dsg worth repairing?

nztdi1

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2015
Location
nz
TDI
golf mk4, touareg 2.5, octavia 2.0 8v, boats x2
Hi everyone

Bought a mk5 golf tdi with bkd 2.0 and dsg issues. vcds scan gives the following: all auto trans related, no engine faults.

18203- vehicle vehicle speed signal
p1795-002- open circuit- intermittant- mil on

17116- gear 2
p0732- 000- incorrect ratio- intermittant

19143- unexpected/implausible mechanical gear disengagement
p2711 - 005- intermittant

18203- vehicle speed signal
p1795- 004- open circuit- intermittant

Trans works fine briefly then drops into limp, wont shift out of first and seemed to also lose reverse during a test drive.

I have very little experience with autos and generally avoid them, bought this one as it was dirt cheap and very tidy, plan to swap to manual if the dsg is not worth the time and effort. Have read that the mechatronic unit is often the issue though and removal doesn't look to bad. Have found a place locally which reconditions them for $500 which is worth spending to not have to look for and buy all the manual swap bits.

Would anyone with dsg experience be able to comment on whether the mechatronic unit is likely the culprit and worth reconditioning? Or is it likely to be something more serious within the transmission itself?

Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:

Carlos_TJ

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2014
Location
Tijuana Mexico
TDI
2009 Bora (BXE PD)
Hello
I am no transmission expert at all
But i believe you should fix the first code you posted first (open circuit vehicle speed signal)

The car computer needs to know the vehicle speed for correct shifting.
I dont know if your dsg has other issues but the one i mentioned above could send a good tranny into limp mode.
 
Last edited:

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
The bigger issue, is what the condition of the car is in, you need to assess what the car is truly worth, what you have put into the car already for main repairs and preventative maintenance. How many miles you have on it and what it has left. Now you know what it’s worth and now how much to fix it? Parts or parts and labor? Do it yourself and save and maybe if you love the car. From an investment and smart financial move, don’t spend more than 1/2 the total value of the car in repairs that will not get you more than x amount of miles. My rule of thumb for cars that new where less than 40K when purchased, a repair that can get 20K miles is only worth 500 bucks on a car with over 200K miles. I use 500 as a factor of 10% of the miles on the car. 500 bucks in repairs for 30K miles of life for a car with 300K and so on. Now if you replace a transmission for say $2000 in total (just easy numbers) you’re looking at least having to get 120K miles on a car with 300K on the clock. You get the point. Stand by some guidelines and never exceed the value of the car in repairs by half every 10 years. Car with 2,000 only spend 1,000 in repairs over 10 years. Now this is for a car with 200K+ that is only worth 3-4K in total value.

TLDR version, does the math, be smart, don’t throw money at a daily unless it’s your hobby and you can afford to do so. Cars are an asset and should never be a liability.

Fix the easy and cheap stuff $100 max in repairs and find out what else is actually wrong with eh Trans before going further.
 

Henrick

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Location
Ireland
TDI
Golf VI TDI, 77 kW (CAYC)
Go to ABS Brakes module, select all 4 wheel speed sensors, click Graph and monitor them while performing a test drive. Use only 1st and 2nd gears for test drive (and speec less than 45 km/h); if it jumps to 3rd gear, the logging will be lost, as you will be kicked out of ABS module (safety feature).

If there are sudden spikes (up or down) in the graph for one (or more sensors), most likely you will need to replace the ABS ring for that wheel. Since ABS wheels are not sold separately for these cars (unless you are lucky to have a bad bearing around or find one in salvage yard), means you need to replace the entire wheel bearing.

Only after the issues related to ABS/wheel sensors are 100% resolved, only then proceed to DSG diagnosis.
 

nztdi1

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2015
Location
nz
TDI
golf mk4, touareg 2.5, octavia 2.0 8v, boats x2
Thanks guys, Mongler- vehicle is very tidy, less than 200k kilometers. Worth probably 5-6k with a good dsg and slightly more as a manual. I completely agree about not wanting to throw money at the dsg especially if i'm not sure it will cure the issues. $500 would be about the limit i'd want to spend on it, if it looks like i will be removing the transmission it will be replaced with a manual.

henrick- thanks for the advice about the ABS rings, will look into that thismorning and see if any of them are bad
 

nztdi1

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2015
Location
nz
TDI
golf mk4, touareg 2.5, octavia 2.0 8v, boats x2
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No obvious speed sensor issues watching measuring blocks, graph shows some very minor spikes do these look like they would be causing issues/worth replacing parts?
 

Henrick

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Location
Ireland
TDI
Golf VI TDI, 77 kW (CAYC)
As al lthe wheel travel different distance when car is not travelling perfectly straight, this looks to be normal. I think you can proceed further to DSG diagnosis; ABS should not be the primary issue.
 
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