My 06' vRS Ownership Experience

[rchimni]

My First Review on my vRS , A quick Background
Bought the car in Delhi when it had clocked 14k, an Apr'06 model now at 26690kms with 80% of my usage on highways Mum/ Pune every week
and my drive from Del to Pune. (Heading back to Del end of this month and looking forward to the drive)

Misc Problems-

1.Both Radiator fans packed up at approx 20 k , was replaced under warranty, cost I am told is approx 27000 for both fans.

2.Car was not moving the way it should be, the engine felt
like a naturally aspirated one , Called N_C and we scheduled a test drive , he confimed there was a problem and asked me to get the throttle body cleaned and the fuel filter changed.Unfortunately None of the two dealers could diagnose the problem as there was no error codes showing up.

Did extensive research on briskoda on what the possible problems could be shortlisted the following most common issues

A.MAF Sensor
B.Hose leak
C.Throttle body
D.loose bolt turbo to exhaust manifold( Pete mentioned this one to me)

Problem turned out to be the throttle body , once cleaned the car was back to its old self, but what was puzzling was there was no erratic idling nor did it show up on the vag

3.Now that the summers are here the latest issue I have is with the AC , after long drives when started again after a duration
of 15 odd minutes the AC takes a good 5-7 minutes to start cooling again. I pointed this out to Acumen a week back when I was getting it serviced, but unfortunately the problem still exists - Am looking for some help here from other owners on the forum.

4 Tyres - Dunlop , need to be changed ASAP as they are extremely noisy,and the road noise only seems to be increasing as I add
miles to it. Had filled Nitrogen approx 4 months back and the advantage I found was I have only needed to top up once in the 4 month period
and it has held its pressure.

5.Rear door rattle also seems like chronic proble in most Octy's.
6.Had the Front and rear bumpers painted as I managed to scrape it quite a few times on my drive from Delhi. ( Highly recommend Avanthi Motor works for those in Pune )

Service Cost
Last service at 26450 kms

Oil Change - 3600 (shell synthetic )
Filter - 450
Fuel Filter - 450
Throttle body cleaning - 250
labour - 900
Air filter - changed to Green (stock replacement filter prior to service )
Total cost including taxes - 6400

The Positives

Have been mentioned extensively on the forum so I will skip that ,however what is worth mentioning is the fuel economy the lowest I have ever got is 7.4 kmpl and the best 12.2.

Accessories

Upgraded the ICE , to a Pioneer BT system with JBL Comps and the famous 75.4,sub , damping etc The BT is quite a boon in traffic
and works quite well.

Upgrades planned

1.Tyres in the next two months or so
2.Possible stage I remap form Pete's

Overall I am quite enjoying the experience and never once regretted buying this car.

[Jaggu]

Another vRS owner, kewl. I think our resident expert has been in touch with you so you dont have to worry

Hope you have ruled out the possibility of AC filter/Blower cleaning for the issue, also the gas levels.

Do keep us updated.

[jkdas]

Just wanted to know what you will do once the warranty is over? Keep it or sell it?

[iraghava]

The fans ahve failed on my best friend's RS too & seem to be a problem area for sure. And it was me at the wheel when the A/C fan failed while were stuck in a traffic jam in Delhi on a hot afternoon!

As for the tyres, you want to retain stock size or upsize?

[abhinav.gupta88]

Nice . I will buy a vRs soon. When did you get your brake shoes changed?
Did they wear off at 12000 km?
Do keep an eye on the AC fan as well

[rchimni]

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

Nice . I will buy a vRs soon. When did you get your brake shoes changed?
Did they wear off at 12000 km?
Do keep an eye on the AC fan as well

Brake shoes have not been changed yet , the service centre mentioned they will do it in the next service around 35 k

I have been reading about you wanting to buy a vRS for a while , I am assuming you know its been discontinued ? Unless you buy used which makes sense..

Originally Posted by iraghava

The fans ahve failed on my best friend's RS too & seem to be a problem area for sure. And it was me at the wheel when the A/C fan failed while were stuck in a traffic jam in Delhi on a hot afternoon!

As for the tyres, you want to retain stock size or upsize?

Retain stock size

Originally Posted by jkdas

Just wanted to know what you will do once the warranty is over? Keep it or sell it?

Keep it for sure unless I decide to upgrade

[sammyboy]

hey rchimni, great to hear that u are enjoying the RS to the fullest inspite of niggling issues (i think praneet told me about the fans failing in ur car and what a fantastic car u have). Do let us know when u pete ur car.Would be great to hear what it does to an RS.
Cheers

[ajmat]

DOn't understnd why both fans failed - sounds like a controller issue unless a faulty relay or similar burnt the fans out. Mine indicated that a service is due in a month - need to start saving!

[rchimni]

Originally Posted by ajmat

DOn't understnd why both fans failed - sounds like a controller issue unless a faulty relay or similar burnt the fans out. Mine indicated that a service is due in a month - need to start saving!

Actually the larger of the two fans failed first, which I guess put additional load on the smaller fan which resulted in its failure. ( was running at half its original rpm) hence both were changed under warranty.

[GTO]

Very unbiased straight-forward review! Thanks for sharing. I envy you for using the RS 80% of the time on the expressway and presumably, pedal to the metal on the straights and ghats alike?

Get in touch with Mad Monkey before you dive into remaps. I am sure he will be able to share some valuable tips with you.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by rchimni

Retain stock size

Options are Yokohama S-Drives & Michelin Energy MXV8's.

[rchimni]

Originally Posted by iraghava

Options are Yokohama S-Drives & Michelin Energy MXV8's.

Thank you , will get in touch with you when I am in Delhi to guide me where to go

Originally Posted by GTO

Very unbiased straight-forward review! Thanks for sharing. I envy you for using the RS 80% of the time on the expressway and presumably, pedal to the metal on the straights and ghats alike?


Get in touch with Mad Monkey before you dive into remaps. I am sure he will be able to share some valuable tips with you.

Absolutely ,really enjoy the drive between mum/Pune am now looking forward to my drive to Delhi !

I did touch base with him when I was experiencing the issue with the power loss will definitely discuss the remap.

[ecclipse78]

Started getting a foul smell from the air-con of my RS,a few days back.

Apparently there was a puncture in the cooling coil and the refrigerant was leaking.

Had to remove the entire dash to replace the cooling coil. Now I have the ECM light on, a VAG com scan ( I have the software and cable ), shows a MAF sensor error.

It's surprising, as my car is only 3.5 year old and clocked only 18K.

On the other hand, my Mondeo was with me for 6 years and was absoutely trouble free!

[rchimni]

Originally Posted by ajmat

DOn't understnd why both fans failed - sounds like a controller issue unless a faulty relay or similar burnt the fans out. Mine indicated that a service is due in a month - need to start saving!

Ajmat , anything else you can think off, that I should be checking ? I would ideally like to get this fixed before I commence my drive to Delhi end of this month.

N_C / Monkey any pointers ?