Throttle Pedal Lag/Dead Space

[daihard]

Come to think of it, the reason I didn't think much of the delay may be because my previous car (an E46 M3 w/ 6MT) had a very similar throttle lag in normal mode. When I switched to sport mode, the lag was gone, but I kept it in normal mode 99% of the time because the throttle response was too sensitive in sport mode (to me).

 

[3pm]

Same here bro, on the test drive i didnt give it too much importance because i thought i just wasnt giving it enough gas and every car is different but after a couple of days and getting used to the car already I can see it is a hugh annoyance. And yeah, the ipod problem is driving me nuts as well. Good thing i didnt pay extra for the head unit, I did pay extra for dynaudio and it is one of the best investments in my life.. but this is out of topic, VW remove your shitty electronic limiters, it's a GTI!!!!! nobody wants them.

OMG, same thing happened to me! This is my first post. I just picked up the ride 2 hours ago and was stunned when I drove it off the lot. At that point everyone had went home. On one hand glad it's not just my ride, but on the other very very disappointed as it is. I was hesitant in the first place to buy VW because of it's legacy of small issues.

So what's the final word on this? What's the easiest way to fix this problem?

Thanks!

 

[ncelk]

Mine has always had this lag. The DSG I drove did as well. I have gotten used to it, but let a friend drive my car last week and that was the first thing he mentioned. It is not turbo lag, it is more of a throttle lag.

 

[johnny_p]

There are two solutions.

First one is to get this thing called a sprint booster... it amplifies the signal from the throttle pedal. Not really a solution if you ask me, but some people like it.

Second one is a tune. I emailed APR a while ago asking about this throttle lag, and they said their Stage 1 tune would help eliminate it. Judging from the reaction on the forums here, it eliminates most of the lag to where people are happy with it. APR said there is some sort of "feature" in the ECU calibration that causes this, so they dialed that feature back or eliminated it. GIAC has said they worked extensively to get rid of this lag, and make the car feel more like drive by cable. Judging from the reaction on forums here, on vortex, and on golfmkv, the reaction is the GIAC tune feels a bit wild. The throttle responds so much quicker people say it might be a pain in traffic but feels good elsewhere.

I think either one of these tuning companies' solutions would more or less eliminate the issue. Of course its all speculation because I don't have a Stage 1 tune or anything yet, lol.

 

[3pm]

johnny_p, thanks for the summary! I really appreciate it.

I'm actually going to go to the dealer as well and see if they can adjust it differently. I spoke to them this morning and they said they'll take a look at it.

sssWill update this thread on any progress either way.

 

[Daniel1]

I also have the lag problem but I think this is the factory error, how can we all experience the same thing. Hope they sort it out on the next generation ie. Golf 7...

 

[Daniel1]

How can we complain directly to the manufacturer 'cause the dealer won't help us with this problem. If anyone have contacts with any of the VW manufacturer Please help and raise this problem to them maybe they can ask each an every one to bring their cars to repair this annoying throttle lag.

 

[johnny_p]

There is nothing to repair, its how the car was designed from the factory. VW programmed this dead space into the pedal. Every single GTI I have driven has this dead zone.

 

[fatty@golfmk6.com]

i used to have the lag too but it went away once I started shifting smooth.
I usually had lag problems when I tried to drive and shift fast. just take it easy when you drive.
Don't let other people's impatience influence your drive!

 

[ElectricEye]

Seems to have a slow deliberate response off of throttle tip in, but nothing alarming to me - that's the way the car was designed as far as I could tell.
My wifes base Civic by contrast has a light and jumpy throttle.
It makes the car feel eager to go, but in my opinion it's just the way the brands set up their cars.

 

[Justinjor]

Any update to this? Anyone notice improved throttle response after upgrading to the newer APR ecu reflash?

 

[Do Work Son]

I heard about this before I bought my 2011 three weeks ago but I haven't really noticed any lag or dead space.

I always tended to slip the clutch and evenly plant the throttle when taking off in first gear, it's just how I was taught to drive. Some people blip the throttle when launching then get back on it after the clutch is out to try minimizing clutch wear. Perhaps that's the problem?

 

[BenH]

It's designed this way as a safety precaution. Every BMW M car I've driven has this 'hesitation' and the work around in those cars was removing the clutch delay valve. Fortunately the non-M cars didn't have this design so there was a factory part to swap in. The theory of this design is that the M motors are powerful and if throttle response is immediate there could be unintentional acceleration by average drivers. The old joke on M car owners is not everyone of them is a M driver.

when I initially noticed it in my GTI I smiled with pride knowing that VW engineers or German engineers are like minded and no detail was overlooked. Or if you ask Adam Carolla he'd most likely say "lawyers f#%^* ruin it for everybody".

The fix is simple, adjust your driving style.

 

[BMW_to_MKVI]

It's designed this way as a safety precaution. Every BMW M car I've driven has this 'hesitation' and the work around in those cars was removing the clutch delay valve. Fortunately the non-M cars didn't have this design so there was a factory part to swap in. The theory of this design is that the M motors are powerful and if throttle response is immediate there could be unintentional acceleration by average drivers. The old joke on M car owners is not everyone of them is a M driver.

when I initially noticed it in my GTI I smiled with pride knowing that VW engineers or German engineers are like minded and no detail was overlooked. Or if you ask Adam Carolla he'd most likely say "lawyers f#%^* ruin it for everybody".

The fix is simple, adjust your driving style.

It's funny because I think the throttle response on the GTI is fine. I did come from a BMW 328i x-drive which is notorious for having lethargic throttle response. If you think the GTI is bad, try driving a 328i then tell me what you think.

One thing I did notice is that the delayed response definitely helped in bad weather especially snow. Most of the time I would throw the shifter into DS to counteract the laggy throttle response but in the snow this was less than desireable. I'm thinking that this is part of the reason for the throttle delay.

 

[path]

2011 TDI does not have the lag.