[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Hi Vij,

I just checked this on my 6 month old Laura (done around 3200 kms) and it does throb a little (exactly like you mentioned!) when in first gear, and if I press the clutch slightly. Surprisingly I had never noticed this earlier as I never keep my foot on the clutch. When there is no gear engaged, this throbbing is not there.
Seems like normal behaviour - Will also try it once on my Yeti too tomorrow.

Regards,
Behemoth

Perfectly normal. The gear is trying to engage and the half clutch is preventing it from doing so fully.
I hate riding the clutch and usually shove the gear into neutral position when I am in thick traffic and/ or at a traffic light and at a stand still.
Dont worry too much Vij. I dont think any owner can have really harmed that vehicle in the 4 months or so of usage. It would be nice to get a line of sight on who the owner is though, so you may want to check with the RTO or to your local dealerships as to whom it was originally registered to.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by vij

Hey thanks. This is a 4 month used car I am planning to buy, so I am sceptical. On your Yeti, did you feel some knocking effect from the clutch when you have it half pressed - like a tok tok tok (interspaced by half a second or so) from below - not audible ofcourse but something you can feel -

Have driven the humble Logan Diesel and I am well versed with Diesel Vibration, I cant understand the knocking. I am so close to giving him 16 big ones.

Checked it today on my Yeti too and it is also the same. Nothing abnormal here and seems perfectly okay. Surprisingly even after driving my Yeti for 2 years I had not felt this as I don't keep my foot on the clutch and move it there only when pressing it.

[vij]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Checked it today on my Yeti too and it is also the same. Nothing abnormal here and seems perfectly okay. Surprisingly even after driving my Yeti for 2 years I had not felt this as I don't keep my foot on the clutch and move it there only when pressing it.

I also read that the Golf has this same behavior. Why cant they fix this
Anyways, taking another test drive to see if the vibration/pulsation crops up while doing bumper to bumper(very important in urban traffic) - How can one be comfortable not keeping the foot on the clutch in such scenarios. Will report back.

[vij]

Took a test drive of that 4x4 elegance (4 month old one). Drove it for an hour - through empty roads and through start stop traffic. Loved almost everything about the car - I paid very close attention to the clutch. This is what I found

1. The clutch does throb/pulse when one rests the foot on it. Bad driving habits and I can avoid that.
2. The clutch is smooth when pressed, but towards the end of the release when it is closer to the top, I can feel the throb - so basically I can feel the throb after every gear shift when the clutch is close to the top release (if that makes sense).

The 2nd point is a concern. I am the kind who does not remove footwear(wore 2 inch sole sandals) - I guess those who drive barefoot could feel it more. The car is so so good in every respect, but god I almost cried (not really, but I hated not finalizing the deal) when I told him I have to 'think more before I decide'. I loved the car so much that I didnt want to close myself to this option. I wanted to get over this clutch thing - I tried - I stretched the test drive for longg - but alas the seed of doubt was planted

Its not really a big problem to drive but I would rather not have that throb after every gear shift. I mean I didnt find this to be a problem with the skoda new 4x4 test drive car I drove months back - I dont think it mattered when I drove another 4x2 used car couple of months back(gave advance for that and the dealer still sold it to someone else) - so why here - was I not paying attention then - perhaps the problem is accentuated here or what, so much that I cant miss that even if I try. God help me!

[iTNerd]

@vij, if you have any hesitation, do not go for it. Instead pay a bit more and get a fresh piece. after all, if you can't get satisfaction after spending 90% of the amount on a used one, better extend the 10% to get peace of mind

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

. Surprisingly even after driving my Yeti for 2 years I had not felt this as I don't keep my foot on the clutch and move it there only when pressing it.

My Yeti front right side brake caliper was making a horrid noise when driving on uneven surfaces. On the main highways and good roads there was no noise at all.. We thought it was the caliper bolts that had gotten worn out.

I went to Vinayak Service in KR Puram this morning and got it checked. Turned out to be that the bake caliper clip had fallen off somewhere and hence this metallic noise.
They replaced it and it is perfect as before!

While there I also had the vehicle fluids checked. Turned out that the vehicle has drunk about 700 ml of engine oil over this last 11200 odd kms. They topped it up since Im off on a long trip day after tomorrow.
I paid a bill of Rs 1915/- for the clip, oil and labour and all taxes. Not too bad really since I was thinking it was a bigger problem than it was in the end!

Once I return I may have done about 12500 kms and intend to give the vehicle in for its first ever service where all the ils etc will be changed and the vehicle thoroughly checked up. Am happy overall with they way they are looking after me so far.

[Sunilrj]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

My Yeti front right side brake caliper was making a horrid noise when driving on uneven surfaces. On the main highways and good roads there was no noise at all.. We thought it was the caliper bolts that had gotten worn out.

I paid a bill of Rs 1915/- for the clip, oil and labour and all taxes. Not too bad really since I was thinking it was a bigger problem than it was in the end!

Shankar, The pitstop guy hadnt identified this clip having fallen off ? i had given a pointer towards the calipers, but guess he didnt check properly. This goes on to prove that remote assistance can only help you identify where the problem lies and not pinpoint the problem

1915/- doesnt seem to make the Yeti expensive to Maintain, although TAFE topped up my coolant and about 200 ML oil Free of cost, and have given me a reminder call yesterday for the 7500 KMs free Checkup which should happen at 7500 Kms/ 6 Months whichever is earlier. This call was like a very very early wake up call, something like you set an alarm for 6 am and it goes off at 2am!

[fi.robin]

Guys, since we are discussing the clutch and gear sounds, I would like to ask something.

Have done some 4000 kms in last 10 days. I hear some noise while gear changes and it is from the stick. I want to know if it is there in other yetis too.

The noise seems like the handle rubs against the edge around the mouth of the gears, esp 5th and 6th as they are not straight like 3rd and 4th and requires more effort. Sometimes there is no noise if the slotting is perfect. It is a mild noise

How to generate the noise - slot in 5th (no need to start the engine). Try to bring it to neutral (or 6th) by applying force towards the driver door as well (along with force in the rear direction)

[shankar.balan]

Back from Ooty today. Had filled up Diesel on Wednesday evening in Bangalore. Left on Thursday.
Returned an hour back.
Perfect performance. Very enjoyable indeed.
Total Kms done were in excess of 650 including internal Ooty running about.
I have not refilled Diesel yet and as per the tank gauge, appear to have about 1/3rd tankful left! I did not really mollycoddle the vehicle on this trip, but used the accelerator well without really "caning" the car though.
Let me fill up tomorrow and see how much mileage I got on this trip.

[samyboy]

Wow! Waiting for the number for FE Shankar.

I even after 3 month of driving Yeti find myself at all times in lower gear than I should be. Some how I have to get over the fear of stalling. I had a small petrol hatch before. Prior car used to give me engine noise feedback begging me to shift. I am yet to tune my ear to the language Yeti speaks.

I am really compromising on fuel efficiency this vehicle can give me. I need to work on this.

Any pointers are more than welcomed.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by samyboy

Wow! Waiting for the number for FE Shankar.

I even after 3 month of driving Yeti find myself at all times in lower gear than I should be.
Any pointers are more than welcomed.

Keep watching your rev counter and your gear change recommendation indicator and follow its recommendation.
Believe me you will see some astonishing results on FE.
I like taking the revs a bit higher than normal before changing up a gear. Thats because I love the performance of the engine and that nice "140BHP Skoda Growl". But so far it does not appear to have affected my FE overall.

Having said that, I did about 600 odd kms last weekend on a trip to Coorg - Including a couple of days normal city driving in ghastly thick traffic, I got about 14.6 kmpl. But the fact is that the roads within Coorg were really horrendous and hence I was mostly doing low gear work there.

[shankar.balan]

Ok so the numbers are in now. We travelled a total of 703 kms in this trip including two days of blundering about in Bangalore rubbish traffic.

I went and filled up Diesel today and found it took in 44 litres and became full.

FE looks like 16kmpl. I think this is ok on account of hill driving, city driving and trafficky situations plus like I said I was taking the revs up quite a bit before changing up in general.

[shankar.balan]

Tomorrow my littlebigfoot is booked for its first annual spa and salon treatment. The Vinayak driver is landing up at 9 to pick it up for its first service! 12050kms and here we go!
More later post service job!

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Tomorrow my littlebigfoot is booked for its first annual spa and salon treatment. The Vinayak driver is landing up at 9 to pick it up for its first service! 12050kms and here we go!
More later post service job!

I admire your guts to let the vinayak driver drive it off to the service center unless you know them personally.

I made the mistake of letting the service guy pick up my car for service as I was out of the country when the fabia was due for its first service. It returned with a scrape on the rear bumper that the guys merely covered up with a paintbrush in candy white.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The Vinayak driver is landing up at 9 to pick it up for its first service!

I would be wary of that! Like it says in your signature 'god helps those who help themselves...', I would rather advise you to give your beloved those precious few hours of your life and stand on their heads when they service your Yeti. It would go a long way in keeping your service experience happy.