Callout to people with out-of-warranty DSG problems

**sukebe** · 11-01-2016, 08:05 PM

Hi all, long time member but a young family has had me away from the forums for quite a while.

I have a 2010 Octavia 118TSI DSG, 52k km, second owner, DSG recall done 2 years ago, service history at independent specialists. After developing the much-discussed DSG shudder, my local Skoda dealer has done their tests and determined it needs "a new transmission and clutch packs", looking at $2-2.5k. They have applied to Skoda Australia for a "good will" replacement but said that being 2years out of warranty and not serviced at the dealer were not in my favour.

Has anyone recently been in the same or similar situation to me? How did Skoda deal with you? Full replacement? Partial cover? No cover?? How about anyone taking them to Consumer Affairs under Consumer Law provisions? From what ive read I *believe* it should be covered under consumer law as it is a proven design problem, but I expect this path will be annoying and time consuming.

Thanks in advance for any feedback of your experiences!

**woofy** · 11-01-2016, 09:24 PM

So to clarify, the recall work was done in that DSG?
No dealer servicing was done?
I think if the recall work was do you will have bugger all chance. Being 2yrs out of warranty and the second owner means even less so. It's low Kms but under consumer law you really want to be the original purchaser as well.

If the recall hasn't been done there is probably a good chance.

**sukebe** · 11-01-2016, 10:09 PM

Originally Posted by woofy

So to clarify, the recall work was done in that DSG?
No dealer servicing was done?
I think if the recall work was do you will have bugger all chance. Being 2yrs out of warranty and the second owner means even less so. It's low Kms but under consumer law you really want to be the original purchaser as well.

If the recall hasn't been done there is probably a good chance.

The shudder started to develop after the recall was completed. I recall reading at the time that in Australia only the mechatronic was changed but in USA the clutch packs were done also. I vaguely recall some discussion around combo of new mechatronic and old clutch packs being an issue, need to try and dig up some info on that.

It was a low km car that only required 1 minor service during its warranty period. Since then (my ownership) it has been serviced at independent VAG specialists.

I need to follow up again with Consumer Affairs, but it's my understanding that Consumer Law Consumer Guarantees apply irrespective to number of owners or manufacturer warranty period as long as you are under 160,000 km, 10 years of age and have service records (irrelevant if at dealer or not).

I'm mostly interested in hearing people's out-of-warranty experiences with Skoda Australia, the consumer law thing is more of a side note.

**Umai Naa!!** · 11-01-2016, 10:36 PM

You might get some help with it from Skoda/VW Aus. (Same head office, personnel, etc).

The other option is to see if there are any third party repairers that can sort it out.

**Antiplastix** · 12-01-2016, 08:09 AM

Our Yeti had the clutch pack, and the mechatronics unit replaced under warranty about 18 months ago. When it was done I insisted the dealer give me a copy of the receipt , they were reluctant to do so but finally relented. I also got an assurance that any work done was to be warrantied for another 2 years. Surprise, surprise the clutch pack started shuddering again last year, when the car was out of warranty.
I rang the dealer with the facts , no drama, clutch pack replaced again ! Two days after that the car started running on 3 cylinders, one of the leads from the coil pack had been burnt against the manifold, shorting it out. They denied touching the leads, but replaced it even though it was no longer under warranty.
Morale to the story, try another dealer .

**harlie** · 12-01-2016, 08:38 AM

Agree, in Brisbane we had a really bad dealer and a good one. I had a mechatronics unit replaced well out of warranty, first dealer wouldn't even come for a drive, other dealer booked a time when the foreman would be ready to go, we didn't even make it to the first intersection when he said "I've seen enough, that's not right".

Unfortunately the helpful dealer went into receivership and no longer exists....

What are the shuddering symptoms?

**VW Convert** · 12-01-2016, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by sukebe

After developing the much-discussed DSG shudder, my local Skoda dealer has done their tests and determined it needs "a new transmission and clutch packs", looking at $2-2.5k.

$2-2.5K for a new transmission and clutch packs? I would have thought this price well under the odds for a new transmission.

Originally Posted by sukebe

The shudder started to develop after the recall was completed. I recall reading at the time that in Australia only the mechatronic was changed but in USA the clutch packs were done also. I vaguely recall some discussion around combo of new mechatronic and old clutch packs being an issue, need to try and dig up some info on that.

I'm sure I've read on this forum many instances where both mechatronics and clutches were replaced in Australia.

Originally Posted by sukebe

It was a low km car that only required 1 minor service during its warranty period. Since then (my ownership) it has been serviced at independent VAG specialists.

I'm not sure what you mean by this, servicing is 12 months/15,000KM, if the warranty is three years, should there not be three services?

Hopefully Skoda will come to the party, it's not as if this issue is unknown and service history of the vehicle shouldn't be an issue as there is no preventative maintenance of the 7 speed DSG during routine servicing.

Cheers

George

**woofy** · 12-01-2016, 11:49 AM

I've had a PCV valve replaced around the 5yr old mark out of warranty, they had a well known issue and there were several versions to try and fix it. Skoda HQ covered the part but I had to pay labour. I have just this past week discovered thatits likely that the thermostat for my just now just over 7yrs old car has apparently died. It had no issue until they did a major service involving replacing the timing belt and water pump and coolant. They think it's a coincidence. I think not, but it's a $500 bill after just spending $1800 with them last month.

I'm the original owner though and had all services done there.

**Lams** · 13-01-2016, 04:31 PM

I would definitely encourage you to be persistent on this issue. The gearbox is a sealed-for-life unit, no servicing required. As you are up-to-date with its recalls, and the car's service schedule, there really isn't any excuse for them.

My sister's car with the same gearbox was purchased second hand. One day the shaft with the even gears and reverse jammed and the car only had 1-3-5-7, the car is 12 months out of warranty. It became my problem as I am the 'car guy' in both sides of the families... you guys probably can relate. The car was towed to a dealership, and after a lengthy battle, fought hard by the local dealer on our behalf with head office, we had a new transmission replaced under good-will. Good-will shouldn't be taken for granted but my reasoning is, the car's service history is almost irrelevant for a maintenance-free gearbox, especially one that is up to date with software, recalls etc.

Good luck