Yet another DQ200 gearbox failure in a Volkswagen Polo GT TSI

In fact, I have been getting symptoms of my gear box failure since the last 2 years.

BHPian petrol_power recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Mine is a 2015 November registered Polo GT TSI and my extended / add-on warranty expired in 2020 November. I had tried to take extended warranty at that time, but VW denied it stating that mine was already on add-on warranty and any further extension is not possible. And last week, my car stalled while running. And the diagnosis is gearbox failure and mechatronics failure. Total estimate is 201,280/-.

Initially, the dealer said lot of rust is accumulated in the gearbox and it has crumbled down and said that mine is flood affected car, as that’s the only way rusting can happen in so many inside parts. I assured that it is not flood affected as he can confirm it with the service history.

In fact, I have been getting symptoms of my gear box failure since the last 2 years (ie when the car turned 3). There was a lag in movement when I shift the gear from P to N to D, it wont move for 5 to 10 seconds, which increased to upto 1 minute. This was random occurrence which finally became routine one, but service centre said that since the error is not showing when they scan it, VW is not supporting to change the gear box.

I hope they support me with goodwill warranty, as I was looking to add another car to my garage and was looking for the launch of new Octavia and new Tiguan. If they don’t support, I won’t make the same mistake again, whatever gear box they use in them. Once bitten twice shy.

I have sent mail to VW customer care. I had contacted VW customer care earlier for many issues and that has never yielded any output. I guess the only option is by trying to get in touch with some senior officials like Head Service Vishal Bhat or equivalent executives.

Requesting support from BHPians if any one has the contact mail ID of higher officials of VW India or VW Global as I need to escalate it to them. Kindly DM me please. Dealer is not able to do anything.

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

Sorry to say this, but welcome to the club. I think it's one eventuality that's waiting to happen if you own a DQ200 gearbox, sooner or later. I would advise you to take the gearbox rust with a bucket of salt. From my experience, they are not trained enough to open the sealed box, let alone find rust within. Ask for photos of the rust if they are adamant. Coming to goodwill warranty, you're completely at the mercy of ASS and VW. Try to make some noise and hope for the best. And, I hope you don't have any major mods in your car and a spotless service history, which can be reasons they will try to deny warranty. Also, the quote they are saying is simply stupid. That itself raises lot of suspicion on their intentions. The mechatronics costs around 71k MRP. How do I know this is? I paid for it while mine gave up. (You can find my entire experience in the GT TSI official review thread). Have attached the MRP on box of mechatronics that I got. Hope it works out in your favour.

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

I have mentioned this earlier - DSG gearboxes have an unofficial unlimited warranty and goodwill warranties will be honored within VW / Skoda subject to certain conditions. This fact is not indicated to customers. Some of the conditions that you need to have complied with are:

• Adherence to service schedules
• Avoiding any modications that could affect the gearbox - remap, Power increases through exhaust modifications and the like.
• Should not have serviced the car outside the ASS resulting in issues
• No non OE parts fixed on the car.

You should put across your case properly, provide documentation and escalate the issue within VW as required. DO NOT reach out to the CEO or the VW group Chairman straightaway as some over enthusiastic folks do. Take advantage of every level of escalation - if you are not happy with the solution provided at a particular level reach out to the next - that will help you more than reaching out to the top straightaway.

Here's what BHPian vishy76 had to say on the matter:

This is a common occurrence on the DQ200. Mechatronics failures and premature clutch pack wear outs are both commonly heard of as you mentioned, and whoever buys these cars on the pretext that both will be reliable is a fool IMO.

The best course of action is what you have done. Asking for goodwill warranty. Mechatronics replacements are approved and 100 percent of the cost is usually covered by VW, but clutch pack failures after the car has turned 4-5 years old are considered wear and tear items and depending on your luck, you can get anywhere between 20-50 percent goodwill coverage or even none. Best is to set aside 1.3-1.5L should the worst happen and keep fingers crossed. Could you shed light on what exactly is being replaced and the cost breakup? The gearbox body usually doesn't need replacement. It's the mechatronics or the clutch pack and flywheel or all three.

Coming to the reason for failure, the mechatronics in the DQ200 has a high pressure accumulator. What this basically does is generate a very high amount of pressure in the mechatronics fluid (upto 60 bars) in a very short period of time once the ignition is switched on. This accumulator with time, wears out. The internal seats abrade and cause the oil to get contaminated with metallic particles. Initial symptoms include mis-shifting and delays as the fluid pressure inside the mechatronics isn't enough for the solenoids due to the bad accumulator. Eventually, the contaminated oil ends up destroying the solenoids as well leading to no drive to the wheels or only odd or even gears being available.

Here's are pics of the accumulator:

Attached to the valve body:

The internal seats that wear out with time:

Repair kits are offered abroad and specialists also overhaul the gearbox for a fraction of the amount of a new one. But such specialists are far and few to non existent in this part of the world. VW also doesn't allow the oil in the mechatronics to be replaced by any dealership and claims such an action should only be carried out if the unit malfunctions (in India, it's replaced directly in case of a malfunction).

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.