VW/Audi DSG Gearbox Issue

[truethat72]

A friend of mine just emailed me his recent experience with his S4. Anyone know about this?

The main control unit in the DSG gearbox is called a “mechatronics” unit. It’s a $1500 part that is inside the gearbox surrounded by transmission fluid. VW and Audi filled the transmissions with synthetic oil at the factory but it has been found that the oil reacts (sulphur) inside the transmission and damages the mechatronics control unit. The fix is to drain the gearbox and fill it with mineral transmission oil. However, the VW Group didn’t discover this until recently and have been not willing admit the problem worldwide as 1.6M cars would be affected: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/11/14/v...-light-recall/

So what they did was issue a big recall in 2009 for VW owners. Then in 2012/2013 Audi customers around the world put pressure on Audi and so Audi has selectively begun recalling and replacing the mechatronic units and refilling the transmission with mineral oil. First, it was Malaysia/China then the recall was extended to Australia/New Zealand, then into Europe. Audi has been unwilling to issue a recall in North America — but they know that every transmission with synthetic fluid is going to fail.

Worse yet, most dealers say that the Quattro is a “sealed” unit (no fluid replacement) — yet Audi tells customers that it is CRITICAL that transmission fluid is changed every 40K miles. So its clear that the Audi dealer network isn’t clear about the issue or the fluid change intervals.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
* Immediately drain your transmission fluid and ensure the tranny is refilled with Audi-approved mineral oil
* Watch out for warning lights that say your TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) failed and that your Reverse gear no longer works (at which time your forward gears will begin slipping and the car is underivable).


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[Sceanzo]

That applies to a different DSG unit. AFAIK the OEM fluid for the DL501 is perfectly fine.

[carlosvjr92]

Yep, seems to be an issue on the 2010-2012s. I don't think it's that common as a lot of people only post when they have a problem...but it's definitely common enough that people should be worried. It's one of the main reasons I opted for the B8.5 instead of a B8. I've heard of other issues with DSG as well so I think it's safe to say it's not the most reliable transmission. Thankfully the rest of the car is pretty fantastic

[cspcrx]

Actually more of the 2010-2011s. 2012s have fewer issues then the two previous years.

[carlosvjr92]

Actually more of the 2010-2011s. 2012s have fewer issues then the two previous years.

Oh ok. Thought it was more common the first 3 years, not 2

[SwankP3RF3ct10n]

Couple of things. The DSG recalls that you speak of which details changing to a mineral oil is for the smaller DGS units used in VW and possibly lower end Audis. The mech unit is not what's being damaged, the electronic cabling/circuit board is becoming delaminated due to the fluid/heat generated in the gearbox. Originally Audi was replacing the full units for the S4 DGS for a similar issue, but then changed to just swapping out the circuit board controls/cables. The last part about the gearbox being sealed and life-long fluid filled... that part applies to the portion of the DSG trans that houses the actual gears, not the clutches. There's two sections and one has the sealed gears and their specific oil and the other houses the mech unit, clutches. Normally Audi will replace the clutch/mech unit fluid out every 40k or so miles. The other gearbox oil is not changed out, but can be requested by the customer... but not a lot of dealers do it.

[truethat72]

Couple of things. The DSG recalls that you speak of which details changing to a mineral oil is for the smaller DGS units used in VW and possibly lower end Audis. The mech unit is not what's being damaged, the electronic cabling/circuit board is becoming delaminated due to the fluid/heat generated in the gearbox. Originally Audi was replacing the full units for the S4 DGS for a similar issue, but then changed to just swapping out the circuit board controls/cables. The last part about the gearbox being sealed and life-long fluid filled... that part applies to the portion of the DSG trans that houses the actual gears, not the clutches. There's two sections and one has the sealed gears and their specific oil and the other houses the mech unit, clutches. Normally Audi will replace the clutch/mech unit fluid out every 40k or so miles. The other gearbox oil is not changed out, but can be requested by the customer... but not a lot of dealers do it.

So the recall doesn't affect B8.5 S4s?


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[Big_Daddy]

Bump

I really want to keep my 8.5 DSG (currently with 38k) but this one issue worries me the most. trying to get as much data as possible.

Oh what I would do for a spreadsheet, that must exist somewhere at Audi, that captures the DSG failures by VIN/year.

[Sceanzo]

Bump

I really want to keep my 8.5 DSG (currently with 38k) but this one issue worries me the most. trying to get as much data as possible.

Oh what I would do for a spreadsheet, that must exist somewhere at Audi, that captures the DSG failures by VIN/year.

Keep the fluid and external filter changed. Then do both filters at 75k. You will be fine.

[Thurston]

Couple of things. The DSG recalls that you speak of which details changing to a mineral oil is for the smaller DGS units used in VW and possibly lower end Audis. The mech unit is not what's being damaged, the electronic cabling/circuit board is becoming delaminated due to the fluid/heat generated in the gearbox. Originally Audi was replacing the full units for the S4 DGS for a similar issue, but then changed to just swapping out the circuit board controls/cables. The last part about the gearbox being sealed and life-long fluid filled... that part applies to the portion of the DSG trans that houses the actual gears, not the clutches. There's two sections and one has the sealed gears and their specific oil and the other houses the mech unit, clutches. Normally Audi will replace the clutch/mech unit fluid out every 40k or so miles. The other gearbox oil is not changed out, but can be requested by the customer... but not a lot of dealers do it.

Good information.

[Sceanzo]

Bump

I really want to keep my 8.5 DSG (currently with 38k) but this one issue worries me the most. trying to get as much data as possible.

Oh what I would do for a spreadsheet, that must exist somewhere at Audi, that captures the DSG failures by VIN/year.

Keep the fluid and external filter changed. Then do both filters at 75k. You will be fine.