[Darren]

With all the back and forth about winter, winter tires, and high torque in the Eos slipping the wheels on wet, snowy, or icy roads, I was thinking "Why not just start the DSG in 2nd or 3rd?" like many cars with "Winter Mode" buttons.

Curious that as much of an electronically controlled MANUAL transmission as the DSG is that I couldn't make it start in 2nd or 3rd.

Moving the lever over to manual mode certainly allows me to shift from 1st to 2nd quickly and at lower RPM than it might otherwise automatically do, but I can't be at a standstill and toggle up one or two notches and then drive off from 2nd or 3rd.

I wondered "Why?" and just wanted to confirm that others have the same experience.

Just as a side note, now that I've done the APR-93 tune, I definitely start out with a light foot; however the rest of the drive is nothing short of awesome!

 

[cb391]

Because VW never designed it into the car. It probably could be programmed into the trans, but there would be no shifter control position for it. I have a Ford Escape and it has a specific shifter location for the auto trans to start in 2nd and Ford has has this on the truck transmissions for years as long as you had an automatic. Can't say what the other automakers use as I just don't know.

 

[Lopaka]

My 1994 BMW 525I has a winter mode on the auto trans console. Never had a chance to use it in Hawaii, but the button will start the car off in second gear. Wow, 1994 and all the bells and whistles that are now coming main stream.
It is also built like a tank! Also have never had electrics problems with the BMW. Don't get me wrong, I love my EOS, I just marvel at how the Germans are so good at planning and execution of their vehicles!
I hope our American auto industry and change with the world? The ability and technology is there, they just need proper guidance. Oops, went off track.
Lopaka

 

[silvershadow]

My 1994 BMW 525I has a winter mode on the auto trans console. Never had a chance to use it in Hawaii, but the button will start the car off in second gear. Wow, 1994 and all the bells and whistles that are now coming main stream.
Lopaka

My apologies in advance for "raining on your party" Lopaka but I can go back almost 30 years further to a 1965 6 cylinder automatic Mustang I bought 2nd hand in San Francisco in Dec 1974 and drove it coast-to-coast/border-to-border in a period of 8 weeks.

This car had the Ford "Cruise-o-matic" 3 speed automatic with separate D1 and D2 positions for "Drive". D1 meant the car started in 1st gear, D2 meant the car started in 2nd gear to give better traction control in snow/ice conditions. I put this to good use during the part of the trip from Vancouver to Winnipeg including coming over Kicking Horse Pass between Golden and Banff in the Canadian Rockies after 18" of snow overnight - took 8 hours to do 80 miles with snow chains for the entire distance. This was followed several days later with being caught in a blizzard late afternoon between Calgary and Moose Jaw and spending 8 hours at a Mounties roadblock till the blizzard passed. The temperature including windchill was -45deg F - never been so cold in all my life. The D2 position was permanently engaged to get through the snow drifts on the trans-Canada highway.

I was surprised to find the DSG does not have an ability to lock the transmission into 2nd and 3rd gears if necessary for mud/snow/ice conditions. Something to raise with VW when we do their new buyer survey which we have just received.

 

[Lopaka]

Cool! Guess I'm too young to go that far back.....

 

[eismeerblue]

winter mode

When I bought my 07 Sport, DSG, the V-6 model had a button on the console labeled "W" for "winter mode". Don't know if it was available in other models.

Steve

 

[SKIDOO]

My apologies in advance for "raining on your party" Lopaka but I can go back almost 30 years further to a 1965 6 cylinder automatic Mustang I bought 2nd hand in San Francisco in Dec 1974 and drove it coast-to-coast/border-to-border in a period of 8 weeks.

This car had the Ford "Cruise-o-matic" 3 speed automatic with separate D1 and D2 positions for "Drive". D1 meant the car started in 1st gear, D2 meant the car started in 2nd gear to give better traction control in snow/ice conditions. I put this to good use during the part of the trip from Vancouver to Winnipeg including coming over Kicking Horse Pass between Golden and Banff in the Canadian Rockies after 18" of snow overnight - took 8 hours to do 80 miles with snow chains for the entire distance. This was followed several days later with being caught in a blizzard late afternoon between Calgary and Moose Jaw and spending 8 hours at a Mounties roadblock till the blizzard passed. The temperature including windchill was -45deg F - never been so cold in all my life. The D2 position was permanently engaged to get through the snow drifts on the trans-Canada highway.

I was surprised to find the DSG does not have an ability to lock the transmission into 2nd and 3rd gears if necessary for mud/snow/ice conditions. Something to raise with VW when we do their new buyer survey which we have just received.

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but must say 'what a trip' Silvershadow! Sounds amazing. It's mine and the wife dream vacation, when we win enough money, to do the US coast to coast trip!!
Gary

 

[silvershadow]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but must say 'what a trip' Silvershadow! Sounds amazing. It's mine and the wife dream vacation, when we win enough money, to do the US coast to coast trip!!
Gary

I suggest this type of trip is well worth the effort in any country not just the USA - the memories are still vivid after 32 years. I was able to see the "real' USA and meet real people who made you feel welcome and invited you to share some time with them.

I found it cheaper to buy a car rather than hiring one for the time I was there - I paid USD1100 for the Mustang and sold it to a dealer for USD600. I just spent one morning before my departure going around the local used car dealers to get the best price. I could have left the car in the airport car park with the keys in the ignition for someone to take and the cost of the trip would still have been much less than the cost of a hire car.

The best advice I can give to anyone who does a similar trip is to make sure your home country automobile association has reciprocal rights with the American Automobile Association. Their trip maps and services were a major factor in making the trip so enjoyable. I never got lost and found their references to "must-visit" sites were very comprehensive - all this when sat-nav was not even a dream.

I am going to do a similar trip again in a year or two - the decision will be between hiring a RV camper or buying a used Eos and using motel accommodation like last time. I spent 4 weeks in Alaska with an RV 5 years ago and enjoyed the experience however I am leaning towards the Eos option given the fact I will be spending far greater time in city rather than in remote country locations.

 

[cb391]

When I bought my 07 Sport, DSG, the V-6 model had a button on the console labeled "W" for "winter mode". Don't know if it was available in other models.

Steve

I forgot about this feature. It was only available in U.S. with the 3.2 option. It may be available in Europe. If anyone has a car with this feature please chime in. I tried looking up its function on another forum and the best guess was it did not cause the trans to start in 2nd or 3rd. It used the other functions of the ESP mode and modified those parameters.

 

[SKIDOO]

I suggest this type of trip is well worth the effort in any country not just the USA - the memories are still vivid after 32 years. I was able to see the "real' USA and meet real people who made you feel welcome and invited you to share some time with them.

I found it cheaper to buy a car rather than hiring one for the time I was there - I paid USD1100 for the Mustang and sold it to a dealer for USD600. I just spent one morning before my departure going around the local used car dealers to get the best price. I could have left the car in the airport car park with the keys in the ignition for someone to take and the cost of the trip would still have been much less than the cost of a hire car.

The best advice I can give to anyone who does a similar trip is to make sure your home country automobile association has reciprocal rights with the American Automobile Association. Their trip maps and services were a major factor in making the trip so enjoyable. I never got lost and found their references to "must-visit" sites were very comprehensive - all this when sat-nav was not even a dream.

I am going to do a similar trip again in a year or two - the decision will be between hiring a RV camper or buying a used Eos and using motel accommodation like last time. I spent 4 weeks in Alaska with an RV 5 years ago and enjoyed the experience however I am leaning towards the Eos option given the fact I will be spending far greater time in city rather than in remote country locations.

Thanks for that info will bear it in mind for future reference.
Gary

 

[johnnyboyvan]

hello all

Hi everyone, I must say my Eos is surprisingly effective in the snow here in beautiful and yesssss white Vancouver, BC. I just turn on the ESP and off we go, slowly of course. VW is superb and from what I saw this week in our snowstorm, other manufacturers have much to learn from my family's heritage. Ciao for now. Johnny, no longer dreaming of a white Christmas.

2007 eismeer blue, 18" and all the trimmings VW Eos

 

[Darren]

Just revisiting this issue since we've had a lot of rain and I've been especially light on my right foot until out of 1st or 2nd gear (with the DSG). Just wondering if anyone IS aware of a software change that would make it possible to toggle the DSG into 2nd or 3rd at a standstill and take off from there. If not, does anyone know a contact person at VW that this could be suggested. It seems like the one potential flaw in an otherwise perfect auto-manual transmission.

 

[row5is]

I have a 2008 VR6 and yes it has the Winter button. It stays engaged until about 35 MPH then abruptly disengages (if you aren't paying attention you get thrown back into your seat). It drives as if you had the clutch engaged halfway but still uses all the gears (although now I'll have to double check that).

 

[evolvingpowercat]

The VR6 with DSG has the W button for "winter mode" but the 2.0T engine equipped with DSG transmission Eos does not. There is a button that disables the traction control but I doubt that would help you much with your winter driving issues. It is more for helping you get unstuck AFTER you are stuck in sand or snow.

Your statement about using the paddle shifters to quickly force it out of 1st gear to 2nd and force a quicker shift to third is best you can do, since VW did not choose to provide a automatic winter mode for this version.

Personally, I have Samarkand 18" wheels with the Bridgestone All seasons, and they are very 'sticky' tires and I have no trouble with tire spin on wet roads. Eos is my "fun" car and I only drive my Ford Escape when it snows so I can't say how it does on snow.

I will say with DSG in Sport Mode and lead foot on gas I can make the tires spin when ever I want to even on dry streets. Part of the Eos fun factor!

 

[Darren]

Personally, I have Samarkand 18" wheels with the Bridgestone All seasons, and they are very 'sticky' tires and I have no trouble with tire spin on wet roads.

I have the stock Goodyear Eagle tires on 17" Siennas. Just wanted to know WHICH Bridgestones you have. I liked the Potenza RE950 and Potenza G009 on my Saabs previously.

 

[insane2009]

Hi everybody. From Italy, sorry for poor english.

I own 2.0TSI with DSG.

It doesn't have the W button. BUT: in my garage floor, that is like an 100% wet and iced road, the EOS starts in 2° gear.

After moving, if I release gas it will go on 1° gear.

I think it's a kind of automatic winter function.

 

[SiJ2000]

Just press the accelerator pedal lightly! Works for me!

 

[Barry C.]

W Button

Just for the record, my 3.2 V6 Sport has the W button and when used, the performance is very subdued, ideal for pulling away on ice, packed snow etc. Interestingly, it doesn't appear to have Traction Control, unless it's not working, as pulling away in the wet can easilly result in wheelspin.

 

[V6 Bandit]

Barry, unless its broken you have got traction control. However, as with most powerful cars it has its limits, and can only reduce wheelspin so much. With the big beasties like ours you are trying to put 250 hp through two wheels and the result in the wet is wheelspin. You will notice the traction control kick in because it gets a bit jerky as it tries to reduce the spin. Suggest a lighter touch on the throttle pedal in wet conditions and use the 'W' button in the ice or snow it works a treat!!
Tim

 

[Barry C.]

Hi Tim,
It is nice to know that there are other 3.2 Eos's out there, I think that yours is the only one I have ever seen mentioned. I live on a main road, in over populated south Essex, and have to be a bit sharpish when joining the traffic stream in the mornings, hence the possibility of wheelspin. On other vehicles that I have had over the years, with Traction Control, on the odd occasion that it has kicked in , a red or yellow warning triangle would illuminate on the dash to tell you it was operating ( as if you didn't know ). The Eos has not got this, unless mine's not working, does yours indicate when it is active?
Regards, Barry.