Mechatronics or Clutch.. or both?

Okay, so again I start the saga of DSG worries. This time there's a bit more than just the dodgy change here and there and it not reacting in the way that I would like.

Here are a few of the issues I'm experiencing:
1. Clunk - the DSG will clunk from gears 4-3 a d 3-2 (sometimes 2-1) under braking. This is only in drive mode as it seems lazy at selecting lower gears. Something new it has started doing is clunking from park to drive, drive to neutral etc, but this has only started within the last couple of weeks.

2. Stuttering/jerking - This is something that seems intermittent as I didn't notice it before, either that or again, is getting worse. What I mean by this is when creeping in gear 1 or reverse, it will start to jutter as if holding on a bite point (but slipping slightly). It seems to pick up after a few seconds, but is considerably worse in reverse.

3. Excessive feedback - when going back down the gears in drive, you can feel every gear cycled in a relatively harsh manner. Again, this is something that seems to have got worse over say 6 months and has become more and more noticable.

4. False neutral - this is something I've experienced maybe 3 times in 8-9 months so not a major issue drivability wise. The only thing is I know this can be a sign off issues to come.

My question is should I be looking at the mechatronics first, then the clutches or both? I am holding out hope for a pure mechatronics issue as when performing a reset (the one where you hold down gas pedal etc) things smoothed up entirely and all issues subsided. But are there any other ways of knowing?

The car only has 50,000 so the clutches would have had to have taken a beating this early to be that broken surely?

Any assistance would be great, car had DSG service about 6 months ago (4k later than it should have had it's 40k service, but there was record fluids had been changed) and VW said they carried out an adaptation (not sure if they did or not).

Thanks!

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Have you checked the rear diff? Might want to change/check oil in the Haldex.
After that, I would try adaptation with VCDS. Check the Ross-Tech site for instructions.
A hard reset by pulling the battery might do wonders as well.

zrickety said:

Have you checked the rear diff? Might want to change/check oil in the Haldex.
After that, I would try adaptation with VCDS. Check the Ross-Tech site for instructions.
A hard reset by pulling the battery might do wonders as well.

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No haven't checked rear diff, would that have an effect on the DSG?

I shall try the adaptation with VCDS, just need to find someone that is able to do it as I only have carista. Does a hard reset provide a form of adaptation? As that should be much easier to perform

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Clunking and hard shifts sound like clutch packs, the false neutral sounds like mech unit, but my question for you is what tune do you currently have?

I had most of the issues you detail here on my GTI, using APR's v2.4 software for over a year. I had the clutch packs replaced and while that solved the clunking, it didn't solve all of the hard shift sensations I was getting. I was going to opt for a mech unit replacement, but so far the new APR stage 2 v2.5 software seems to have rectified most of my concerns, if not all. Only time will tell, but the downshift delay and shudder is definitely much more mild now... almost to the point of non-existence. Maybe the APR software for the Golf R has similar issues, or the DSG was beat to hell.

I have had the same clack for years when decelerating in the lower gears. Im pretty certain its worn solenoids in the mech unit, also your symptoms do sound similar to a bad mech unit. If you scan do you have any codes in the trans module?

BudgetPhoenix said:

I have had the same clack for years when decelerating in the lower gears. Im pretty certain its worn solenoids in the mech unit, also your symptoms do sound similar to a bad mech unit. If you scan do you have any codes in the trans module?

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I've had 2 come up when scanning with Carista.

Once cleared they disappear for a while, then will come back. Not exactly sure yet when this is, but it seems pretty random. Gearbox will behave pretty much the same either way.

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Its having trouble communicating with the TCU which is part of the Mechatronic unit or signaling there's codes stored in it. But false neutrals, jerking and starting, flashing PRDNS are classic symptoms of a failing mech unit. When mine gets really bad im going to toss in a refurbished one of the same type for like $500-600 off ebay then reprogram it.

BudgetPhoenix said:

Its having trouble communicating with the TCU which is part of the Mechatronic unit or signaling there's codes stored in it. But false neutrals, jerking and starting, flashing PRDNS are classic symptoms of a failing mech unit. When mine gets really bad im going to toss in a refurbished one of the same type for like $500-600 off ebay then reprogram it.

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Any reason why you'd opt for that instead of refurbing your existing unit? Trying to weigh up all of the options here

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Golfr20 said:

Any reason why you'd opt for that instead of refurbing your existing unit? Trying to weigh up all of the options here

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Have you seen any places that will refurbish for a good a price or ones that arent overseas? I would hate to be down my only car for weeks. Though it may be nice to refurbish since I have a TCU tune loaded to my car.

BudgetPhoenix said:

Have you seen any places that will refurbish for a good a price or ones that arent overseas? I would hate to be down my only car for weeks. Though it may be nice to refurbish since I have a TCU tune loaded to my car.

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Can get the unit diagnosed and soleniods replaced (which is all they do when refurbing anyway I believe) for £350 the only issue however is removing it then reinstalling it.

And as you said, it may be off the road for a few days.

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Good morning, i have a Golf 6 (MK6) 2010 model. My car just stopped moving, when in drive or reverse gear, i could not move. i took it to a mechanic, who put it through a Diagnosis machine, and the error codes given were P17bf and P189c. the mechanic had a look at it, and said the TCU (DSG Mechatronics Unit) had a problem. so i ordered a re-manufactured TCU and had it put on my car. the car is able to move now, but the major problem is that it gets stuck in gears. sometimes i would be stuck in gear 2, and you cant go faster than that. i do not know what could be causing this. my mechanic says it needs to be reprogrammed, but i am not sure because the company where i bought the TCU from say they already programmed it to my VIN. has anyone experienced such a problem, and if so, whats the remedy? is ths the end of my car? i have only had it for like 4 months and this problem occured. please help!

Loving this thread, I think this is a very interesting discussion