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-   -   DSG, demystified! All you need to know about VW's Direct-Shift Gearbox (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/204672-dsg-demystified-all-you-need-know-about-vws-direct-shift-gearbox-11.html)

Hi , I have a couple of questions for people who have experience with DSGs. I have a month old Rapid TDI DSG, in which I have been facing these issues.
1. The car seem to have a jerk while downshifting from D3 to D2. Is there anything to be worried about ?
2. When there is a gear shift (especially to reverse) I can hear the gear slot change audibly when I'm inside the car with windows open. Should that be silent ? I can also hear it slot to D sometimes.
Thanks in advance.

Responding to your queries pointwise

1. The D3 to D2 jerk is very common. Sometimes what you notice as a jerk is actually engine braking induced by the lower gear. Nothing to be worried about.
2. The DQ 200 being a dry clutch system is known to make sounds. It makes metallic sounds when slotting into or out of D, R and P. At times you'll even hear the gear box clattering away to glory if you are driving over cobbled roads with windows down. Nothing to be worried about here either :)

Thank you so much ! With the DSG and all it's quirks I was kind of scared about the jerk and the slotting sounds. You sir have brought peace to my mind. Even with the thought of DSG issues lingering in my head, I still believe IMHO this is the best automatic one can own in that price bracket. Thanks again for your prompt response. :thumbs up

Note that it tends to clatter and make clicking noises especially on the first start of the day or when the weather is colder. My Octy TSI does (!), so I have developed a technique to mentally combat it.

I start the car as soon as I sit in the driver's seat, then fiddle around with my seat-belt, position all the bits and bobs like my tie (yes, I wear one most days!) & phone, do a quick check on Google Maps for traffic, check for the (if any) kids' seatbelts, and only then reverse out.

This has the added advantage of stabilizing the engine revs, which in a 1.8 TSI, sounds very 'raggedy' at first, but comes back to normal/stabilizes at ~950 rpm in 20/30 seconds.

Yeah I agree. I always warm up the engine for at least 10-15 mins before I leave. I spend the time by setting up carplay and selecting my playlist. I follow this on all cars especially turbo diesels. It's great to know it'll help the gearbox too.

Found this little old link on how to use DSG gearbox effectively. Experts can review and confirm if the content in the link is still valid.

How to Play The DSG Game, and Win - DSG Driving Tips and Tricks

Yes, these are very valid even now. One has to change their driving pattern to a manner that the electronics in the DSG "understands".

Hello Gaaij,
Looks like I am doing it right. The Jetta ran for around a 150 thousand kilometers without any issues after I bought it pre owned. The Passat is still going strong at 241000 kilometers with no issues cropping up as yet. This was also picked up pre owned at around 81000 kilometers
Fingers crossed.

Drive safe, always wear a seatbelt!

The decision of choosing between a manual or an automatic transmission, should not hinge only on the tech lying underneath. It could be due to daily driving conditions (usage of heavy manual clutch vs using an auto tranny, for example) or various other factors also.
Having said this, the Octavia will come to life in a 1.8 TSi as compared to the puny 1.4 TSi engine.
As for the "fear", that is taken care of to a great extent, since VW group in general offers upto 6-year (for Skoda cars) or 7-year (for VW cars) peace-of-mind warranty covering the gearbox as well. There's also the roadside assistance plans covering specific breakdowns etc. as required.

Adaptation is, very generally speaking, resetting of the fundamental software configuration for the mechatronics, in conjunction with a road test to simulate/adjust driving conditions like creep, upshift/downshift etc. So, yes, the DSG will behave more predictably (to use for lack of a word) post adaptation. But some folks do not prefer the domestication of this process!
For more details related to adaptation, you may want to check out my post, mentioned earlier on this thread :)


Absolutely. For a longish time interval during halting, please refrain from keeping the gearbox in the D mode. Switch it to N or P immediately to park, or switch to M when in crawling traffic.

The gearbox obviously will not shift to neutral on its own. You have to do that manually using the gear stick. And once done, this gets reflected on the MID as well for visual confirmation in the form of the letter "N".
Plus, the "N" button on the gear panel near the stick also lits up in brighter red color, as compared to other mode.

Nothing to worry about as such, if this jerk is not violent enough.
Typically, the DQ200 will take longer time to downshift as compared to upshift, hence the lag is noticeable.

Sounds normal. From my experience of having driven a DSG for 75k km, the noise is prominent usually during cold starts and then significantly diminishes as and when the paraphernalia heats up adequately.

The DSG doesn't require any heating or warming up as such during start.

If I may, here is a list of commandments that I have managed to put down based on experience and some best practices.

I own 1.8 TSI Octavia L&K, which I bought 7 months ago. This is my first DSG, for that matter, the first auto-shift rather. Since my manual-gear days, if I find a slope or find a traffic red light ahead, I slot from gear to Neutral, while the vehicle is not stationary.



I still have the same habit, even in my DSG, whenever I see a traffic red light ahead of me, I shift from 'D' to 'N' while the vehicle is moving (at times even when the speed is around 20-30 kmph). Or when I enter basement parking, from the top of the slope, I shift from 'D' to 'N', at similar speeds, and then when I reach the end of the slope, slot from 'N' to 'D', while the vehicle is still moving. Further, I have this sub-conscious driving style of shifting to Neutral even at shortest stop duration.



After reading many scary stories about DSG malfunctioning, I am getting anxious to know if my driving routine are OK for DSG or should I change this pattern.


Please advise.

I would advise not to adopt this driving style. Although Skoda does not explicitly state it is harmful it does mention that "If you want to move the selector lever from position N to position D / S whilst driving, the engine must be running at idling speed."

Why would you want to fiddle with the gear lever when you bought an AT to avoid doing just that :-). Let the DSG figure things out and upshift/downshift on it's own.

I'd strongly advise against "coasting" in any kind of car. Neutral is for stopped.

I think you can achieve the same result by engaging the eco mode of the DSG gearbox. As soon as you lift your leg from the accelerator the car will be "coasting".

My Jetta has completed 1,16,000 kms and my FNG said we need to change the gearbox oil in the next service. I bought a pre worshipped Jetta and don't know the specs of the dsg oil. Can anyone help me with which oil to buy and where I can source it from ?

As others have already mentioned, this doesn't sound to be a healthy practice for the DSG mechatronics(and your brakes as well) and you might end up having to pay a huge price in the long run. Your best bet would be to check the box against 'Coasting' on you MFD, if you still need to get that feeling of 'freewheeling'.

I still have no clue why the manufacturers give the user an option for 'Coasting'. I remember, I unchecked the 'Coasting' option from the MFD just three days into my ownership of the Jetta simply because of the slight jerks the car gave every time you touch the accelerator while it is coasting. Adding on to that, I noticed that while coming to a halt at the traffic there was very little engine braking and the brakes had to do more work bringing it to a stop. It was not a good experience driving in medium-high traffic as well as the gearbox shifts between freewheeling and drive modes continuously - jerky rides!