GTI DSG Service Issue - Please Help

[swimming gti]

I recently took 2017 GTI to get a dsg service as id bought it used at 60k miles and it hadn't ever been serviced.

I used a local mechanic due to price and lack of personal expertise. The DSG kit ModdedEuros sent me contained 6 1L bottles of fluid and when he was finished, 2 were unopened, meaning he used less than 4L of fluid.

Really want to avoid transmission issues as I'm about to tune it. Am I over worrying or do you think it is low on fluid or they didn't do a proper service? Be glad of recommendations and advice from people who know more.

Thanks!

 

[mopar22]

Ask them what they did, and you'll know if they're worth their weight in gold depending on how they answer the question. But yes all the bottles should have been opened/used to a certain extent

 

[BudgetPhoenix]

Yes knowing what method they used will tell a lot. A simple DSG drain fill & service and should take about ~4.7L iirc though. I just get it to temp & drain and top fill 5L and drain out the excess with the snorkel installed to get the level right which puts me at about 4.7L total. In years past I saw a lot of people doing only a measure-fill method online where they drain the fluid and put back in exactly what they got out which could lead to an underfilled trans if it was underfilled to begin with and they didnt know.


A lot of of the kits come with 6 bottles for some reason, idk if its because the factory method has you pump in that much in and drain out 1.3L excess to flush, or its closer to the capacity of the entire system, but you really shouldn't need more than 5 with a normal DSG service.

It is suspect 2 bottles are unused in your case though so yeah def confirm what they did.

 

[swimming gti]

Yes knowing what method they used will tell a lot. A simple DSG drain fill & service and should take about ~4.7L iirc though. I just get it to temp & drain and top fill 5L and drain out the excess with the snorkel installed to get the level right which puts me at about 4.7L total. In years past I saw a lot of people doing only a measure-fill method online where they drain the fluid and put back in exactly what they got out which could leave to an underfilled trans if it was underfilled to begin with and they didnt know.


A lot of of the kits come with 6 bottles for some reason, idk if its because the factory method has you pump in that much in and drain out 1.3L excess to flush, or its closer to the capacity of the entire system, but you really shouldn't need more than 5 with a normal DSG service.

It is suspect 2 bottles are unused in your case though so yeah def confirm what they did.

Appreciate your responses mopar22 and BudgetPhoneix

I had asked the shop what the deal was after the service and he assured me his guy did it right and that they filled it and checked it was the right temperature. I also called VW and they said it was odd only 4L were used which makes me scared...I had transmission issues on my last car and if there's one thing I want to avoid on my gti it's that. I love this car.

Is there a way to check there is enough fluid in? I know there's no dipstick...maybe under the car somehow?

What could I get him to do to ensure it's done right? Maybe use another bottle and drain out the excess fluid? I haven't paid yet so have some leverage in the deal.

Just started learning mechanically so appreciate your expertise.

 

[YamR1rider]

Is there a way to check there is enough fluid in? I know there's no dipstick...maybe under the car somehow?

The only way to do it is to jack the car up level, run the transmission fluid up to temperature (monitoring with vcds or obdeleven) and with the car still running, remove the drain plug (but not the internal snorkel) and observe what comes out. Should be a broken stream trickle. If nothing comes out at all, it's under filled.

 

[jay745]

^ lol

Over filling and removing the drain plug to observe what comes out is a waste of time.

4.7 is what it calls for. Fill it to that spec and be done.

 

[YamR1rider]

Well, it's what I do. I did the top fill 4.7l and call it good for my first one. But then OCD got the best of me....so I went and checked it properly anyway. It was near enough bang on to be fair.

But in this case he's wanting to know how to check level it being already filled... and that's the only way to do it.

 

[swcrow]

Is it 6 bottles if you do a filter replacement?

If filter wasn't replaced, maybe you don't need the other 1.3L?

 

[YamR1rider]

I think the 6 bottles comes from the 'by the vw book' method which iirc they seem to want you to put 5.5l in and then drain it down to level....or to account for someone having a drama refitting the drain plug if doing bottom fill method and losing a load. It's 4.7l or near as dammit including the filter.

 

[swimming gti]

The only way to do it is to jack the car up level, run the transmission fluid up to temperature (monitoring with vcds or obdeleven) and with the car still running, remove the drain plug (but not the internal snorkel) and observe what comes out. Should be a broken stream trickle. If nothing comes out at all, it's under filled.

Thanks, definitely want to try this method to ensure I have enough fluid.

So if I jack it up and remove that first drain plug (not the snorkel), only a trickle should come out? I see on some yt videos they have a full stream coming out just from removing the drain plug.

And if nothing comes out, I should just pump maybe another liter in (with the snorkel plug installed I assume?). And then let it all leak out until its down to a trickle and screw the drain plug back in?

 

[CaptainRatty]

I think the factory method calls for pumping 5.3L in and then doing the level set procedure, hence the reason for the 6L kits.

 

[YamR1rider]

Thanks, definitely want to try this method to ensure I have enough fluid.

So if I jack it up and remove that first drain plug (not the snorkel), only a trickle should come out? I see on some yt videos they have a full stream coming out just from removing the drain plug.

And if nothing comes out, I should just pump maybe another liter in (with the snorkel plug installed I assume?). And then let it all leak out until its down to a trickle and screw the drain plug back in?

Yes, they will have a stream coming out for a start. because generally the practice is to overfill a little, then drain-to-correct level.

If you are planning on filling some more from the bottom, you will need the correct threaded screw in attachment and to make life easier for yourself, some sort of pump - doesn't have to be expensive, a hand pump attachment which fits the fluid bottle is fine (there's one called slippery Pete for instance which works just fine).

 

[messrock]

Just did this on my car yesterday. We only put in 5 bottles. When checking level, nothing came out. Opted for “better safe than sorry” and pumped in the 6th bottle. Brought it up to temp, cycled the gears and drained out - an entire bottle.

Only using 4/6 isn’t right though. Either they didn’t fully drain it first, or it’s underfilled.

 

[swimming gti]

Just did this on my car yesterday. We only put in 5 bottles. When checking level, nothing came out. Opted for “better safe than sorry” and pumped in the 6th bottle. Brought it up to temp, cycled the gears and drained out - an entire bottle.

Only using 4/6 isn’t right though. Either they didn’t fully drain it first, or it’s underfilled.

Do you think my mechanic maybe only drained from the drain plug and didn't remove the snorkel? If he did, I assume Id probably have to redo the entire flush? Transmission fluid is expensive but id rather waste another $100 than $4k on a transmission...just trying to figure out why an "experienced mechanic" would screw something up like this?

Guess ill just do what you did...pump in the other bottles and drain out excess, hopefully that works.

 

[messrock]

Do you think my mechanic maybe only drained from the drain plug and didn't remove the snorkel? If he did, I assume Id probably have to redo the entire flush? Transmission fluid is expensive but id rather waste another $100 than $4k on a transmission...just trying to figure out why an "experienced mechanic" would screw something up like this?

Guess ill just do what you did...pump in the other bottles and drain out excess, hopefully that works.

He had to have pulled the snorkel, b/c it goes to a drizzle pretty quick with it still in there. If he measured what came out and replaced only that volume, maybe there’s a leak somewhere? Can’t say for sure.

I would go back to the shop and ask straight up the process b/c getting 2l out of 6 back doesn’t math with the trans taking 4.7. You paid for a service, get the details.