[ninjatalli]

So a year has almost come since my last update. The car has seen very minor usage over the last 2.5 years as I was out of the country on work. During this time the car was lying with a close friend for a year and half and then with the better half for the rest of the period.

From 2011 to 2014, the car did about nearly 60,000 kms under me with hardly any issues other than normal wear and tear, and a few warranty related repair/replacements.

From 2015 to 2017, the car did about 11,000 kms under the ownership of friends and family; and has seen a few problems primarily in the last 8 months that I'll talk below.



October 2016
The car was being used by the better half and mostly driven by my driver. I did share a few minor updates on other threads 6 months back, quoting the same here below.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Just got an update from Bombay - apparently two of the injectors have to be replaced. The lady has been given a 25k estimate (only????) per injector.

Will have to dig deeper and get a more detailed estimate of expenses.

I was out of the country so asked for the car to be parked and left unused till I was back in Bombay.

December 2016
I return to the country for a short 3 week break and immediately head for a short drive to test the condition of the car. My driver brings a "friend" over to the house, a Skoda workshop 'engineer' who quotes that nothing is wrong with the injectors (as per him), but just some issue with the engine.

I point out the clearly noticeable reduced power output and to this he again reaffirms that is a known issue with several Skoda Rapid cars and should be an easy fix. I was planning on taking the car to VW workshop in Sewri which I knew was the relatively better of the dealers in Mumbai; but I get persuaded to take the car to the (VW Mumbai East/) Kurla workshop. He assures me that he'll be there at the workshop and help in getting the right person on the job immediately.

Next day morning I keep the car under 40 kmph and head early out to the Kurla workshop. The 'engineer' is nowhere to be seen. An SA is assigned who notes my feedback and hooks up the car for diagnosis. On further inquiring I finally get to know the Skoda 'engineer' is far from what he says; probably just a workshop guy. Alarm bells start ringing in back of my mind, but I'm already here so I go with the flow.

A few hours and I get a vague feedback from my SA. He says atleast more than one injectors have failed and they would have to get my go-ahead to do the replacement work. I ask for a full quote on the costs and wonder aloud what they were doing all morning if they still haven't done a full-on diagnosis. He gives me a vague 1 Lakh+ quote and says it might be higher if more issues are found out.

I thank him, pay the cost for the diagnosis (about 650Rs) and head back home. Back home, I look for other options online and land on this thread link They have a Mumbai workshop in Nerul, address is as belows

Name: Sk Karzone: Bosch Car service Center
Address: PLOT NO. D- 233/1, MIDC TTC INDUSTRIAL AREA, LP, Service Road, Nerul, MIDC Industrial Area, Shiravane, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra 400706

I have a few calls with the owner Manoj Khanna who advises to get the car immediately to the workshop and connects me to a service advisor, Harpreet. Next day the car is parked and a complete diagnosis is undertaken. A few hours later, I receive the results - 3 injectors are gone and the 4th is functioning. I am advised to replace all 4. The replacement would be done with Bosch injectors which are replaceable to the OEM VW injectors.

I show them this thread by @VeyronSuperSprt which talks about the repair option instead of replacement, but I'm told that is not possible on these injectors.

I feel a little worried on this angle and wonder if I should get more opinions, but I decide to trust their feedback. I take a decision to go ahead and get all 4 replaced with a hit of about ~90,000 Rs for the entire work. Along with the injectors, I also get the EGR valve cleaned. The entire work takes about 3-4 days and I'm handed over the car with a clear set of instructions for the next 200-300 kms of riding. I'm also advised to get the car back for a check-up after a month of usage (or ~1000kms of usage).

I had a trip planned to Goa immediately so I get to implement them immediately; basically I am advised not to keep the speeds below 70, and not to accelerate the engine and run-in the new injectors. That was the slowest I ever went up the Mumbai Pune expressway; giving competition to the trucks while other cars and buses just buzzed by me. I kept the speeds under check till Amboli ghat and only started upping the speeds after I reached Goa. A few days later, and 1000+ kms, the car was back to normal with no issues.


Overall experience: Harpreet and his team do a great job of the work and are very approachable for questions/clarifications. Manoj is always reachable if you have any questions. The work bay is accessible and you are welcome to view the work if you have the need to do so. They do work on most if not all brands; I could see Maruti, Hyundai, Tata and a few European brands in the workshop on the days I was there. And if you allow Manoj, he'll take up your entire day with anecdotes and examples of past customer experiences As for me, I have a workshop that I can depend on for future servicing requirements and other issues.

Improvement Areas: The location is a bit of pain, especially if you live within the city. They do offer pick-up/drop options till Vashi but not beyond that. If you plan on dropping the car for work, please do make arrangements for return trip. Uber/Ola options are always there, but the availability isn't always guaranteed. And of course, Nerul station is about a 20 min walk from the workshop. I hope they come up with a pickup/drop option in the future, if not for the car, then atleast for the driver to nearby transport points.


February 2017
While I'm back in the states, the better half/driver is using the car sporadically when she sees the 'check engine' light come up. A few rides later, the light doesn't go away and the car is brought back to the workshop for a checkup. Harpreet and his team do a diagnosis and no issue is found and the light goes off too.


April 2017
The 'check engine' light comes up again. Over the last few months, the car has seen extremely low usage; so I advise the better half to keep the usage to the minimum till I come back. The light doesn't go away, but as the engine output doesn't see any drop or impact, I'm not worried.

July 2017
I return back to Bombay and immediately take the car to the workshop. Harpreet runs a full diagnosis and the issue is found to be a faulty glow plug. They order one and get it replaced.

Cost breakup
Glow Plug: Rs 1500
Diagnosis: Rs 650
Labor: Rs 295
GST: Rs 400
Total: Rs ~3200


After nearly 6 years, the car is chugging along with the odometer at ~72,000 kms. Having driven much powerful cars in US over the last 3 years, the comparison is of course inevitable; and of course the Vento seems to be the worse-off on several matters. I find the lack of Cruise Control and Bluetooth facility a big hindrance especially on long highway drives, but that is something I can live with. Ironically I could manage with the manual drive and Mumbai traffic without any issues.

I don't plan on selling this car for a while; and hopefully the vehicle will not give much surprises going ahead. Frankly I feel these VW tdi engines run better when they are used; than being kept in the garage. I know of a 6 year old Tdi in Gujarat that is nearing 2,00,000 kms and is running fine. Only time will tell I guess. Meanwhile, here's a quick check on the key parameters after 6 years of ownership:

Acceleration: The car still gives me the smile on 3rd and 4th gears when I get to do the rapid acceleration. Thank god for small mercies.

Power: I recently did a trip to Pune and back; and was surprised to see a slight lack of power, or rather more noise at higher speeds than what I remembered. Earlier I could easily cross 3 digit speeds and take it to speeds that aren't allowed to be talked about on this forum without issue. But now I feel a bit of strain on the engine. There are too many factors - the replaced Bosch injectors, 6 year old car, my flawed judgement; I'll have to evaluate that by driving other Ventos to do a one-on-one comparison

Suspension: This is where I'm concerned. Maybe my judgement is flawed due to my comparison with the much plusher and newer Altima I drove over the last 2 years and the much better roads of USA. However I feel the suspension has gone down on the car and will have to get this checked later.

Mileage: Who cares. Never worried on this parameter, and don't think I will in the future.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

So a year has almost come since my last update.

Hey good to hear from you. So I have the glow plug light coming on periodically now. But when I restart the engine, it disappears. Thankfully, no issues with the injectors so far for me, multiple software updates later.

I have crossed 81K kms now and the car is running smooth as ever. Like you said, the TDI engines like to be used daily, rather than occasionally. The only issue I have observed is the slight loss of torque over the years, which I guess is natural. However, I compensate that with the Dieseltronic kit I have installed since the expiry of the warranty.

About the suspension - I suspect it has hardened but need to compare with a newer Vento to confirm.

[halfbytecode]

Originally Posted by nileshch

...

About the suspension - I suspect it has hardened but need to compare with a newer Vento to confirm.

The newer cars have had almost the entire suspension revamped, having gone through multiple changes over the years. It is quite soft, as compared to the older cars.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by nileshch

Hey good to hear from you. So I have the glow plug light coming on periodically now. But when I restart the engine, it disappears. Thankfully, no issues with the injectors so far for me, multiple software updates later.

I have crossed 81K kms now and the car is running smooth as ever. Like you said, the TDI engines like to be used daily, rather than occasionally. The only issue I have observed is the slight loss of torque over the years, which I guess is natural. However, I compensate that with the Dieseltronic kit I have installed since the expiry of the warranty.

About the suspension - I suspect it has hardened but need to compare with a newer Vento to confirm.

Good to hear that. As long as these cars are run properly, normal wear and tear will happen but the parts don't fail. I feel the 1.5 years of literally no-usage by my close friend was the turning point.

Originally Posted by halfbytecode

The newer cars have had almost the entire suspension revamped, having gone through multiple changes over the years. It is quite soft, as compared to the older cars.

Interesting. Does the suspension be similar to the Ameo? Got a friend with that; will be test riding it soon.

[halfbytecode]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

...

Interesting. Does the suspension be similar to the Ameo? Got a friend with that; will be test riding it soon.

I have not compared the suspension of a new Vento and Ameo, but when Ameo was launched, it was widely reported the suspension is stiffer than the soft Vento suspension.

[ninjatalli]

August came and went by; and so did the 1 year mark for the servicing deadline. On the kms side, the car had hardly done ~5000kms over the last 12 months, so I wasn't really worried about it.

Plus had done a check-up in July, so decided to postpone this till my work travels ended; or gave me sufficient time to get this done. Come October and an appointment was taken up with SK Karzone. Was informed the oil quality is still good for a few months, but decided to go ahead and get the servicing and oil change done.



The work was done in about ~2 hours and the car was handed back to me.

Next task - have a look at the CPC2 tires. They are nearing 5 years of usage (~45,000 kms) and it's about time they get replaced. Two of the tires were replaced earlier this year with Continental Max Contact MC5. Had got the tires rotated to get the new ones on the rear; the question now comes up when to get the other two replaced. Will have to keep a look on the tread condition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~

The car's seen 6 years now. And with my work schedule and the fact that Mumbai city dissuades you from driving a 4 wheeler (or probably I'm getting old ), the question now keeps popping up in my mind - do I hand it over (read:sell) to someone who'll be able to use it in a much better way? Currently it's just lying in the garage; used sporadically when I'm in town; hardly ~1000 kms in a quarter.

[ninjatalli]

Dealerships - Servicing & Maintenance:

• BU Bhandari / VW Pune North: Five stars. No complaints or issues across 5 years of service.
• Shaman Cars / VW Downtown Mumbai: Five stars. No issues faced.
• Mohite Automotive / VW Goa North: Three stars. Passable service.
• S K Karzone / New Panvel, Mumbai: Four stars. Great service. Location is a pain, but otherwise everything else is great

Servicing Experiences

First Servicing : Link
Dealer : BU Bhandari
Cost : 8,628 INR
Details : Basic servicing.

Second Servicing : Link
Dealer : BU Bhandari
Cost : 16,257 INR
Details : Basic servicing. (Broken) RHS Tail Lamp changed. Brake Pads changed.

Third Servicing : Link
Dealer : BU Bhandari
Cost : 9,200 INR
Details : Basic servicing. (Broken) Center AC vent changed.

Fourth Servicing : Link
Dealer : BU Bhandari
Cost : 18,000 INR
Details : Basic servicing. (Broken) left AC vent changed. (Broken) Housing for lighter changed. Engine mounts changed. Wheel alignment done. Rear suspension spring hubs/packing changed.

Fifth Servicing : Link
Dealer : BU Bhandari
Cost : 11,809 INR
Details : Basic servicing. 3M Germiclean treatment for interiors.

Sixth Servicing : Link
Dealer : Shaman Cars (VW Downtown Mumbai)
Cost : 17,955 INR
Details : Basic servicing. Both front headlight assembly changed. VW front logo replaced.

Seventh Servicing : Link
Dealer : SK Karzone (New Panvel Mumbai)
Cost : 5549 INR
Details : Basic servicing. Was advised the air filter condition is still good so didn't replace it. Noticed later they also added engine additive which I didn't ask for. Otherwise a good alternative to the dubious VW workshops.

[aditya79india]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Name: Sk Karzone: Bosch Car service Center
Address: PLOT NO. D- 233/1, MIDC TTC INDUSTRIAL AREA, LP, Service Road, Nerul, MIDC Industrial Area, Shiravane, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra 400706

I have a few calls with the owner Manoj Khanna who advises to get the car immediately to the workshop and connects me to a service advisor, Harpreet. Next day the car is parked and a complete diagnosis is undertaken. A few hours later, I receive the results - 3 injectors are gone and the 4th is functioning. I am advised to replace all 4. The replacement would be done with Bosch injectors which are replaceable to the OEM VW injectors.

Hi, we had a similar experience with our Jun-12 model VW Vento TDI. The car sees very low but regular usage having run just 20800 Kms when the Cylinder 3 diesel injector packed off. Dismayed with such poor performance approached the dealer (Kolkata) with some background research into the problem and showed him the attachments in this LINK

After much haggling, huffing & puffing the dealer agreed to replace the injector on goodwill

That leaves me with a worry about the other 3 injectors and what to do if they pack up?

So can you help me with some more details.

-The cost of 90,000 for a set of 4 injectors is ~ 22,500 / Bosch injector. At this price why did you go for Bosch, when OEM injector costs ~23,000/pc?

-After the change is there any adverse effect on vehicle behaviour?

Thanks

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by aditya79india

Hi, we had a similar experience with our Jun-12 model VW Vento TDI. The car sees very low but regular usage having run just 20800 Kms when the Cylinder 3 diesel injector packed off. Dismayed with such poor performance approached the dealer (Kolkata) with some background research into the problem and showed him the attachments in this LINK

After much haggling, huffing & puffing the dealer agreed to replace the injector on goodwill

That leaves me with a worry about the other 3 injectors and what to do if they pack up?

So can you help me with some more details.

-The cost of 90,000 for a set of 4 injectors is ~ 22,500 / Bosch injector. At this price why did you go for Bosch, when OEM injector costs ~23,000/pc?

-After the change is there any adverse effect on vehicle behaviour?

Thanks

Bosch is also an OEM for VW. The cost of injectors + labor is all over the place across the country; folks on the forum have had it done at different price points with or without any goodwill.

Plus the VW dealers across a lot of the cities aren't the right place to get this work done; especially not the ones in Bombay. If your dealer is reliable, get the other three checked and take a decision accordingly.

[Flyer]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Bosch is also an OEM for VW. The cost of injectors + labor is all over the place across the country; folks on the forum have had it done at different price points with or without any goodwill.

Hi ninjatalli, What if I want to change one faulty injector to Bosch, while others are still OEM Continental injectors? Is this possible?

Or is it necessary to swap all injectors to Bosch?

I'm also thinking of changing the injectors to Bosch whenever a need for replacement arrives. At least it will be repairable in the future. I just want to confirm if the swap can be done one by one.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Flyer

Hi ninjatalli, What if I want to change one faulty injector to Bosch, while others are still OEM Continental injectors? Is this possible?

Yes, it is possible. But get it done from a Bosch affiliated workshop to be on the safer side.

[ssjr0498]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

basically I am advised not to keep the speeds below 70, and not to accelerate the engine and run-in the new injectors.

Run in injectors?? Never heard anything like that. Can you elaborate please?

Anyone else here has heard something like this before?

Also, did you try to figure out why your injectors packed up in just ~70k kms? Isn't that extremely low for a failure? Spurious fuel? Any additive?

Cheers

[ninjatalli]

So we move along to the 8th year of ownership. It's an interesting feeling - it really doesn't feel like it's been that long. The car still has the hypothecation of HDFC bank (I really need to get that sorted out ) but it's been running along nicely. Compared to the previous year, the 7th year of ownership went relatively easier on the pocket - no big expenses and the normal wear and tear.

The only problems/expenses faced over the last year
- Clutch cable broke which caused the gearbox to stop working; had it replaced (~3500 Rs)
- Normal servicing (~5500 Rs)

In addition to the upcoming servicing notice, other repairs / checks that require to be done
- Rear seat interior light knob broken - to be replaced
- Two air vents broken - to be replaced
- Front left window up/down button not functioning - to be replaced/repaired
- Rear left tail-lamp housing with cracks - to be ignored
- Front suspension no longer smooth - will have to get this checked
- Clutch plate assembly - works fine, but SK Karzone guys said this might not last so will probably get a 2nd opinion
- Glow plug keeps coming up intermittently - last time I got it checked @ SK Karzone; they said all was fine; but the indicator still blinks every other day; so will get a second opinion


But the car's been running just fine. Have taken it on a few Mumbai-Pune trips and a recent Mahableshwar trip, the car had no problems lapping up the kilometers. Otherwise it's just the occasional trip to office.

A long trips is long overdue. Maybe by the end of this year

[ninjatalli]

I always prided myself on leveraging this site and the learnings I obtain from the forum at each stage of my Vento ownership. I always prided that I never allowed VW to take benefit of my ignorance - be it sales, servicing or insurance claims.

Today as I was cleaning up old records, I glanced on the B.U. Bhandari receipts of my Vento purchase and realized one glaring fact I completely missed



1. Registration Charges: 68,481 Rs
- have a corresponding taxation receipt which matches the same

2. H.C. / RTO FEE / SMART CARD: 6000 Rs
- Have a corresponding MV/RTO PCMC receipt of registration of 200 Rs, hypothecation of 100 Rs, and an inspection charg of 25 Rs
- Smart Card feeds of 350 Rs (= Total 675 Rs)

So where did the rest go? Turns out the H.C. meant "Handling Charges". I was charged 5325 Rs for handling charges!!!

This at a stage when I had access/buttons to push in VW (through which my much delayed delivery was brought back to line); a single phone call would have resolved this.

It's a real pity I missed this

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

So we move along to the 8th year of ownership. It's an interesting feeling - it really doesn't feel like it's been that long.

But the car's been running just fine. Have taken it on a few Mumbai-Pune trips and a recent Mahableshwar trip, the car had no problems lapping up the kilometers. Otherwise it's just the occasional trip to office.

A long trips is long overdue. Maybe by the end of this year

Car is a keeper especially 1.6 TDi. Would be hard to find a suitable replacement for it. Hold on to it till it until it gives major trouble.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

I always prided myself on leveraging this site and the learnings I obtain from the forum at each stage of my Vento ownership. I always prided that I never allowed VW to take benefit of my ignorance - be it sales, servicing or insurance claims.

Today as I was cleaning up old records, I glanced on the B.U. Bhandari receipts of my Vento purchase and realized one glaring fact I completely missed

Good one.