Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes

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Thu 1 Nov 2012 14:05
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - Happy Blue!

The following was passed to me by a close friend who is the new keeper of the aforementioned Skoda.

".....Dear petrolheads

A cautionary tale.....

Monday - sell Subaru for £1,175. Sad to see it go. Never had any problem with it, was the most reliable car. Lasted 146,000 miles.

Tuesday evening - take Skoda Superb out for first drive, my first new car for over 10 years. Got everything including digital telly. Ventilated seats. Even footrest for the back as it's just huge. Could rent the back out to a family and they'd have room for their furniture.

Wednesday - at 8.30, I parked up in Littleborough and started watching BBC 1 Breakfast News. RAC arrived after 9 and a nice man explained to me why the engine disengaged into neutral while I was on the motorway. The lorry behind got a bit frustrated as I decelerated (or perhaps his flashing lights and beeping were a way of congratulating me on the new car?). Managed to use first gear, which works really well and is a fine example to the other gears of how a gearbox should work, to get onto a slip road on the way to Littleborough (which I'm sure is worth visiting on a day when it's warm and not blowing a gale). Nice RAC man tried to reverse the car from outside the convenient Kelda substation that I'd crawled to in first gear, but reverse gear is also reluctant to work. He tried to get me onto the back of his truck using a rope but has now told me that the car's too long for his trailer. That's nice to know. He's now organising a bigger truck, I think he called it a flatbed truck, to tow me away. Flatbed sounds good as I can do with a nap. Anyway, the telly is still working so I'm watching one of those house auction programmes and if I get bored, Ugly Betty is on one of the other channels.

An update - was told by nice RAC man 30 mins ago that the tow truck will be here within an hour. RAC man drove away as he's probably got a full day's work rescuing Skoda drivers. iPad battery almost flat so won't be able to do many emails but, fortunately, I filled up with diesel last night so can sit in the car with engine running, heater on, watching Ugly Betty for hours.

Skoda lasted 33 miles.

Expect to be towed to the office sometime later this month. I hope the hire car is a Subaru. ......"

Edited by Happy Blue! on 01/11/2012 at 14:06

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Thu 1 Nov 2012 15:00
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - spring

This is a terrible story, moreso for you but, on two minor counts, for me. Am slowly but seriously contemplating buying my first new car in 50 plus years of motoring, and Skoda figured high on the list.

I'm definitely back to the drawing board.

Good luck Happy Blue - a sequel would be welcome unless you are still marooned.

Cheers Colin S

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Thu 1 Nov 2012 19:24
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - SteveLee

There is no such thing as a completely reliable car. You can even get unreliable "reliable" ones! I will not buy a car with a robotized manual gearchange or a DSG - too many stories of woe. Proper manual or proper auto for me - nothing inbetween.

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Thu 1 Nov 2012 19:33
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - sandy56

I remember in the dim and distant past organising my new company car-a Renault 30 with a big petrol engine, auto and loaded with all the then toys. Had it a week and it just stopped at a roundabout and would not restart. The renault man took it away and fixed it. It turned out to be a great car very comfortable, quick and great suspension for country roads. Never had any trouble with it till I skidded of the road one very nasty winter and hit a wall. Replaced it with a Ford Granada the next year. A better car but not as comfortable.

But I would not have a DSG gearbox for any money- a manual or a proper auto.

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Thu 1 Nov 2012 19:35
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - SteveLee

Renault 20 and 30 understeered worse than a oil tanker - they were indeed very comfy though.

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Thu 1 Nov 2012 21:45
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - Happy Blue!

Indeed - like driving mobile armchairs. The 30 pulled like a train.

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Fri 2 Nov 2012 00:19
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - Avant

"....Skoda figured high on the list.

I'm definitely back to the drawing board."

If all Skodas were like that one, Skoda wouldn't figure so high in the customer surveys.

So far mine, with DSG, has been fine for 16,000 miles, although it would be good to have some evidence of how they last over high mileages. Judges still out perhaps.

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Fri 2 Nov 2012 08:16
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - RT

"....Skoda figured high on the list.

I'm definitely back to the drawing board."

If all Skodas were like that one, Skoda wouldn't figure so high in the customer surveys.

So far mine, with DSG, has been fine for 16,000 miles, although it would be good to have some evidence of how they last over high mileages. Judges still out perhaps.

I hear lots of stories of so many trouble-free miles which "must" make it reliable - but surely most budget cars will get to 100,000 miles trouble-free these days?

I'd want to hear from owners who've covered 200-300,000 miles but most cars become unloved and scrapped well before that.

Without access to manufacturers warranty failure rates (their best kept secrets) I take the view that the used car trade valuations of out-of-warranty cars is about the only way of individual owners assessing the real reliability of particular models.

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Fri 2 Nov 2012 08:31
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - gordonbennet

The internet generally and forums like this are good news for consumers, we can all make fair judgements of potential purchases and the general aftercare of the manufacturer concerned, if we can be bothered to spend some time searching.

As in all things its wise to judge the report or review (or reviewer) with an open mind, we all have our prejudices.

As for these particular gearboxes, they haven't been out long enough yet to judge durability properly, and i suspect most who specified them new will be expecting to change again once warranty expires, or running them as company cars.

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Fri 2 Nov 2012 08:59
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - oldroverboy.

I agree with the sentiment about wait and see, would also be nice to know how dealer service was on the warranty claim, perhaps op can ask for detailed information and pass it on. What i personally won,t go near are the 3 cyl small capacity turbos.

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Fri 2 Nov 2012 12:57
Skoda Superb - A cautionary tale about DSG Gearboxes - Engineer Andy

I tend to stay away from any new technology in cars, or anything that hasn't been proved reliable over at least one generation (approx. 5-7 years) of cars. This includes:-

  • 3 cylinder engined cars - my (admitidly basic) understanding is that the design is inherently unstable and needs lots of fancy bits to make it work properly;
  • Double clutch gearboxes (too many tales of woe);
  • Gear change by the "fancy padddles" on the steering wheel;
  • DPFs/DMFs for cars doing short journeys;
  • Stop-start technology;
  • w@nkel engines (sad for me as a Mazda car owner);
  • Small-engined turbo petrols and/or combined with superchargers;
  • Over-complicated electrical systems or ICE.

I need a reliable car for my job, so I don't want anything that keeps me off the road or delays me getting to site/client's offices. It might sound boring, but you can still (just) find cars that fit the bill and are more fun than a Corolla or a Prius, e.g. 1st gen Civic Type R, etc.

Edited by Engineer Andy on 02/11/2012 at 12:58

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