DSG Failure

**dibdib dubdub** · 18-09-2011, 10:11 AM

Hi all,

I was unsure where to post this as it doesn't really fit into "DSG tried to kill me!" For me, whilst DSG has been working it's been fantastic!

My thread is more about complete and utter failure of the DSG, whether anyone else has experienced this and what may be done to fix it and future reliability. This really applies to all current and recent models and not just the Tiguan that I happen to own but I couldn't find the relevant section to post in, that covers all models.

Last Wednesday as my wife was driving to work (me in the passenger seat) we were taking off from a set of lights and...
D1, D2, spanner, D2, spanner, D2.......

!#@&!!!???

We called Volkswagen Assist who sent NRMA (NSW motor repair) and he initially could not connect to the Engine Management Computer system so performed a "reset" in order to connect. Once he did connect he did not have any record of faults but the spanner went away and we continued to work with no issue.
After work, I got back in the car to pick my wife up and again it would not got go any higher than second gear.
Called Volkswagen Assist who called a tow truck.

I called the dealer it had been towed to the following day and, after looking at it, they told me it the mechatronics unit had failed and needed to be replaced.

I am a touch concerned; the car is only 10 months old, has only done 12k and hasn't been driven hard. I asked the dealership what was to prevent another failure once I received a new unit? They said: "The new unit will come with the latest firmware"

After some research, I realise I'm not alone. There are plenty of YouTube videos of DSG faults, including (really scary!) a TT going in reverse when drive is selected and vice versa. There's even a website dedicated to this issue called DSGwoes.co.uk - Index.

How concerned should we all be?

**Jmac** · 18-09-2011, 10:20 AM

Sorry to hear about that and hope it gets resolved soon. It does sound like the mechatronics, and the fact that the tech had comms issues tells me the can link was down due to the mechatronics unit. This can also be picked up in the can gateway, you can actually watch what ecus are awake. Yes the new one will in fact come with the latest revised firmware.
Jmac

**dibdib dubdub** · 18-09-2011, 10:33 AM

Thanks vey much for your quick and useful reply Jmac.

I understand what you're saying (I'm an elec. engineer but do not really know much about cars) but why does the entire unit need to be replaced in order to update the firmware? Can it not be downloaded over the can bus in much the same way as I'd update a router etc?

Or has the software fault actually caused electromechanical damage to the Mechatronics unit?

I suppose I don't really need to know this level of detail but is obvious that you really know what you're talking about so any of your thoughts would probably be very useful.

Thanks again.

**dibdib dubdub** · 27-09-2011, 09:25 PM

Well, Tig came back home on Monday, about one and a half weeks after being towed away.

All seems OK, but then again everything seemed OK until it went wrong. Hopefully "with the latest firmware" there'll be no recurrence.

Mixed feelings about how VW Australia handled the whole thing. Initially, it was pretty bad when the car was taken away, I was told by Barloworld Fivedock that it was a Mechatronics unit that needed to be shipped from Germany and they couldn't tell me how long it would be. What's more, no loan cars were available "they are booked out two weeks in advance". That really revved me up "I didn't book a catastrophic failure of my DSG after only having the car for nine months!" I spluttered.

Barloworld need to learn some tact! I mean, I'm not in customer care or anything but are they completely clueless?!

I called the Volkswagen Careline and they were very helpful and organised a hire car for the duration of the repair.

I suppose my main disappointment is that VW Australia don't seem to have more control over the name (possibly not so good) their dealers are giving them.