DSG "Direct Shift Gearbox" owners data base

Scott.t.watts

New member
Joined
Sep 5, 2018
Location
Plantation, Florida
TDI
2006 MKV TDI 5 speed manual, 2006 MKV TDI Automatic
Good day everyone. I own a Jetta 06 5-speed manual. I got a deal on another 06 but it was a DSG. In my unfortunate ignorance I made an attempt to pull it behind my truck as I had done with most of the vehicles that I owned before it including the 5 speed.
Of course this didn't last because the transmission overheated, started smoking and fluid seems to have leaked out all over the transmission from the top.
I tried starting it but it didn't start. It seemed as if it was locked up.
Can anyone please give me some advice in what the real problem might be before I go throwing parts at it unnecessarily.
I was able to get a used one from a salvage yard but there is no way to tell if it is good until I install it unfortunately. Any assistance would be appreciated.
I am actually in New Orleans now also and it is difficult to find someone here who even knows what VCDS means and if I did they were pricey.
Help!...please
Thanks
 

crustodd

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 19, 2015
Location
SoLame, Oregano
TDI
Buying an '09-'12 JSW
Hello All,
I'm a route courier driver. The guy I contract with had a 2010 Jetta sedan that he finally sold back to VW...with 720,000 miles on the ODO!!! He had all his maintenance done ahead of schedule at Halsey Volkswagen in Portland, OR. Lee is the owner at Halsey, he'd know the vehicle if you had questions. They will go a LONG ways if you care for them
 

MDK

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2020
Location
Michigan
TDI
2011 Jetta sport wagon TDI 2.0
Dsg issues

I have a 2011 TDI sport wagon with a Dsg I have a ? light that flashes every time I put it in any gear. No power to TCM but I have communication between the TCM and ECM. I already sent out the TCM came back good replaced two solenoids. Not sure what's going on with it.
 

ezshift5

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Location
West Coast
TDI
2013 JSW TDI (Enroute BB).......2017 Jetta 1.4 turbo 5M ....................
2017 Jetta 1.4 turbo 5M. Next VW may just be an automatic. IIRC - the DSG requires big time maintenance every 40,000 miles. I understand the units shift faster than a human could ever hope for.

My question: is it reliable?


TIA,

ez
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
There is a required fluid change every 40k miles. I had to have the mechtronics unit rebuilt at about 120k miles. The dealer discovered a leak in the unit after doing the "fix". If they would have found it first, I would have just let VW take the car back. At almost 150k miles , thats the only issue I've had including a minimal amount of towing.
 

gmcjetpilot

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2008
Location
Memphis TN
TDI
2010 JSW TDI DSG Matalic Grey
DATE: 9/8/2021
Name: G
Year: 2010
Make: VW
Model: TDI JSW w/ DSG
Date of auto production:
- 2010
Engine code: CJAA (post modification, March 2019)
Transmission Code:
- Don't know and too lazy to go look.
Date of DSG Production: - Not going to do that
Purchased, New or Used: Bought 2010 as CPO from Dealer late 2011.
Miles when purchased: 35,000
Current miles: -
" 130,000
Area of country: - Texas Car Bought and Owned in West Tennessee
Fuel Statistics: - Pre Mod 52 best/43 average/38 worst (MPG)
Fuel Statistics: - Post Mod 50* best/39 avg/33 worst (MPG)
*No AC, 65 mph max, drafting semi trailer truck for a few hundred miles, 48 mpg more realistic Econ cruise. 45 mph if speeding 75 mph, AC.

NOTES: Rock Solid, fast shifts, totally trouble free and fun to drive in D or manually. S or sport don't use. If I want to get sporty I go manual but S is an option. I will say in D it selects one or two gears too high to exit a slow speed corner. So you slow with brakes and take a corner. If you want to accelerate out of the corner faster you need to be one or two gears lower. If you putt putt around getting the groceries normal driving D is excellent. If you want to accelerate you need to manually downshift sometimes. Just slap gear shift over to manual and click down shift one or two gears coming out of the corner. Then the TDI torque smile. Sweeping high speed turn (on ramp) gears is not an issue, but manual shifting is always an option. But 90% of the time the DSG in D does a great job.

Oil & Filter Change
My car 35K @ dealer (when I bought it), 65K @ Independent VW/Audi shop, 100K DIY by drain, measured removed oil, top fill from filter, new filter, added what I took out PLUS 10 oz, did the drain/burp* engine running at temperature (Per VW manual, using Ross tech cable for temperature *) with car jacked up and plug out stand pipe in.

Note there are two ways to get oil BACK into the DSG is a somewhat special tool that pushes OIL up from the bottom drain plug. The other way is pour it in where the filter screws in (under the battery) or top fill. The flow of oil is slow pouring oil from top but not too bad... may be 10 minutes. This is how I did it and it worked great for me. The took if you have it might be faster but then you have all these hoses with oil in them.... kind of a mess to store or clean up.

Note if you get your car (DSG) up to normal operating temperature before starting DSG oil change, work fairly quickly (within an hour), spring/summer ambient temps, as soon as you put fresh oil back in, filter, battery, the DSG oil is near optimal temperature for burping, no need to warm up oil it is already near specified temperature. You will start the car to burp however.

Note: I did a DOUBLE check by measuring removed oil. I put that exact measured amount back of new oil (VW approved of course). I added or over filled 10 oz. and did the Burping. It all came out as expected and burped out about 7 or 8 oz. Next time I am just going to refill with measured amount drained (from plug and filter) and not bother with the BURP... (Burp = is my name for setting oil level per VW manual.)

BURP for those who don't know is my name for the messy pia method of filling DSG to proper level. You overfill it. With car jacked and level you run the engine with drain plug OUT but standpipe in. There is a STANDPIPE that screws in and is at the proper oil level. (The stand pipe screws out to fully drain.) You run the engine, shift the transmission and make sure it is at proper temperature (not too hot not too cool). Then when oil stops BLURPING out, you put the drain plug in (and torque it to spec) and turn engine off. You will not get the proper oil level if you don't have transmission at Temp, engine running and car level (you can't just have front of car on ramps or jacked and back of car lower). That is it. Of course it is a bit messy and waste expensive transmission oil. Measure what you removed and add that amount back (including the filter) you will be darn close and may elect to avoid the BURP mess.
 
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DivineChaos

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 27, 2019
Location
Minnesota
TDI
mk6 jetta sportwagen tdi
DATE:09/08/2021
Name:jay
Year:2012
Make: Jetta sportwagen VI (golf 5 variant)
Model: sportwagen tdi pano, nav, and 17sq
Date of auto production: - believe 2011 but I'd have to look
Engine code: cjaa
Transmission Code: - idk
Date of DSG Production: - “ I'll look eventually.
Purchased, New or Used: used 01/05/2020
Miles when purchased:91,536
Current miles: - 142,000
Area of country: - MN usa
Fuel Statistics averages: - best-52/worst-25(towing 2k)/39-40 norm

Have been stage 2 with dsg tune since 2 months of ownership. And deleted since Dec 2020. No issues with it. Only a strange intermittent no pressure code in the trans. I drive hard and 74mph mostly. So 39mpg is good. Original hpfp and dmf. Maybe the trans was replaced because the mech shows less miles than the ecm.
 

DivineChaos

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 27, 2019
Location
Minnesota
TDI
mk6 jetta sportwagen tdi
2017 Jetta 1.4 turbo 5M. Next VW may just be an automatic. IIRC - the DSG requires big time maintenance every 40,000 miles. I understand the units shift faster than a human could ever hope for.

My question: is it reliable?


TIA,

ez
Yes. It's a computer controlled manual. No converter. Wet clutches. A reg manual requires oil change, so does a converter trans. Everything requires maintence.
 

ZippyNH

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Location
Southern NH
TDI
2015 JETTA TDI SE
Yes. It's a computer controlled manual. No converter. Wet clutches. A reg manual requires oil change, so does a converter trans. Everything requires maintence.
The clutches could be wet OR dry...depends on where the car was sold...
The Jetta TDI sold in the USA (Mexican production) is a wet clutch, the European built ones are a dry clutch... something one needs to take into account when reading the "what I tow" thread's....

The newer ones are more reliable, like everything they have gotten better....
Some people love them, some live with them, some hate them, kinda like religion 😂. Sure they don't shift exactly when you think they should, they have a computer for a brain, but can be overridden....
Yes, they can shift faster than a human And most every supercar built has a DSG (or some similar set-up) as opposed to a traditional cluch/tranny's due to the speed...then add the fact many modern safety features can be added that CANNOT be intergraded into a car without a "automatic" transmission (easily), it explains why VW has scheduled the DEATH of the traditional stick in a few short years...
 

ezshift5

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Location
West Coast
TDI
2013 JSW TDI (Enroute BB).......2017 Jetta 1.4 turbo 5M ....................
My thanks - Zippy and Divine - for the additional DSG information.

All of my Volkswagens - starting with a 1600 Type 1 bug in college - were manual. I think the last automatic I've driven was Mom's Plymouth Valiant with a typewriter- (push button) - shift.................

ez
 

lktango

Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Location
Shedd, Oregon
TDI
'13 JSW
DATE:
Name: Lou
Year: 2013
Make: VW
Model: JSW
Date of auto production:
- unknown
Engine code: CJAA
Transmission Code:
PBF
Date of DSG Production: unknown
Purchased, New
Miles when purchased: 148
Current miles: 91,000
Area of country:
- Oregon USA
Fuel Statistics: 44.2 / 35.6 / 30.6

The only transmission problem was a leaking o-ring between the trans body and oil cooler. Repair included replacement of the oil cooler.

Other than a warrantee repair (cloudy headlight), the car has been maintained at a local independent shop. Trans has been serviced at the recommended intervals (40k) but my tech thinks I should do it a little more often since almost all of my driving is short distance stop and go as it is my daily driver and only get the bimmer out on nice days.
 
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