Coming home from Tenby a bong sounded commensurate with warning on the dash saying the transmission was getting hot. There was a distinct smell of transmission fluid too. I pulled over, popped the bonnet and the was quite a puddle sitting on top of the DSG. Called Green Flag (who were amazing cos we were towing a small caravan too). The car sitting in a secure compound for a few days until it can be returned so I can't look at it. It's a 2013 mk 2 Octavia Scout 4x4 6 speed DSG, well maintained, and I think it happened quite suddenly.Any thoughts?

Edited 6 July, 20256 Jul by SteveDon

Hello, welcome to the forum.

Are you aware that the DSG gearbox does not actually use 'transmission fluid' as such as it does not use a torque converter? - instead it uses twin, oil-filled, wet clutches.

It sounds to me like one (or both, depending on gear in use at time) clutches have started slipping.

Thank you.

Yes I was aware of that but even so, there seemed to be a sudden almost catastrophic loss of fluid/oil so what's failed and how do I fix it?

You should get your transmission checked by a DSG specialist as a priority.

What were the road conditions when this issue first become apparent - were you climbing a steep hill at the time?

Were you in 'D' - or in manually selected gear?

@SteveDon Welcome.

How many miles has it done and when did the DSG last get an Oil & Filter changed?

Within the last 40,000 miles?

(OTT, but does the Haldex get serviced each 3 years / 30,000 miles?)

The car isn't here but from memory 130k ISH miles and it's probably 30k ISH since the last DSG oil/filter change. Similarly with Haldex. I've done the Haldex twice since I've owned the car. Based on a lot of YouTube footage, I cleaned the plastic gauze filter of gunge too. I have a favourite grassy hilly dewy paddock that I check the 4x4 in.

On 07/07/2025 at 10:54, Warrior193 said:

You should get your transmission checked by a DSG specialist as a priority.

What were the road conditions when this issue first become apparent - were you climbing a steep hill at the time?

Were you in 'D' - or in manually selected gear?

I will get it checked yes, but I want to see if there's anything obvious first. Are there cooling hoses that pass the oil through the radiator like some of the Audis? Apparently the O rings can pop out if not properly installed. I've never replaced myself but? The oil I could see sitting on top before it was towed away was gin clear and smelled like oil i.e. no metallic particles visible and no smell of burning. I was towing a 1200kg caravan at the time along the A48 out of South Wales but it wasn't struggling and gear changes were quite normal, engine temp at 90deg .

Have you towed before. Years ago I had similar probs with an auto volvo 940. It was pretty hot weather and lost drive. Turned out I needed a seperate transmission cooler for towing. Not sue re Skoda but if it was very warm then it may have cooked/boiled the gearbox fluid.

Alasdair

Yes Alasdair, many times, without issues. The car is being returned to me on Friday so I'll have the opportunity to inspect it and report back.

Don't need to be a DSG expert to spot the problem here 😉

Like I said, sudden catastrophic loss of oil. Easy fix anyway. Thanks for the comments 👍

Perhaps you could explain what that failed component is - is it a gearbox oil filter?

3 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

Perhaps you could explain what that failed component is - is it a gearbox oil filter?

Yes, it's the transmission oil filter housing with top broken off. Heaven knows why but quite frankly I'm just glad it's a straightforward fix. Oil and filter are freely available, this housing is dealer or specialist only but hopefully getting one on Monday 👍