Unless they’ve changed the official service schedule, the Golf GTE DSG DQ400E Gearbox does need the oil changing every 40k miles.

If it hasn’t been done I suspect the chances of you ever being able to claim on the warranty (if you still have one) in the future for it will be slim.

A few VW independents will do the job for quite a bit less than a VW franchise dealer, although be aware the DSG oil itself is expensive stuff and a large part of the cost is that.

 

As Tooks points out no change in 40000 oil change requirement: DSG servicing

 

When I was looking to buy a used GTE I was looking at cars around the 7 year old mark. I struggled to find one which had evidence of a DSG oil change at any point in its service history. It seems a lot of people are not bothering. I understand they should indeed be done every 40k miles and I'd suggest getting it done for sure.

 

When I was looking to buy a used GTE I was looking at cars around the 7 year old mark. I struggled to find one which had evidence of a DSG oil change at any point in its service history. It seems a lot of people are not bothering. I understand they should indeed be done every 40k miles and I'd suggest getting it done for sure. Sprunki Retake

ohh actually i have been using it for 2 years and never changed the oil

 

Definitely get it done, better safe than sorry. I've never owned a car with a DSG but I nearly did some years ago and in my research found out about the importance of keeping up with oil changes for continued reliability.

 

it's not a time consuming or difficult job. I bought the oil change adaptor off ebay for £25 ready to do mine but decided to change car.

The oil is hardly a fortune but you do need VCDS (rosstech,com) and a compatble OBD interface (eg Hex Can) to empty/depressurise the mechatronics unit and repressurise it when during the refilling process. Loads of Youtube videos exist.

The only thing you are advised not to do is the oil filter, which should only be changed if there is damage to the DSG. (& therefore this would be removed allowing access for the filter to be changed)

A dealer should be able to do it in an hour so the cost should be ~£200.

 

Hi, my GTE has just had its third dsg oil service (the third for the car, first for me and done 10k early) but I noticed a significant difference in the gear change, a lot smoother, but I also asked for the software to be updated too. As others have mentioned it’s certainly worth getting done and good preventative maintenance too, VW recommend a dsg service every 40k.

Mike

 

I'm not in favour of over-servicing cars and firmly believe that most servicing is just profiteering from the dealership.

However the DSG DOES need it's oil changed every 40k miles or it will fail!

 

I would recommend having the oil changed at 40k.

Reasons:

• The clutches on the DQ400e are wet clutch and rely on the oil to cool and modulate torque correctly. Contaminated oil may reduce the performance and cause the clutches to wear quickly.
• The oil cools the motor. Older oil may be less thermally conductive.
• The oil allows the actuators and gears to smoothly mesh. A failed actuator unit (Mechatronics) costs about £1,200 to rectify on the GTE.

 

I have done dozens of DSG fluid changes, from DQ200 to DQ400e.

Trust me when I tell you, that you need to change the DQ400e fluid. Usually when you change the DSG fluid on a DQ200 or DQ250, the oil still looks pretty decent. You wouldn't know it needed to be swapped unless you compared it to fresh fluid. This is not the case for the DQ400e. The fluid is very dirty and absolutely needs changing. This is probably due to the fact that no filters are changed at the service interval, while filters get changed on the DQ200/DQ250.

I highly suggest you observe the 40k miles or 60k km fluid change interval, if not sooner than that.

 

Absolutely essential to do the oil change.

In fact it's the timing belt that is more questionable, even in an ICE some countries have a 100k recommendation, and in a GTE it's not even done 'that many miles' as the odo shows.

Whereas the gearbox is always working.

Seriously, I am fed up with people who 'have a job title' and think they know and understand these things just because they do have the title.

 

Hi All, Been quoted £449 for a 40k DSG Oil Change on my 2018 Passat GTE. Does that sound reasonable or should I look for an independent? Thanks in advance

 

Sounds pretty reasonable to me, you might be able to get it a little cheaper, I think I paid £380 for the job on my car.

 

I think the oil alone is around £300 mark so £380-£450 sounds about right.

 

I got my DSG oil changed at around £40k miles. But VW sent the dealer the wrong sized plug seal so the oil leaked all over my driveway. The dealer had to do it again (free of charge of course). Can’t remember the exact cost but along with a cam belt service the bill was £1800. I’ve now replaced the Golf for a Polestar 2.

 

But VW sent the dealer the wrong sized plug seal so the oil leaked all over my driveway.

How is that even possible?

 

I've had my Audi A3 e-tron for 2 years (its the same as a GTE underneath). Its at 60k miles now, but bought it at about 45k miles. Unfortunately there's no evidence of the DSG service being done. The gearbox does seem to be holding up fine.

 

Having seen what can happen that is on borrowed time. I'd look to be booking it in if it were mine.

 

Just wanted to thank everybody for shining a light on this matter. I became aware of this and made my homework. I'm having my DSG oil changed as part of the 60.000km rev. Big thanks!