DSG Mechatronic Replacement

[Maverick]

Had the DSG's Mechatronic replaced on Monday under warranty (~$3800).

Car is a dream to drive now and feels like a new car, no more embarrassment reversing out of car parks or low speed surging :thumbup:

Had the gearbox learned values reset and whilst it was better there were still issues and they all came back after a few days so it was booked in for a Mechatronic replacement.

A bonus is that you get a full DSG oil change complete with filters and seals :thumbsup:

Part numbers and info along with DSG and 6MT pricing here

 

[Big Yellow]

Apart from the issues you listed, were there any other specific problems you had with your DSG to warrant a replacement??

Just curious as to what to look out for in the future!

 

[Maverick]

Apart from the issues you listed, were there any other specific problems you had with your DSG to warrant a replacement??

Just curious as to what to look out for in the future!

I had some rough shifts when coming to a stop, not many of these but it occured twice when I had the foreman in the car. The main characteristic was surging up inclines at low speed, especially in reverse as it looked like you were slipping the clutch in or out or where pushing the throttle and letting go. Reversing out of car parks was the worst, damn this was embarrassing as the car would surge a bit and you couldn't get out smoothly like you should be able to :biggrin:

Those were my main problems, the foreman said that he hadn't seen one this bad before so it was an open and shut case but they have to do the reset of the value and some testing to make sure as it's a pretty expensive job (it could be more then what I listed as well as these are based on US prices).

 

[SR32]

*OUCH*

I would hate for that to happen outside of warranty. I wonder how that will affect the resale value of DSG cars.....(should this sort of news get out into the second-hand car buying public)

*fingers crossed for all of you DSG boys*

 

[mrx]

Seems to be shaping up to be a common problem. I know of two of the Perth guys from this forum who've already had this done. Hopefully, once these cars have been around a bit longer, people will actually start being able to fix/adjust these rather than the VW under warranty approach of chuck it out and put a new one on.

 

[Maverick]

Seems to be shaping up to be a common problem. I know of two of the Perth guys from this forum who've already had this done. Hopefully, once these cars have been around a bit longer, people will actually start being able to fix/adjust these rather than the VW under warranty approach of chuck it out and put a new one on.

I don't think it's all that common when you look at all the DSG cars out there. The price of the unit will drop as they bring the re-manufactured units out in Australia (you can buy these now in the US and Europe) and as more cars end up in the car wrecking yards.

As for repair in Australia I doubt that anyone here could or would do them, the manufacturer does in Europe and the unit is quite complex when you look at what it contains - http://www.my-gti.com/832/volkswagen-dsg-mechatronic-control-unit.

 

[Jeffie]

Is the replacement unit actually different or is it just a new one?

 

[Maverick]

Is the replacement unit actually different or is it just a new one?

Haven't checked it in Vagcom/VCDS but it's the same part number (with any hardware changes and software updates applied already)

 

[GP_GTI]

Seems to be shaping up to be a common problem. I know of two of the Perth guys from this forum who've already had this done. Hopefully, once these cars have been around a bit longer, people will actually start being able to fix/adjust these rather than the VW under warranty approach of chuck it out and put a new one on.

I'm sure they don't "chuck them out".

Very likely they would be returned to BW for repair, and of course VW would claim for the cost since BW supplied the failed component.

They are, after all, just a set of actuators, and a circuit board, all of which would be rebuildable at the factory.

 

[Maverick]

I'm sure they don't "chuck them out".

Very likely they would be returned to BW for repair, and of course VW would claim for the cost since BW supplied the failed component.

They are, after all, just a set of actuators, and a circuit board, all of which would be rebuildable at the factory.

Borg Warner don't do the repairs as the units are made by Conti Temic microelectronic GmbH.

http://www.my-gti.com/832/volkswagen-dsg-mechatronic-control-unit

 

[zz2]

thats awesome Mavis, thanks for posting that. i too have had my mechatronics replaced and its amazing how much it has improved the driving experience of my car.

i am concerned though that during the first 15 odd thousand KMs of having my car (which was experiencing these issues from day 1) whether it has put premature wear on my clutches and other components in my gear box. how do i know my clutches as a result of the dodge mechatronics units dont have the wear of a GTI gearbox with 50,000kms rather than 22,000?

 

[Maverick]

thats awesome Mavis, thanks for posting that. i too have had my mechatronics replaced and its amazing how much it has improved the driving experience of my car.

i am concerned though that during the first 15 odd thousand KMs of having my car (which was experiencing these issues from day 1) whether it has put premature wear on my clutches and other components in my gear box. how do i know my clutches as a result of the dodge mechatronics units dont have the wear of a GTI gearbox with 50,000kms rather than 22,000?

Some of the early Audi's (TT's) had problems that did cause wear but it was noticable when driving, I assume you had similar problems to me where it was a solenoid related issue where it was the pressure surging a bit at low speed where the torque was being limited causing the erratic movement?

I wasn't all that worried about the problem as I knew it wasn't doing any damage and I'd get a new mechatronics unit and oil change out of it, I had the problems from day 1 as well but it's not until it's replaced that you really notice the difference. Unless you had really violent gear changes on a regular basis there shouldn't be any excess wear.

 

[mrx]

I don't think it's all that common when you look at all the DSG cars out there. The price of the unit will drop as they bring the re-manufactured units out in Australia (you can buy these now in the US and Europe) and as more cars end up in the car wrecking yards.

Out of about 10 Perth members who actively contribute to this forum, there are 2 that have had the problem. How many more are out there that either aren't on the forum, keep quiet about it, or just put up with it because they don't realise anything is wrong?

As for repair in Australia I doubt that anyone here could or would do them, the manufacturer does in Europe and the unit is quite complex when you look at what it contains - http://www.my-gti.com/832/volkswagen-dsg-mechatronic-control-unit.

I'm sure they don't "chuck them out".

Very likely they would be returned to BW for repair, and of course VW would claim for the cost since BW supplied the failed component.

They are, after all, just a set of actuators, and a circuit board, all of which would be rebuildable at the factory.

Yeah, I agree they would go back to VW or the actual manufacturer for analysis and/or repair rather than actually thrown out - but a total replacement none the less.

I don't claim to know what the cause of the problem is, but say for example it turns out that a common point of failure was a sticky actuator. Surely this could be replaced in the field rather than replacing the whole unit - and therefore done much more cost effectively.

 

[Jeffie]

going by mavs site i think the mechatronic unit is way too intricate to change individual parts. They probably packaged it as a unit so the whole thing could be just taken out and exchanged to save labour. The units themselves will get cheaper the more they make, labour will not come down.

 

[tooraktrash]

Now this has me questioning my box. Any issues with the car being chipped. I know its a good idea to do the reset once you are chipped (which I am yet to do).

I find it becomes a bit jolty, only minor at slow speeds, like its riding the clutch almost.