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GTI DSG gearbox experiences
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:46 am
by ChrisEdw
Hi,
I’ve had my 2018 GTI around 2 months and feel like the 6 speed gearbox if a little jerky when changing down (I.e braking to go round a corner). Also when coming to a stop I can feel the car changing down heavily like I’ve just aggressively changed down and pulled the clutch up in a manual?
Anyone else had similar issues?
Re: GTI DSG gearbox experiences
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 10:25 am
by Cadwest
Sounds like you have the car in full sport mode, if so try the car in normal and see if it does it in that setting as well.
Re: GTI DSG gearbox experiences
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:57 pm
by ChrisEdw
No this is in the ‘normal’ setting, in eco mode there is a much less juddering etc but in both normal and sport mode its as I described above :/
Re: GTI DSG gearbox experiences
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 7:08 pm
by MilgeS
I've had the same experience, just put it down to engine braking. I've never had a 2.0ltr engine in any car before and assumed bigger engine was giving more braking on downchanges?
Re: GTI DSG gearbox experiences
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 12:03 am
by monkeyhanger
Are you driving it in manual or auto mode for these jerky downshift?
It's not something I've experienced - if anything, I find the DSG box a little too gentle for a performance model.
I leave mine in individual mode where everything is set to Sport except the adjustable dampers (which are set to nomal) and the engine sound (set to eco - not a fan of artificial " Soundaktors"). I pull the gear change lever back to "D" mode from "S" mode to keep the throttle response of Sport, but not the high revs/low gears that S tries to retain.
Engine braking for me on DSG in auto mode is non-existent, like you're having to brake against an engine that tries to keep going, the gearbox changes down before the engine would stall as the engine speed drops very slowly without accelerator input (compared to a manual). Under hard acceleration, the change-downs are extremely gentle, the lower gear selected is feathered in - you don't get full acceleration until half a second or so after the change is complete.
In my manual cars, at service it was often remarked how little my brake disk wear was - I use the brakes a lot more with the DSG due to the lack of engine braking.
In coming to a stop, the car is reluctant to use 1st, it's down to 2nd then it disengages the clutches to come to a stop. To move off again it is into 1st.
Having long favoured manuals but having no choice but to take a DSG Polo GTI, I liken the 2 boxes the following way:-
A manual is always looking to slow down unless you accelerate.
A DSG is always looking to go unless you use the brake to stop it.
In coming to a stop in traffic, the auto start kills the engine prematurely - when at about 1.5mph.
Re: GTI DSG gearbox experiences
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 5:35 am
by mike sel
monkeyhanger wrote: ↑Fri Nov 09, 2018 12:03 am
Are you driving it in manual or auto mode for these jerky downshift?
It's not something I've experienced - if anything, I find the DSG box a little too gentle for a performance model.
I leave mine in individual mode where everything is set to Sport except the adjustable dampers (which are set to nomal) and the engine sound (set to eco - not a fan of artificial " Soundaktors"). I pull the gear change lever back to "D" mode from "S" mode to keep the throttle response of Sport, but not the high revs/low gears that S tries to retain.
Engine braking for me on DSG in auto mode is non-existent, like you're having to brake against an engine that tries to keep going, the gearbox changes down before the engine would stall as the engine speed drops very slowly without accelerator input (compared to a manual). Under hard acceleration, the change-downs are extremely gentle, the lower gear selected is feathered in - you don't get full acceleration until half a second or so after the change is complete.
In my manual cars, at service it was often remarked how little my brake disk wear was - I use the brakes a lot more with the DSG due to the lack of engine braking.
In coming to a stop, the car is reluctant to use 1st, it's down to 2nd then it disengages the clutches to come to a stop. To move off again it is into 1st.
Having long favoured manuals but having no choice but to take a DSG Polo GTI, I liken the 2 boxes the following way:-
A manual is always looking to slow down unless you accelerate.
A DSG is always looking to go unless you use the brake to stop it.
In coming to a stop in traffic, the auto start kills the engine prematurely - when at about 1.5mph.
Obviously mines NOT the GTI but my 115 DSG behaves the same way even though I have one more gear then you and a dry clutch. How you describe the manual over DSG is exactly right. Even though ive 6k on the clock now that description is an eye opener.
Re: GTI DSG gearbox experiences
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 5:39 am
by mike sel
I leave mine in individual mode where everything is set to Sport except the adjustable dampers (which are set to nomal) and the engine sound (set to eco - not a fan of artificial " Soundaktors"). I pull the gear change lever back to "D" mode from "S" mode to keep the throttle response of Sport, but not the high revs/low gears that S tries to retain.
OK that's interesting are you saying that yours stays in Individual mode on a restart? I find with mine I can set it to eco, sport or individual modes and upon restart it sends the gearing back to normal. I don't know if the other settings stay as previously set.
Re: GTI DSG gearbox experiences
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 9:29 am
by roywolfey
monkeyhanger wrote: ↑Fri Nov 09, 2018 12:03 am
In coming to a stop in traffic, the auto start kills the engine prematurely - when at about 1.5mph.
This has caught me out a little before now, My road is a right turn across oncoming traffic an I have been in the situation where I've almost come to a complete stop and a car coming towards me flashes to let me turn, and the car cuts the engine (and power steering) at the exact moment I need it. I'd prefer it if Start Stop only cuts power when the car has come to a complete stop. That said, overall I think the start/stop is a good idea and I can always override it with the button.
In terms of DSG, this is my third VW with DSG and I have nothing but praise for the Polo GTIs 6 speed Wet clutch box. Most of the time the car is used as a commuting hack, and I have driver mode selected to normal, occasionally pulling the selector back to engage 'S' or to the left for manual/paddle shifting. I have found it smooth and seamless and haven't noticed any jerkiness when changing down.
Re: GTI DSG gearbox experiences
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 2:10 pm
by monkeyhanger
mike sel wrote: ↑Fri Nov 09, 2018 5:39 am
I leave mine in individual mode where everything is set to Sport except the adjustable dampers (which are set to nomal) and the engine sound (set to eco - not a fan of artificial " Soundaktors"). I pull the gear change lever back to "D" mode from "S" mode to keep the throttle response of Sport, but not the high revs/low gears that S tries to retain.
OK that's interesting are you saying that yours stays in Individual mode on a restart? I find with mine I can set it to eco, sport or individual modes and upon restart it sends the gearing back to normal. I don't know if the other settings stay as previously set.
On restart mine defaults to D (from S), but throttle response remains as expected for Sport mode.
The most annoying thing for me and car reset has to be turning off park plus (or whatever it's called -no access to my car right now on holiday in Mexico) to stop front parking sensors engaging in crawling traffic and having them come back on for the next ignition cycle. They stay off on my Golf R.