2013 Passat TDI SE Acceleration Safety Concern

Hi, I have a 2000 Jetta TDI with just over 413,000 miles and we just purchased a new 2013 Passat TDI SE in September 2013 because our kids were getting too big and didn't have enough leg room in the back of the Jetta.

I have serious concerns about the delay in acceleration on the new Passat. There have been several times when I thought I was going to get hit by oncoming traffic when trying to pull out or pull across traffic. The latest just happened on Sunday. I was pulling out onto a road where I couldn't see real far because it was on a bit of a curve, so I hit the pedal and it just started to pull out slowly at maybe 5-10 mph. My wife said "Well, you gonna go?". About that time, it kicked in and spun the tires. After I successfully pulled out, I said "I had it clear to the floor." I have talked to my VW dealer service department about this issue several times, and they've even test driven it, but of course they didn't see the problem. It doesn't do it that severely all the time, but about a month ago I was on a back road and was testing it. I was consistently getting 1.5-1.7 second delays before it would kick in and actually take off. With that kind of delay, an oncoming car traveling at 55mph would cover 128 feet in that time. It doesn't matter if I have it in Drive, Sport or Manual, they all do the same thing.

Has anyone else had this issue?

Thanks,
Kris

I would recommend doing a search as this has been discussed several times within the past couple months. It has to do with getting used to how the DSG engages. It does not like having the pedal pushed to the floor you need to roll into the throttle and as it starts to move you can push it on down and it will accelerate quickly.

Thanks, I did search prior to posting, but must have been using the wrong terms. I searched for DSG and found some threads. Thanks again!

I personally just come of the brake a few seconds before I hit the gas. That always gives the DSG time to engage. It took a little getting use to, but now I have it down after a year of driving. You will see the same delay if you come off the gas and coast then have to get into the accelerator.

khenn; if you still feel the delay is bothersome you can also try a DSG tune. It will eliminate a lot of the delay (not all; part of it is due to electronic throttle) and make the DSG more responsive.

Sport mode fixes a lot of it, or just take your foot off the brake and hold the car with the hand brake. If your on a incline of any time the delay may be hill hold

as the others have said it's just something you have to get used to. It's a quirk of the DSG transmission.

It is annoying at times but I've adapted and i just excellerate a second or two early and never have any issues.

Your situation could have a couple different things. There can be a little lag while first gear is engaged. But if I accelerate quickly it will accelerate quickly. However I suspect you are slipping second gear which takes longer and feels slower until engaged and boost comes on. The DSG in Drive mode slips second gear from about 2mph it seems. Unless I come to a complete stop for at least one second, it seems to "start in second". So maybe at a left turn signal you idle creep a couple seconds then hit the accelerator, you are slipping second gear. Sport mode shifts into and holds first gear longer which should improve your situation. So would manual mode.

I would try to find another owner to meet with and test.

Just like a manual transmission, there is a momentary delay in engaging the clutch in the transmission from a stop, except in a DSG, it's doing it automatically. Sometimes I feel it when taking off from a stop. The engine will rev slightly then come back down as it fully engages, just like it would do if I was letting up on a clutch. Knowing that, you do have to pick the times when you need to scoot across an intersection or not. Like other's have stated, lifting off the brake pedal a second or two before you need will help prevent the delay. If you look at pros and cons of the DSG, this is one of the cons, but on the pro side, you get quicker shifts, and better fuel mileage versus a traditional auto transmission.

khenn: Keep in mind the DSG does NOT like rolling stops. If you can't come to a complete stop, pop it into S or Tip.

tdiatlast said:

khenn: Keep in mind the DSG does NOT like rolling stops. If you can't come to a complete stop, pop it into S or Tip.

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You hit the nail on the head. The 5-10 MPH gap is where the DSG is shifting from 1st to 2nd. Sounds like the OP is trying to floor it while the car is shifting into 2nd, and his instant throttle request is causing the DSG to try and shift back into first.

FWIW - I put this on the driver. Every automatic transmission is going to have points where you can "confuse it". You ask for something that it isn't ready to do, you'll have problems. Don't floor any automatic transmission between shifts, learn where the "kick down" point is so that you can apply as much throttle as possible without downshifting. It took me 2 weeks to get the hang of my DSG sportwagen, but now I love it.

Even the most experienced manual drivers get confused in the 5-10mph range, and have to work at smooth engagement of 1st gear. My 09 JSW (OEM mechatronic) would dutifully drop into 1st if I provoked it, instantly revving above 2k, and then the 1-2 shift would SLAM, once causing my daughter to scream that she thought someone had rear-ended us.
VW replaced that mechatronic at 17k miles, the replacement still does it, to a lesser degree, as a reminder that 2-1 downshifts, with such a short 1st gear, just aren't a good idea.

So, flash forward to 2012, and the engineers at VWoA softened up the issue by effectively locking out 1st (my interpretation of it, maybe not an actual fact!), hence the clutch-slipping SLOOOW response with a rolling stop.

While I have felt the delay, I've never once felt that it put me into a non-safe situation. Honestly, if it gets that close, it's my fault.

My experience mirrors pparks1. Don't pull out in front of someone who is going to hit you if you don't floor it immediately to get out of the way.

pparks1 said:

While I have felt the delay, I've never once felt that it put me into a non-safe situation. Honestly, if it gets that close, it's my fault.

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Same here. The dsg is a totally different animal and paired with a turbo engine it takes some getting used to. My JSW and Passat behave the same way whereas my R32 is much different (NA gas engine with dsg) .

I got used to the hesitation quickly because I previously drove Prius's, which don't have any hesitation, but not a lot of get-up-and-go either. So you choose "your battles" in traffic carefully. I'm not one to dart in and out of traffic, changing lanes often like I see many idiots do, only to pull up along side of them at traffic lights. The only time I 'floor it' is when I think no one is around or looking - just have to have a little fun every once in a while!

I have noticed that left foot braking is a no-no on the Passat with DSG. I was a left foot braker for many years and it drove me crazy when I got my Passat. The slightest pressure on the brake pedal disconnects the accelerator. I have now gotten used to not using my left foot to brake and the car is much better behaved when starting from a stop.

Turbo lag. There's a good 3/4 to a full second of absolutely nothing but a little DSG clutch slip at about 1700 rpm until the turbo spools in first gear if you just floor it from a dead stop. Then the front tires claw away at the earth