DSG Issues (again)

Hi everyone, I have a question about a DSG issue that I can't seem to find any info about. I'm hoping someone else has encountered these issues and can shed some light or share experience.

Now, I've had many common issues with my 2011 GTI w/ DSG: false neutrals, unexplained stalls, lagging between gears, etc. And of course, the computer never gives an error code.

But I've experienced 2 other things that are driving me nuts:
1. During and after certain corners, the transmission upshifts WAY too late. under acceleration that would typically bring about an upshift at ~2k RPM, it waits until 4k or 4.5k, then downshifts several times, rapidly. The car is in D, at operating temp, and these are level corners.
2. Downshifts are occasionally quite harsh. It's not all the time, which makes me wonder at the cause, and also makes it extremely frustrating, because my car is unpredictably jolting me approaching stops. Again, this is in D, at operating temp, on flat ground in gentle stops.

I've driven manuals all my life, so pardon me if these are just expected features of a transmission as complex as this one. Anyway, thanks for listening, and I hope I'm not the only one...

Sounds like your Mechtronics unit is on its way out. Good luck! They'll probably try reflashing your DSG first to see if that fixes it. Luckily no problems for me yet *knocks on wood*.

Even though a lot of these issues are hard to reproduce on demand, have you documented them and informed your dealer every time it happens, with the mileage you were at and such? If you can't reproduce it, documentation will go a long way.

I had a false neutral shortly after getting my car. I immediately sent them an email detailing exactly what happened what the mileage was, and all sorts of info like how warmed up the cat, the outside ambient temp, and exactly how I was driving it when it happened. I dropped it off immediately after work that day. They had it for almost a week and ended up flashing it with the new code that eventually came out 2 weeks later for almost all newer DSG cars.

A couple of thousand miles later it happened again. I wrote them another email, very detailed explanation with mileage, temps, driving situation, and all that again. I dropped it off and they had it for 2 days and then ordered a new mechatronic unit (which took a month to come in). That just got installed last night.

So, I only reported 2 instances of 1 problem, but with exceptionally good detailed information, and got a new unit installed. I recommend you go down the documentation path if your dealer isn't being receptive.

Also, I wasn't expecting to notice any difference, but the new mechatronic unit shifts better, especially in lower gears.

Thanks for the advice. So far VW has done exactly what you predicted. They took it for a day and ran all sorts of tests, reflashed the DSG, and most recently, provided a software update. Each time they said something along the lines of "We're stumped, hopefully this helps." Not too comforting. I'll be sure to document these issues as they happen, and maybe VW's next move will be a new mechatronics unit that saves the day.

For what its worth the DSG HOLDS a gear while you're in a turn. So i am not sure the first one is a problem.

Harsh shifts are usually caused by erratic throttle inputs. Are you applying the throttle gently when you drive the car?

maxtdi said:

For what its worth the DSG HOLDS a gear while you're in a turn. So i am not sure the first one is a problem.

Harsh shifts are usually caused by erratic throttle inputs. Are you applying the throttle gently when you drive the car?

Click to expand...

In spirited driving, I appreciate that it doesn't shift mid-corner. Maybe there's a setting for this? But the issue is that it's holding gear for several seconds after I've straightened out, and this is under very gentle throttle. And I would hate to think that it refuses to shift during ANY corner force; taking a cloverleaf onramp from a stop-light would be annoying.

And I've definitely experienced harsh shifts from erratic throttle (slowing to a stop light, then accelerate when it turns green). This seems to be a necessary evil of the technology. My issue is when downshifting to a stop, so no throttle at all. Though I've also noticed that shifts are much smoother with moderate acceleration vs light acceleration.

Thanks for the input in helping me diagnose this.

Sounds like mechatronics woes.

See if you can find a reliable way to reproduce your issues, and get a video of it happening. This helped me a ton when I had my mechatronics unit replaced.