Hi all,

With the colder weather on the horizon, I was wondering how my 19TD DSG Octavia 2 would handle in snow and ice.

Looking in the manual, I can’t find much on winter driving, except stuff on the traction control system (page 138).

Can any tell me:

1.How vehicle handles in bad condition?

2. Any tricks that can be used with the DSG box in snow and ice (can it be rocked between D and R)?

3. Are there any publications on Winter driving with a DSG?

Thanks in advance

Ray:thumbup:

I've only had mine out once in snow, although there was a bit of ice on our roads this morning.

I popped the 'box into manual mode so that I could have a bit of control over what gear I was in. Snow wasn't deep enough to get stuck but it was pretty slippy - car coped as well as any modern car does on the (relatively) fat tyres that are fitted to cars nowadays. Best thing for snow is skinny rubber that bites throught the snow.

Once got stuck in a muddy field/car park and managed rock it free using D & R.

Cheer, thats good to hear, I live at the bottom of a big steep hill:D

I've been thinking about this too, but haven't got round to posting.

I did wonder how the car/DSG would cope. From memory, in normal auto mode I think the car sometimes moves off in 2nd, or is it ALWAYS 1st......?

My last (and first!) auto was a new shape Toyota Avensis petrol and it had a snow button that forced the gearbox to start in second. However even with that, on a snowy hill I wasn't going anywhere until someone gave me a push.

Not that we get much snow in sub-tropical East Anglia.....

Dont get that much snow on the Wirral, but its nice to know. I was wondering about the 2nd gear issue too!

DSG always starts off in 1st, whether it is in manual or auto mode. However the "creep" facility really helps get you moving and you can changeup to 2nd once on teh move.

Ah I see. Give it 2 months and we might have a morning of snow long enough for me to have a play.

Not the DSG, but my manual 2.0TDI was great in the snow at the beginning of the year. I'd only had it a week or so and wasn't sure of how it would cope with snow, wearing those rediculously wide tyres, but the ASR was brilliant. It dragged me up some snowy/icy hills that some softroaders couldn't manage.

I like to think that the driver helped, but I suspect the car did most of it.

Sammycarp - My car is scarily similar to yours (see http://www.briskoda.net/forums/octavia-ii/opinions-flamenco-red/86448/ post 11) - and my mum lives near Broadway - so I'll keep an eye out!

Interesting about the ASR. The fact that the standard car has ASR/EDL/etc etc was one of the reasons I decided a Scout was overkill. Good to hear it works. Does yours have ESP too?

That looks alot like mine, only cleaner!

Mine's a standard Elegance apart from the metallic paint, so no ESP, just the ASR. Turning it off in the snow didn't get me very far, although I did find it useful for a forced j-turn as the only way to get out of a shallow ditch - wouldn't have been a problem with more grip.

Not quite sure where Broadway is, I'll have to check a map. I'm usually in the Bishops Cleeve/Tewkesbury area.

Yours looks pretty clean in your signature. I wonder if my key works with yours!

Are your on Bridgestone ER300's? Hopefully their chunky tread helps in snow.

p.s. Broadway is on the road from Cheltenham to Stratford on Avon, past Winchcombe.

That photo was taken when it was only hours old - Its never been cleaned since then, there's no point when its constantly getting filthy.

I think she was on Bridgestones to start with, but don't remember a particularly 'chunky' tread. I've recently had the fronts replaced, I think they're Michelin now.

Ah yes, I remember now, just past Evesham?

I just thought I would bring this topic to the top again to see if there where any more views

Thanks in advance

only had one outing in the snow and i didnt have any problems. just a matter of being delicate with the loud control.

my previous car was a toyota with a conventional 4 speed auto. The skoda definately coped better and the traction control also helped

For few years of experience of DSG with winter cold and snowy months in Finland.

No problem with shifting or otherwise.

Only real problem with dsg and cold (sub zero) weathers is that

it needs initially bit more gas when you leave after cold night.

Works perfectly after few kilometers.

I would recommend it.

1.How vehicle handles in bad condition?

No differense.

2. Any tricks that can be used with the DSG box in snow and ice (can it be rocked between D and R)?

Yes, partly. You dont rock with switching between those gears,

but dsg will let you put gas and release to get it rocking.

3. Are there any publications on Winter driving with a DSG?

There is not any difference in winter driving with dsg or normal automatic.

(I have been also driving with ice track with my car and could not say any bad words of it, well i would love to have awd, but you dont get dsg with it)

DSG always starts off in 1st, whether it is in manual or auto mode.

I'm reasonably confident I read something about a winter program in the DSG, which should also make it start in 2nd gear, like any other automatic. Though, with ASR fitted to virtually all new cars these days this is redundant.

I'm reasonably confident I read something about a winter program in the DSG, which should also make it start in 2nd gear, like any other automatic. Though, with ASR fitted to virtually all new cars these days this is redundant.

certainly no winter program in the DSG I had. Always moved off in 1st.