DSG problem on a 2011 Altea XL

ANLoutfi

Guest
Hello all,

I own a 2011 Altea XL in Cairo, Egypt, purchased new last February. It has a 1.6 litre petrol engine and fitted with 7-speed DSG transmission. All was well until November (with just 20,000 kilometres on it!) when it started developing a judder during acceleration in slow stop-go traffic and in reverse. I've found the problem to be more pronounced both when the car is hot (not when leaving for work in the morning for instance) and in u-turns. Around the same time I also started noticing engine pinging when the accelerator is pressed rather abruptly.

I took it to the local authorised dealer last month and brought the matter to their attention but they'd told me there was nothing wrong with the car (a technician had taken in for a short test drive but couldn't reproduce neither the judder nor the pinging).

I took it again to them last week and insisted on a more thorough examination; as a result they've installed a new software 'upgrade', which made the judder less pronounced but I feel the car now shifts more prematurely than it used too (6th gear around 60kmh, 7th at 90) and the ping is still there.

Has anybody experienced this before? Is it a sign that DSG is failing? Can the pinging be another symptom ?(I know that petrol quality is not to blame, I've been filling at the same station for five years, I've also used a good fuel system cleaner- twice).

I've also had another odd experience with it, also around the same time, I was driving on a highway when the car seemed to brake on its own, like two firm but short presses on the brake pedal, and the two ESP amber lights came on + the message 'ESP error'. I pulled over, turned the car off then on again and the message was gone, any ideas what that could've been? I must add that I was driving at 180 kmh.

Cheers,
Ahmed
 

ANLoutfi

Guest
What's an EGR valve? I've also forgotten to mention one more thing that I find strange, a metallic knock (perhaps like the sound of expanding metal) coming from underneath the car in the front. The dealership says it's the catalyser and that it's normal; any idea?
 

absalam75

Guest
Hello all,

I own a 2011 Altea XL in Cairo, Egypt, purchased new last February. It has a 1.6 litre petrol engine and fitted with 7-speed DSG transmission. All was well until November (with just 20,000 kilometres on it!) when it started developing a judder during acceleration in slow stop-go traffic and in reverse. I've found the problem to be more pronounced both when the car is hot (not when leaving for work in the morning for instance) and in u-turns. Around the same time I also started noticing engine pinging when the accelerator is pressed rather abruptly.

I took it to the local authorised dealer last month and brought the matter to their attention but they'd told me there was nothing wrong with the car (a technician had taken in for a short test drive but couldn't reproduce neither the judder nor the pinging).

I took it again to them last week and insisted on a more thorough examination; as a result they've installed a new software 'upgrade', which made the judder less pronounced but I feel the car now shifts more prematurely than it used too (6th gear around 60kmh, 7th at 90) and the ping is still there.

Has anybody experienced this before? Is it a sign that DSG is failing? Can the pinging be another symptom ?(I know that petrol quality is not to blame, I've been filling at the same station for five years, I've also used a good fuel system cleaner- twice).

I've also had another odd experience with it, also around the same time, I was driving on a highway when the car seemed to brake on its own, like two firm but short presses on the brake pedal, and the two ESP amber lights came on + the message 'ESP error'. I pulled over, turned the car off then on again and the message was gone, any ideas what that could've been? I must add that I was driving at 180 kmh.

Cheers,
Ahmed


Hi Ahmed,

I own also 2011 Altea XL in Cairo, Egypt , you exactly described the problem I face with my car (Judder during accelaration), I went to SMG twice and every time they made a basic settings to the DSG software, however the problem is not gone, I made a complaint of SEAT international web site two weeks ago, they promised that SMG will contact me but they didn't, I made another complaint and finally SMG called me yesterday and asked me to take the car to them and meet the after sales (Wagdy Baseely).

you can call me on 01001717172 to discuss the matter and we may go together to find a solution for that.

Mohamed
 

ANLoutfi

Guest
Hi there!

I was supposed to call him today for feedback from SEAT but his mobile was off, I'll call him tomorrow morning and let you know. We may indeed coordinate.
 

absalam75

Guest
Hi there!

I was supposed to call him today for feedback from SEAT but his mobile was off, I'll call him tomorrow morning and let you know. We may indeed coordinate.

Hi There,

He called me and told me that they have a solution now for this by updating the engine software but it will take 3-4 days, it's not logic to take 3-4 days to update the software, I think they will replace something but they don't want to say that, I read this problem is fixed only by changing the clutches, I'll go to them next Monday, I'll update you soon.

Mohamed
 

absalam75

Guest
Hi There,

He called and told me that they have a solution now for this by updating the engine software but it will take 3-4 days, it's not logic to take 3-4 days to update the software, I think they will replace something but they don't want to say that, I read that this problem is fixed only by changing the clutches, I'll go to them next Monday, I'll update you soon.

Mohamed
 

absalam75

Guest
Hi There,

I went to SMG and met the after sales manager, he told me that they need to replace the clutch packs to fix the problem, they will order it from SEAT, it takes at least three weeks for delivering, I'll update you with any new.

Mohamed
 

ANLoutfi

Guest
Great! Good luck! I'm currently out of town, will get in touch with them when I return. We'll definitely be in touch if things don't go smoothly with SMG.
 

bicir72

Guest
ALTEA XL 2012 dsg transmission problems

Hi There,

I was experiencing the exact same problems as you mentioned, and I took the car to the dealer repair shop yesterday. They are not telling me exactly what is going on, but it seems like the transmission has to be changed! My car has only 10,000 km on it.
I was wondering what was the ourcome of your problem.
Thanks




Hello all,

I own a 2011 Altea XL in Cairo, Egypt, purchased new last February. It has a 1.6 litre petrol engine and fitted with 7-speed DSG transmission. All was well until November (with just 20,000 kilometres on it!) when it started developing a judder during acceleration in slow stop-go traffic and in reverse. I've found the problem to be more pronounced both when the car is hot (not when leaving for work in the morning for instance) and in u-turns. Around the same time I also started noticing engine pinging when the accelerator is pressed rather abruptly.

I took it to the local authorised dealer last month and brought the matter to their attention but they'd told me there was nothing wrong with the car (a technician had taken in for a short test drive but couldn't reproduce neither the judder nor the pinging).

I took it again to them last week and insisted on a more thorough examination; as a result they've installed a new software 'upgrade', which made the judder less pronounced but I feel the car now shifts more prematurely than it used too (6th gear around 60kmh, 7th at 90) and the ping is still there.

Has anybody experienced this before? Is it a sign that DSG is failing? Can the pinging be another symptom ?(I know that petrol quality is not to blame, I've been filling at the same station for five years, I've also used a good fuel system cleaner- twice).

I've also had another odd experience with it, also around the same time, I was driving on a highway when the car seemed to brake on its own, like two firm but short presses on the brake pedal, and the two ESP amber lights came on + the message 'ESP error'. I pulled over, turned the car off then on again and the message was gone, any ideas what that could've been? I must add that I was driving at 180 kmh.

Cheers,
Ahmed
 

ANLoutfi

Guest
Lol, you're from Egypt too? Well, my advice to you would be not to jump to conclusions with them; have they tried their 'wonder remedy' a.k.a. basic reset? If not, let them do it first then show them that it hasn't solved anything. Depending on the case, they will either replace the clutch or transmission. The issue now is warranty, we should ask for an extended warranty since this technology is apparently prone to failure. It won't be easy though.
 

bicir72

Guest
No I am from Turkey. They are avoiding my questions. They are waiting from the warranty dept an answer to change the transmission . I just don`t get it how this is possible on a vehicle with 10000 km. Did they change your transmission at the end? You are definetely right about the extended warranty. If they are experiencing problems with dsg transmission its bound to happen again.
 

Kenandnick

Active Member
Nov 24, 2012
8
0
I reckon these vibration problems are faults in the dual mass flywheel. I had the same thing which the dealer took two days to diagnose. They put in a new flywheel and it's been perfect ever since.
 
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