lower

While my S is waiting for a new engine to be delivered Honda have nicely provided my with a VW passat TDI estate with the DSG gearbox.

Seems to drive just like an auto, except that the creep you get with an auto isn't there in the same way. It seems like 1st gear is exceptionally low, and then when the clutch engages its quite sharp so taking off from rest smoothly is difficult. It can be done, but you have to tickle the throttle to get moving and then accelerate, otherwise you get a big jolt.

The specific problem i'm having is that my drive is very steep. Because there is no real creep, you can't hold the car stationary on the slope without your foot on the brake, so reversing out of the drive this morning involved me holding the brake with my left foot, accelerating slightly with my right and then taking my left foot off the brake. This resulted in me shooting backwards up the slope quite violently in a cloud of tyre and clutch smoke!

I can't use the handbrake because its a stupid electric handbrake that you can't turn off unless your foot is on the footbrake.

Hence wanting some tips on how to 'get round' the stupid DSG clutch.

Boab01

I have a Skoda Octavia 2l TDi DSG. The creep should be there but it wouldn't stop you rolling down a slope in any automatic.

You should be able to move your feet between the brake and the accel pedals quickly enough to stop you doing this but I suspect it has more to do with you not being used to autos

Just gently apply more power and you'll find the car stops rolling down, once you've found that point just apply a little more and you'll find the car moves gently off. You could also REVERSE into your parking space .

lower

You're right, its probably that i'm not quite used to it.

I didn't realise that i was going to have this problem when i drove forwards into my drive last night

Did the same thing a lunch time, except this time driving forwards. Got stopped on a hill, took my foot of the brake and tried to apply a little throttle to hold the car steady but started rolling backwards so applied a little more throttle. All of a sudden the boost (its a turbo diesel) seemed to build and the car lurched up the hill!

The way the DSG clutch seems to work is when i take my foot off the brake, there is a slight pause and then the clutch engages. If the hill is steep then the car can start to roll in that slight pause.

Dembo

I can't help; I just want to say how funny I think this is.

lower

Oh and as an extra seeing as Dembo is rolling on the floor laughing at my misfortune, i've not had this problem before with Automatics on my drive. Partly because you can hold the car on the handbrake until the drive has picked up enough to stop the car rolling.

But with the stupid electric handbrake that you can't take off unless you foot is on the brake, you don't have that option.

Otherwise it would be no different to holding any other car on the handbrake.

Nick Graves

In the old days, rattlers had so much torque, one could pull away on the clutch without using the throttle. Rather like you must do in electronic shift trucks.

As for whizzy handbrakes, it sounds as useless as buying a M-B with a manual and a foot parking brake.

The Germans are often gifted engineers, but they have absolutely no common sense sometimes.

I'm sure a good ol' fashioned slushbox is a far better solution.

Dembo

It is the handbrake that is particularly stupid in this scenario. What if it was a manual and you were doing the classic L-driver hill start?

Nick Graves

At least VW don't place the pedals too badly; one can slide one's foot from brake to accelerator reasonably well.

Unlike some allagedly sporty German cars, where the brake pedal is placed so as it ought to be opreated by one's knob.

lower

At least with the Merc you can release the handbrake with both feet on the relevant pedals. Whereas with this VW you can't release the handbrake unless your foot is on the brake pedal. The answer i suppose is to left foot brake....

Nick Graves

Are the pedals placed so as to facilitate that?