1.5TSI Evo manual - Possible first gear jumpiness?

[niche]

I've had my 1.5 TSI manual Skoda Karoq for a week. I love the design/drive except for the fact I keep 'stalling' at junctions and kangaroo hopping until I get up to about 20mph. Initial I though it was my driving position, but I am glad I found this forum.

I frequently have to pull away from very busy junctions. Several times now I have gone to pull away quickly, but the revs drop off and the car stops moving. Scary when an HGV is coming at you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is DANGEROUS and need fixing before I get killed. I now need to massively over rev the engine and slip the clutch to ensure I avoid the dead zone – this time of year this leads to the traction control kicking on as I screech off the line with a rapidly wearing out clutch.

Hi - just for anyone interested - as per earlier links there is a MASSIVE thread on this on the T-ROC forum (70,000 views as of 11th feb 2019)

There is also a post (by me) for anyone who finds the kangaroo/jumpiness too much and wishes to return their car (as you are entitled to do under UK law). This isn't encouraging anyone to do that - its to provide the detail /process for anyone that is interested.

https://www.trocforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=879

Good luck to all!

[Sash]

I'll just leave this opinion from the moderator of the VW/Audi forum.

"The problem comes down to VAG struggling to get the car to pass the insanely stringent EU6c emissions standards in the cold running phase when an internal combustion engine needs more fuel, what we used to know as "choke" in olde days. The programming of the engines computer has to be "generic" in that it can adjust itself to the car it is fitted to as all cars vary slightly and also cope as the car ages and things wear. The EU really does need to back off on this CO2 obsession, it is causing havoc for all manufacturers who sell cars in the EU."
T

[Onlyhalfmad]

Just thought I would update dealer was a bit reluctant to do anything but SEAT UK have been great. Didn't really want a diesel but have swapped for the 2 litre TDI arriving in March.

Think one of my biggest worries has been we get a perfectly good 1.5 and SEAT fixes it until it is broken if that makes sense. If it arrived with a fault that can't be fixed it's an easy reject.

[Kifir]

Hi.
I have a Skoda Octavia 1.5 with the same problem regardless of engine temperature.
Now there is a mileage of 4050km. I'm tired of the kangaroo!
Dealer, representative office, Skoda info - they all just make promises. This may last forever until we lose the warranty.

I decided to try to integrate people with the same problem together, perhaps this will give us the advantage and leverage.

Form to fill:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... w/viewform
Response database:


Perhaps this form will not gather a lot of people, but at least we need to try.

[dbj]

Amended topic title to include "low revs flatspot (esp. 2nd gear)" and removed "Possible" from the "Possible first gear jumpiness" as it's now actual!

[tobydog]

dbj - do you get it in your 1.4 then?

When this topic / kangarooing first came up I mentioned that I've been getting this with my 1.4 for a long time. It seems that I have to use what would normally be viewed as excessive revs otherwise I get bogged down. Balancing the revs and clutch can be a real PITA not helped by the gap in the first and second gear ratios. I've not had a car this awkward to drive in traffic and I really wish I had gone for the DSG now.

[dbj]

tobydog - I’m one of those who ordered a 1.4TSI, but ended up getting the 1.5TSI instead, delivered after the WLTP changes. So I never got to drive a 1.4TSI in the Ateca. I always thought it was the 1.5TSI only that suffered the problems, so I’m sorry to hear the 1.4TSI isn’t good for you either. Pretty much all of the forum posts around the VW Group cars relate to this problem with the 1.5 (and mostly the manual). I only came to this forum last year, so I wonder if there were any software updates to the early Ateca 1.4 that haven’t been applied to yours?

I agree that balancing the revs and clutch successfully is no fun. To start off, I either have to use excessive revs or if in slow traffic just lift the clutch without any acceleration to get going (and then accelerate, as this seems much smoother). The flat spot at low revs in 2nd gear is really annoying though. It’s also inconsistent in behaviour too, which makes it hard to demonstrate to a technician.

[tobydog]

I agree that balancing the revs and clutch successfully is no fun. To start off, I either have to use excessive revs or if in slow traffic just lift the clutch without any acceleration to get going (and then accelerate, as this seems much smoother). The flat spot at low revs in 2nd gear is really annoying though. It’s also inconsistent in behaviour too, which makes it hard to demonstrate to a technician.

This is so spooky. I also alternate between trying excessive revs or just lifting the clutch on tickover like I used to do on my diesel. If the car is moving really slowly I have to make a conscious decision about which method to use to stop it bogging down or jolting. I haven't had this problem since my first driving lessons 40 years ago!. It's a relief to know it's not just me but worrying that no other 1.4 drivers find this a PITA.

[Ja5on]

I too have noticed the jumpiness in 1st and 2nd on a cold engine. However, I've found a way to reduce this quite significantly.

When I first start the car up, I wait a few minutes until it's settled down and idles smoothly. Usually this is around the time the airbag light goes off - purely coincidental I'm sure, but it's become my visual indicator of when it's good to go

Then it's considerably smoother when pulling away from a cold start. Still not perfect, but far far better.

Appreciate this probably won't help many, and certainly not those who have this issue when the engine is warm, but hopefully may help someone.

The only other thing I've noticed is that it's pretty hard to pull away from low revs in second. It's like the throttle just doesn't register small presses of the pedal, so you have to rev it a bit more than you'd think. Odd, but I've got used to it now.

[Jezza2911]

Quick update.

Took my car to my local Skoda dealer & they were excellent - great customer service

They advised me the VW 1.5 TSI throttle/kangaroo issue is expecting a Q2 fix.

They also adjusted my auto parking brake which was releasing too late making the biting point hard to judge/unpredictable.

This has made it easier to balance clutch and accelerator when the car is cold to avoid kangaroo hopping & easier to pull away quickly without it bogging down with too low revs.

Just need that fix in Q2.