Tiptronic Passat

Pep

hey all

Im looking at a 1.9TDI Passat and it says it is an automatic but its tiptronic. I know nothing about tiptronics so I have a few questions I hope ye could help me out with

1. Does this mean it works like a manual gearbox but without a clutch?
2. Will this affect the power of the car?
3. Can it be used as just an automatic aswell?
4. Is it harder to maintain a tiptronic engine?

Thanks for any help.

mike65

Correct, it has two 'gates' the left side is standard auto box configuration, the right side gate is a back/forward shift for quick action. The tiptronic box is well established by now and I'm certainly not aware of them being any more fragile than the standard box.

http://www.clubb5.com/month/0204/002.jpg

Mike.

Anan1

Pep wrote:

hey all

Im looking at a 1.9TDI Passat and it says it is an automatic but its tiptronic. I know nothing about tiptronics so I have a few questions I hope ye could help me out with

1. Does this mean it works like a manual gearbox but without a clutch? .

No, think of it as an automatic that also allows you to change gears manually.

Pep wrote:

[*]Will this affect the power of the car? .

No. Some people find overtaking easier, as you can change down manually rather than using the kickdown.

Pep wrote:

[*]Can it be used as just an automatic aswell?.

Yes, if you leave it in D then it's just like any other automatic

Pep wrote:

[*]Is it harder to maintain a tiptronic engine?.

It's the geatbox rather than the engine that is tiptronic. It shouldn't be any less reliable than a normal automatic gearbox.

crosstownk

As Anan1 said, it's simply an automatic with an option to manually select gears using the shifter +/-. I had a 2003 Passat 1.9TDI for a while and, tbh, I just left the thing in D. Shifting manually was sloppy and vague. On the other hand I had a 2005 Octavia 1.9TDI with DSG - now that was more fun.

Pep

Thanks for all the replies.

The car Im looking at is a good bit cheaper than Passats with simliar spec and mileage. Would this be because its tiptronic? Id imagine most people want manuals.

Sandwich

Despite the higher original price, Tiptronics tend to be cheaper 2nd hand than their manual equivalent. 1. some people just seem put off by autos. 2. You will loose some acceleration, and it will feel less responsive than its manual equivalent. 3. Is significantly less fuel efficient, which can add up to quite a few Euro in fuel over the time you would have it. (the newer VW auto seems less fuel inefficient).

Pep

Sandwich - Would it really be much less fuel efficient if you can still control the gear the car is in?

Anan1

Pep wrote:

Sandwich - Would it really be much less fuel efficient if you can still control the gear the car is in?

Tiptronic makes no difference to fuel economy compared to a normal automatic. Unless you are a very hard driver you will, as crosstownk says, end up simply leaving it in D.

Pep

I know this question is a bit premature - but if the tiptronic gears broke how would they be replaced? I'd imagine it would have to be a brand new part as they would be rare in this country. How much would that cost?

I'm only asking because the car Im looking at seem to be brought in from the UK so I want to know everything I can about the car before I buy. There are 64K miles on the car which seems low, which is a good thing if its genuine.

TomMc

Don't want to frighten you too much, (and assuming the mileage is genuine, which cannot be taken at face value on a UK import it seems), but at between 70 & 100K autos can start playing up. Nobody in franchised dealerships would be up to the job if things do become serious and so a specialist would be the only option. Not many about either. It is not unheard of for less prestige cars to be scraped as costs can become prohibitive. I myself would only buy an auto with low mileage unless I was changing very frequently. Autos by and large tend to have lower mileage than is the norm. If you are buying for the medium term, i would thread carefully and get at least a 12 month cast iron guarantee.

rebel.ranter

I wouldn't worry about it "breaking". It might be rare but it's not an exclusive car by any stretch of the imagination.

The tiptronic function is really only an override to the normal automatic.
In a normal automatic there is an ECU (electronic control unit) that governs when the gear should be changed, based on measurements from various inputs e.g. engine revs, kickdown button, temp sensor, etc.
With tiptronic it simply bypasses certain sections on the ecu to allow you do the deciding. However the ECU will kick in if it thinks you are doing something stupid like put it into 1st when doing 100km/h.
Both tiptronce & non-tiptronc autos have ECUs, the only real difference will be a part number I'd imagine. Also there may be a different centre console (piece of plastic), or a slightly different gear stick linkage. Nothing I would consider a bank breaker.

Anan1

Pep wrote:

I know this question is a bit premature - but if the tiptronic gears broke how would they be replaced? I'd imagine it would have to be a brand new part as they would be rare in this country. How much would that cost?

There are transmission specialists who can rebuild/repair for you. That said, automatic gearboxes tend to be among the more reliable components in a car. It can, though, be a good idea to have the fluid & filter changed even if the box is supposedly 'sealed-for-life'.

Pep wrote:

I'm only asking because the car Im looking at seem to be brought in from the UK so I want to know everything I can about the car before I buy. There are 64K miles on the car which seems low, which is a good thing if its genuine.

Does the car have a full service history? If so, call each servicing garage to verify that the car was actually serviced as stamped. You'll also need to run an HPI check on the car, www.hpi.co.uk. Always assume any car to be clocked until you see hard evidence to the contrary.

JoeA3

I assume this is VW's DSG (Direct-Shift-Gearbox) we're talking about here? If so, this is generally regarded as one of the best gearboxes around at the moment...so I'd have no worries about it. Its fitted right across the VW/Audi range, quite popular in GTI's, TT's, etc.

TomMc

From reading the OP's post - it is a conventional tiptronic not a DSG.

Anan1

JoeA3 wrote:

I assume this is VW's DSG (Direct-Shift-Gearbox) we're talking about here? If so, this is generally regarded as one of the best gearboxes around at the moment...so I'd have no worries about it. Its fitted right across the VW/Audi range, quite popular in GTI's, TT's, etc.

It's also still quite new, it'll be a while before we know how reliable it is.;)

R.O.R

TomMc wrote:

From reading the OP's post - it is a conventional tiptronic not a DSG.

For some reason VW decided not to fit the DSG to the 1.9tdi Passat despite having that combination available in other models (Touran, Golf, Jetta for example).

IMO the tiptronic it works better as the full auto, when you change using the up or down it seems to think about it before actually changing - no comparison with the DSG immediate shift.

JoeA3

TomMc wrote:

From reading the OP's post - it is a conventional tiptronic not a DSG.

You may be right there, I didn't think they put DSG in the 1.9tdi. Though at the same time, I didn't think the standard auto box had a tiptronic-like function ??

Anan, I follow various UK discussions boards on the current GTI, where a lot of guys over there have DSG, some with big miles, and none have reported issues that I know of... but then again most MkV GTI's would still be under warranty.

Pep

Thanks for all the replies lads.

Are there any good sites to expain how a tiptronic gearbox works?

Im going to look into the car a bit more and I'll let ye know how I get on.

Anan1

JoeA3 wrote:

Anan, I follow various UK discussions boards on the current GTI, where a lot of guys over there have DSG, some with big miles, and none have reported issues that I know of... but then again most MkV GTI's would still be under warranty.

Don't get me wrong, by all accounts it's an outstanding gearbox. It's just that design weaknesses can sometimes take a while to show themselves, even on high-mileage cars.

Anan1

Pep wrote:

Are there any good sites to expain how a tiptronic gearbox works?

There really isn't much to explain. It's an automatic with switches to allow you to change gears manually, that's all. Honestly, tiptronic as opposed to normal automatic is really no big deal.

colm_mcm

Re: fuel economy, it will use more fuel than a manual, only semi-automatics like Toyota's MMT that use a conventional clutch and gears as opposed to a torque convertor can give the same economy as a manual box

TomMc

Pep wrote:

Thanks for all the replies lads.

Are there any good sites to expain how a tiptronic gearbox works?

Im going to look into the car a bit more and I'll let ye know how I get on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiptronic

Pep

Thanks TomMc, I had a look at wikipedia alright.

Pep

If I want to get a HPI check done I will need the uk reg of the car (called VRM on the HPI site) right? If I can't get that will the chasis number do? Where do I enter that on the HPI site?

Michael G

I've got the same gearbox in a Skoda Superb 1.9TDI 130bhp (which is just the old Passat with the longer Superb body). I almost never bother with the Tiptronic - the car has plenty of power and kick-down gives me all the acceleration I need. Sometimes if I'm on a long journey, and bored, I play with the Tiptronic a bit, but really it is just a toy.

My problem is, this is a brilliant car and I want another just like it but they don't make it any more. If I want automatic again I have to go for either the 1.8 20-valve petrol or, to get a diesel which I would prefer, the 2.5 litre V6 but it costs over €10,000 more. Any ideas? I think I may have to downsize and go for the Octavia 2 litre DSG. Or else the new Mondeo 130bhp TDCI.