servicing and mechanical sympathy can mitigate some of the risks associated with DSG failure.

There are discussions on here about the pros & cons of putting the DSG into neutral when your car comes to a halt. I do this instinctively, but others assure me there's "no need".

AFAIK (perhaps someone could correct me if I'm wrong), but as the clutch and other part of wet clutch DCT gearboxes wear, the worn particles of clutch friction material and other worn component debris enter the transmission fluid, which is circulated throughout the gearbox and the mechatronic unit. Bits of clutch crud can't improve things, and while there is a filter, I think by the time the DQ381 gets to servicing 80K miles, things must be pretty grotty in there. I plan to get mine serviced this year, very early at around 25K miles and 6 years. It's about the cost of an annual service, so despite being way earlier than advised, I don't see a downside to getting it serviced early apart from the cost, assuming the service is done correctly.

That said, there is a design flaw in earlier mechatronic units, so some of the risk of failure is just the luck of the draw.

This video is worth a watch if you're having DSG trouble or just want more information.

 

I had replaced the gearbox oil in every 60 000 km. Also flywheel has been changed (with clutch) appr. in every 150 000 km.

So far so good (fingers crossed).

Wet Clutch DSG,s do have the same oil in the box and MCU unlike the DQ200,s with 2 oils.

 

As to earlier DQ381 failures, there are plenty very new and low mile / km ones with MCU failures.

It very much is a lottery.   Just a lottery with nobody overseeing VW Group.    

Maybe the Lemon Law in Australia is what will have them admitting fundamental design, manufacturing or material faults and even the failure rate Globally or by factory manufacturing components

I think the fact that there are videos devoted to the fault tells us a lot! 

 

It is a design fault. Having had a 5-hour 300 mile journey with child and elderly people in the car take me 13 hours, I wasn't prepared to take that risk again. 

Edited 9 January, 20251 yr by zander1
error

2 hours ago, Ootohere said:

Wet Clutch DSG,s do have the same oil in the box and MCU unlike the DQ200,s with 2 oils.

 

As to earlier DQ381 failures, there are plenty very new and low mile / km ones with MCU failures.

It very much is a lottery.   Just a lottery with nobody overseeing VW Group.    

Maybe the Lemon Law in Australia is what will have them admitting fundamental design, manufacturing or material faults and even the failure rate Globally or by factory manufacturing components

There is a fix for the problem, and I'm tempted to get the fix implemented on my mechatronic, though it means losing the use of the car for a bit.

I'll talk to my gearbox guy and see if he can facilitate the fix/upgrade and DSG service at the same time.

It is not something i would do as a preventative measurement to get another MCU. 

Talk to the Automatic Gearbox Specialist.  What can he do to the MCU to guarantee longevity?

15 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

It is not something i would do as a preventative measurement to get another MCU. 

Talk to the Automatic Gearbox Specialist.  What can he do to the MCU to guarantee longevity?

Something like this is what I have in mind.