2011 VW Tiguan 2.0 TDI DSG oil/filter renewal
DIRECT SHIFT GEARBOX (DSG) OIL & FILTER change
CM reader, Paul Winstanley, shows us how he performed a DSG fluid change at home in his garage.
The vehicle used to produce this article is a 2011 VW Tiguan 2.0 TDI fitted with a seven-speed DSG. The code on the gearbox is OBH. The engine code is CFFB. The vehicle has covered 59,000 miles and has had one change of DSG fluid and filter about 30,000 miles ago. The DSG gearbox is common to many vehicles in the VW, SEAT and Skoda ranges.
In simple terms, there are two separate sets of gears and two clutches. It has a dedicated ECU which processes road speed, engine torque and RPM together with many other parameters such as throttle and brake pedal position, coolant and oil temperatures. It is processing the angulation of the vehicle in forward and side-to-side motion, steering angle inputs and the rate of change. The ECU then defines which gear is best suited to the parameters prevailing at that time and engages the next appropriate gear and clutch set, having also matched the engine revs to the gear and road speed. A ‘Mechatronics’ electric and hydraulic unit actuates the gear changes and clutch packs. The resulting gear changes are extremely rapid and smooth.
Background
There have been many iterations of the DSG since it came into use in 2003. It is important that you know which type of gearbox you are ser vicing. The bilstein group parts finder is a good source of information, but in my case, there was an error in the information which showed only a six-speed kit. I checked compatibility with several online retailers before buying a Meyle kit. You will also need to know the refill capacity to have ordered sufficient DSG fluid.
Earlier versions have separate hydraulic fluid for the Mechatronics control unit. Most of the earlier versions are wet clutch, but some later units are dry clutch.
This particular unit (OBH) is the later DQ500 that was developed to cope with larger engine outputs with higher torque values and has been used since around 2010. In the OBH gearbox, the mechatronics and gearbox share the same DSG fluid and there are two drain plugs. It also has a replaceable filter.
The gearbox type is cast on the gearbox casing (shown above) and stamped onto the mechatronics casing.
It is vita
