From what I've picked up, there are a number of issues which may not be related.
There is the hesitation from a stop. This is a slight delay from power requesting and power delivery. It's considered normal and once you're used to it it's not a bother, just a quirk of DSG.
Then there's the hesitation on a hill or random hesitation during cruise. For whatever reason, at a certain point at accelerator pedal request, the engine power delivery hesitates for a second. This is not normal and is not experienced by everyone. A tuner claims to have solved it but he doesn't want to give any details or explanation how it was solved. I don't doubt that they did find the cause and fix it, but because they are keeping their trade secrets, they could be effecting something else and causing another related problem.
These can be strange since a manual transmission, the power response is more immediate.
Then there's the false neutrals. This is the problem that probably resulted in the NHTSA investigation. It's not normal. This is not driver error and the amount of subjective observation errror is very low. Either the transmission went into neutral by itself or it didn't.
In the DSG FAQ I included common problems such as sensor and mechatronic errors. The number of mechatronic replacements is higher than average because they aren't replacing individual components on it, they're just replacing it as a unit. I also included a mention of the NHTSA investigation but as of right now, the only conclusion which I think one can make is that the NHTSA has determined that there is something worth investigating. Is it a problem beyond the statistically expected defective parts? I don't know but I do know that the DSG is a relatively new technology and that some people are having problems. Is it any more than the number of problems with the 01m auto transmissions? Maybe not but it's at least worth further investigation. I will wait until there is more information before including it into the FAQ.
PS, I don't think a light clutch pedal has anything to do with the low end torque of a diesel. It has more to do with the actual clutch pressure plate and clutch hydraulic system.
Changing the lever arm on the clutch pressure plate changes pedal feel. Changing the clamping force of the pressure plate, changing the lever arm on the clutch pedal, changing the master cylinder diameter, etc., these will also change how the clutch pedal feels.
I've also heard that a diesel doesn't need any gas when letting up the clutch because of the low end torque, this is also false. It's because the engine RPM is electronically controlled and because of the heavier flywheel on a TDI. This is the same reason when you turn on the air conditioning you don't feel the sudden drag on the engine - the ECU compensates for it.
In other words, when you lift the clutch pedal without touching the RPM starts to drop, the ECU sees it and adds fuel to avoid a drop in engine RPM. The heavy flywheel also helps sustain RPM.
Here's a test you can do to try it out. Stay in 5th gear on the highway when you're slowing down. Stay off the accelerator pedal. When the engine RPM gets to a minimum point, you can feel the ECM add fuel to keep the engine running and not stall.
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