Skoda Woes And The Ghost Of The Mechatronics!!

[ishlinea7260]

Just went through ivar1951's thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2489715 (My silver steed is here -- Skoda Superb 1.8 TSI A/T)
Apparently the new mechatronic is improved over the previous version.
Question is shall one opt for the new one while still in the warranty period or is it a case of "if it ain't broken don't fix it"

[n.devdath]

Popular TBHPian Yeti's Superb too has had a Mechatronix issue. It is a petrol Superb just done 25k on the odo.

The unit was replaced under warranty and the car is back on the road but the question here is:

Are today's Skodas trustworthy to be taken across the country in all road and all weather conditions with the family?

[ivar1951]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Are today's Skodas trustworthy to be taken across the country in all road and all weather conditions with the family?

Yes, what with having forgotten your mobile at home!

[luky_13]

VW had issues with the DSG on many models between 2007 and 2010, apart from Skoda other VW brands/models were effected - TT, R32, GTI, Jetta. In US this phenomenon was popularly known as 'Flash of Death'. A large number of premature DSG-Mechatronics failure cases were reported in America, Europe and India, with issues hovering around:

• Sudden lack of motive power
• Auto-shift to neutral in motion
• Jerkiness while auto-shifting

In July 2009 the NHTSA opened an investigation into the case, Defect Investigations Results | Safercar.gov | NHTSA. VW announced a recall twice of more than 66,000 (13,500 + 53,000) DSG boxes in Aug, 2009. Although I don't have concrete information on hand but I believe post late 2010 this DSG issue was fixed. VW has now extended the warranty on DSG to 10 years or 100,000 miles (only in the States).

Following is the analysis summary...

VOLKSWAGEN DESCRIBED A POTENTIAL DEFECT IN THE WIRING HARNESSES OF THE DSG GEARBOX TEMPERATURE SENSORS USED IN APPROXIMATELY 16,000 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2009 AND 2010 VOLKSWAGEN (EOS, JETTA AND GTI) AND AUDI (A3 AND TT/TT ROADSTER) VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH DSG TRANSMISSIONS AND BUILT FROM SEPTEMBER 2008 THROUGH AUGUST 2009 (NHTSA RECALL NO. 09V-333, VOLKSWAGEN RECALL NO. 37E3/S7 AND AUDI RECALL NO 37E4/J7). VOLKSWAGEN PROVIDED THIS DESCRIPTION OF THE DEFECT, "THE WIRING HARNESS OF A TEMPERATURE SENSOR IN THE DSG MAY HAVE CONNECTOR WIRES THAT WERE INSUFFICIENTLY CRIMPED BY THE CONNECTOR SUPPLIER DURING A LIMITED PRODUCTION PERIOD. WITH INSUFFICIENTLY CRIMPED CONNECTOR WIRES, A TEMPERATURE SENSOR HAS THE POTENTIAL TO FALSELY DETECT A HIGH GEARBOX OIL TEMPERATURE, CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO ABRUPTLY SHIFT TO NEUTRAL.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by luky_13

Although I don't have concrete information on hand but I believe post late 2010 this DSG issue was fixed. VW has now extended the warranty on DSG to 10 years or 100,000 miles (only in the States).

This is interesting. So it essentially means that DSG issues were of a pretty high intensity and a lot of consumers were affected.

I wish the issue is really fixed post 2010 DSGs. Skoda will lose out on a lot of potential customers if the issue persists.

Are there any other failures that Skodas are known for apart from this unit?

I haven't heard of any major ones.

[tsk1979]

Interesting.
So fearing the law they give 10 year warranty in states, but people here still have to do with hefty repair bills once the 2 year warranty runs out.

[Swanand Inamdar]

I had made a similar point on Sam's thread - Is'nt it unfair that Skoda charges us customers for a part that has known issues. Lucky for Sam that his car was in warranty. What about those, whose car is'nt? 1 lac isnt a small amount by any means.

Skoda needs to do something about this. Or is it India that needs to introduce stricter law's?

[V-16]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Interesting.
So fearing the law they give 10 year warranty in states, but people here still have to do with hefty repair bills once the 2 year warranty runs out.

yes exactly. And mind you, the number of failures out of warranty period far exceed the ones in warranty.

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

I had made a similar point on Sam's thread - Is'nt it unfair that Skoda charges us customers for a part that has known issues. Lucky for Sam that his car was in warranty. What about those, whose car is'nt? 1 lac isnt a small amount by any means.

Skoda needs to do something about this. Or is it India that needs to introduce stricter law's?

What im appalled at are the journos. while i had to write to every auto mag in the country (with only three replying back saying they were going to bring it to the notice of Skoda and actually only two did something, they all continue to write rave reviews about the Skodas and say nothing about failing DSGs. I had to pay pleny of money for my Laura DSG failure at 70,000 kms at it had lapsed the two year warranty period. It was a 2006 and im pretty sure there was no warranty back then. So will the so called honest journos do something about it and force Skoda to back up their defects with a world matching warranty. They did not get the Dsg box for the Vento citing some bull story about the Vento would be too expensive. The fact is they were too scared no one would buy the Vento, if one Dsg failure occurred. Skoda may have replaced my Mechatronic free but they were forced to do it by my letters, top journo intervention. I will still think they are a pack of thieves making a fast buck from innocent buyers. Caveat Emptor!!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Skoda needs to do something about this. Or is it India that needs to introduce stricter law's?

IMO it is India and Indian consumers who need to wake up to their rights and get stricter laws not only passed but also enforced and complied to.

With Lauras and Superbs doing good sales numbers, mainly due to the positives they have, it is time Skoda pro actively offered the 10 year/100,000km warranty on its DSGs in India as well.
It would do a world of good to Skoda too.

[noopster]

@V-16: you're spot-on. I wouldn't have bought the Vento if it had a DSG box, too risky!

[n.devdath]

Ok, I have new DSG failure to report.

This time, unfortunately it is a 6 speed DSG which was known to be better than the 7 speed ones. The car is a Superb purchased in April and driven only 1000kms in Pune.

The car has been transported to the Skoda w/s at Wagholi and the status is awaited.

[Cesc]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Ok, I have new DSG failure to report.

This time, unfortunately it is a 6 speed DSG which was known to be better than the 7 speed ones. The car is a Superb purchased in April and driven only 1000kms in Pune.

The car has been transported to the Skoda w/s at Wagholi and the status is awaited.

April this year? As in 2012? Holy cow. That's a new benchmark in un-reliability.

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

I had made a similar point on Sam's thread - Is'nt it unfair that Skoda charges us customers for a part that has known issues. Lucky for Sam that his car was in warranty. What about those, whose car is'nt? 1 lac isnt a small amount by any means.

Skoda needs to do something about this. Or is it India that needs to introduce stricter law's?

Dear Swanand, Gogi bhai and all,
Little bit OT, but my friend's Superb is out of road from last 2 months due to gearbox failure. Vehicle is not in warranty and he has given his car to some mechanic in Mumbai. Mechanic told him that total expenditure would be around 1.6 to 1.8 lacs.
I just want to know, is there any competent mechanic in Mumbai who can work on it and how much money we will have to pay for gearbox change/repair.

Shubhendra Singh

[Swanand Inamdar]

Shubhendra, I'm not too sure about a qualified mechanic in Bombay. The only person I know is the dealer - JMD Auto. Thats it.
You could possibly PM Gogi or someone from Mumbai who could probably guide you to a competant mechanic.

However, the total expenditure does sound somewhat right. The expenses are a lac+ in such a case.

EDIT:
Is it possible to get the car in Pune? I do know of a few mechanics here. Could PM you the details if need be.

[Cesc]

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

My friend's Superb is out of road from last 2 months due to gearbox failure. Vehicle is not in warranty and he has given his car to some mechanic in Mumbai. Mechanic told him that total expenditure would be around 1.6 to 1.8 lacs.

Is this a manual or an automatic? If manual then price looks on the higher side. I have 'heard' that a new manual gearbox for Superb can be sourced for around 1.2L. If AT then it looks on the lower side (for a AT gearbox replacement).