vw dsg hydraulic pump play protection quotation

Hi - I have been to my mechanic who has recorded a fault on my 2013 polo GTI. It reads: hydraulic pump - play protection. Is this likely to be a fault in the main transmission or the mechatronics unit??

I have to take it to VW for diagnostics before they"ll give me a straight answer. At $195 per hour of course. After which they"ll just tell me it was the same fault code my mechanic recorded I"m sure of it. They did tell me there was no outstanding recalls on the car, so I"ll probably have to pay for it. There"s a fair bit of difference in price depending on which part is causing the issue, $7300 for a transmission vs $2300 for a mechatronics unit. Can anyone offer any advice? thanks!

This DSG 7 control unit is a very common failure for vehicles built between 2003 – 2016 fitted with the DQ200 Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG). The most common reported symptom is a complete loss of drive due to not being able to select any gears, this will cause the EPC light to remain illuminated and the gear symbols will continually flash on the instrument panel. Often the main 30-amp fuse will be blown, if you try to replace the fuse it will blow again while the DSG control unit remains connected.

If you attempt to read the fault codes stored in the gearbox system, then you may also notice the gearbox system fails to communicate with your diagnostic scanner, preventing you from reading any fault codes. However, if you are able to communicate with the DSG gearbox system, then you may have the following fault codes stored:

We are able to remanufacture (rebuild) your own DSG unit and supply an unlimited mileage lifetime warranty as standard. When we rebuild your own unit, we use higher rated than standard components and ‘engineer out’ the original design flaw that caused your unit to fail in the first place, giving you the peace of mind that your unit will not fail again. If we rebuild your own unit then it will cost a small fraction of the cost of a new unit, and you will not need to program the unit back onto your car – simply refit, replace the oil and away you go.

This is a complete re-engineered solution for the DSG-7 family of mechatronics units, all failing components are replaced with our own re-engineered versions, designed from scratch to outperform the original OEM parts. Employing our in-house designed reinforced stainless-steel pressure build-up controls, polymer clutch actuation protection and control unit revision, complete HIL simulation redesign to ensure all shift actuators are meeting and exceeding original OEM specifications in real-world conditions.

We fully test every Mechatronics unit before (first line test) and after (end of line test) the rebuild, using our HIL (Hardware In-the-Loop) DSG-7 Gearbox rig, this allows us to test your Mechatronics unit under real-world load conditions. This ensures that each rebuilt unit meets and exceeds OEM specifications. All common failing components are replaced with versions that are higher rated than standard, so you can be assured that once your unit has been rebuilt it will perform as good as, if not better than a brand-new unit from the manufacturer.

The VW/Audi group DSG7 DQ200 mechatronic will typically cause gear change problems on the vehicle. However, it’s not always the mechatronic unit that causes drivability problems.

Package the DSG7 transmission control unit inside a sturdy box with plenty of packaging material (make sure you include your confirmation email in the box).

Once received we will test, rebuild and return your DSG7 transmission unit with an unlimited mileage lifetime warranty. (if your unit turns out not to be faulty then we will refund your payment less a small testing fee and return shipping)

Package the DSG7 transmission control unit inside a sturdy box with plenty of packaging material (make sure you include your confirmation email in the box).

Once received, we will test your DSG7 transmission unit and call you to advise on the outcome of testing, if your unit is faulty and you choose to go ahead with the rebuild then we will take payment over the phone using a debit/credit card.

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I have lately been having issues with my VW Golf MK7 1.4 TSI. When I start the car it drives normally without any problems. However after driving for about an hour when I start the car again it doesn"t move at all, no matter how much i rev it or start it again, but when I come back after 30 minutes it drives again... it is really strange.

VW has looked at it and simply said replace the mechatronics unit and advise to remove and check selector forks, possible new gearbox needed and quoted me 1870 pounds.

The below is for guidance only, please check before buying that you have a DSG7 speed gearbox, any doubts let us know your VIN before purchase and we can look up to be sure.

Until the middle of 2018, more than 26 million drivers of Volkswagen Group models have opted for a dual clutch gearbox (mostly 6-speed and 7-speed). That"s putting it to approx. 20-22% as DSG-powered vehicles out of the total volume of passenger cars sold by VW Group in the last 15 years or so.

In 2018 - the annual production of the Kassel plant was 3.6 million gearboxes and in terms of passenger car sales, VW group sold close to 9.3+ million globally - thus it can be extrapolated that approx. 38% cars were powered by a DSG in 2018 from the Kassel plant (numbers for DSGs produced from other global locations not known).

However with such a relatively good success rate for the famous gearbox, VW has been very infamous in its handling of the problems attributed to the same.

This section intends to bring out some of the most widely known issues and the most probable root causes for them, along with the solutions suggested / implemented by VW.

The basis of the research has comprised studying various forums, VW technical documents, 3rd party analyst reports and talking to service advisors, Master Technicians (from VW), colleagues from the automobile engineering fraternity and our very own TBHP chronicles.

Generally speaking, both sets of gearboxes i.e. DQ250 and the DQ200 have had customer complaints across the globe, but the latter has drawn more flak due to the sheer volume of 7-speed DSG-powered cars getting sold (especially in Asia-Pacific region).

Quote: The wiring harness of a temperature sensor in the DSG may have connector wires that were insufficiently crimped. Due to this, the temperature sensor has the potential to falsely detect a high gearbox oil temperature, causing the transmission to abruptly shift to "neutral". If this happens, the selector lever position indicator within the instrument panel will flash. In addition, the "depress brake pedal" indicator light will be illuminated, alerting the driver to apply the brakes.

This sensor is found in the housing of the gearbox input speed sender. The sensor measures the temperature of the DSG oil at the outlet of the multi-clutch plates. Since the oil is placed under a large thermal stress, oil reaches the highest temperature at this point in the gearbox.

Upon further investigation, VW attributed this condition, typically occurring at low speeds, to excessive wear and tear in the bushings of the solenoid valves that control clutch/gear actuation in the mechatronics unit.

However, VW pointed out this condition is not a safety defect because the changes in shift degradation happen over a period of time, do not cause a loss of motive power.

All the 4 valves are present in electro-hydraulic unit. They control the oil pressure to the gear actuators. The valves are always in the closed position, unless energized, and oil pressure is thereby prevented from reaching the gear actuators.

VW compensated the owners by replacement of the temperature sensor component and also offered a 10-year, 100,000-mile transferable warranty to the DSG transmissions.China - over here, the complaints started arising from year 2009 onwards for the DQ250 and peaked towards a build-up till 2012 for the DQ200.

Like the US market, here again, VW seems not to have paid any heed to the consumer complaints initially and was adamant that the issues were not a safety risk but simply required technical upgrades or modifications to the gearbox.

However point to note, that the Chinese market saw a steady increase as far as sales were concerned for VW primarly driven by the DSG-TSi combination.

Going by the rate of increasing failures being reported across the country, the country"s watchdog - General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) - urged VW to start looking into the issues more seriously. However, VW, failed to respond suitably to this initial request.

Quote: The case of VW’s refusal to recall its problematic vehicles and the practice of a double standard in China shows how a leading multinational carmaker has become growingly arrogant and snobbish in its most important overseas market.

The saga of ignorance by VW finally ended with AQSIQ issuing a statement in March 2013 that it had identified that the DSG transmission is defective and may cause loss of power resulting in potential safety problem. It also issued a notice to VW reminding it ofits legal responsibilities, else the body would force a restraining order on compliance.

As expected (and similar to the US market reaction), VW China announced on that it would recall its vehicles made at FAW (First Automobile Works)-VW and Shanghai-VW equipped with DSG automatic transmissions.

Alongwith this, VW also offered an extended warranty of 10 yrs/160,000 kmsIn early to mid 2013, while VW was busy fighting its battle in China - a country which was witnessing the maximum sales growth in terms of its cars, news reports of the DQ200 failures started pouring in from many other countries viz., namely Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and also France, Sweden and the UK.

The peculiar characteristic common to almost of all these gearbox failures was that they were attributed to the 7-speed, DQ200 variant. And the common or the most important root cause attributed to or investigated by VW to almost of these DQ200 failures was related to the synthetic oil, rather presence of sulphur compounds or additives in the synthetic gear oilbeing shipped in the gearbox directly from the factories.

Due to the barrage of the customer complaints for these gearboxes, and sensing that it had no option but to prevent further damage to its reputation, VW issued a voluntary recall in all the countries that were witnessing these failures.

The total worldwide recall, as per reports available then, crossed 1.6 milion units for the faulty gearboxes.In India too, there were a number of reported incidents, more so for the Skoda brand (including Superb, Laura, Octavia). Our TBHP chronicles are aplenty with many owners raising issues related to DSG failures, jerking, loss of power etc. A simple search on the TBHP forums will yield numerous results for the details. And one can even refer to the ownership report catalog posted above, as a starting point for the search.

And like the rest of the consumers globally who underwent the initial pain of not being acknowledged or catered to, the Indian lot also went through the same hassles. There are numerous threads even questioning the veracity of driving the DSGs in a certain fashion and owners starting to question their own driving styles!

However, with harsh realities ruling the ground situation - VW didn"t have any significant presence in the country back in those days meaning very few customers to warrant the business decision of a full-fledged recall, coupled with the fact there was not enough widepsread noise created via media and finally lack of a formal regulatory mechanism or watchdog to pull up the wrongdoers - there was no recall offered here.

However in the same breath, it must be noted that VW India did replace the faulty gearboxes for those customers who invoked the "goodwill" and put pressure on the company.Now, after having gone through the recall reports, let"s take a slight deviation and have a look at some of the fundamentals to understand the issue of the 7-speed gearbox oil/additives.

Protection of the transmission against wear and corrosionFrom these requirements it is evident that neither a conventional automatic transmission fluid (ATF), nor a standard manual transmission fluid (MTF) would be up to the task of protecting a DCT. It is clear that the new generation of DCT-specific lubricants (DCTFs) will require a specialized additive technology if these oils are to guarantee the DCT’s technical advantages and its durability in service.

The additive technology must be compatible with the clutches’ friction material, and the lubricant itself needs a carefully calculated viscosity profile to ensure smooth disengagement in low-temperature conditions as well as adequate protection of system components at high temperatures and under high load conditions.

Further considerations are thermal and oxidative stability – surface temperatures within the clutch system can reach several hundred degrees Celsius. Acidic by-products of thermal breakdown can generate lacquers and sludge which can in turn impair hydraulic and actuator function.Unfortunately, for VW, the usage of sulphur-laced additive synthetic gear oil led to the multiple failures for the DQ200 gearbox.

Offical VW statement corroborated the below observations:-Aggressive sulfur-containing additives in the used synthetic oil KP can react with copper conductive paths. Copper sulphide formed during the electrolysis process can be deposited between the tracks in the form of conductive particles, and thus lead to a short circuit and a gear box fuse. The emergence of a malfunction contributes to the impact of special climatic conditions characteristic of the countries of Southeast Asia (high temperature and humidity of the air while operating in hard mode with frequent stops and starting)And the resulting malfunction meant that the blown fuse will turn off the power to the hydraulic pump or gearbox control unit. Because of this, the clutch opens, and the car is coasting. Now you know!!

In Sweden (where temperatures are single-digit degree Celsius or even below zero sometimes), the same gearboxes failed for a few taxi operators, as reported in some news articles. But then the instances were far and few.Another potential failure point or area, which has not been talked/publicized about much is related to the hydraulic system of the DQ200.

As briefly explained in "The Works" section, the hydraulic system comprises of a hydraulic pump and an electric motor, as shown in the below diagram:-

When the hydraulic oil pressure at the pressure limiting valve and the pressure sensor reaches approx. 70 bar, the control unit switches off both the motor and the pump.

The above explanation means that any malfunction in the pressure assembly will result in no/less oil being pumped to the circuit triggering a potential failsafe mode and leading to loss of power.Next up is a problem not directly to the mechatronics unit as such but something which lies outside of it.

The primary resolution offered has been to repair the harness else suggest a complete replacement of the shifter assembly.In summary, when we look at the reasons attributed to failures for the DSGs, it is evident that on one hand - VW has really gone to great lengths to focus on technological innovation marvels - but on the other hand, it has miserably failed to pre-empt the backlash associated with the failures. And on occasions, it has also been found guilty of ignoring the issues (probably deliberately) due to certain economic considerations.

Surely, every product goes through an evolutionary life cycle and is bound to reach the peak of its expected designed performance at some time. In this case, it is apparent that VW did estimate and plan the product evolution to a certain extent BUT and a BIG one at that, it looks like, VW couldn"t continue or foresee the same designed performance momentum when it launched the product in an entirely new geographical condition (SE Asia for e.g), which was quite distinct from the original conditions (Europe) in which it was primarily designed and tested.

biggest problem perhaps, seemed to be a lack of a central, coordinated strategy to address the failures. This is evident from the fact that almost every country that was affected had to go through an entirely different process of customer complaint > VW acknowledgement > VW offering fixes > VW offering recall (if applicable) > VW offering extended warranty.

On that note, to conclude, here"s hoping that the DSG ghosts are buried now for good and VW has smarted from the previous mishaps, ensuring that owners across the world continue to enjoy the beautiful technology that offers a combination of great comfort and fun.