Golf 7 speed DSG hesitation

[karmic_flop]

Hi all,

I've got a '10 Golf 118TSI 7 speed DSG with Sport Pack. Since birth this car has had an unpredictable hesitation from standing starts that's driving me crazy. Sometimes the car goes nice and smoothly straight away, other times I'm left waiting for it to decide what to do. I've seen it mentioned here and there in other threads so I thought I'd start a new one for this issue to be discussed.

There are two manifestations of the problem for me, one in first and the other in second. From a standing start you can put your foot on the accelerator expecting some sort of reaction from the car indicating that it's going to accelerate for you. Instead it sits there doing nothing for what feels like forever but is really probably about 2-3 seconds before anything happens, then generally the longer you've had to wait the harder the start will be. This can even result in spinning wheels. Otherwise, it can start ok and do it's rediculously early shift into second at 4km/h and then you can wait a few seconds before the acceleration continues. Both of these situations can be pretty dangerous and have put me and other road users in harms way at least a few times.

Not sure if it's related, but I'm on my second gearbox. First one was replaced for a mix of laggy clutch take up and rattling odd number gears, particularly engine braking shifts down into 3rd. Replacement box started doing the same thing after 3 months. So far the main plan of attack VW dealerships have had is to check for error codes and recalibrate the gearbox. That's been done about 5 times and I don't believe they know what they're doing anymore.

So, what I want to know is how many 118TSI + DSG owners are having this problem? And how many have a Golf 118TSI DSG that does what their right foot is asking for promtly and consistently?

[RW1]

I used to have what you describe.

Changed the spark plug gap from 0.92mm to 0.75mm.

Never does it now.

Bonus besides the smooth take off's & 1 --> 2 gear change is use of higher gearing and recent tyre tread depth measures on the front wheels has shown a marked improvement in wear rate (because of no wheel spinning, particularly the left wheel which always seems to spin). Throttle no longer does maybe I will, maybe I won't. It just goes.

[karmic_flop]

Wow, that would be great if that was all that's needed. Definitely going to give that a try. Thanks for the tip.

[Ryan_R]

I fixed mine partially by getting the APR ECU Stage 1 upgrade, and then mostly fixed it with a SprintBooster throttle adapter.


Before doing that I always had to accelerate half a second before I wanted to go anywhere, ok for turning out of intersections but quite unnerving at certain roundabouts and plenty of missed opportunities when wanting to leave a slow lane on the freeway. Esp annoying when you have the power to make the gap but the delay/lag ruins it.

[Syd118TSI]

Have never experienced anything like this on the 118. Second gear shudder, yes (now fixed), but never any sort of hesitation for that period of time. That would be a real worry!

[nilo8533]

Have never experienced anything like this on the 118. Second gear shudder, yes (now fixed), but never any sort of hesitation for that period of time. That would be a real worry!

I've noticed that second gear shudder in my mk6 golf. What did you need to do to fix it?

[Brian]

Take it to the dealer and explain your concerns

[RW1]

2nd gear shudder is covered here... http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/foru...tml#post772605

This topic isn't the same thing.

[hentaiboy]

Otherwise, it can start ok and do it's rediculously early shift into second at 4km/h

This is resolved with the revised software (TPI 2021116/4).

[Rockman]

We have had similar problems with dodgy gearbox and clutches on our TSI. Just keep taking it back for them to fix.