DSG woes in The Age

[alexaescht]

This is not to put aside the issues with the DSG, but many (certainly not all) of the issues with DSG transmissions are related to the box not being used correctly. You can't drive it like you would a torque converter box, particularly in heavy traffic. VW should spend a good amount of time with new owners explaining the intricacies of the DSG, how it works, and how to use and not abuse it. The problem is that many (majority?) of VW dealers don't understand how it works in the first place.

Do I agree with you? Absolutely.
But a car should be something you can get in and just drive.
A friend of mine has an '09 Touareg V6 TDI and her mother was looking for a new car last year, so my friend pushed her towards VW and she ended up getting a Golf MK VI 77/90 TSI (can't remember which) with DSG. Of course, being an old lady, my friend's mother just wanted to drive it as a car – but within weeks of buying it, a major problem sprouted up. Her local Woolworths is on the side of a hill, and when she tried to reverse out of a park uphill the car would roll forward until it shot back so fast that she almost backed into a car on the opposite row. Basically, after three months of ownership and VW not wanting to know about the issues, she sold it and bought a Kia Cerato slushbox.
No complains yet...

[wai]

...but within weeks of buying it, a major problem sprouted up. Her local Woolworths is on the side of a hill, and when she tried to reverse out of a park uphill the car would roll forward until it shot back so fast that she almost backed into a car on the opposite row. Basically, after three months of ownership and VW not wanting to know about the issues, she sold it and bought a Kia Cerato slushbox.
No complains yet...

Yes, agree. I have demonstrated this to dealer I bought my Caddy from, and they acknowledged the issue, but responded "standard for that type of vehicle". It has taken me almost 2 years to finally get the hang of reversing up a hill by using the handbrake as I would have done with a manual transmission. Thankfully my Caddy has a conventional handbrake. I don't know how those without a conventional handbrake would tackle this.

You need to understand how the DSG works, and unfortunately the majority would not have a clue, nor should then need to know this. It is sold as an "automatic", and so should operate like one.

A cousin of mine had an Audi A4 with the Tiptronic transmission a few years back as a company car. She got rid of it as soon as the lease expired because she did not understand how it worked, and she had the clutches fail because she would stop with the transmission in D, the handbrake on, and foot off the brake. Even when the clutches were replaced, the Audi dealer did not take the time to explain the operation of the DSG to her. Probably did not know anyway.

[cmrtig]

Yes, agree. I have demonstrated this to dealer I bought my Caddy from, and they acknowledged the issue, but responded "standard for that type of vehicle". It has taken me almost 2 years to finally get the hang of reversing up a hill by using the handbrake as I would have done with a manual transmission. Thankfully my Caddy has a conventional handbrake. I don't know how those without a conventional handbrake would tackle this.

You need to understand how the DSG works, and unfortunately the majority would not have a clue, nor should then need to know this. It is sold as an "automatic", and so should operate like one.

A cousin of mine had an Audi A4 with the Tiptronic transmission a few years back as a company car. She got rid of it as soon as the lease expired because she did not understand how it worked, and she had the clutches fail because she would stop with the transmission in D, the handbrake on, and foot off the brake. Even when the clutches were replaced, the Audi dealer did not take the time to explain the operation of the DSG to her. Probably did not know anyway.

Tiptronic is the torque converter. A damn good Audi transmission currently in the SQ5. S-tronic is the dual clutch!