[Shreyas Aterkar]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

The squeak has miraculously disappeared altogether. One day I made up my mind to locate the source of the sound and found that the same sound was produced when I pressed on the passenger side of the dashboard with my finger. I pressed a little hard on the same point with my full bare hands and then pressed with the finger. The squeak had gone. Its been about two months since I heard that squeak again. No squeaks or rattles whatsoever for now

Thats good. I will have to get the voices that I hear rectified soon. One question, whenever I drive my car after a gap of 2 days or so, as soon as the car is about to move, I hear some sound from the rear tyres/brakes. Have you come across the same?

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

They were good, so good that I will be getting them installed once again on the new glass, prices be damned.

Nice.

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by Shreyas Aterkar

One question, whenever I drive my car after a gap of 2 days or so, as soon as the car is about to move, I hear some sound from the rear tyres/breaks. Have you come across the same?

It should mostly due to rust formation on the discs and should vanish after running for few meters!

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

I don't think it is worn out brake pad, but looks like a design issue.

I did not face this problem until about 26 ~ 27k kms. So I tend to believe that in my case it is a case of worn pads.

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

Overall my car is doing fantastic, except one issue on the A/c hissing noise which they are not able to trace even after going to them for almost 6 to 8 times and once even the Skoda QA engineer inspected it. Will have to find time before my 2 year warranty expires to get this resolved!

I haven't faced any issue of hissing sound from my car AC. Is this hissing sound constant or produced periodically? Rooms AC's tend make this sound when the compressor comes on and AC gas is released from the outdoor unit to indoor unit.

Originally Posted by Shreyas Aterkar

One question, whenever I drive my car after a gap of 2 days or so, as soon as the car is about to move, I hear some sound from the rear tyres/brakes. Have you come across the same

Yes, Mahesh is right. It is rust formation on the rotors which normally wears out as you apply the brakes a few times. Happens here only in the rainy season and after giving the car a wash, as Bangalore climate is not as humid as Mumbai

[Santoshbhat]

I got the cracked windshield replaced at Vinayak Skoda K.R. Puram. Got the car back yesterday evening.

The glass had got cracked while I was out of town and I had another 700 kms of driving to do before I got back to Bangalore. Luckily the crack extended very slowly and by the time I reached Bangalore, the one foot long crack had only extended by about half an inch. I observed that the crack never extended while driving the car, even when the car crashed through some pot holes. But rather it would extend overnight or after being parked under the sun for a reasonable stretch of time. Probably due to contraction/ expansion in the glass due to temperature changes.

I left the car on Tuesday afternoon and got the car back on Friday evening. I had enquired with Vinayak about availabity of the glass before going. I wanted the car by Saturday as I have an outstation visit coming up on Sunday. I did NOT like the idea of having to take the i10 AT for this trip as it would increase my journey time by min 25%.

The entire process was very smooth and the service adviser was quite receptive towards my request of delivering the car by Saturday and kept updating me on a day to day basis. Overall I am very satisfied with the quick turnaround time of three days, considering I also claimed insurance. The claim process (ICICI Lombard) also went smoothly with no hiccups.

Apart from regular service, this was my first instance of dealing with the A.S.S for repairs and I was a bit apprehensive considering the reputation of Skoda's A.S.S. I must say I have come out impressed with their service. If I have to nitpick, I was a bit unhappy to see that they had soiled the seat fabric on the driver seat and roof lining. I haven't gone for leather and have reatianed the OE fabric seats, which are dirt magnets. But my OCD has ensured that they are still clean.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I did not face this problem until about 26 ~ 27k kms. So I tend to believe that in my case it is a case of worn pads.

If the bake is making too much grinding noise, the pad may have been completely worn with the metal being exposed (and rubbing the rotor). This happened in my car and I had to get the rotor machined (luckily it was within the limits where they could machine it)

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Guna

If the bake is making too much grinding noise, the pad may have been completely worn with the metal being exposed (and rubbing the rotor). This happened in my car and I had to get the rotor machined (luckily it was within the limits where they could machine it)

The pads have been inspected by the Skoda's service adviser on two occasions. Once at 27k kms and recently at 30k kms during second service . He insists that they have a lot of life left in them and changing the pads now will be a waste of money. During service he has done some 'cleaning and greasing' and the noise has not re-surfaced in the last 1,500 kms or so after that. I guess I am being a little over sensitive to the slightest difference in feel of the brakes and it may be just a case of pads nearing the end of their service life. If the sound comes up again I will change the pads immediately.

[Santoshbhat]

Its been about five months since last service. The grinding sound from the front brakes was back. THough I never had trouble in bringing the car to stop from high speeds, in slow traffic the brake force was becoming hard to modulate.

The odo stands at 34k kms and I decided it was time to replace the pads. Since last service, the car had done about 5k kms, I thought of taking this opportunity to get the 7.5k kms interval general check up done too.

Called up Vinayak Skoda for an appointment a day before and got the slot I wanted. As has been my experience at this service centre I hardly had to wait and my pre assigned service advisor was ready and waiting for me .

Skoda is running some free summer check up camp. So the labour charges for the general check up , amounting to Rs. 400 was waived off. VAS scan was not done as I had no issues to report and SA felt it was not necessary. Basically during general check up, all filters are cleaned and fluid levels are checked and topped up if necessary.

I asked for the front pads to be replaced and at the same time I wanted the brake fluid to be flushed out and fresh brake fluid to be filled. I also asked them-to re-torque all suspension bolts.

By evening my car was ready. Again no waiting. Apparently a rubber bush of a link rod in the rear supension set up was cut. The SA said I could choose to continue with it, but it will start to creak very soon. The estimate was about 1,800 to replace the entire link rod, so I went ahead with it. The brake pads costed me about Rs. 5,200/- + labour. Brake fuild bleeding and replacement cost me about 1,000/- as well. Engine oil level was found to be OK and there was no need for any oil top up.

THe car otherwise is performing flawlessly. No creaks and rattles anywhere and it feels very very new even today. I did a spirited run today (roads were empty being a holiday here) and the suspension feels a wee bit tighter than before and handling is more reassuring. The brakes though have yet to bed in properly, but the feel is completely different now. There is none of that grinding noise and the bite is very sharp.

The 1.8 TSI engine is really the best thing about this car. I delivers such smooth dollops of torque that its hard to describe the feeling behind the wheel.



The link rod that was replaced


The rubber bush that had got cut



The replacement pads "made in Italy for VW, Seat, Skoda and Audi. No mention of the Octavia anywhere on the box though.


One of the replaced pads had some bits of its surface chipped off. Maybe the source of the grinding sound?


How the other pads looked


One of the outer pads had more wear on it than the other, clearly seen from this picture.

[Santoshbhat]

A freak incident saw me losing one of my Michelins today :(

Last week before returning from Belgaum I had noticed one of my tyres was leaking air @ 2 psi per day. I had no time to get the tyre repaired in Belgaum, so I overinflated it by about 3 psi just before my journey and reached Bangalore without any problems.

I finally managed to squeeze out some time this morning and headed out to Pit stop, Sanjayanagar to get the tyre fixed. It turned out the same spot which had a puncture repaired previously was leaking air. They managed to plug it with that tubeless repair thingy. All good at this stage. Just before heading out of Bangalore I had got my wheels aligned at the same place. After the alignment, when I would hold the steering in the dead straight position the car would veer to the left and to go straight I would have to hold the steering slightly turned to the the right. I wanted to get this also sorted out at Pit stop during this visit. I explained this problem to the mechanic and he hopped on for a test drive with me. I showed him how the car was veering to left blah blah blah. He said he'll fix it, "lets head back". So I wanted to take a U turn. A scooter rider was coming from the opposite side. So I waited for him to pass to complete the U. He passes, I start to move. Just then he stops dead in his tracks. One of those address searching types. Now he was right in my arc. If I had to complete the U, my car's right would scrape his rear. I wait for a moment hoping he'd budge. But no signs of that happenning. This is an 80 ft. wide road and quite a busy road. I did'nt have forever to wait in the middle of the road. So what do I do? I try to take a wider turn, as I had the space to do that, and complete the U turn. Just as I completed the U turn, THUD! The car's left front tyre had climbed up on an open cement manhole cover about 6" in height with a sharp edge and thudded back on the road. It was totally invisible as it was in my blind spot :( . We jumped out of the car only to see a big cut on the sidewall and tyre losing air rapidly. Thankfully my alloy is spared of any damage (hopefully).

Pit stop did't have stock of 16" PLCs. They say they're expecting stock in the evening. Now my stepney has a bit of a cut on the sidewall, when I accidentally scraped a steel rod while parking. I've kept that as the spare since the last 20k kms, as I do not think that tyre is highway safe. Now one brand new tyre will run along with three tyres that are 35k kms old .

I think I'll buy two new tyres and scrap my stepney as well. I had to let out some frustration, hence the long post.

[anandpadhye]

I can relate with this - felt miserable when Tucson's right front wheel went over a manhole and sank in because the concrete manhole cover broke...

What can we do? We fix things, learn the lesson and drive on.

Maintaining a car is not merely about kmpl. There are many such incidentals and it's all really expensive...

I would say put the brand new tyre in the rear, and hold onto the spare as is. Whether we like it or not, there will be more opportunities to spend.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Now one brand new tyre will run along with three tyres that are 35k kms old .

I think I'll buy two new tyres and scrap my stepney as well. I had to let out some frustration, hence the long post.

That's really frustrating especially considering how expensive tyres have become. How much life do the rest of the tyres have?

Would suggest you change 2 at least and not just one.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

That's really frustrating especially considering how expensive tyres have become. How much life do the rest of the tyres have?

Would suggest you change 2 at least and not just one.

The rest of the tyres have good amount tread depth left. I am expecting them to last another 15k kms atleast.

Anyway, I went ahead and bought one tyre yesterday. Costed about 9.7k. I've put it in one of the rears, as putting it in the front would upset the alignment and cause the car to pull to one side. I was even tempted to scrap all tyres and go for 225 PS3s. Since my tyres still have almost 1/3rd of their life remaining, I resisted, considering the fact that these things are so very expensive.

[anandpadhye]

Hi Santosh,

Did you pay for VAG scan?
my Laura is in for 3rd service right now and they want to charge me for the scan. I am telling them it should be part of the routine service and should not be charged extra.

Thanks

[sagarpadaki]

Was it a side wall tear/rupture because of which the tyre burst or was the tyre damaged on the main tread area?

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Hi Santosh,

Did you pay for VAG scan?
my Laura is in for 3rd service right now and they want to charge me for the scan. I am telling them it should be part of the routine service and should not be charged extra.

Thanks

I think they did charge me about 400 bucks for the VAG scan during my second service. No point in arguing with them, it seems like a standard practice. THey charge you for the scan and don't even give you a scan report

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Was it a side wall tear/rupture because of which the tyre burst or was the tyre damaged on the main tread area?

The sidewall had ruptured.

[Santoshbhat]

Update : Stage 1 remap and Bilstein B6 suspensions installed.

With everything running like clockwork in the car in the past two years and 37k kms of ownership, I finally went ahead with some simple mods for the car. Got the car a stage 1 Custom Code remap, bumping up the max power and torque to a claimed 200 bhp and 300 nm respectively and installed Bilstein B6 suspension to help put down the power better. The mods were done at Head Over Wheels, Bangalore who have a tie-up with Pete's, Cochin.

I have never modded any car before and always believed in enjoying a stock car. But when you own one of the most mod friendly cars in the market today and when tried and tested options are readily available out there, its hard to say no to that red devil sitting on your shoulder. Robimahanta's thread was highly inspirational and when he said that Pete's have started stage 1 mods here in Bangalore itself, I decided to bite the bullet. A big thanks to Robi for his invaluable tips and also for putting me touch with the right people.

Now the stock car is one of the fastest cars this side of 25 Lakhs. It also has a pretty composed ride and handling balance. One would ask why tinker with it? Well for one, a Bhpian always wants more power and when you know that the engine can produce 25% more power with just a simple remap, with no other mechanical modifications, and one that's tried and tested, I just couldn't resist. Secondly the TSI ambient is a bit soflty sprung when compared to the VRS or even the TDI. While straight line stability and general ride quality is great, you do feel a bit of body roll when handling a set of corners or while making quick directional changes.

I just got the car back on Saturday. I drove about 20 kms in Bangalore's Saturday traffic, with rains thrown in and a 10 km spirited drive on empty roads this morning. Here are my initial impressions with the car. I will post a detailed impression once I make an outstation trip.

The Bilstein B6

I use the car for my business travels out of Bangalore, but the car also doubles up as a weekend car for the family within city and also outside city travel. Hence ride quality is important to me. But I also wanted better handling. Enter the Bilstein B6. There give just that, sporty handling without too much deterioration in the ride.

When I first drove out of H.O.W. I was thrilled to notice that there was hardly any deterioration in the slow speed ride. I went over some broken patches of road and the imperfections hardly filtered into the cabin. The ride definitely feels firm but not harsh. I took the ring road to reach my place and went over a few flyovers. The difference was immediately noticeable, esp when you move over these flyover joints. There's a great reduction in that bouncy movement that you get when move over these joints, because of which you feel like dropping your speed a bit. With the Bilsteins I just did not feel any reason to drop my speed. You can really understand how this suspension is different from stock when you go over these 'flat' speed brakers, the ones where you go up, then there's a flat surface and then you go down. Bangalore guys will know what I'm talking about. With the stock suspension there's that sringy action, something like up... a little bob and then down and another little rebound. But with the bilsteins the car goes goes up.... flat....down with hardly any rebound. This morning's spirited drive revealed that the steering seems to be bit more communicative than before and making lane changes just feels so much better. The car feels like its on rails. It stays extremely flat while cornering and one can easily take that corner at a higher speed than you would in the stock car. The stock car itself had a great ability to mask speed, now with the Bilsteins that quality has gone up two more notches. I'll have to keep an eye on that speedometer.

The Stage 1 remap :
I am no remap expert. As suggested by Robi I just told the guys that I want a conservative map that'll work with even with the worst quality fuel. I felt a definite improvement in intra city driveability. But then it could a placebo too. I've been driving an i10 AT for the past few days! Turbo lag is the same as the turbo kicks in at similar rpm levels as the stock car. But there is a perceivable improvement in the mid range. Power just gushes in when you floor the throttle and torque steer comes into play! The car definitely feels more powerful. I'll post a more detailed impression after I complete a long highway run, which should be fun. My car is now officially a sleeper. There's nothing on the outside to suggest that there's a beast of a motor hiding underneath that unassuming exterior.

The best thing is that car feels so normal when you drive it sedately. The ride is not bone jarring, the underbelly doesn't scrape anywhere, as the ride height is the same as stock, the engine feels just as refined and smooth as before, and,from the looks of it, the FE hasn't suffered either. Basically the car is just as practical as before. Just that the fun quotient has gone up by two notches. That's exactly what I wanted.