How reliable are the newer VW/Skoda DQ200 gearboxes?

How is the driving feel/performance/smoothness vs 1.0 TSI (with Aisin TC), as this is what I drive.

BHPian dsr001 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My family is considering buying a 1.5 TSI DSG from Skoda or VW (i.e. the Slavia/Virtus/Kushaq/Taigun).

I'm interested to know how is the DSG doing wrt earlier DQ200 boxes:

• Have there been any reported failures of the DSG (on 1.5 TSI) and how was the response?
• How is the driving feel/performance/smoothness vs 1.0 TSI (with Aisin TC), as this is what I drive
• How is the current DSG wrt Hyundai DCT

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

I think this is precisely the reason. It's just 2 years. The DQ200 is fundamentally flawed & I don't expect its long-term reliability to be good. Just wait for these cars to cross the 5-year mark and 40,000 - 50,000 km.

Here's what BHPian MotorDev had to say on the matter:

Regarding your query about DSG failures, there have been three reported cases. I gathered this information from a YouTube source. The car owners sent their vehicles to the service centre for resolution, and the problems are currently being addressed.

If you're considering a car with a DSG gearbox, it's advised to be prepared for at least one potential malfunction. Despite these concerns, my family purchased a Skoda Slavia 1.5 DSG with a similar mindset.

When it comes to the reliability of the DSG gearbox, while there have been a few instances of failure, the overall prevalence of issues might be exaggerated. It's worth noting that mechanical failures can happen with any type of gearbox. As an example, even our Wagon R's AMT gearbox failed after a year of use, despite my dad's cautious driving. Machines are prone to malfunction over time, and components like the DSG clutch may need replacement eventually.

The combination of the 1.5 TSI engine and DSG gearbox is a match made in heaven. The vehicle offers both smoothness and impressive power. I've also experienced the 1.0 TSI engine, and I find the 1.5 TSI to be more refined. The car effortlessly maintains speeds of 120 km/h, and it can be a challenge to keep it below that due to the remarkable acceleration it offers.

While I haven't had the chance to sit in the new Hyundai DCT models, it may excel in terms of 0-100 acceleration. However, the 1.5 TSI engine in the Skoda and VW cars offers an excellent balance between power and stability. The driving dynamics and stability provided by Skoda and VW models are hard to beat. Ultimately, I recommend test driving all the cars you're considering before making your purchase decision.

Here's what BHPian Maky had to say on the matter:

Hey dsr001,

Among my very small circle of hardcore car fans, of whom a lot are VAG fans, there was fair consensus that the people buying the Taigun/Virtus, Kushaq/Slavia were just asking for trouble. That they would be in only a short matter of time where early Polo and other DQ200 car owners had been years ago. With most of us putting aside Skoda/VWs claims of the 'improvements' made to the DQ200.

Here we are some 2 years later and we have yet to hear of a single DQ200 failure from either of these cars, and T-Bhp is the first place you hear of such failures(unless I missed something!) and en masse. The volumes of the 2.0 cars which combined have been significantly higher than the same gear box in Octavia/Superb/Polo sales as I understand. With the sample size being so much more than the initial DQ200 vehicles and even if some failures were reported, atleast in my social group, we feel the DQ200 in the 1.5 TSI's are today a much much more reliable unit.

I would also like to add that upon my test drive in 3 of the 4 the 2.0 cars Kushaq, Virtus and Taigun, I felt that the gearbox isn't as fast shifting as what I experienced in the early Polo GT TSI models etc., I am still not sure if this was my imagination or if indeed the gearbox is tuned to be more relaxed, and perhaps thus more reliable? I am not that technically inclined.

I am strongly considering the DQ381 equipped Volkswagen Tiguan after the last couple of years seeing just the one failure, and as I recall according to the member the 'faulty' Germany shipped 381 was reported to be working fine and fault was elsewhere that local technicians were not able to figure out. I might be speaking too soon but If this trend continues for another few years one could say that the DSG AT is as unreliable as any other AT, when compared to a manual.

I dare say you may now consider VAG cars as your daily driver with some some fair confidence.

Here's what BHPian KP56 had to say on the matter:

A dear friend of mine owns a 2022 Taigun 1.5 DSG and has completed almost 26k kms within 10 months ( 70% highway 30% city). It is used by multiple drivers with various driving styles and most of them have quite a heavy foot. The car does not get any princess treatment as such, just the periodic services are done on time. The car has had NO mechanical issues so far and is going strong.

I was also lucky enough to enjoy it during a 1300km roadtrip to Kerala recently. The acceleration is quite smooth and urges you to keep pushing harder, just that it sounds a bit too vocal at higher rpm. If you are someone who really pushes the car to limits you might find that downshifting using paddles in manual mode does not really help in terms of engine breaking.

Here's what BHPian chrome6boy had to say on the matter:

I loved my Vento 2016 TSI with all my heart. I drove it 1,35,000 kms and loved most of it. However the mechatronix died at 99,920 kms and I could luckily get it replaced under warranty. It happened again at 1,20,000 kms at which point the service center managed to get it working while informing me that the transmission will die soon.

I took a risk and drove it another 15,000 kms never using the S mode or the manual mode and also never really reaching high rpms and it managed to last. I was sorry to see it go when I finally sold it, but also a little relieved that I don't have to baby the transmission any longer.

My friend who bought the 2016 Vento TDI DSG has so far changed the mechatronix once and also the clutch once. He has driven the car 1,75,000.

We both loved our cars and no CVT or TC was ever going to match this driving experience.

We also own a 2019 Hyundai Venue DCT which we bought when it was first released. That DCT was changed under warrant last year after there was a severe jerk moving from 1st to 2nd gear.

Based on my experience, if you value the driving experience more than reliability (like I did) then buy it without question with the 6 year warranty. However, you have to hope and pray you won't be one of the people who have the dreaded gearbox failure. Remember, even if the replacement happens under warranty these things take time and can be very frustrating to be without your car while the approval and repair processes happen.

If you can manage, EVs give a better driving experience with a higher reliability than the TSI - DSG combination.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.