VW/Audi don't like the cold!

Making plans for a guys trip up North and one of them just emailed the group. He has discovered that his SWMBO's A3 TDI won't start in temps below 0º. Apparently, the DSG oil gets thick enough so the clutches engage, and put enough drag on the engine to prevent it from starting. You can feel the car lurch forward with every crank. Hopefully using an engine block heater will help the situation, but if it's really cold, she'll need his vehicle which we were planning on taking up North. Now VW quality is all fine and good unless it affects my plans damn it!

He's read there may be a class action lawsuit regarding this problem with DSGs, which means they'll get a $5 coupon for a dealer oil change, and the lawyers will get $750 million.

Put a space heater under the car pointing at the transmission?

A 100 watt light bulb underneath the transmission will keep it warm.

Really guys, your average Joe or Josephine isn’t going to start putting space heaters or light bulbs under their cars.

Latest e-mail from him states that VW/Audi did realize the issue and in response included an engine block heater as standard in 2010+ North American TDI DSG cars.

Of course, the power plug in the front grille is proprietary to VW/Audi, and the (not included) connecting cable (essentially a 2 ft. extension cord) is $175.00. Nobody in the state has one in stock, so they ordered one online last Friday. Now they are still waiting for the USPS "One Day Express" to arrive, 5 days later.

They are not sure if the engine block heater will solve the problem of cold DSG oil, but now temps are rising anyway. They do know it will start fine at 9º, but not at -4º.

I only really started this as a semi joke as it’s potentially going to affect our trip up to the Sno*Drift rally.

No problems with my Mazda dual clutch (thankfully!)

Are you participating in the Sno*Drift? I've thought about heading up there to watch but I'm never sure it would be worth it.

slowride wrote: Are you participating in the Sno*Drift? I've thought about heading up there to watch but I'm never sure it would be worth it.

No, I've crewed before, but we're just speccies

That's crazy. You find a problem in your car and the "fix" is to install a block heater in future production models? VW is awesome. How they remain as big as they are is baffling.

Odd. I had a Jetta TDi last week and it started fine in -30. Course, it was a bitch to fill up as the diesel pumps were frozen. Stood there freezing my azz off while it took 20 minutes to pump half a tank of fuel.

If it's like the many VWs my M I L insisted on owning the best way to warm the transmission is to place a road flare in the gas tank

Lesley wrote: Odd. I had a Jetta TDi last week and it started fine in -30. Course, it was a bitch to fill up as the diesel pumps were frozen. Stood there freezing my azz off while it took 20 minutes to pump half a tank of fuel.

No full service option up there? Or are you all too errr 'manly' from wrestling polar bears to need Bob Costas service?

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

Lesley wrote: Odd. I had a Jetta TDi last week and it started fine in -30. Course, it was a bitch to fill up as the diesel pumps were frozen. Stood there freezing my azz off while it took 20 minutes to pump half a tank of fuel.

No full service option up there? Or are you all too errr 'manly' from wrestling polar bears to need Bob Costas service?

Full service in Canada is pretty rare. Most stations are self serve.

My old Golf TD would start in -35C weather no problem. Weird that the DSG would cause this.

Huh... I wonder how "neutral" works on a DSG... Is it just both-clutches-disengaged? That seems perilous.

Otherwise I guess it would need two neutrals, one for each clutch? Not extra parts, but would require more packaging space to be able to park all those gears away from each other... But if this were the case, oil drag on the clutches wouldn't matter.

Wonder what's actually goign on.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Latest e-mail from him states that VW/Audi did realize the issue and in response included an engine block heater as standard in 2010+ North American TDI DSG cars.

Hmmmm.

I have a North American '13 TDI Sportwagen with DSG. There is no block heater.

It doesn't get that cold around here, however, so I've never had any problems.

Ransom wrote: Huh... I wonder how "neutral" works on a DSG... Is it just both-clutches-disengaged? That seems perilous.

Well, think of it this way... there's always two gears engaged when you're in motion, it's just the fact that only one clutch is disengaged that keeps the trans from locking up solid.

And heck, if you think about a traditional automatic, Neutral is dependent on all SORTS of clutches being disengaged.

If I haven't been explicit enough: The clutches require pressure to engage, not disengage. They are wet clutches similar to what you'd find inside a traditional automatic.

I think the last car I read about lurching forward when cold was the Ford Model T.

My TDI left me stranded on I-75 Friday due to gelled fuel (never had to use an additive in my other diesels, but I do now). A hunk of ice broke a wheel speed sensor Monday, and it appears my voltage regulator went out today. I'm done with this car. I've owned 40+ cars, all of them what most wold consider older, or just plain worn out. But I don't tolerate (and have rarely experienced) an unreliable car. I'm not condemning Little Hitler yet, but three issues in less than a week pushes me to my limit.

In reply to Knurled:

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense...

DrBoost wrote: My TDI left me stranded on I-75 Friday due to gelled fuel (never had to use an additive in my other diesels, but I do now). A hunk of ice broke a wheel speed sensor Monday, and it appears my voltage regulator went out today. I'm done with this car. I've owned 40+ cars, all of them what most wold consider older, or just plain worn out. But I don't tolerate (and have rarely experienced) an unreliable car. I'm not condemning Little Hitler yet, but three issues in less than a week pushes me to my limit.

66.6% of your complaints are weather related. Quit yer squealin!

I have a 2012 Jetta TDI and it was parked outside in near -20 deg with a windchill factor below -40. Having worked in the trucking industry for 25+ years I know about treating diesel fuel in the winter. I've had way to many drivers stranded on the side of the road with dead engines due to jelled fuel. My car started right up yesterday morning and drove great. Even the Chinese tires that VW put on the car did OK in the snow!

Try lifting the drive wheels off the ground and putting it into neutral.