[wilful]

Originally Posted by Blackbolt

Update!
Now after a day the engine warning light is back on! What a disaster! I have absolutely no words to explain the way Skoda treats their customers. Again the car has gone back to the service centre. The pain of being a Skoda customer continues!

This is really awful! It is so unfortunate that Skoda has not been more customer friendly and helpful even after a deluge of complaints. I guess there will always be a following for their good looking, well engineered products like the new Octavia but what is the use of making these well packaged cars for enthusiasts when they cannot back it with proper spares and service?

[Blackbolt]

Update!

Apparantly according to the Firoz (SA) Instrumentel Cluster Meter and Canester need to be repalced, and the engine warning light was displaying because of it.

I dont even know which part he is taking about? They insisit that the DSG box has been replaced and this is a new problem. A foul play here as there was no issue with other parts of the car? Just one day after they replace the DSG, these parts also stop functioning properly?

How do i even check what they are saying is true?

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Blackbolt

Apparantly according to the Firoz (SA) Instrumentel Cluster Meter and Canester need to be repalced, and the engine warning light was displaying because of it.

Hi Blackbolt,

1) From what you've said in your last 2-3 posts, i wonder if your entire DSG box was replaced - or if it was just some minor work, resetting or part/connector replacement that was carried out. Get an official invoice of all the parts that were replaced by Skoda for the DSG repair.

2) Instrument Cluster Meter replacement due to a check engine light? Sounds unlikely. There might be some miscommunication here. Maybe he just wants to re-set the check engine light and is charging for that? Get more details please. What were the errors that the check engine light was highlighting? I'm guessing its only a canister-full warning.

3) Canister replacement? This might be the charcoal canister (I'm not sure). What is the total part + labour cost he is quoting for this? Unfortunately I can't think of an easy way to determine if there has been foul-play here. Maybe look for a manufacturing date on the existing canister? Or see how many kms your car has done and compare to the average km-life of a canister? Either way, I'd probably just pay up and get it swapped if it is a reasonably priced item (assuming it has to be changed - not just cleaned -- once again, not sure here). As a good practice, make sure they give you the used parts they remove from your car.

cya
R

[dipen]

@Blackbolt

If Autobahn Kurla mentioned that they replaced the gearbox. Ask them for a bill with the part number mentioned. I believe they will fumble again. Also send a mail to them and ask them to give it in writting that the gearbox has failed twice and they need to extend the warranty for 5+ years minimum as it is a known defective product. Dont leave from the place. Ask the manager to call whomever he has to call in Skoda right there and speak in front of the manager only. Explain all in detail. Record the call too. Something fishy will surely come out.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Blackbolt

They insisit that the DSG box has been replaced and this is a new problem. A foul play here as there was no issue with other parts of the car? Just one day after they replace the DSG, these parts also stop functioning properly?

I am curious what they did with the old DSG box? Normally when they replace a part (even brake pad, wiper etc) they will the old parts in the boot (may be to show that they ave replace the part). If the DSG was replaced under warranty I can understand, but if you have paid for the new box, they need to account for the old box.

[Blackbolt]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

1) Get an official invoice of all the parts that were replaced by Skoda for the DSG repair.

2) Instrument Cluster Meter replacement due to a check engine light? Sounds unlikely. There might be some miscommunication here. Maybe he just wants to re-set the check engine light and is charging for that? Get more details please. What were the errors that the check engine light was highlighting? I'm guessing its only a canister-full warning.

3) Canister replacement? This might be the charcoal canister (I'm not sure). What is the total part + labour cost he is quoting for this?

cya
R

Originally Posted by dipen

@Blackbolt

If Autobahn Kurla mentioned that they replaced the gearbox. Ask them for a bill with the part number mentioned. .

Hi Guys,

Attached is the bill we received when the Mechatronic was replaced, seems like they have replaced it, though we did not receive the old faulty part.

The instrument cluster meter is not lighting up properly according to the SA, (the lighting was dim on some parts of the display, i will agree with the SA on that). However he is saying that the warning lights will not be displayed correctly if the instrument cluster is not replaced, which cost a whopping 60K. We don't have an extended warranty Skoda shield so I told him to let this part be as is, we can live with a dim instrument cluster!

On the Canister bit, he says its a part which vapourises the fumes. Its malfunction is causing the engine light warning to display. The part costs around 6.5K, so with labour and taxes the damages could be around 9-10K.

I questioned him on how suddenly this part has malfunctioned, his replay was simple "electronic part hai, it can fail anytime"

We had no option but to give in to this bit and have asked him to work on the Canister. Hope after this problem, we dont have to deal with these guys for around 8 months when the 4th service will be due.

Thanks guys for all your help!

Cheers,

Balckbolt

[13thpsycho]

Dear Skoda gurus seeking help!

I have been facing problems with my superb. I haven't yet taken it to a service centre, needed advice first.

1. Some warning lights In the instrument cluster are acting irrationally. My left indicator light comes on when the headlight is on. When I give the turn signals the brakes warning light flashes along with the indicator. The TCS light is on in green. When I deactivate TCS, it glows red. But on the highway I noticed that this light fades away after continuous driving. When I switch on the fog lights, the power steering light comes on. There is a door light in green which comes on from time to time. Is this the ABS sensor or something else that is acting up?

2. While on a state highway in Bihar. I went over a speed breaker at over 100km/hr. Since then I have noticed that my driver side door is not aligned very well with the rest of the body and much more wind noise at higher speeds passes through than before (this probably explains the door light). Also noticed that my rear right tire is not aligned. It is tilted inwards from the top half. When I went to an alignment guy he said he cannot fix it because the angle is too much to get it back to normal.

3. Another small issue is that when I roll the driver side window down, there is a slight squeaking initially. An idiot in Patna put grease in the liner and my entire glass took days to get the grease out, after every roll up it would get dirty.

So what could be the problem in the above cases?

Any form of advice would be greatly appreciated. I am in Kolkata now, new to the city, I am not sure how much can I rely on skoda ASS expertise here.

Thanks a million guys!

[Akshay1234]

Buddy I think you need to go to an ASS first with problems like that. Get it scanned and see what the issues are. Only they will be able to tell you properly what to do to fix it.

100kmph is no joke in a Superb over a speedbreaker. Your door must be misaligned, but what is worrying is your rear wheel which is inwards. It could be suspension or axle damage. Get it checked ASAP.

[dkaile]

^
Your battery seems to be one of the main culprits. These type of errors mainly occur or a dying battery. Rest a proper VAG scan can determine.

[tanstaafl]

Originally Posted by Blackbolt

Hi Guys,

Attached is the bill we received when the Mechatronic was replaced, seems like they have replaced it, though we did not receive the old faulty part.

The instrument cluster meter is not lighting up properly according to the SA, (the lighting was dim on some parts of the display, i will agree with the SA on that). However he is saying that the warning lights will not be displayed correctly if the instrument cluster is not replaced, which cost a whopping 60K. We don't have an extended warranty Skoda shield so I told him to let this part be as is, we can live with a dim instrument cluster!

On the Canister bit, he says its a part which vapourises the fumes. Its malfunction is causing the engine light warning to display. The part costs around 6.5K, so with labour and taxes the damages could be around 9-10K.

I questioned him on how suddenly this part has malfunctioned, his replay was simple "electronic part hai, it can fail anytime"

We had no option but to give in to this bit and have asked him to work on the Canister. Hope after this problem, we dont have to deal with these guys for around 8 months when the 4th service will be due.

Thanks guys for all your help!

Cheers,

Balckbolt

If it is a warranty replacement, they won't give you the part back. It will be sent back to VW where they will analyse it and possibly send it on to the supplier who actually manufactured the part.

A faulty evap canister can throw a CEL. Usually a P0443 DTC code. I am surprised the mechanic decided on the canister as the cause directly. Maybe he performed some more detailed diagnostics.

Going forward, you should invest in a bluetooth OBD2 adapter and just see if the codes thrown line up with what your mechanic suggests. Sometimes a CEL is shown just because the gas cap was not closed correctly.

For the non-warranty repair, you can demand that they give you your original failed part back.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Sorry but this is a bit over the top in my view. The problems with the DSG are found on only one VAG model sold in India - the Superb 1.8 TSi AT. There have undoubtedly been several Team BHPIans (including myself) who have had the mechatronics fail on them. In every case, the part has been replaced free of cost by Skoda, even when the failure took place outside warranty. To my knowledge, all these cars that have experienced failures are 2010 or earlier models, and I have not seen a reported failure in a 2011 or later model (correct me if I am wrong here).

Hi Hayek,
Can you please share some more information on the DSG mechatronics replacements that were made in your car? When was the last time you had the mechatronics changed and how many kilometers since have you used the car. I am planning to buy an Octavia, and my heart is convinced about going for the 1.8TSI. But my mind (and my wife) wouldn't relent due to the DSG horror stories. Any information that points to improved reliability of the DSG will take me closer to the decision. Very much appreciate your inputs on this.

Originally Posted by Hayek

A number of Team BHPians suffered mechatronics failures about 12 - 18 months ago - wonder how their cars are doing and if anyone suffered problems with replaced units? But I guess it will be another 12-18 months before we know if these fixes work.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I remember some 15 ~ 18 months ago there were a lot of reported failures of the 7 speed DSG box on petrol Superbs. Such failure reports are a rarity these days. Which could mean that the replaced mechatronic units are working fine and new cars with updated mechatronics/ softwares are also more reliable.

Would it be meaningful to start a new thread or revive an existing thread to get inputs from the fellow TBHP'ians who have had their mechatronics replaced? Maybe a poll (remember having seen a poll on this but maybe a fresh one will give some latest status)?

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by graaja

Hi Hayek, Can you please share some more information on the DSG mechatronics replacements that were made in your car? When was the last time you had the mechatronics changed and how many kilometers since have you used the car.

The mechatronics on my car was changed in July 2012, at about 22,000 kms. I have done about 11,000 kms since then. As you would see from my thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...500-kms-9.html, mechatronics problems are being dealt with by Skoda fairly efficiently even when cars are out of warranty (happened to me, and to a friend as well). However, the bigger issue I have is the recurring niggling problems that you face with other things (which seems to be happening to the Octavia as well judging from Adi's experience), especially after the car completes 18 months or so. You need to mentally reconcile yourself to that if you are buying the car. The other thing is that resale values for Petrol Superb at least are terrible - per the Team BHP calculator, my car is worth just Rs. 7-8 lakhs when a new Superb is almost Rs. 28 lakhs OTR Mumbai. So unless you are completely price insensitive, you will need to keep the car for 6-7 years (and keep repairing it in the mean time whenever it fails). Before you think I am discouraging you, I must emphasise that the car is great to drive (when it works).

So if you are buying the Octavia petrol DSG, go for the extended warranty (even if it means you pay more for the first year insurance) - that is a no brainer

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Hayek

The mechatronics on my car was changed in July 2012, at about 22,000 kms. I have done about 11,000 kms since then. As you would see from my thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...500-kms-9.html, mechatronics problems are being dealt with by Skoda fairly efficiently even when cars are out of warranty (happened to me, and to a friend as well). However, the bigger issue I have is the recurring niggling problems that you face with other things (which seems to be happening to the Octavia as well judging from Adi's experience), especially after the car completes 18 months or so. You need to mentally reconcile yourself to that if you are buying the car.

Thanks, Hayek. I read your complete ownership thread and now am in a "cat on the wall" situation. I was about to cancel my Honda City booking, but I am going to hold it for some more time.

Originally Posted by Hayek

The other thing is that resale values for Petrol Superb at least are terrible - per the Team BHP calculator, my car is worth just Rs. 7-8 lakhs when a new Superb is almost Rs. 28 lakhs OTR Mumbai. So unless you are completely price insensitive, you will need to keep the car for 6-7 years (and keep repairing it in the mean time whenever it fails). Before you think I am discouraging you, I must emphasise that the car is great to drive (when it works).

So if you are buying the Octavia petrol DSG, go for the extended warranty (even if it means you pay more for the first year insurance) - that is a no brainer

I am not concerned much about the resale value as I plan to keep the car for at least 6 years. From your experience, I think I should factor in around 25K a year for repairs post warranty, and a contingency fund of 1.5L if the DSG mechatronic goes kaput!!

Taking your advice, if I decided to buy the car, I would never dream of going without the extended warranty. The Octavia does not have the extended warranty package yet. The dealer here says that it will be launched soon and I can buy the extended warranty when it is announced. Maybe it is safe to wait till the extended warranty is announced and buy it with the car.

[13thpsycho]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Get it scanned and see what the issues are.

Originally Posted by dkaile

Your battery seems to be one of the main culprits. These type of errors mainly occur or a dying battery. Rest a proper VAG scan can determine.

Does any of this have to do anything with the ABS sensor?
I was at a skoda ASS in Patna, they scanned the car and removed the errors, but the lights came back on! They didnt seem to know what they were doing. So I got the car physically checked, it showed no signs of troubles what so ever.

Do you think any of my problems would be covered under warranty? And if not, is the insurance going to pay for lets say a suspension/axle damage?
I am going to the ASS in Kolkata today will update you all.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

100kmph is no joke in a Superb over a speedbreaker.

There was a small sloped bridge and as soon as it ended there was a breaker, couldn't see it coming!

Thanks for the help!
I just hope I am on the right thread, didnt know where else to write, mods please move the thread if necessary. Thanks!

[graaja]

While I was trawling through the web for updates on the DSG7 problems, came across this site that is conducting a survey on DSG failures world wide. I have been regularly watching the survey results from the site.

https://www.dsg-survey.com/

Though the sample size is not yet significant to draw any solid conclusions, 46 out of the 57 problems reported are from cars manufactured in 2011 and before. It would be great if fellow TBHP'ian Superb owners could also add their inputs to the survey.