Burning DSG clutch smell?

[chrisemmerson]

Stuck in traffic on a hill today and I started smelling something that got stronger and stronger as I edged up the hill. Eventually i thought the car must be about to catch fire and i found a place to pull into.

Nothing obvious under the bonnet so i figure it must be some kind of clutch burning smell but that doesn't sound good!!

Has anyone else experienced similar issues with a DSG gearbox? From what I've read they are not really servicable so if something is wrong with it then I've got a huge bill coming??

Can anyone advise on this.

Many Thanks

[WOT]

Does your car have a DPF? This is the most common cause of a burning smell on modern diesels.

The clutches can get very hot at times but the control unit should disengage them if they get too hot.
You should drive it like a manual car and not make the clutches hold the car for long periods of time. If you do it on a hill the clutch should disengage and the car will roll back, this avoids damage to the clutches. They are pretty good though and can really take some abuse, so unless you have high mileage or haven't had an oil change for more than 40k I doubt its anything to worry about.