T6 Multivan worried about DSG issues

[Ejdonn]

Afternoon folks,
I'm looking to buy a T6 Multivan and we're a bit worried about the DSG issues some have had. In a nutshell is it worth buying a T6 or should we be looking at the kia carnival?
Cheers,
Emma

[Transporter]

Hmm, wrong forum to ask that.

The Kia Carnival would be the last van on my list.

[Sunny43.5]

Look I have been down on VW,s transmissions for years due to our early 2004 T5 auto going out for lunch at only 120 thousand kays [way to early ] I haven't had nice things to say about some VW things as that experience had cost me a lot of grief , but I still love the vans and still have two of them . The DSG was a revolutionary change for an auto as it is more a clutch less manual rather than a full automatic , yes some early DSG's in other VW models ie Golf and others did have some issues but from most reports the vans seem to have missed out on those faults . Now ours did have a hiccup very early on and still gives you a reminder that it is not like other autos that us old bastards have grown up with , in a nutshell it is a good box but you have to learn its foibles . I would suggest you maybe monitor the VW Facebook page and see if anyone puts up a report , I spent a lot of time on their pages after the problem with the old one but since I have not seen any complaints about the DSG in the vans and trust me you will see them if people have them .

[jonathan_k]

I've always driven manuals and would continue to, but my wife mandated an automatic .

I did quite a bit of online research before purchasing and am confident that DSG issues in the Transporter haven't been major -- especially when you look at the number of T5.1's on the road -- and that any minor issues are well and truly sorted.

My subjective feedback based on a couple of months driving a 2015 T5 is that the DSG benefits from driving with *much* more throttle control compared to other automatics. I'd go as far to say that it's easy to drive the DSG badly -- in a way that is noticeably straining the clutches -- and I can imagine this causing problems.

While I agree with the assertion made in other DSG discussions that you shouldn't have to drive an automatic a certain way, I don't think that's the case with the T5's DSG.

As a manual driver I quite like the DSG, as it's more engaging to drive the van "nicely". I also love the coasting behaviour as this is how I drive manual in my local area (which has lots of large up and down hills).

One thing worth mentioning is that S mode really poor, almost comical... it's hard to believe an engineering team released the car with that mode.

[Umai Naa!!]

DSG transmission experiences

Some chat in the link above, about the same transmission.

In short, the DSG in the T6 is a good thing.

[Tornado T5]

Reliability of the T5/T6 dsg seems to be quite good.
In my last test drive of a tdi400 T6 Transporter I really focused on stop/start driving to see how it might perform in my typical inner-city delivery runs etc.. reverse parking or backing into laneway situations so I went to a local sports oval carpark and tried lots of tight manouvers at low speed including reverse parking, lots of slow stop/start etc..where light throttle pressure is required.

I thought before hand this is where a dsg would be at it's worst. However I must say the latest version was much better then I expected. I did have low expectations after reading the different CarAdvice reviews. The dsg is not as good as the Vito's 7 speed auto box for smoothness but as you stated jonathan_k, you get used to it.

The only thing I couldn't test was reverse parking with a trailer, which I do with full loads upto 15-20 times in one day on a monthly farm delivery run.

[Sunny43.5]

The main thing I sort of don,t like is that it is fractional slow in deciding what gear to be in most owners of the T5.1 when released with the DSg said manyof them had soiled pants moments when the box was thinking about what to do next . I find the S mode to be best around town as it stops the van from jumping to top gear too early . In hilly situations I have found it can be fooled , we have a road as probably do many others but ours is close to the city . This road up to Mt Glorious goes for around 20 km and has loads of uphill and many sudden down hill sections , the DSG often seems confused and the gear changes can be erratically . The only thing I really hate is the hold system down hill we live on a very steep hill and going down coasting etc will result in the van staying in 2nd gear revving its tits off . There does not seem to be a way other than changing manually to counter this one , which defeats the purpose of a sold as auto in the first place . But like I said you HAVE to learn its foibles those unique niggle things it does that an good old fashioned auto would not do . My old Valiant VF V8 had a simple 3 speed auto and you could flog the beejeezus out of that thing and the auto just took it without hesitation , full blown burnouts with left foot slightly holding the brakes so the front discs would grab but the rear drums would spin were easily done and the auto never gave a hiccup . [17 years old at the time and the cops were fairly lenient in those days too .]

[Tig-uan]

To answer the original question, Multivan versus Kia Carnival.

Multivans are not known for their trouble-free ownership experience. It may not happen to the DSG, but you can be anticipating some issues.

However, once that's accepted, Multivan is much better in its people-mover function: KIA only has 4 adult-size seats: KIA's the 2nd row middle seat and 3rd row seats are smaller. Also, in the KIA, to get to 3rd row seats, you would need to disturb a 2nd row seat, which is not great if you have child seats installed in the 2nd row. In the Multivan, you get 7 full-size seats, and you can get to the 3rd row without disturbing the 2nd row.

[Lams]

If you're buying a VW expecting a trouble-free ownership experience, especially compared with KIA, then it's got to be Kia.

The Caravelle I used to own has a DSG and it's never missed a beat, it's now with a friend at 200k km and is still going strong.

The Caddy I bought new in 2011 would sometimes forget what it's doing and needed new clutch packs at 35k km
Mum's Eos that she bought new needed new clutch packs at 60k km
Sis-inlaw's A1 needed new gearbox at 95k km

Yet they are slowly deleting the manual option from everything they sell and making them DSG! VW is aware that the public thinks the DSG is a trouble box, so they are repairing / replacing boxes even outside of warranty.

I doubt anyone buys a VW over a Kia for reliability or warranty. They're after the solid build and the attention-to-detail in the engineering, and I would say most forum members here know something will go pop eventually. But most of them would still take that over driving a Kia

[Transporter]

Grass is always greener on the other side.