1st Gear stall - TDI 2.0 (110)

[theanomaly]

Hi all,

Newbie here, collected my used 2009 Golf TDI 2.0 (110) on Saturday, and loving it so far. First time I've spent a bit on a car, after previously having company cars + Corsa and Focus (all diesels).

Anyway - The missus and I have both already stalled this car 3 or 4 times now when pulling off in 1st gear. This is probably more than I have in the past 5 years! Embarrassingly, I did it on the hill of a Roundabout when turning off the M1 at rush hour yesterday. There I was, stalled at the lights when green....cue tooting annoyed drivers behind me....

This morning, I therefore started to give it a lot more revs when starting to move, and I can see that when its revved up quite a bit, its ok, and also that I need to ride the clutch a lot more than all my previous diesels. All I'm thinking is, this may make winter driving a bit tricky when I want to do slower, easier starts on hills in snow/ice?

Are they all like this? I'm assuming I'll slowly adapt, but having always driven diesels for 10 years, I'm finding this one a lot more difficult just with the 1st gear.

[-M-]

I think you just need time to adjust to the car tbh - try setting the seat either back abit more or higher. This should help make taking your foot off the clutch smoother IMO.

[theanomaly]

Thanks M. Still playing with the wheel and seat all the time trying to find the optimum seating position. The pedal placements etc are vasty different from what I'm used to in my other car and previous cars. The biting point is completely different too, as I have my left leg almost fully extended on the clutch and my right leg bent. Feels very odd when my other cars have needed the clutch raising a lot more, as well as having a different 'staggered' default position on the pedals.

Hopefully no more stalling tonight. At least, in theory, I have another 6 months to get used to the 1st Gear before the bad weather returns (cue snow tomorrow).

[-M-]

How many miles has it covered so far ? Where did you buy it from ?

[Guest 2]

It'll just take time to get use to the different clutch. Took me 2 months to perfect the clutch in my A3 when I got it.

[theanomaly]

M - it's done 24350, got it from
Gilders. I adjusted the seat height and my overall position and steering wheel before I left work and it certainly helped. I'm also making sure there's plenty of revs on the go before I lift the clutch. Just gotta force myself not to lift the clutch off too early, like I'm used to. That'll take me a while, as no other car I've had has ever been this "needy"

Sure I'll get used to it, like someone else has now said.

Still a little concerned at how you're supposed to ease it off on a steep hill in traffic and snow, which is a must in Sheffield at times. :-)

[all-at-sea]

Hi there....

Had a similar problem with my previous Golf, a 56 plate MK-5 GT 170 2.0 TDI,
Same as you, thought it was the way I was driving it and that it would improve as I got used to the clutch, but instead of improving it got worse. Took it to the local Main Dealer, they diagnosed a faulty 'Throttle Position Sensor' on the accelerator pedal. They replaced the sensor under warranty and I never stalled it again all the time I owned it.

[percymon]

If you look back through the earlier pages of this forum section you'll see lots of references to the stalling issue on all the diesels.

After 2.5 years and 47k miles i still occassionally stall my 1.6TDI, perhaps slightly less than when i first had it.

[theanomaly]

All sorted now - no stalls since posting this and reading a few replies.

I've also got a Focus 1.8 TDCI (now the partners car!), and I didn't realise just how stiff the gearbox and clutch is on the Golf in comparison. Took the Focus to skip at the weekend, and I accidentally rammed the clutch to the floor and rammed the gear into 1st on the focus cos its so light in comparison. Have to say, the lighter clutch does make for an easier ride and less knee ache as I get used to the VW. Its far easier to just hold the car using the biting point on a hill or at lights. Now I'm having to handbrake all the time. Suppose its better for fuel consumption tho!

[lucid]

If you look back through the earlier pages of this forum section you'll see lots of references to the stalling issue on all the diesels.

After 2.5 years and 47k miles i still occassionally stall my 1.6TDI, perhaps slightly less than when i first had it.

Agreed same here exactly