[seedyk]

@hayek.. your skoda has a long life to live

And you are indeed right, the probablity of the mechatronic or other assembly failure is low, but the fact that the hard time skoda gives its customer for the replacement is unbearable. It's solely my opinion, you may have a different perspective !

[Hayek]

My car just completed 15,000 kms. It continues to be a joy to own and drive.

Maintenance costs from 10,000 kms to date comprise Rs 900 for a litre of oil (topped up 300 ml as a precaution before going to Goa, rest is still in my boot), and the cost of replacing an ORVM. I also had someone scrape my rear fender while parked outdoors, but have not touched it up yet.

I have been driving in slightly lighter traffic of late (viz go to office at 845 and return post 830), and got fuel efficiency of over 7 kmpl on a tank for tank basis the last two times I topped up. Despite all the criticism of Skoda and the noise around mechatronics, I still say Superb so far (at 15000 kms and 17 months).

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Maintenance costs from 10,000 kms to date comprise Rs 900 for a litre of oil

Despite all the criticism of Skoda and the noise around mechatronics, I still say Superb so far (at 15000 kms and 17 months).

Thank you Hayek for the update. I am keenly looking at your reports as I am/was one of the prospective buyers of this car.

However your experience of this car 'eating' oil is certainly not expected or acceptable for modern engines, especially a Petrol. I owned a Corolla for 7 years and never in it's entire life history did it 'eat' oil and the oil was just changed routinely at 10K intervals without any droppages in level in between. Even my Qualis (a diesel) has never eaten oil even after 1.5L kms on the odo till date. Same with my Fortuner till date. So it is surprising to note such a modern car eating oil (3L in the previous 10k kms). This can be one of the reasons for me staying away from this car along with the DSG horror stories abounding on Tbhp.

Skoda's cars may be filled to the brim with luxury but the essentials like the engine and gearboxes need to be reviewed seriously.

[Hayek]

@dkaile, thanks for reading, and glad you find this useful. On oil, yes the initial consumption was bad, but that seems ok now. Also in the NHC I owned before this, the service interval was 3 months, 5000 kms, and I used to get an oil change done at each service. So on an aggregate basis, spend on oil was similar.

Gearboxes- that's another issue and certainly one that has given me a few sleepless nights (esp around the time Ivar, Yeti and other people's problems were reported).

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Rs 900 for a litre of oil (topped up 300 ml as a precaution before going to Goa, rest is still in my boot

Wow! You got Fully Synthetic Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 (VW502.00/VW505.00) for Rs.900/Lt?
Amazing. I get it for Rs.1100/Lt here in Pune. WHo do you buy it from?

[Hayek]

@anand, I bought the oil from a store at Sion Koliwada (aka GTB Nagar). yes, it was fully synthetic Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Thank you Hayek for the update. I am keenly looking at your reports as I am/was one of the prospective buyers of this car.

However your experience of this car 'eating' oil is certainly not expected or acceptable for modern engines, especially a Petrol. I owned a Corolla for 7 years and never in it's entire life history did it 'eat' oil and the oil was just changed routinely at 10K intervals without any droppages in level in between. Even my Qualis (a diesel) has never eaten oil even after 1.5L kms on the odo till date. Same with my Fortuner till date. So it is surprising to note such a modern car eating oil (3L in the previous 10k kms). This can be one of the reasons for me staying away from this car along with the DSG horror stories abounding on Tbhp.

Skoda's cars may be filled to the brim with luxury but the essentials like the engine and gearboxes need to be reviewed seriously.

Its a known issue with all VW/Audi/Skoda TSI engines, be it the 1.8, 2.0 or even the 1.2. They all eat oil upto 10,000kms. No reason to not buy a car, just that a spare 1l can should be kept in the boot.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Wow! You got Fully Synthetic Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 (VW502.00/VW505.00) for Rs.900/Lt?
Amazing. I get it for Rs.1100/Lt here in Pune. WHo do you buy it from?

Even City Motors at Opera House is a good place to get oil at a good price. It would be around the same if not cheaper than this.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Hayek

@anand, I bought the oil from a store at Sion Koliwada (aka GTB Nagar). yes, it was fully synthetic Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Even City Motors at Opera House is a good place to get oil at a good price. It would be around the same if not cheaper than this.

Thank you.

So I would buy a 4L pack next time I visit Mumbai.
Sion Koliwada will be on my way so can you share the shop name, location, etc? Else, I will have to go to Opera House.

[Hayek]

@anand, sorry, I don't remember the name. There is a T junction in Sion Koliwada, on the far side of which, there is a row of auto parts shops (Laxman Motors et al). This shop was one of the last ones on the right of the T junction, if I remember correctly, it had a Total logo on the board.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Hayek

@anand, sorry, I don't remember the name. There is a T junction in Sion Koliwada, on the far side of which, there is a row of auto parts shops (Laxman Motors et al). This shop was one of the last ones on the right of the T junction, if I remember correctly, it had a Total logo on the board.

Thank you. Will trace it and save some money.

[mkaysaw]

With my 1.8T Superb having covered 32k plus so far, i have had only on issue (at the start) with the oil consumption and had to shell out 1100 for a top up at the dealership, the car just went for a premature 30k service at 27k and is now around the 32k mark. I have'nt seen the dreaded "top up oil" warning yet (earlier it used to show up at 2-3000 kms of usage) i guess its because the dealership admitted skoda was using 5W-30 earlier and have now shifted to long-life 5W-40. Could that be true? I was using the same 5W-30 in my S6 in Germany and i had to top up after every 4000kms, therefore kept a 3L can in the boot as stock, but the S6 used to be kept at very high speeds for hours on end and was a 5.2, it somehow dint make sense to me for a 1.8T using so much oil. Lets hope this solution helps.

[Hayek]

@mkaysaw Glad to find trouble free Superbs. Actually 5w30 is the recommended oil for variable service intervals. I used 5w40 after checking with dealer since 5w30 was not available. I suspect difference in consumption is more likely the engine getting freed up than anything else

[p2b22002]

Read good unbiased reviews here! thanks for the information. Thought i should contribute a little too.
Got my skoda superb 2.0 diesel 1.5 years back. Its run approx 35000 kms... mostly run in gujarat..
Its a great car with lots of features and with lots of space. But it does come with a few problems...
1) car tyres (goodyear) are not of great quality. Have got 5 punctures till date and its already worn out. Have to change them now.
2) battery died once. Had to be replaced. Thank God! it was under warranty.
3) Problem with the A/c vent creating a fog in the middle of the front glass.
4) You need to close down the front center A/c vents to get good airflow from the b pillar vents for the back seat.
5) If you drive the car through rough roads, the balancing is going to give way :( its a regular issue. the body starts vibrating at certain speeds.
6) Started hearing a humming noise in the cabin 6 months back. The noise was coming from below where the fuel cap is located. And the average came down to 5 kmpl. Skoda technicians found out that there was a problem with the diesel motor. They changed it and the problem was solved. But recently again the noise had started. After a lot of argument with the skoda dealer, we got the motor replaced again. The problem seems to be solved for now, but would want to know if anyone is facing this similar issue. The noise comes even when the car is standstill and has had a running of around an hour.
7) the skoda service standards are really low as compared to the Hondas and the Toyotas. You really need to break your head with these dealers everytime there is a problem with the vehicle. And it gets frustrating when you have spent 25 lakhs on that car just to get pathetic service in return! Nor do they have any parts in their inventory. I also donot understand these call centers from skoda taking feedback after service. Coz no action is taken...:(


cheers
Pranav Bhatt

[Hayek]

Skoda skeptics, rejoice. Last week, I had my first major problem with my Superb. So what happened? Let me start at the beginning.

Last Sunday, my wife and kid wanted to visit some friends in New Bombay. I had some work, and hence could not accompany them. "Why don't you take the Superb?", I asked my wife. "The Superb? Your car is too complicated. I'll stick to my Getz", she replied. "Come on. The Getz's AC is not working properly. This will be a much better ride.", I said. Finally my wife was persuaded, and decided to take the Superb to New Bombay.

Just before leaving, she realized she needed to stop at Matunga to pick some stuff up. Matunga market, for those who are not familiar with that part of Bombay, has its virtues. But the availability of parking is certainly not one of them. So I volunteered to accompany my wife and kid till Matunga, stay in the car while she shopped, and head off for what I had to do after that. The car started from home as usual, and drove smoothly to Matunga. As usual, there was no parking, and I double parked where I could. The engine, AC et al were off, and windows down, as I waited for her to return.

About 10 minutes later, a parking slot freed up. I turned the key in the ignition and was about to start the car when I heard a beep. "ESP Failure", the MID said. "Hell, how can that happen", I wondered. I switched the car off and tried again. "Front turning lights not working", it said. Followed quickly by "ESP Failure", again. I tried starting the car. It did not start. "Shift the gear lever to P or N", it said. The gear lever was in P. I tried with it in N, but got the same result. I tried shutting the windows next, but they did not work either. After 5 minutes of this, I realized that the dreaded Skoda gremlins had hit me.

By this time, my wife returned. "See, I told you that your car is too complicated", she said. Fortunately, taxis are easily available in Matunga, and my wife and kid were off to meet our friends. I called the Skoda Autobahn emergency helpline. "Call this number please", I was told. I tried the second number, and was asked by the person who answered to describe the problem. "The car will need to be towed to our Kurla workshop sir", he said. "Where are you? Matunga? Okay, a tow truck will be with you shortly", he said. It was around 2:30 at this point in time.

Five minutes later, I got a call from the tow truck agency. "You will need to pay Rs. 900 for this", the person said. "You may be able to claim that back from Autobahn, but you need to pay me first." Left with no choice, I agreed.

To my pleasant surprise, by 3 pm, a tow truck indeed arrived. The driver very professionally got a towing eye out of my car (I didn't even know it existed), fitted it to the front, checked that my car was in neutral, and then attached a tow chain to my car. I decided to accompany him to Kurla. When we reached the Autobahn Kurla workshop, I realized that it was closed, though there were some folks around including the manager who were preparing for some kind of audit. "There are no service advisers in today. You will have to leave your car here. And we can't give you a receipt", I was told. "You can call us tomorrow morning after 9:15."

The next morning, when I called, I was told that they were in the process of assigning a service adviser for my car, and that he would call me shortly. At about 10:30, I got a call and had to describe the situation once again. After that, there was radio silence till 430 PM. I finally lost my patience and called the service adviser. "Your car is ready, sir. In fact I was about to call you.", he said. "What was wrong?", I asked. "Your battery was defective. The error messages were because the voltage was too low. We have replaced it with a new battery under warranty", I was told. "Please come over by 6:30 to collect the car."

I promptly grabbed a cab and rushed to Kurla. The terrible LBS road traffic meant that it was 7 pm by the time I reached. The service adviser was still there. In addition to the battery, he had changed the horn (which had been sounding like it had a sore throat for a while.) When I described the previous day's events, he agreed to speak to his manager, and get a credit note for the tow truck cost issued which could be used for the next service. By 730 pm, I left Kurla, with my Superb driving smoothly once again. I must say that while I am unhappy that the battery failed, support from Autobahn was exemplary, and the car was back on the road within a day.

I hope that this really was a battery problem, and it does not recur. Why should a car that can measure everything from air pressure to oil temperature not know if its battery is low, I wonder.

But at least so far, about 150 kms further down the road, the car is still running. Fingers crossed. Pray for me.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Why should a car that can measure everything from air pressure to oil temperature not know if its battery is low, I wonder.

Good question actually. Why don't all cars have some kind of "battery level indicator"? Batteries are the main reason for breakdowns in modern cars.

Although Hayek, I suspect that something else could have caused failure in your car. This is the first time I'm hearing about battery causing wrong messages to appear in the screen.

When you cranked the engine, what kind of sound were you hearing?