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Diabolical Sequential Gearbox

I was delighted with my 2005 SEAT Altea 2.0TDI DSG, purchased March 2006, until March this year when clearly there was a fault in the drive train, diagnosed as requiring a new flywheel and clutch. Total bill after 35% goodwill from SEAT UK £1,003.75. Now, 4 months later, further problems, diagnosed by dealer as failed oil cooler which has mixed coolant with the transmission fluid, estimate to repair £928.25, with a warning that a new gearbox may still be required after the drain and flush. SEAT UK has this time refused to come to the wicket with any offer of goodwill. This I find amazing on a vehicle with only 31,500 miles on the clock, or am I just being naive? What do you think would be the best course of action re the repair?

Asked on 10 October 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Lots of dual mass flywheel problems reported on DSG drivetrains and a recall of over 40,000 in the USA. The transmission oil cooler problem is a fundamental flaw based on a risky design of passing a heat exchanger thought the coolant radiator. Fine in theory, but if any seals give way, totally disastrous. I'd use the small claims track of the county court to sue for selling you a car of unsatisfactory quality due to a fundamental design fault. Mercedes autos from year 2000 to 2004 had precisely this problem. Renaults used to have it until the potential for the problem was designed out of its cars, like the new Laguna diesel auto that has four entirely separate radiators: coolant, a/c condenser, transmission oil cooler, intercooler, so fluids cannot mix.
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