Quote Originally Posted by Hillbilly View Post
I have sat talking with my foot on the brake for 10 mins and have no hot smells but then the Passat has wet clutches so is more amenable to that. The 7sp Dry clutches are the problem for heat.
To my knowledge, when stationary, with the selector in any position other than P or N, on the brakes or with the handbrake engaged, the gearbox has first gear (or reverse gear) selected, and the clutches are disengaged. The clutches engage when you use the accelerator, or motion is detected.

You can test this for yourself. Disable stop/start and autohold, stop on an incline. When you release the brakes, you'll feel the car roll backwards for a fraction of a second before the clutches engage and slow or stop the rollback. The effect can be disconcerting if you're not expecting it, especially when reversing, but you can mitigate the effect with auto-hold.