2017 3.6 liter v6 hesitation during acceleration

Does it throw any CELs?
Milage?
What grade fuel are you using?
What do the spark plugs tell you?

doughtys said:

My 3.6 liter gas Touareg occasionally hesitates during the initial acceleration from a stop. Has anyone run across this before? If so are there any suggestions on fixing the matter?

Click to expand...

If you have a VCDS cable I would do a scan and see if there are any faults. Maybe even see if there are any misfires and see on what cylinders if there are. You could swap coil packs from a misfire cylinder to a non-misfire cylinder to see if the misfire(s) follow.
Spark plugs and coil packs are not overly expensive and are fairly easy to change out if your handy.
As stated above, using cheap/low octane gas can cause problems as well.

Thanks for the information. It is more of a total hesitation of several seconds (no response to the throttle) than a misfire. I have an OBD Eleven diagnostic tool purchased for our Audi A4. Looks like it is compatible with the Touareg so I will be reading it this weekend. Also running a second round of fuel injector cleaner at the same time.

Thanks again.

Speaking of information, are we just going to ignore all the questions?

doughtys said:

Thanks for your patience. I am fairly new to the club, this format, and did not see your kind response and questions.

1. I am not sure what CELs are. Assuming they are warning lights, none have appeared.
2. The mileage is 67,500 miles.
3. Using regular grade fuel - 87 octane
4. Have not pulled the spark plugs.
The dealer has inspected the vehicle several times.

Because hesitation occurs at about the same point in acceleration I was wondering if the throttle position sensor may have a problem. Again - it is a full 2 to 3-second hesitation or pause with no throttle response.

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

No worries... some "teachers" are more gentle than others around here....

Onto your issues....
1 - CEL = Check Engine Light
2 - Seems low, so we can ignore for now.
3 - Check your manual.... I can't recall if that engine needs better grade or not.... but should be OK for now.
4 - You should. Assuming they are the original, it won't hurt replacing them.

Lastly, it is possible that your TPS is the issue. Use your OBD11 to check live data and the output from your TPS. Try to replicate the issue, and perhaps log the output to see if you can isolate a certain range\rpm, etc.

SaVAGeSoot said:

No worries... some "teachers" are more gentle than others around here....

Onto your issues....
1 - CEL = Check Engine Light
2 - Seems low, so we can ignore for now.
3 - Check your manual.... I can't recall if that engine needs better grade or not.... but should be OK for now.
4 - You should. Assuming they are the original, it won't hurt replacing them.

Lastly, it is possible that your TPS is the issue. Use your OBD11 to check live data and the output from your TPS. Try to replicate the issue, and perhaps log the output to see if you can isolate a certain range\rpm, etc.

Click to expand...

1. - Thanks
2. - Ignoring for now.
3. - Manual and label in fuel door say 87 octane.
4. - Will explore this option.

Looks like an OBD kind of weekend for me.

Thanks again.

This vehicle is under warranty, but because the dealer cannot replicate the problem, they are not offering any resolution. (Pretending it doesn't happen?) This can be a big safety concern, so I was wondering if anyone has ever reported things like this to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) here in the US.
I am reporting the issue to the VW Customer Care group.

I'm not sure what you plan on reporting... you don't have any "evidence" other than a "story".
If you can get something to show\prove\document this, maybe you have a hope of getting some resolution.

That is very true.
I have learned that when I report it to VW Customer Care, they are required to report it to the NHTSA.
Simply curious if anyone else has ever reported anything, and if so, what the results were.

My new to me 2017 Treg Exec does the EXACT same thing. Just replaced plugs with the OEM NGK iridium’s at 58k miles. No change. Running 93 octane. A total dead spot in the throttle. It has done it 4x to me, twice today (both times entering roadway from shopping type parking lots). Could be coincidence, but always with the wheel turned L or R pulling into traffic (yikes). Once turning left on a hill that I recall (Preplug swap). Have never experienced this when driving straight ahead, but that’s just an observation. We’ve had it for 2 weeks and have driven it 5-600 miles.

Operation is otherwise smooth in all situations and starts easily (cold or hot)...it’s not your imagination.

My 2016 Touareg 3.6 did the same thing, fixed it with a Pedal Commander...best 30-mins and $200 (inflation, now $299) I've spent to fix a problem. The throttle response is now awesome.

Odd your fuel door says 87, mine says 91...I use 93 as 91 not commonly sold in NC.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

GrayDub said:

My 2016 Touareg 3.6 did the same thing, fixed it with a Pedal Commander...best 30-mins and $200 (inflation, now $299) I've spent to fix a problem. The throttle response is now awesome.

Odd your fuel door says 87, mine says 91...I use 93 as 91 not commonly sold in NC.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

thanks for the tip on the product, will check it out. I can’t imagine what it does but will find out! My Treg has a hesitation like a badly tuned Quadrajet atop a 225 Slant Six. There’s no throttle response for a couple of seconds.

my fuel door says r+m/2 87; RON 91. I’ve read that they‘re designed to run on ’premium’. I’d gladly run 87 if it wouldn’t run like crap. I’ll try a half tank of 87 (eventually). Yes, my NC and SC stations have 87, 89 & 93.

GrayDub said:

My 2016 Touareg 3.6 did the same thing, fixed it with a Pedal Commander...best 30-mins and $200 (inflation, now $299) I've spent to fix a problem. The throttle response is now awesome.

Odd your fuel door says 87, mine says 91...I use 93 as 91 not commonly sold in NC.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

One more question - how do you have the pedal commander set up for normal driving? City, Sport…? My car has done the hesitation blues thing 4x, it’s not safe to be honest.

City, plus 2...to be honest, sport and sport+ make the pedal crazy sensitive! Noticed the same issue in Audi rental SUVs...immediately put in dynamic mode. As far as why I installed, same as all of you, safety...making a left turn could get downright scary...nailing the pedal, nothing would happen! From stoplight, good 2 set lag.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

BugBitten said:

thanks for the tip on the product, will check it out. I can’t imagine what it does but will find out! My Treg has a hesitation like a badly tuned Quadrajet atop a 225 Slant Six. There’s no throttle response for a couple of seconds.

my fuel door says r+m/2 87; RON 91. I’ve read that they‘re designed to run on ’premium’. I’d gladly run 87 if it wouldn’t run like crap. I’ll try a half tank of 87 (eventually). Yes, my NC and SC stations have 87, 89 & 93.

Click to expand...

On the fuel filler door on my Treg it says that the recommended fuel grade is 98 Octane (RON), which I believe is equivalent to 93 in the US. Furthermore, it also says that it is possible to use 95 octane, but with reduced performance. Says so in the owner's manual too. When I first got it, I used to use 95 octane gas and noticed some "laziness" in the engine performance, but I've since switched to 98 octane exclusively and it runs like a champ. Too bad the "champ" blew its head. Literally.

BugBitten said:

Running 93 octane.

Click to expand...

GrayDub said:

I use 93

Click to expand...

BugBitten said:

I’d gladly run 87 if it wouldn’t run like crap.

Click to expand...

qurtuba said:

which I believe is equivalent to 93 in the US.

Click to expand...

I don't know how many more times I need to post this, because no one ever listens anyways.

Ssoot,

thanks for posting. I’m new here and 2 weeks into the ‘new’ 2017. I’ve personally dispensed two tanks of clean, fresh 93.

The hesitation has so far been displayed out on the road, at full operating temps. I’ve not experienced any misbehaving at startup/cold.

It won't run like crap on 87... it's mapped for it. Burn your money in other places.