What automatic transmission is on the Volkswagen Tiguan: reliability and disadvantages

Automatic transmission on the Volkswagen Tiguan

Volkswagen Tiguan car rolled off the assembly line in 2007. Four years later, the car was subjected to a restyling. In 2014, the manufacturer added a sports line of the car – R-Line.

And a year later, the car was completely updated by Volkswagen.

The upgraded Volkswagen Tiguan is equipped with an automatic transmission brand 7-DSG 4Motion, which has 7 steps.

Features of the automatic transmission on the Volkswagen Tiguan

The most important advantage of cars of this model is considered the ability to choose, regardless of the generation, the option of the engine and transmission. Tiguan can be equipped with a gasoline or diesel engine. When choosing a gearbox, the manufacturer offers:

• A MANUAL TRANSMISSION;
• Automatic transmission with torque converter;
• robotized DSG with 6 or 7 steps.

All car enthusiasts are familiar with the manual transmission, as this transmission is reliable and easy to maintain. This type of transmission is especially good when driving off-road or on roads with poor pavement, which is ideal when using the car in Russia.

With a manual transmission the cars of this brand are produced in the Trendline configuration, as well as Comfortline, with front or all-wheel drive.

When launching the production of the second generation German company refused to equip the car with a classic version of an automatic gearbox. The decision of the company’s leading engineers to install a robotized DSG on their cars not only instantly gained many supporters but also opponents.

The new generation Volkswagen Tiguan is equipped with two different design versions of robotized automatic transmission:

• DSG-6 for the 1.4-liter gasoline engines with different degrees of boost;
• DSG-7 for 2.0 liters engines and diesel units.

If we consider DSG-6 version, this gearbox has “wet” clutch and is notable for stable work, what cannot be said about DSG-7 with “dry” clutch. This version is not especially reliable and any surprises can be expected from it. Therefore, in the new generation, both versions are made in a “wet” clutch version.

Fuel consumption

Fuel consumption on the Volkswagen Tiguan directly depends on the volume of the engine, the type of fuel used, the operating conditions of the car, as well as, importantly, the driving style.

With a calm and aggressive driving this indicator will differ significantly. The table shows the fuel consumption figures for the Tiguan, as stated by the manufacturer.

It is also worth saying that, according to the owners of this car, the actual fuel consumption is 1-2 liters more even with a quiet driving style.

Typical problems

During the operation of the car the automatic transmission has to constantly withstand heavy loads, which, naturally, eventually leads to malfunctions or failures in its operation. Despite the fact that the transmissions installed on this model are deservedly considered the most reliable, according to statistics, clutch and mechatronic with careful attitude to them work smoothly only 70-90 thousand km mileage.

After reaching this milestone, expensive repairs are usually necessary. The first signs of arising problems are jerks when shifting gears. In the beginning they are slightly perceptible, but as the damages in the box increase, the jerking motion begins to intensify. This problem can be solved by reprogramming the entire control unit.

The impossibility to shift a gearbox or blocking of shifting to some of the gears may also serve as a signal of automatic transmission malfunction. In this case the car should be transported to service station with a tow truck. It is strictly forbidden to move on your own, as it will lead to more serious damage to the entire drive as well as the automatic transmission and, consequently, to very high financial costs.

In some cases, the malfunction can be diagnosed with the help of sensors that are built into the automatic transmission itself. They report low oil pressure as well as overheating. But you should not rely only on sensor indications. Sometimes even computer diagnostics are not able to define the exact degree of damage and its cause.

Quite often in automatic transmission the sealing gaskets are worn out, as a result of which oil starts to leak. In order to notice this damage in time, you should regularly inspect the condition of the automatic on an elevator.

The elimination of this malfunction is not a particularly complicated procedure and consists of replacing the seals and then restoring the oil level.

Automatic transmission repair in Volkswagen Tiguan: is it possible and advisable?

Repair of automatic transmission, in general, is required when the mileage is quite high, especially in engines with a volume of 2 liters, or when the owner of the car ignores the manufacturer’s recommendations. It is also possible that the repair will be required due to frequent towing of a trailer with cargo exceeding the permissible norm, or long and frequent driving off-road.

Automatic transmission repair is a very expensive procedure. Sometimes the cost of rebuilding an automatic transmission is higher than the cost of a used car of the same class or a brand new car of a lower class. The problem is that many car services are not able to carry out quality repair of such a complex mechanism as an automatic gearbox on Volkswagen Tiguan. The reason for this may be the lack of skilled craftsmen or the necessary equipment, as well as expensive diagnostic to determine the cause of the malfunction.

Therefore, many car services do not agree to make repairs, offering to replace the automatic with a contract or a new gearbox. Of course, sometimes they are absolutely right. There are cases, when damage of elements of a box is so extensive, that it is simply inexpedient to make repair. In such a case, the repair can be more expensive than a new box. At the moment, a new automatic transmission for Tiguan costs in the range of 70,000-90000 rubles. If we talk about the used unit, its price is slightly lower and is 40000-60000 rubles, depending on the volume of the engine, which is equipped with the vehicle.

There is only one way out of this situation: look for a service station with the necessary equipment and specialists with sufficient skill level. This problem should be solved independently in two cases: if the car owner is sure that the malfunction is insignificant or if he has the necessary tools for repair and enough professional skills in this area. After all, it is quite difficult to repair a 6-speed or 7-speed gearbox.

Oil change

Before checking the oil in the engine with its subsequent replacement, you should start the car and drive it some distance. This is necessary to warm up the gearbox, and therefore the transmission oil. After that it is necessary to go to the observation pit, having previously prepared a container of 7 liters.

First of all, you should unscrew the drain plug, through which about 4 liters of waste oil will immediately flow out. The drip tray must also be removed, because some of the oil remains in it. It should be thoroughly cleaned and washed. Then carefully wipe it with lint-free paper. The oil filter is removed and replaced with a new one. After that, new oil can be filled in.

As a result, we should say that with timely diagnosis and proper maintenance of this car, it will serve its owner for a very long time. After all, every car needs careful and attentive operation.

Owners’ reviews

Oleg, 46, Kiev.

I have been using Tiguan for four years, I am satisfied with it. The only unusual thing is that the system turns off the engine by itself in traffic jams.

Alexander, 32 years, Moscow

I bought Volkswagen Tiguan quite a long time ago, but I would not even think to buy any other car, this one is satisfied with everything. In a word, the German quality is above all.

Sergey, 26 years old, Lipetsk

I bought a Volkswagen Tiguan recently. I am happy with everything, most of all the fuel consumption – in the city to 12 liters, on the highway about six. I am satisfied, as I previously drove a BMW 535 and the whole salary, roughly speaking, went into the gas tank.

Denis, 29, Saransk

I am completely satisfied with this crossover, especially with its economy. In the mixed mode consumes about 9 liters. However, sometimes I like to drive at high speeds. But in this respect there are no complaints, as in any car with such a style of driving the fuel consumption increases significantly.

Review of Tiguan automatic transmission: reliability of automatic and disadvantages

The difference between the German version of the Volkswagen Tiguan, from the Russian assembly of the compact crossover is that the latter has a six-mode automatic transmission made by Aisin. Telling the truth, these Japanese hydromechanical units which have got the designation 09G are equipped mainly with top complete sets of the Russian, and to be exact, Kaluga assembly.

It is absolutely clear that in order our brother – Russian consumer to stop his choice on cars with automatic transmission, he should have, as it is fashionable to say now, the objective information about

• What is the fuel consumption of a crossover with an automatic transmission, because there are myths that automatic transmissions require a lot of fuel;
• how reliable automatic transmission is, because of the same fake information that this unit has a very limited service life;
• what are the advantages and disadvantages of automatic transmission.

Actually, and build our review of the Volkswagen Tiguan, according to the above plan of objective coverage of the version of this German crossover, equipped with an automatic transmission.

Factory standards and actual fuel consumption of the Tiguan with automatic transmission

The manufacturer of this car gives such parameters of the actual consumption (per hundred kilometers of mileage) of fuel as:

• Tiguan with a TSI 1.4 engine for a hundred and fifty horsepower on average according to the factory standards paired with an automatic transmission shovels within 8.5 liters of gasoline;
• crossover with 2.0 liter TSI power plant, equipped with an automatic transmission and having under the hood of 170 horses, consumes within 10, and to be exact, 9.9 liters of fuel;
• A 2-liter TDI motor Tiguan with 122 horsepower coupled with an automatic transmission should consume, according to the manufacturers, about 7.5 liters in the city and about 5 liters when driving on the highway.

As to the real fuel consumption, it is obvious for our garage brother that fuel consumption in reality depends on many factors, starting from the season, city and highway driving and finishing with the style of the drivers’ road behavior. In other words, the higher the driving speed, the more fuel you need to pour into the tank. To give you an example, here are the results of the three driving styles:

Regarding the specifics for each Volkswagen Tiguan package, the data is inconsistent, However, some very tentative idea of the costs of compact crossovers with different types of engines with an automatic transmission compared to manual and robotized transmissions can be obtained by examining the table below:

Orientation parameters of Volkswagen Tiguan expenses depending on engines and types of transmissions in driving modes in city, highway and mixed traffic conditions

Is it true that the 09G box has a very limited service life?

No – this is a fake spread by detractors in favor of competitors. Both the manufacturer Aisin and VAG, which is a partner in the development of the world’s first hydromechanical transmission categorically insist that the automatic transmission is quite a reliable unit. The experience in operation of these boxes since the beginning of zero years confirms the rightness of the manufacturer and the consumer of its products.

As for the life of hydromechanical unit, even in heavy conditions of city exploitation, namely with the presence of traffic jams, short distances of driving in acceleration / braking modes, trouble-free service of this transmission can reach 200 thousandth runs. And then, as a rule, problems in the form of jerks when changing speed modes, and frequent slipping of hydraulic clutches begin to appear. All these flaws in automatic transmission operation are connected with:

• The fact that the box overheats as a result of driving in traffic jams, while excessive heating of the unit does not lead to the appearance of box error codes signals, and they are not subject to saving in the ECU memory;
• Wear of the hydraulic piston seals due to the fact that this assembly, being under the load such as acceleration or when overcoming hills, is intensively worn, which leads to slipping of the transmission;
• with the wear of the bronze washers of the planetariums. Since bronze itself is a material not resistant to wear, but it is difficult to find a replacement because of the small friction coefficient of this alloy.

The only way to solve these problems is to overhaul the automatic transmission.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of automatic transmissions?

It is obvious to all our comrades in the garage community that dynamics or acceleration of a car depends not only on the parameters of engine power, but also on gearboxes, or rather, on the skills of drivers, about the synchronism of interaction, shifting gears and pressing the clutch pedals.

So the automatic transmission does not require these skills because:

• The same Volkswagen Tiguan with an automatic transmission has only a selector lever, as well as only two pedals, namely the brake and gas;
• The electronics are responsible for the gear change;
• gear shifting takes place without interruption of the power transmitted to the wheels;
• the automatic transmission reliably protects the chassis from overloading;
• The combination of power units with automatic transmission in certain (urban) operating conditions the same Volkswagen Tiguan allows not only to comfortably operate them, but also to save fuel.

Considering that the disadvantages are the continuation of the advantages, it should be stated that the disadvantages of the automatic transmission are:

• expensive to maintain;
• On average, fuel consumption is ten times more than in a manual transmission;
• Weak acceleration again in comparison with a manual gearbox;
• It is impossible to tow a Tiguan with an automatic transmission because when the engine is switched off the lubrication is not supplied to the automatic transmission;
• it is impossible to start Tiguan from a push start.

As a conclusion

As can be seen from the review, automatic transmission Volkswagen Tiguan has both obvious advantages, as well as obvious to our brother – the Russian consumer disadvantages, such as the inability to tow, as well as start the engine the most common way we have.

As for the fuel consumption and limited resource automatic transmission, it is a parameter that depends directly on the users of Volkswagen Tiguan.