I have a 07 A3 3.2 with the DSG transmission. It has a strange hesitation, and the power is unpredictable. Upon occasion it needs a healthy dose of gas pedal to leave a light, or else it will just sit there. Has any one experienced any similar problems, Audi is claiming the vehicle is fine. Thanks for the help.

 

i've got similar behaviors, if i hit the gas mine will sit a second and then take off and give me whiplash (sometimes from a stop or a slow roll). it's hit or miss when it will happen. there are a few threads on it, check the noob section.

 

Ok thanks I will check it out

 

It's a feature called brake assist or brake hold or something. For some reason the DSG won't engage the clutch exactly like you would in a manual transmission, so it'll hold you on the hill with the brakes until you step on the gas to release it. This is to prevent rollback!

 

Hillhold is engaged by releasing the brake after a stop, then quickly tapping it . It releases when it senses the clutches engaging with more than idle power - sometimes with a bit of a jerk.
The 3.2's I've driven (2) do feel a bit different - there's a 'hole' in the throttle response/clutch engagement. Seems like the engine has to come quite a ways off of idle before the clutches engage, compared to my 2.0. You have to rev theengine morebeforethe carmoves.

 

Hey thanks for the information, that sounds like it might be part of the problem. Could this happen on a flat road?

 

hesaputz, thanks for the information. What are suggested driving techniques to make the vehicle as smooth as possible and increase driver skill given this "hillhold" feature? Thanks again for the explanation.

 

Hill hold is described in the manual - if I remember correctly, it only works when the car is facing uphill, and you have to deliberately engage it.
I've found that with hillhold, like other DSG peculiarities, the best thing is to go out and play with it. DSG has some interesting programming, and can be well controlled with your right foot and practice. The transmission reacts both to the speed and the distance of your pressure on the gas pedal - I've gotten to where I pretty well know how many gears I'll downshift by how fast and how far I press the pedal, taking into account road incline, load, and speed.. I mostly use D around town.
I've also found that when cruising steady speed (35-40) in manual mode, the car is often unhappy about downshifting - does what I call a 'slugshift', slow and jerky. Best way to avoid this is to be on the brakes, or quicklygive the car a bit of throttle before hitting the paddle. The trans then preselects the lower gear, and you get a downshift without hesitation.
Think about how DSG works - if you're cruising steady at 50, you're likely in sixth, and the only gear likely to be loaded on the other shaft is fifth, ready to go.But if you're cruising 35 or so, it's probably in fifth, and likely has sixth loaded on the other shaft because you were last accelerating. You want fourth, and oddly enough, gas or brake tells the mechatronic to load it up. Voila -no slugshift.