Thinking of getting a VW T5 DSG, what to look out for

Always had jap stuff so am a bit wary on reliability etc but a local hire place nearby is selling their VW T5 140 DSG auto kombi and shuttle vans at a reasonable price, all are just about to hit 3 years old (end of warranty) 40-50K miles, serviced. I’ve read various reviews and they look great but what’s likely to need doing or going to happen etc. I need an auto. Any tips appreciated before I take the plunge.
Cheers

Hi – I have a 1.9 full camper T5.
I would check out the T4/t5 forum on the net as there is lots on there about the DSG and all other variants. It’s sometimes best to search google with ‘T5’ in the key words as the Forum search facility is not great. Good luck with your searching. Mine in manual – but I have an auto Audi & it’s a much more relaxed style of driving…….

Pretty good vans, the dsg box suits them as well.

Half-shafts go on older vans circa 60k miles. Only £200 to sort though. The convenience modules can corrode and the central locking stops working; quick splice and re-solder under drivers seat.

I had the older 2.5TDi (130) which was a good engine. Think the newer ones are v reliable too.

Would you mind sharing who\where? Could be just what i’m after.

I had a shocker of a time with my 2.5 one. Manual all the way for me

DSG?

Run away . . .Very fast.

Hth
Marko

T5s do have their faults which are well documented online.. Dual mass flywheels have been known to go wrong, egrs, n75(also known as moo valves), driveshaft issues..

All said and done they’re no worse than any other vehicle on the road. I’m on my second T5 now, had a ’04 1.9 and liked it so much that after 18months I went out and bought one brand new so now have a ’14 140ps lwb highline.

Have a drive of one and see what you think, if you want to drive it like a car don’t expect great economy but if you’re happy to pootle along with the traffic they’re pretty good on fuel, mine averages high 30s to low 40s mpg which for a two tonne brick is pretty respectable.

steveh – it’s this place at Bournemouth Airport:
http://www.carsandcommercials.co.uk/

Mind you the 3 year old stuff doesn’t seem to be on the website stocklist, only newer stuff, I guess you’d need to ring/email them

Marko – you have me worried

Unless you are desperate for an ‘Auto’, just find a manual one.

Nothing wrong with the DSG gearbox in principle, but when (not if) it goes wrong expect a very large bill.

If you’ve a spare couple of hours Google DSG issues/faults.

Hth
Marko

Knackered left ankle last summer, gear changing in present van, particularly stop start in traffic, is making it much worse hence looking for auto option. Thought about a Vito but they seem to have poor reviews and worse re-sale values if I don’t get on with it etc.

I had a 2007 1.9 T5, converted to a camper. It was great, but my god was it expensive. DMF, clutch, drive shafts, turbo boost leaks and so on. Sold it, miss it but if I get another van it’ll probably be a transit

I don’t think DSG boxes are worth avoiding in comparison to any other modern auto.

They’ve been around some time now and remember people only really take to the internet to say how bad things are and rarely how fault free its been.

If it is a concern then get a good warranty to cover it.

I have a DSG box in my leon. It’s brilliant. I’d definitely have another. The box requires a service every four years (or 70k I think?) so budget for that. It’s not cheap either. The oil alone is about 80 quid.

Nothing wrong with DSGs, dual mass clutches are just as expensive when they eventually fail, plus DSGs are so much more of a relaxed way of driving in heavy traffic.
If you prepare a budget and stash a grand away for your repairs/ service funds if you can afford to do that then it’s never really a problem…..
However I must say the Ford a Transit foes seem to get very good reviews for reliability and drive. Guy Martin can’t be wrong 😆

If you’ve a spare couple of hours Google DSG issues/faults.

You could google anything and you’ll find someone moaning about it being crap. Doesn’t mean the other 99.9% of people using it thinks its rubbish or has a problem.

I have a DSG box in my Caravelle. I like it a lot and much prefer it over a manual. I notice a delay when accelerating from standstill. It’s well known / documented issue and I’d buy another DSG.

The issue with DSG imo is that VW have designed all the valves and electronics to be in one single unit. This makes working on it easy, because you just need to pop the unit out, which can be done with everything still in the car.

However, despite this, VW will only replace the whole unit, whatever the fault is, which is very expensive at about 1500 quid. The valves can be replaced or refurbished individually, and there’s a bloke in Nottingham who’ll recon the unit for 450 quid. OTOH I managed to find a valve off the internet for 80 euros which sorted my issue, and was a 3 minute job once the unit was out of the car.

MrsMC Can only drive autos. We’ve had several DSG cars over the years in Seat/Skoda/VW styles with no issues. Bookmarked this thread as I have a midlife crisis style hankering for a T5 combi.

Doesn’t mean the other 99.9% of people using it thinks its rubbish or has a problem.

How do you know that then?

Back on topic.

Look like you need an auto then. I’d go for either a proper slush box or a simpler semi-auto. No idea who still make a proper automatic van, but Ford do a ‘Durashift’ Transit. Might be as problematic as the VW GSG, but a lot cheaper to fix – maybe?

Hth
Marko