DSG fluid change - do front wheels need to be free?

Nuje

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
I know the car has to be level, so not having a hoist, the easiest way for me to accomplish this is to drive up onto a ramp, then jack up the rear of my 2015 GSW.

So, after draining, filter swapping, and refilling, you have to idle the car to get the fluid up to ~40C, "shift through all the gears", then drain off the excess.

It's that "shift through all the gears" thing that is a little ambiguous to me:
Am I expected to take it out for a drive on the road and shift through all the gears? Or can I just leave it in the air, put it through P-R-N-D-S (not that "S" will do anything at idle, but whatever)? And do the wheels need to turn when in gear (so I shouldn't use ramps), or is it fine if the front wheels are sitting on ramps provided the car is level (rear jacked up)?
 
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JETaah

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Jan 18, 2001
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mi 48836
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96 B4V, 1999.5 jettaIV,2005 BEW Beetle
No.
Start in PARK, engine on.

Keeping your foot on the brake, shift through the gears spending 5-10 second in each.
Put the lever in park and drain the excess. Put the drain plug back in and shut off the motor.
 
Last edited:
Mike_04GolfTDI

Mike_04GolfTDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 19, 2003
Location
Richmond, BC, Canada
TDI
Mine: 2019 Golf R DSG, Wife's: 2015 Golf Comfortline TDI
Another way to level the car is if you can find a slight slope. When I did this I was working in a driveway that slopes down a little, so I faced the car downhill and drove up onto the ramps. This resulted in the car being pretty level. Make sure to block the rear wheels.

After you fill it back up, and you're setting the level by letting it overflow with the little plastic tube installed, make sure the engine is running, otherwise the level will end up low. Don't make the mistake I did and turn the engine off before putting the plug back in. You'll lose about 0.6L if you shut the engine off before you install the plug.

So you fill it, start the engine, go through the gears while checking the temperature until the overflowing oil slows to just dripping and the temperature is around 40C, put the plug in, and then turn the engine off.

If the car was recently driven, you'll probably have to let it cool for an hour or more before setting the fluid level, otherwise it will be well over 40C as soon as you start it.
 
Nuje

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Thanks, guys - that's what I did, so should be good to go. I was a bit worried as I was clearing all of the fault codes and got a crap-tonne of faults in the AUTO-TRAN module (see below); Googled and found out that you'll get this if you scan the auto-transmission while engine is running (as opposed to just in "ACC" mode).

12 Faults Found:
21153 - Gear 1
P072C 00 [002] - Not Selectable
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

21154 - Gear 2
P072D 00 [002] - Not Selectable
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

21155 - Gear 3
P072E 00 [002] - Not Selectable
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

21156 - Gear 4
P072F 00 [002] - Not Selectable
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

21157 - Gear 5
P073A 00 [002] - Not Selectable
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

21158 - Gear 6
P073B 00 [002] - Not Selectable
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

21159 - Gear R
P072B 00 [002] - Not Selectable
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

10731 - Valve 3 in Transmission Part 1
P174A 00 [002] - Electrical malfunction
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

10732 - Valve 3 in Transmission Part 2
P174E 00 [002] - Electrical malfunction
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

10909 - Cooling Oil Valve
P179D 00 [002] - Electrical Malfunction
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

21207 - Pressure Control Solenoid 3
P0797 00 [002] - Short to Plus
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

10906 - Cooling Oil Valve
P179D 00 [002] - Electrical Malfunction
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
Click to expand...
 
Ol'Rattler

Ol'Rattler

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Jul 3, 2007
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PNA
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2006 BRM Jetta
Good to know. A scan is a static "snapshot" of the car's health somewhat. Taking a dynamic "snapshot" (engine running) would give you questionable results because your snapshot would be of a moving target (changing sensor values). Makes sense........
 
Mike_04GolfTDI

Mike_04GolfTDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 19, 2003
Location
Richmond, BC, Canada
TDI
Mine: 2019 Golf R DSG, Wife's: 2015 Golf Comfortline TDI
Regarding all those fault codes, did you remove the battery to replace the transmission filter?

On the 2015 Golf I had all kinds of warnings on the info display, and a million fault codes for various things. Some of them couldn't be cleared with VCDS. The car had to be driven around the block, and then all the codes could be cleared. When you disconnect the battery I guess you have to actually drive before the ECU will confirm that nothing is wrong.
 
Nuje

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Yep. Had to remove airbox and battery to get clear access to DSG filter housing. I had the same thing - all sorts of ESC, steering angle, tire monitoring errors, due to (I assume) all of the sensors losing power and then having no set/reference point once powered back up. Was starting to freak out sitting in the driveway and not being able to clear them. But then, like you said, drive around for a few minutes, and everything clears up and goes away.
 
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