Yesterday I got a DSG transmission fluid change at the local VW dealership. I was getting it serviced before a road trip next week, making sure it would make the journey. Then after only 30min of driving time while I was sitting in the center lane waiting to turn left I let go of the break and press the accelerator during a break in traffic. The car acts like it’s in neutral and only revs. I quickly took my foot off the pedal when the car kicks into first gear while the rpms were dying down, and launches the car forward into the oncoming traffic and spinning the tires. A little blinking wrench icon spears on the dash and went away after turning the car off and on. After that happened the car now has a metallic popping sound in first gear only. While driving it this morning to take it back to the shop it did the same lunging occurred when ever I started moving from a dead stop.
I figured it was low transmission fluid and everyone I talked to went straight to that issue as well. The dealership on the other hand spent all day figuring out the problem. They are keeping the car overnight saying the last thing the mechanic was looking at was the dsg programing and it didn’t look serious. It I don’t believe that. It’s never had any issue close to this all the years of having that car and this happens 30min after it’s serviced.
Has anyone had this kind of issue and if so what’s the best way of handling it? I greatly appreciate it.
This is taken from carcomplaints.com about a VW owner having similar issues with his transmission.Problems with VW dsg transmission is all over the internet if you search.
My 2007 VW Gti dsg has transmission safety problems that have caused me to nearly get hit numerous times. The problems began when the car was less than 4 months old. Without warning the car slips out of gear, lags, then grabs gear again and has to re-accelerate causing loss of control of vehicle speed. This has happened in traffic at speeds of 65 as well as in city 30-45 mph. This has happened when pulling out onto a busy turnpike and suddenly having the car have no acceleration power almost causing me to get hit by oncoming traffic. When going at highway speeds it has happened with no warning and suddenly the car decelerates and there is a several second lag before it grabs and decides to go again. This can happen several times consecutively which is a very serious safety issue. I have had the car into the dealer at least 8-10 times and everytime they tell me it is fixed and then I pull out and it slips out of gear again. They have replaced the mecatronic unit, reflashed the ECM, added in a missing launch control program and replaced intake flap motor. These problem have taken all my faith out of the vehicle. Everytime I drive I am afraid. You don’t know when it will slip out of gear and lose power. I hear a loud thunk from the engine and it feels like the car has been hit from under the hood. I have to continue this on another complaint form B/C of length, pls. See page 2 of chris dunn 2007 VW Gti - Richmond, VA, USA
When DSGs first came about I thought they would be a great bridge between manuals which are fun in spirited driving, and automatics which are great in traffic and in the daily grind. Having tested them in VWs, and many other brands like Hyundai and Mercedes, they are my least favorite type of trans hands down. CVTs and modern autos do everything that a DSG can in mainstream cars and they feel better and are lower in cost. I do wish you luck in the repair and congrats on owning a GTI. One of my personal favorite cars at any price.
Ask them to drain all the fluid out and do the job again, following VW’s recommended shop procedure to the letter, and using VW’s oem fluid.