[cormodore]

Mechatronics oil and gear oil change in my Vento TSI

My Vento TSI is around 8 years old and has run around 48K KM. It has been serviced at the ASC yearly as per schedule. During the seventh-year periodic service, I had requested for gear oil change which was displayed in the service chart at the ASC. In addition to gear oil, I also requested them to change Mechatronics oil as well.

To my surprise, the response from SA was “the gear box is a complex and completely sealed unit and VW does not recommend gear and mechatronics oil changes”. I was taken back by the response and showed them the chart, but he insisted that they will not change and is not recommended.

I insisted that both the oils must be changed. SA after discussing with his manager came back that I should sign an undertaking that ASC will not be responsible for aftereffects of the oil changes. I tried to make them understand that oil after a certain period will lose its viscosity and should be changed and told them we also change engine oil because of the same reason. ASC folks were in not mood to listen to me, and I was not willing to sign any undertaking. I took the regular periodic service and got the car back.

VW ASC folks are bunch of jokers, especially the SA’s who do not understand the general properties of any materials used in cars.

I was determined to change both the oils (8 years is a long life for any oil which is moving constantly). Checked YouTube videos, and reached out to BHPians who could help me find a competent FNG who could change both. Reached out to Engineering Exponents (EE) in Bangalore upon recommendation from BHPian Rajeevraj.

Jayant, who is the owner of EE responded promptly on WhatsApp, however, he informed me that he doesn’t have VW oils, but he will use Mobil oils which are of the same grade as VW oils. I was not convinced to use Mobil oils. He was also okay with changing the oils, if I source the VW oils myself.

Checked various youtube videos for the confirmation of the part numbers and ordered them on boodmo.

Part numbers of the VW oils:
Mechatronics oil - G 004 000 M2
Gear Oil - G 055 512 A2

Post ordering from boodmo, reached out to BHPian SHIFU via PM, who has used the services of EE, and he suggested checking FNG in Hyderabad rather than going to Bangalore just for the oil changes, he also recommended a VW technician in Hyderabad ASC. I was a bit hesitant to reach out to ASC again for the oil changes.

Once I received the oils from www.boodmo.com, took out my two wheeler and I went to around 6-7 FNG’s in Madhapur, Hyderabad, and one FNG “Gearheads” in Madhapur responded positively and mentioned that they have accomplished the oil changes in TSI engines and showed their insta pics in which they changed the oils for POLO and they also showed me the equipment to inject the oil to the gear box. They mentioned that they use a brand called Miller and informed me that they are much better compared to VW oils. They had a couple of Porsches and Audis on which they were performing the repairs.

I had never heard about the MILLER brand and since I had already procured both the oils, I checked if I could bring VW oils myself, to which they were okay.

Took the oils and my Vento to them the next day to Gearheads and the oils were changed in an hours time.

Below are the oils that I sourced. Check the expiry date of the oils. GB oil life is only 3 years, and Mechatronics oil life is only 5 years. I am not sure how VW and their ASC’s are saying that the DSG gear box is sealed for life and the oils need no replacements. Recommend every DSG gear box owner to change oils at regular intervals.


Below is the photo sequence of the steps.

Step 1: Battery with its casing and Air filter with its casing must be removed first, so that we can see the gearbox.



Step 2: Starter motor(highlighted) must be removed, so that we can see the screw through which we can inject Mechatronics oil.


We need to remove the screw to inject the Mechatronics oil.


Step 3: Remove the GB oil and Mechatronics drain plugs from the bottom of the car.



Allen keys that were used to remove the drain plugs.


Drain plugs upclose




Blackness of the drained Mechatronics oil.


Step 4: Inject GB oil – Many videos suggested that the GB oil capacity is 1700ML. When I mentioned the same to the technician, he insisted that TSI gear box will consume 2000ML and there won’t be any downside putting in a bit more oil. I went ahead with his recommendation.



Step 5: Inject Mechatronics oil. Check the color of Mechatronics oil, which is transparent green flowing into the mechatronics unit.


The injector which pumped the oil was powered by my battery.



Step6: Put back the starter motor, air filter unit and battery, in the same order.

Post the oil changes, I took for a drive, and the gear changes were indeed smooth (maybe my perception). I am satisfied with the work done and hopefully I have extended the life of my Gearbox and Mechatronics unit.

@Moderators: I did not go through the entire thread and if you feel this is a repeat, please feel free to remove my post.

[Gotham]

Originally Posted by cormodore

Mechatronics oil and gear oil change in my Vento TSI

My Vento TSI is around 8 years old and has run around 48K KM

Engineering Exponents (EE) in Bangalore upon recommendation from BHPian Rajeevraj.

Thank you for the detailed write up , my pre-owned Vento TSI is of similar vintage and ODO

As I'm based out of Bangalore so EE is no brainer for me , however before I start sourcing the oil wanted to know if you have noticed any difference in GB performance. Currently my GB is working fine and gear shifts are seamless as expected. I intend to keep the car for few more years ( They don't make such cars anymore ) & would like to ensure I take the required precautions to extend the life of the DSG.

Thanks,
Sandeep

[cormodore]

Originally Posted by Gotham

As I'm based out of Bangalore so EE is no brainer for me , however before I start sourcing the oil wanted to know if you have noticed any difference in GB performance. Currently my GB is working fine and gear shifts are seamless as expected. I intend to keep the car for few more years ( They don't make such cars anymore ) & would like to ensure I take the required precautions to extend the life of the DSG.

My GB was working fine before the oil change and after the oil change (there was no change in the behaviour). The oil change was a precautionary measure, as I was not convinced by VW's claim that their DSG is sealed for life, given that it has constantly moving parts. This concern was also reinforced by the expiry dates on the gearbox oil and mechatronics oil that I had procured.

The extracted mechatronics oil had the viscosity of water and was black in color(you can check the picture).

[romits]

Originally Posted by cormodore

Mechatronics oil and gear oil change in my Vento TSI

My Vento TSI is around 8 years old and has run around 48K KM.

Thanks for the detailed post cormodore. My Vento TSI has a similar age and mileage. The gear box reliability has always been at the back of the mind. How has the performance been in the months since you changed the oil?

I'm curious why VW service doesn't do this more proactively. As you pointed out, the service guys don't even talk about mechatronics/gear oil change during regular service.

Going to someone like EE is an option. But feels a bit odd that VW won't do it.

[cormodore]

Originally Posted by romits

Thanks for the detailed post cormodore. My Vento TSI has a similar age and mileage. The gear box reliability has always been at the back of the mind. How has the performance been in the months since you changed the oil?

Sorry for the delay in my response. Just completed a 4500KM round trip to Uttarakand from Hyderabad, and the car performed flawlessly.

Once the oil change is done, make sure to reset the DSG gearbox as well (it’s a simple process, and you can refer to a lot of YouTube videos), and you should be good to go.

Originally Posted by travelwriter

Can someone help me here?

I also started getting the feeling that the tyres were replaced without my knowledge at Navi Mumbai workshop (I could be wrong) but have no way of knowing.

A set of new Goodyear tyres will cost me close to 30,000 and the SA advised me to stick to VW authorised workshops rather than visit others to save some money. It would be great if someone could help me with suggestions here.

Hi travelwriter, 30K for Goodyear tyres seems to be on the higher side. I got Conti UC6 tires for 23K (mine has 15-inch rims), and I’m very satisfied with them. Check with other tire dealers; you should be able to find better deals.

[Aditya]

Mechatronics oil and gear oil change in my Volkswagen Vento 1.2 TSI - Posts moved to a new thread.

[AKSarkar1]

There seems to be 1 common trait for all VW SA’s across India- they are absolutely clueless about what VW’s need in terms of maintenance!

The DQ200 is already a problematic gearbox, that coupled with the wear and tear that these German gearboxes face on Indian roads means that they are under more stress, oil quality and viscosity becomes even more important in this age. One can’t emphasise enough on the importance of timely service (in addition to the engine oil changes). VW SA’s seem to think that maintenance is only limited to engine oil and filter changes.

Glad that you took the time to create this post! Thank you for sharing and wishing you many more happy miles with your beauty! The Vento TSI has aged like fine wine, they just don’t make it like that anymore!

[Desmosedici]

Thanks for sharing.

I had a scare when I got a dreaded GB Error message sometime last year. This was after taking the car on a very very steep incline. The error would go after a shut down and switch on but kept coming back intermittently.
After discussing with Bhpian, Adi Petrolhead, I went to JMD Skoda and asked them to change both the oils on my Octavia 1.8 Tsi.
They didn’t have the oils so an order was placed. I was notified once the oils were received.
Took an hour to replace both oils then connected the vcds to reset the GB and all done.

No errors have come post the oil change. No noticeable difference in the GB response.

This was done at around 53k kms. Run 7k kms post that without any issues.

Would suggest everyone with a DSG to proactively get this done for a longer DSG life.

Cheers,
Raj

[ike]

Originally Posted by cormodore

Mechatronics oil and gear oil change in my Vento TSI

Many thanks for the detailed writeup. I think you should also name the VW service center. If it is their standard practice to make you sign an undertaking before performing what is essentially a lube change, the world should know they are incompetent.

[GeeTee TSI]

Very informative.
An undertaking for preventive maintenance indeed! Rather sweet of VW! Kudos to you for pressing on.

I glanced at the service advisor's screen for my Octavia (DQ381) where Gearbox oil replacement and flushing was mentioned for 1.5L km.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by cormodore

Mechatronics oil and gear oil change in my Vento TSI

Once I received the oils from www.boodmo.com, took out my two wheeler and I went to around 6-7 FNG’s in Madhapur, Hyderabad, and one FNG “Gearheads” in Madhapur responded positively and mentioned that they have accomplished the oil changes in TSI engines and showed their insta pics in which they changed the oils for POLO and they also showed me the equipment to inject the oil to the gear box.....

I feel this post deserves it own thread. Even to access the inlet port there is a critical step of removing the starter involved.

With more and more old gen DSGs exiting A.S.S maintenance, I guess owners can use this post for DIY or to educate FNGs.

[AsphaltNomad]

Originally Posted by cormodore

Mechatronics oil and gear oil change in my Vento TSI

Attachment 2623289

Thanks for the sharing the detailed post, I've couple of questions:
Both oils seems to be of old stock, especially the Mechatronics Oil (Feb 2021), more than 3.5 years old. Is this fine? Is the expiry date 5 years from opening the container? If not you would have to replace it in 2 years.

[avinash_clt]

Originally Posted by cormodore

The oil change was a precautionary measure, as I was not convinced by VW's claim that their DSG is sealed for life, given that it has constantly moving parts. This concern was also reinforced by the expiry dates on the gearbox oil and mechatronics oil that I had procured.

Regarding the 'filled for life' claim by VAG, sadly that is the official recommendation when it comes to DQ200 oil, all VAG Manual transmission fluid as well as differential fluids, in most markets.

However please note that the expiry dates on the Oil packaging do not have any parallels with the 'service life' of the oil. It is just 'shelf life' for the product in that particular packaging.

There are even components like certain fuel pumps which have similar 'shelf life' (Eg: 2 years), but there is of course no periodic maintenance / replacement requirement for modern fuel pumps. You can see an example in the attachment.

Regards,
Avinash

[Safedriver2023]

Great thread and I was informed about the sealed for life about the automatic gearbox oil from Gurudev Skoda during my car purchase too. However the oil change is mentioned in periodic maintenance of the gearbox, so I will do it too to keep the engine and gearbox live longer. Thanks for the detailed thread with pictures.

[Mortis]

Just wanted to double check - all the videos I have seen of this fluid change on various VAG cars, including a Polo, both fluids were refilled through plastic breather caps on the top.
I didn't see them in the attached pictures. Are they absent for some reason on the cars sold in India ? If I'm not mistaken the DQ200 is still manufactured abroad and imported so it should be the same.