DSG woes in The Age

[RoknRob]

Yep, and a ton more besides. Can't say I've seen Toyota sales or resale nosedive on the back of the recalls and they were recent. For that matter many of the cars I have owned or operated (company) over the last 15 years have had a recall for something. Never bothered me, couldn't see any impact on popularity of those models versus ones that weren't recalled.

True that when I traded my 'scary' Skoda last August the non-VAG dealer did ask if the DSG was OK, but I had the printout of the last service with zero faults, I said "no" and their test drive verified it. They also kept it on their lot to sell. Trade in was OK despite the brand

And that's the point...

When a car has been recalled, you can rest assured that the problem has been fixed. Confidence grows again.

[cmrtig]

And that's the point...

When a car has been recalled, you can rest assured that the problem has been fixed. Confidence grows again.

Exactly, they have made no recall and it seems unlikely. Wai has already indicated that for some reason few have rang the relevant authorities although 300 rang fairfax. So it seems the chances of someone making VWA make a recall are not looking great either at this stage!

So how long is this going to continue? In the meantime we all lose. There is no magic wand here to solve everything and no one can predict how long all the speculation will continue for and again we all the, before this, happy (and perhaps a little poorer and more uncertain now) VW owners suffer in the meantime! It is naive to think this will be resolved in a way that all VW owners are happy any time soon, but again I hope it is!

[BluChris]

I said "no" Der, brain fade. Meant "no faults".

Should they do a voluntary recall for the diesel injectors? Would be good PR about now and its a known fix so yes. Should they do one on the 7 DSG? Twincharger? Tricky. Are they confident of a fix yet? They have extended the warranty on DSG but 10 years like OS would build confidence. 10 years for the engine? Why not, Mitsubishi offer it already if you are the original owner and dealer service.

[PassatB6]

Now obviously, I can't personally vouch for the guy, but even if he were making the whole thing up (and I don't think he is), I'm sure there are many others who would be in a similar situation as he has described - and if they are, they'd probably share his sentiments as well.

I am not saying he's making it up, but he stirred up a hornets nest and then said he would keep the car for six more years and "consider the case closed" all based on the information he received about his car not having the type of gearbox which is causing the problems.

Now people who hadn't had a problem and weren't concerned now are while OZVWCrap is over it all apparently.

[hoi polloi]

VWA has lost little at this stage, fairfax have increased their revenue and come out looking like heroes after years of recommending VW cars.

VW have pulled a lot of advertising from Fairfax since this whole thing blew up... No, no-one is a winner out of this...

As for the thread in general, I find it amazing that people draw such long bows regarding the tragic death of Melissa Ryan - circumstances that are not impossible but have a very remote chance of happening IMO... These kind of arguments are more appropriate coming from the lawyer trying to cast doubt over the truck driver's guilt...

The only thing I can really say is that VW don't do PR very well at all... The possible affects of the public backlash / loss of goodwill / loss of loyal customers etc. probably outweigh the cost of performing the same DSG recall in Australia as in some overseas markets in the first place... Saying that I do love my VW - I've driven Mercs and BMWs (albeit lower-end models) and the gap just isn't as great as you'd think...

A little O/T story...

All cars are capable of having problems - I once owned a Corolla that liked to destroy alternators... It was caught in Sydney's 1999 hailstorm and had $15,000 damage done to it... Unfortunately for me it was insured for $20,500 and the insurance company fixed it (wouldn't even write it off and give me $15,000)... It had a new roof welded on, bonnet, bootlid and one of the front fenders was replaced... Needless to say it was never 100% (and yes, it still destroyed alternators)... I traded it in for $9,000... So, if you've got a VW that is genuinely giving you grief and you've exhausted all your avenues just cut your losses and get something else... Argey-bargey in here does no-one favours...

Regards,
- Anthony.

[pologti18t]

The problem is if they do a recall they have to be sure what they do fixes the problem. In fact I wouldnt be surprised if the fix has to be part of the recall documentation.

The problems with the dry clutch DSG7 that most experience (jerky on take off, shuddering etc) will probably never be resolved to any degree on older cars. The problem is appearing in Fords fitted with the dry clutch Powershift. I have also seen reports of false neutrals and general gearbox confusion with them as well.

It's the power cutouts/stalling that are a worry. But it could be anything from the gearbox to a faultly sensor. There may not be one fix.

AFAIK there have been service campaigns for all these issues.

[Diesel_vert]

I am not saying he's making it up, but he stirred up a hornets nest and then said he would keep the car for six more years and "consider the case closed" all based on the information he received about his car not having the type of gearbox which is causing the problems.

I'd have said the proverbial hornet's nest was comprehensively beaten and battered in the first instance by the corporate stick that is VW.

It's true that the DQ250 isn't subject to the recent recall like the DQ200 is in other countries, but whether it was the gearbox or some other component/s that caused his car to give up the ghost no less than five times is probably immaterial to him - the car simply shouldn't be doing that.

Now people who hadn't had a problem and weren't concerned now are while OZVWCrap is over it all apparently.

A sensible person would take the context of his posts into consideration and see them for what they are. If people can't figure out what that is, or make instant judgements based on the posts of a single user, then that's their problem (or they need to grow some brains).

As for his actions here, well, can you really blame him? I'd hate to be in his situation (and so would many of us I'm sure).

I've offered one or two practical bits of advice, but the merits of that is for him to judge.

[wai]

The problems with the dry clutch DSG7 that most experience (jerky on take off, shuddering etc) will probably never be resolved to any degree on older cars. The problem is appearing in Fords fitted with the dry clutch Powershift. I have also seen reports of false neutrals and general gearbox confusion with them as well.

It's the power cutouts/stalling that are a worry. But it could be anything from the gearbox to a faulty sensor. There may not be one fix.

AFAIK there have been service campaigns for all these issues.

If it is as simple as being the fact that it is a 7-speed dry plate DSG, then the fix is simple. The dry plate DSG needs to be removed and replaced with one that does not have this issue.

If it is a faulty sensor, then again, this needs to be fixed. These are not new issues and I would have thought that VW would have been doing accelerated stress testing to discover the fault.

Intermittent faults are a killer to find and fix.

What has hurt VW the most is the flippant response of "standard for that type of vehicle". Dealerships have rehearsed this so much that staff find this rolling off the tongue like they actually believe it.

I've had it said to me:

The radio reception is hopeless; "standard for that type of vehicle".

The car does not want to shift out of 2nd gear if coming to a full stop on a steep incline and then trying to drive away without putting the transmission in Park; "standard for that type of vehicle".

Trying to reverse up a hill sees the car roll forward as the delay to engage the clutch is too long and the hill hold releases immediately on detecting a change in accelerator position; "standard for that type of vehicle".

There is no internal tailgate (or door) release on my Caddy, yet there are internal boot releases on VWs; "standard for that type of vehicle".

There is no way to disconnect power to the cigarette lighter other than finding the fuse and removing it, or finding a spanner and disconnecting the battery; "standard for that type of vehicle".

The tyres showed signs of scalloping within around 5,000 km of new; "standard for that type of vehicle".

The list goes on.

By the way, a colleague's wife has a Sirocco, and she reported exactly the same issues (except the tailgate one) to another dealer and she got EXACTLY the same responses from them.

So, what's the money that this will also be the response to this campaign?

Yes, VW PR is absolutely hopeless, but we should not then accept that because it is hopeless we must put up with it.

The sooner this is satisfactorily resolved the sooner the VW brand can recover. Each day that passes sees it become more and more damaged.

[cmrtig]

A sensible person would take the context of his posts into consideration and see them for what they are. If people can't figure out what that is, or make instant judgements based on the posts of a single user, then that's their problem (or they need to grow some brains).

As for his actions here, well, can you really blame him? I'd hate to be in his situation (and so would many of us I'm sure).

I've offered one or two practical bits of advice, but the merits of that is for him to judge.

not everyone is sensible. i wish they were and thus there would be no need for this thread and probably no issues with VWs. there are many gullible and crazy people out there. Mr OZVWCrap's comments and those of many others are of no concern to me personally because i, and it seems you, can sort through the crap. but it is the general public who at times are only concerned with the headlines like 'VWs a death trap' and as such that is what sticks. how do you think certain brands get the reputation as death traps?

i don't blame Mr OZVWCrap for being angry with the car and VWA, but he is to blame for making unsubstantiated generalisations and continuing to push the line that it was Ms Ryan's car at fault 100% after expert views from members suggested it was unlikely based on his idiotic theories. honestly read his posts and try to separate what is genuine from that which is obviously crap. from your comments it don't seem to matter to you because he has had all these issues. well as far as i am concerned no matter the problems with your VW or with VWA it is no excuse to intentionally hurt other owners by spreading unsubstantiated views to make VWA, and as a result all VWs, look like crap so that they make a recall, a refund or whatever makes his fancy.

sorry Diesel_vert if you can't separate genuine concerns voiced by VW owners from the B.S. that hurts all, then you are dead wrong. the majority here have agreed about Mr OZVWCrap and it has nothing whatsoever to do with VWA and how they behave.

[GippsCC]

I reckon people can make a point without being abrasive and rude about it - enough said really.