[Guru_GPS]

Latest update: My car went for its 2nd year routine service at Palace Skoda, Mysore at their newly opened service center on 28th February. Unable to provide photos, as I unfortunately lost my phone. Service was done within a day, and the experience was very satisfactory. Overall amount came to 1530.00 which included labor costs and change of wiper blade. I had opted for their service package by paying 12600.00 which covers all cost of service for 2 years and I will have to pay only for any replacement and labor charges. So the next annual service also should be around 400 - 500 if no replacement or damage happens. I however managed to get few photos which I had sent to my wife over whatsapp.

The magic number before sending for servicing.


One more frugal drive


And once more, not surprising, that I drive very relaxed now that the fuel prices are going up.

[jna4cob]

A few updates on my Skoda Rapid TDI.

I purchased Bosch pressure washer and gave a thorough wash of my car underbody. I am not sure if water was the cause, but I got an ABS sensor warning on the IC. It was there for some time and went away on its own. Did not find any difference in braking though. It reappeared frequently. Went to Skoda ASC and they confirmed that the Left Rear wheel ABS sensor has gone kaput. The SA there forced me to take extended warranty by saying that ABS sensors are connected in series and if one fails, all 4 will fail eventually. So 5000x4= Rs. 20,000 and he insisted that it is better to take extended warranty for a year for Rs. 18,000. I politely declined. Did a search at the stores in Coimbatore. Finally got the same OE sensors from Dhanam Auto Spares for Rs. 650 and it was a quick DIY to swap the sensors.

Also purchased OBD tool from Flipkart and it works great till now. Using it for Rapid, Scross and Jazz.

Wanted to give a makeover for my vehicle as it was nearing 7 years of age. Upgraded my headlight lamps to Osram 50W 4200K H4 LEDs and the fogs to Osram 50W 4200K H8 LEDs. Excellent improvement in visibility. Also upgraded wipers to Bosch Clear Advantage and bought some Mann filters for my next oil change. Also upgraded Jazz headlights and fogs to Philips Ultinon Rally 3550. Purchased these from VTL World, Bangalore. Got them at huge discounts (incomparable with other online stores).

Purchased Wolfbox G840S mirror dash camera from USA. Got it at 50% of India’s price. Works great and I am extremely satisfied. It was a quick DIY and I installed on my Rapid and Jazz.

Also wanted to upgrade the floor mats to something better and planned on 7d mats for Skoda Rapid. Made an enquiry on India Mart and got a call from a seller within minutes. He said he was calling from Krishna Enterprises, Delhi. He spoke all hi-fi and said that he gives premium quality mats at great prices. Got an advance amount from me to start production, sent the pictures of the final product and then I paid the full amount. Little did I know that I was going to get scammed. I was following up with him for almost 2 weeks and everyday he used to give reasons like he will be shipping it today. He neither sent the product nor returned my money back. I then reached out to Cyber Crime via online portal and on the next day his bank account was frozen. He came back to me and refunded the entire amount from his friend’s bank account. I then withdrew my complaint. Only after this incident did I see his reviews on India Mart. He has used the same modus operandi for many other customers.

After the above incident, I was again looking for some good quality mats. Aavahan from Delhi also reached out to me initially, but I rejected their offer as I had already confirmed my purchase with Krishna Enterprises. After my first experience with Krishna Enterprises, I was a little hesitant to go ahead with Aavahan but now I trusted them as they had very good reviews online. The seller seemed to be genuine and shipped the product on the same day. I also bought Coozo Battery Jump Start cable and Coozo Towing Rope. Both seemed to be of very premium quality. Very much satisfied. The prices for Coozo 7d mats were 1/5th of the prices quoted by auto stores in Coimbatore.

Vredestein tyres are performing excellently. I felt like the entire suspension has changed after upgrading to these tyres. Very much satisfied. Better than Perfinzas and Contis IMHO.
I am in no way related to any of the companies mentioned above. These are just based on my personal experience and to share information with other BHP’ians.

A few pics below.

[Krishnan83]

After giving for my 4th yearly service at a newly opened ASS in Palakkad, they told me to change the strut bush of front suspension. I said go ahead as they sent pics of it. However, after taking delivery, am hearing rattling sounds from my driver side front door as well as passenger side front door when driving through patchy roads -- the sounds are not coming when driving on highways -- these sounds were not there pre-service. Any idea on the causes? Is it coz of the new strut bush?

Originally Posted by jna4cob

A few updates on my Skoda Rapid TDI...

Bro -- the pics are missing. Even am getting those ABS sensor warning lights on/off -- are they covered under extended warranty (I already have extended warranty)? If yes, I will probably take it to ASS center. Else would love to get details of the place in Coimbatore from where you sourced it

[jna4cob]

Originally Posted by Krishnan83

Bro -- the pics are missing. Even am getting those ABS sensor warning lights on/off -- are they covered under extended warranty (I already have extended warranty)? If yes, I will probably take it to ASS center. Else would love to get details of the place in Coimbatore from where you sourced it

Yes you are right, even I am not able to see the images. I have reached out to the moderator for support.
Regarding your query, yes ABS sensor replacement will be covered under extended warranty. If you do not have one, you can buy the sensor from Dhanam Auto Spares, Coimbatore. Make sure you have identified which sensor (RR, RL, FR or FL) has failed before you go to the store.

[PrasadS]

Originally Posted by jna4cob

A few updates on my Skoda Rapid TDI.

Upgraded my headlight lamps to Osram 50W 4200K H4 LEDs and the fogs to Osram 50W 4200K H8 LEDs. Excellent improvement in visibility.

All 4 ABS sensors do go Kaput in series as soon as 1 goes down. I've also faced this and pressure wash especially on tyre area seems to be the biggest cause. Please avoid high pressure wash in that area.
1st sensor changed in warranty, 2nd at ASS at around 5k and then 3rd and 4th at 2.5k each at a fng.

Will second you on the Vredestein tyres. Awesome tyres and i noticed the same suspension upgrade feel as well as increase in sharpness in handling. Loving them so far.

Was the Osram Led H8 in the fogs a direct plug-n-play?

[jna4cob]

Originally Posted by PrasadS

All 4 ABS sensors do go Kaput in series as soon as 1 goes down.
Was the Osram Led H8 in the fogs a direct plug-n-play?

Agreed, I should avoid pressure washing behind the wheels. And yes, the LEDs were plug and play. It has improved the visibility drastically. Also, since mine has a reflector housing, upgrading the fogs improved road visibility without glaring opposite drivers.

[jna4cob]

Update on dashcams: Excellent support from Wolfbox. The rear camera had a lot of glare when high beams were switched on in the vehicles behind me. I raised this concern to the Wolfbox support team and they sent me a WDR camera free of cost after confirming my product is under warranty. Very happy with their support.