[sparton]

The Skoda torture continues.....after having spent almost a month at the workshop for the battery change, fixing the dent on the bootlid and some other minor stuff, the car returns, only to break down within a week on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in the evening time and that too, during the Ganpati festival period when traffic in Mumbai is at its peak. Apparently, there is some problem with the transmission, the engine revs but the car doesn't move forward.

The car breaks down on the narrow part of the Sea Link where there are only two lanes in each direction, causing a massive traffic jam.

When we called up Skoda emergency techical services to discuss about the transmission problem and to see if there was any quick fix solution which could atleast get us to one end of the Sea Link, they said "Oh yeah, that happens...there is nothing you can do, car needs to be towed to workshop!".

Latest update is that the part needed to fix the transmission has to be called from out of town and that will take about 15 days. Luckily, we have spare cars so we can manage, but what happens to those people who rely on Skoda as their primary transport?

Tell me any car brand wherein the battery dies, the a/c stops working and the transmission breaks down, in a matter of less than 18 months and less than 18,000 km?

Originally Posted by sparton

Guys I must say that I am not at all satisfied with Skoda build quality, at least in the new Superb.

I have a Superb 1.8 Tsi since about 1.5 years and have done only about 18000 km in it. In this short time frame, I have faced several problems with the car including:

1. A/C not working
2. Battery has died
3. Reverse light not working
4. Airbag fault
5. ESP fault

The car is extremely unreliable and consumes loads of oil. Apart from being an expensive habit, you can forget about long trips as its quite possible that during the run, the oil will run out and the car will overheat and completely shut down. I'm not kidding. Nowadays, we have to make sure that the oil is topped up or we are carrying spare oil before embarking on even a 200 km run.

The worst part is that even the A.S.S. is terrible:
1. For changing the battery, my car was lying at the dealer's workshop for over a week since they did not have any stock of batteries! Isn't a car battery an SKU that should be readily available with all car dealers?

2. For a minor dent on the boot lid, the dealership is insisting on changing the entire boot, the rear view glass, the rear-side skoda emblem, the chrome garnishing on the boot, the boot spoiler etc. When questioned about the same, they claim that once the boot is disassembled to repair the minor dent, all the parts like the emblem etc. will have to be replaced with new as there is no guarantee that the old ones will stick properly? What logic is that? Seems like a scam to cheat the insurance company...not cool

I also have a 4.5 year old Honda Accord which has done close to 50,000 km. Even today, the Accord gives us less problems with minimum maintenance. I am more at ease to take the Accord on a long trip than the Superb because there is no guarantee what new problem the Skoda may throw up during the course of the trip.

The Superb with all its fancy gadgets and at a cheaper price than the Accord is the no-brainer choice for most people. The monthly sales figures stand testimony to that. I too was swayed by the same. But now in hindsight, I remember an old saying - IN LIFE, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

Time to sell the Superb and move on...

Does anybody have any experience with the Passat? Given the same parent company and common part bin, can one expect the same shoddy build quality from the Passat as the Superb? Or is the Passat more reliable?

[Hayek]

The no of mechatronic failures in recent days is really disconcerting. Look for Ivar's thread on that. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by sparton

The Skoda torture continues.....after having spent almost a month at the workshop for the battery change, fixing the dent on the bootlid and some other minor stuff, the car returns, only to break down within a week on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in the evening time and that too, during the Ganpati festival period when traffic in Mumbai is at its peak. Apparently, there is some problem with the transmission, the engine revs but the car doesn't move forward.

Ouch! The ghost of mechatronics strikes again. Yours must be the 4th or 5th Superb TSI just on the forum to have a mechtronics failure in the last two months or so. Imagine how many other cases there must be out there!

Can't believe Skoda has not issued a recall yet to replace the mechatronic unit in all Superb TSIs. Or is it the case of them testing out the new mechatronic unit they are fitting on the ones that are coming in, to see if this one is reliable?

[VW2010]

Ouch! The ghost of mechatronics strikes again. Yours must be the 4th or 5th Superb TSI just on the forum to have a mechtronics failure in the last two months or so. Imagine how many other cases there must be out there!

I still feel only those who had problem have reported. This is like 4th or 5th out of say 1000s of Superb.

I wish we had a proper failure rate of mechatronic so we will really know if its a reliability issue or just the normal failures that happen in every 1/1000 cars in every manufacturer.

My question is imagine how many other cars that are running without problem are out there?

[noopster]

^^ Add Sam_Kapasi to the list. This is getting out of hand.

[vb-saan]

If I am right, the problems reported so far are on the 7-speed DSG in the 1.8TSI. Do we have any cases on the 6-speed DSG failure from Superb/Laura Diesel?

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by vb-san

If I am right, the problems reported so far are on the 7-speed DSG in the 1.8TSI. Do we have any cases on the 6-speed DSG failure from Superb/Laura Diesel?

It is the dry clutch 7 speed DSG on the Superb TSI that is having these failures. I don't think I have come across any of the wet clutch 6 speed DSG on the F/L Laura or the Superb having these problems.

Originally Posted by VW2010

I still feel only those who had problem have reported. This is like 4th or 5th out of say 1000s of Superb.

I think there are only a handful of ownership threads on the Superb TSI on the forum and a majority of them have faced this problem. So that makes it like three or four out of five.

[Durango Dude]

For every satisfied Hayek there's always a Spartan whose experience will put off even the most steadfast guy wanting to buy Skoda. Hayek: very nice review and wish the 'honeymoon' with Skoda continues.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by VW2010

I still feel only those who had problem have reported. This is like 4th or 5th out of say 1000s of Superb.

I wish we had a proper failure rate of mechatronic so we will really know if its a reliability issue or just the normal failures that happen in every 1/1000 cars in every manufacturer.

My question is imagine how many other cars that are running without problem are out there?

We do have a large number of DSG failures reported on this forum: (keep adding to this list please)
1. V-16
2. Ivar1951
3. Maverick Driver
4. Yeti
5. Gagan Anand
6. Rohitioc
7. San9jay
8. Sparton

There have also been some hearsay reports on similar problems, by people like Ajmat and Shankar Balan, which I have not listed above for fear of double counting. However, I do think that the first thing anyone who faces a problem with any costly appliance does is Google the issue, and Team BHP is on the front page of any Google search with regard to problems with Skodas - so we probably do get a higher than average share of problematic cars reported here.

Skoda has probably sold close to 9000 Superbs so far, a majority of which are probably 1.8 TSI DSG automatics. Assuming that 5000 cars fall in this category, and even with the assumption that 10% of all DSG issues get reported on T-BHP (viz about 100 problems so far), the failure rate is over 1 in a 50, which clearly is unacceptable. However, this is not a safety issue - so a recall is unnecessary (and perhaps would be counter-productive as well, since I do think failure remains possible, even in newer units).

But I do think Skoda should consider offering a US style 10 year, 160,000 km transferable warranty on all DSG cars - it would not cost them much ( after all, they replaced Gagan and Rohit's cars, which is the equivalent of replacing 10 mechatronic units each), but would boost confidence among both current and prospective owners enormously.

[Hayek]

Service Update:

Lost an outside rear view mirror courtesy a bus. Cost Rs. 11,566 to replace from Autobahn including a mirror lock. They initially gave me an estimate of Rs. 15,000. Had to pay Rs. 2,000 upfront and wait for 2 days for them to ship the part from their work shop (which has now shifted from Reay Road to somewhere in the suburbs) - fortunately, the fitment could be done at Sewri.

Topped up about 350 ml of oil just before my Goa trip and kept balance in stock. But oil level is still ok, despite the 1400 km run to Goa and back, and despite my having completed 5000 kms since the last service. Thank God for small mercies.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Thank God for small mercies.

Ha ha ha, very well said. The Skoda service guys are a bunch of scary people and the company has pathetic attitude towards service quality and service costs. They do a wonderful job of trimming customer's expectations.

The only fact that made me a Skoda customer is that the competition has no cars that match the engine tech and driving dynamics at those price levels.

[ishlinea7260]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Service Update:

Lost an outside rear view mirror courtesy a bus. Cost Rs. 11,566 to replace from Autobahn including a mirror lock. They initially gave me an estimate of Rs. 15,000.

Is this the cost of the mirror or the whole set up?

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by ishlinea7260

Is this the cost of the mirror or the whole set up?

The entire assembly had to be replaced. They told me on the phone that depending on the damage and what needed to be changed, it could be as little as Rs. 4000 - then gave Rs. 15 k estimate after seeing what had happened.

[seedyk]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Service Update:

Topped up about 350 ml of oil just before my Goa trip and kept balance in stock. But oil level is still ok, despite the 1400 km run to Goa and back, and despite my having completed 5000 kms since the last service. Thank God for small mercies.

hayek, your karma seriously pays off as your the only person i have come across who has no regrets buying a skoda !

and you actually ride her all the way to goa n back ? gotta say, you do trust skoda blindly now ! hope she keeps up the good work so that she stand out as an example against the odds !

[Hayek]

@seedyk, Touch wood and hope it stays ok.

But the fact is that only a small minority of Skodas give problems. Even the infamous mechatronic seems to have a failure rate of only somewhere between 1 in 20 and 1 in 50 (my estimate, see above). This is unacceptably high for a model where the median car has spent just 12 months or so on the road. But it's still a minority.

Compared to the other risks on Indian highways such as doped MUV drivers who tailgate at 120 kmph and keep honking even if there is no where for you to pull over, or trucks and buses that force you to choose between following them at 40 kmph and passing through a mobile chicane, or craters that can break your axle if you are not careful, the odds of a mechanical failure are low. In my opinion, BMW drivers with run flats take a greater risk on Indian highway runs than what I took.

Cheers and keep driving.