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Automatic gearbox

9K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  nadeem 
#1 ·
I just acquired a new semi-automaticVW Move up. I've never driven an automatic before and I'm a bit confused about the changing of the gears. I can feel a pause between the changes between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd gear, especially when I'm driving uphill. Is this normal? Have any other Up owners experienced this?
 
#2 ·
This is because it is an automated manual rather than a conventional automatic. To this end, the delays you are feeling are the car electronically releasing the throttle, disengaging the clutch, changing gear then engaging the clutch and re applying the throttle subject to the position of your foot...

Hope that makes sense...
 
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#3 ·
You asked specifically about driving uphill. My ASG (automatic) chooses a low gear and goes uphill steadily with the engine revving at about 3000 rpm (revolutions per minute). In other words my ASG chooses a low gear and high revs for a steep hill. I use plenty of throttle on a steep hill.If a gear change did occur on a steep hill, I would expect a significant deceleration to occur for a second or two while the gearbox was in neutral.

If you do not want the ASG to change gear on a steep hill, you can select a low gear manually "M" using the gear stick.

When I drove larger cars with normal automatic transmission uphill, gear changes were quicker, and there was less deceleration when gear changes occurred.

You described your car as semi-automatic. I think of my ASG as fully automatic, because there is no need for me to use the gear stick. My ASG selects gears for me. Gear changes occur without me touching the gear stick.

I have never driven a semi-automatic, but I suspect I would have no clutch pedal, and I would need to use the gear stick for every gear change.
 
#4 ·
I have had my ASG for a year and must say if you are heavy with you right foot you will never get a smooth change. mine is fine , but I use the manual setting quite a bit, to hold it in a particular gear going up some hills. it is so easy to flick the car into manual at any speed without any problems should you wish to. It will revert back to auto when the revs are right without you doing anything with the stick . try coming to a junction or a sharp bend which requires you to slow down and perhaps you do not have to fully stop, I ease my foot off the throttle then flick the stick down a gear which gives me a very smooth getaway. try it, it may be an automatic but with only Two pedals it is still easy to use it as a manual. Its very hard to put all this onto words without doing it in the car. If i change the car at any time I feel I would buy another auto. Hope this helps any confusion you may have. Mike.
 
#6 ·
I found this is a really useful exchange - and there is more useful stuff that I now can't find. Thanks all. The lesson from all of it is that, if it takes too long to change gear on hills, so that there is excessive loss of power for too long, flick the gear stick to the minus sign <-> which will change to a lower gear quickly and put the engine into Manual. Use this also for leaving a minor road to a busy major road, especially uphill.

And, if you have only driven a manual or a fully automatic car before, get the seller to give you a driving lesson. I wish they had done that for us.
 
#8 ·
I have a Seat Mii with the semi-auto gearbox. This is basically the same car as a VW Up. The problem I have is that the digital gear display on the dash does not change between D mode and M mode.
It displays D1, D2, D3 etc.., in D mode and when in M mode it shows D followed by whatever the last gear was. Quite simply I have no way of knowing which gear I am in when in M mode.

Otherwise the car drives fine. Is this is a software glitch and what would be the fix. Thanks.
 
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