[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Bean

Great!

I referred to this
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...r-r-77350.html

I used those plastic trim tools to pry open the casing post removing the single screw.
Please let me know if you need more info.

Thanks for the link. Will try my hand at this during the weekend. Sending my car on Monday/Tuesday to get the paint fixed (not to Volkswagen obviously!).

Attaching a close-up picture of the bumper damage that occurred at the dealer's workshop. As can be seen, it isn't something small that I would have missed. It looks like the person driving my car hit a raised platform/curb and then reversed out causing a few more gashes. That is wonderful Volkswagen service for you right there!

[fordfreak]

31,000 KM update:-

Car has been running well now after a not so happy last few months. Engine is smooth as ever along with normal fuel economy readings. The rear doors and seat have a slight squeak, but I have learnt to live with it.

Got the front bumper repainted after the dealer damaged it when the car was in their custody. Not surprisingly, I didn't get any response or follow-up from their end. Decided not to waste my time & energy on chasing incompetent people. Bumper was repainted at a trusted independent workshop for Rs 4,000. Also got the condensation removed from the front-fog lamps during my visit to the garage. Car looks fresh and shiny finally. :P

A couple of minor niggles that have surfaced, thankfully nothing to drive me mad or make my car spend another month with the dealer.

1). The reversing camera seems to have picked up a niggle. On starting the car, I get a message on the HU screen saying that the rear-view camera is unavailable. But on slotting the gear-shift into Reverse, the camera works normally. I wonder what is causing this.

2). The automatic sun-shade keeps falling off it's guide-slots for some reason. I have fixed it back repeatedly about 4 times now though the problem seems to resurface after a few days. Will have this looked into during the next service.

The 4th Service is due in December, so hopefully my car will only have to visit the dealer then and not any time before.

The Extended Warranty also runs out in December. Wonder how life will be without that! With the number of claims vs the amount I paid for the Ext. Warranty, I can say I have surely made my money back!

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

31,000 KM update:-

Car has been running well now after a not so happy last few months. Engine is smooth as ever along with normal fuel economy readings. The rear doors and seat have a slight squeak, but I have learnt to live with it.

Got the front bumper repainted after the dealer damaged it when the car was in their custody. Not surprisingly, I didn't get any response or follow-up from their end. Decided not to waste my time & energy on chasing incompetent people. Bumper was repainted at a trusted independent workshop for Rs 4,000. Also got the condensation removed from the front-fog lamps during my visit to the garage. Car looks fresh and shiny finally. :P

A couple of minor niggles that have surfaced, thankfully nothing to drive me mad or make my car spend another month with the dealer.

1). The reversing camera seems to have picked up a niggle. On starting the car, I get a message on the HU screen saying that the rear-view camera is unavailable. But on slotting the gear-shift into Reverse, the camera works normally. I wonder what is causing this.

2). The automatic sun-shade keeps falling off it's guide-slots for some reason. I have fixed it back repeatedly about 4 times now though the problem seems to resurface after a few days. Will have this looked into during the next service.

The 4th Service is due in December, so hopefully my car will only have to visit the dealer then and not any time before.

The Extended Warranty also runs out in December. Wonder how life will be without that! With the number of claims vs the amount I paid for the Ext. Warranty, I can say I have surely made my money back!

Hello, Good to read your car is back in shape.
Just an advice, Won't it make sense to let the car go just before or right after the extended warranty is over? Passat is known for issues which can crop up anytime and if it happens after your extended warranty it might be a costly affair. Also the Next passat is set to launch by June 2016, So resale value might go down further once its launched. How long are you planning to keep the car?

One question, Since you have the highline version which came with Self parking, Did you face any issues with that? I am just about to retrofit it in my jetta.

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

Hello, Good to read your car is back in shape.
Just an advice, Won't it make sense to let the car go just before or right after the extended warranty is over? Passat is known for issues which can crop up anytime and if it happens after your extended warranty it might be a costly affair. Also the Next passat is set to launch by June 2016, So resale value might go down further once its launched. How long are you planning to keep the car?

One question, Since you have the highline version which came with Self parking, Did you face any issues with that? I am just about to retrofit it in my jetta.

Hi Tanveer_2558,

I toyed with the idea of selling the car, but can't make up my mind. Normally we keep our cars for 5-6 years, but for the current cars we have held on to them longer since all of them are in great condition and well maintained (Corolla - 11 years, Altis & City - 5 years, Passat - 4 years). Also, the Passat is the newest and has run the least. Moreover, even if I sold my car, I don't know what to replace it with from the same segment. So still scratching my head on this.

The Self-Parking system frankly, is just a cool party trick. It works very well in ideal conditions, but sometimes trips up in the scenarios presented on Indian roads. The system requires the parking slot to be of a minimum size or else it will not detect it. In India, we are used to parking in spots where there are a few millimeters between cars .

The system acted funny on two occasions when I tried to use it, other than that it worked well (I have used it probably 7-8 times tops ever since I got the car). I haven't used it for over a year atleast, since I find it quicker to park by myself. The reverse camera and sensors are very helpful though.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

Hi Tanveer_2558,

I toyed with the idea of selling the car, but can't make up my mind. Normally we keep our cars for 5-6 years, but for the current cars we have held on to them longer since all of them are in great condition and well maintained (Corolla - 11 years, Altis & City - 5 years, Passat - 4 years). Also, the Passat is the newest and has run the least. Moreover, even if I sold my car, I don't know what to replace it with from the same segment. So still scratching my head on this.

The Self-Parking system frankly, is just a cool party trick. It works very well in ideal conditions, but sometimes trips up in the scenarios presented on Indian roads. The system requires the parking slot to be of a minimum size or else it will not detect it. In India, we are used to parking in spots where there are a few millimeters between cars .

The system acted funny on two occasions when I tried to use it, other than that it worked well (I have used it probably 7-8 times tops ever since I got the car). I haven't used it for over a year atleast, since I find it quicker to park by myself. The reverse camera and sensors are very helpful though.

I can understand, I am in the same issue of replacing my jetta with what? We normally keep one car for about 2-3 years max and the other one, Well i get bored quickly so not more than 2 years max, Jetta is already a year old and hence i have already started spending on its modifications to keep myself from, Well not getting bored of it

I asked you about the Self park as i am getting it for a dirt cheap price, And that party trick would be easily worth the amount spent on it. Also AFAIK you can play with the settings of the self park via VCD's, Which will let you change the speed or even the distance required, But yeah Our Indian parking conditions are

I am looking closely for the new passat to launch, Thats seems to be a decent upgrade from the jetta for me, maybe for you as well (Unless its not stripped down from features) Its set to launch in June mostly, Lets see how it goes.

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

I asked you about the Self park as i am getting it for a dirt cheap price, And that party trick would be easily worth the amount spent on it. Also AFAIK you can play with the settings of the self park via VCD's, Which will let you change the speed or even the distance required, But yeah Our Indian parking conditions are

I am looking closely for the new passat to launch, Thats seems to be a decent upgrade from the jetta for me, maybe for you as well (Unless its not stripped down from features) Its set to launch in June mostly, Lets see how it goes.

Your Jetta is still new and under warranty. If you install Self-Park, won't it void the warranty? I am a little anxious fiddling about with the electronics on my Passat, especially since the dealer in Kolkata may not be very supportive.

I will surely test drive the new Passat when it launches. But it has to be exceptionally brilliant to get me to buy another VW in Kolkata. I'm guessing the price of the top-end variant will be close to 37-39L....will it be worth it though? Let's wait and watch.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

Your Jetta is still new and under warranty. If you install Self-Park, won't it void the warranty? I am a little anxious fiddling about with the electronics on my Passat, especially since the dealer in Kolkata may not be very supportive.

I will surely test drive the new Passat when it launches. But it has to be exceptionally brilliant to get me to buy another VW in Kolkata. I'm guessing the price of the top-end variant will be close to 37-39L....will it be worth it though? Let's wait and watch.

Actually it shouldn't, Since its all plug play and OEM, But with Indian service centre you can't expect them to understand all of these, Just FYI, They declined warranty on my spare key which never actually worked! Also my charging point stopped working and they again denied warranty giving me stupid excuses.

And i have tried 2 service center's here and both were the same, Limit was a month back when my car got an Airbag Error, They at first tried to push me for paying for the crash sensor and wiring harness, After blasting at them properly they agreed that it would be covered under warranty! And its been more than a month i am waiting for the part to arrive and i am still driving around with the Airbag error.

I Have mostly decided to sell the jetta once the standard warranty of 2 years is over, By that time ill play around with the car hoping nothing goes wrong.

New passat for the highline version should be above 35 mark easily, But then as you said, Even being in Mumbai, It will be really tough for myself to get another VW, Even skoda actually. Its mostly the service centers which scares me buying a VAG group car again, Lets see how the service centers improve by next year and what all sedans do we get here by then.

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

Actually it shouldn't, Since its all plug play and OEM, But with Indian service centre you can't expect them to understand all of these, Just FYI, They declined warranty on my spare key which never actually worked! Also my charging point stopped working and they again denied warranty giving me stupid excuses.

And i have tried 2 service center's here and both were the same, Limit was a month back when my car got an Airbag Error, They at first tried to push me for paying for the crash sensor and wiring harness, After blasting at them properly they agreed that it would be covered under warranty! And its been more than a month i am waiting for the part to arrive and i am still driving around with the Airbag error.

I Have mostly decided to sell the jetta once the standard warranty of 2 years is over, By that time ill play around with the car hoping nothing goes wrong.

I am not surprised when every visit to the service center is a battle for me. From issues like a dirty car, damage, delays, warranty quarrels, etc. You name it, they've done it!

I had the high-mounted center brake light replaced in April (before the big accident). They had changed it along with the water pump under Extended Warranty. Now when I sent my car back for the engine repair (in July/August), I am told that the old repair actually wasn't covered under warranty and that I will have to pay. What took them so long to tell me!!?? Did they not know it when they told me that it will be covered? Though it was a small amount, I still refused. I felt bad that it went out of the earlier service adviser's pocket, but there is a limit to tolerating nonsense.

I'm not going to haggle over service/part costs, but they should tell me how much I need to pay instead of going back on their words and adding stuff up later!

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

I am not surprised when every visit to the service center is a battle for me. From issues like a dirty car, damage, delays, warranty quarrels, etc. You name it, they've done it!

I had the high-mounted center brake light replaced in April (before the big accident). They had changed it along with the water pump under Extended Warranty. Now when I sent my car back for the engine repair (in July/August), I am told that the old repair actually wasn't covered under warranty and that I will have to pay. What took them so long to tell me!!?? Did they not know it when they told me that it will be covered? Though it was a small amount, I still refused. I felt bad that it went out of the earlier service adviser's pocket, but there is a limit to tolerating nonsense.

I'm not going to haggle over service/part costs, but they should tell me how much I need to pay instead of going back on their words and adding stuff up later!

Wow, Thats a new one Haven't heard something like this from anyone, Good you did not pay up, It isn't about the amount at all i can understand that, Spot on, VW service centers are a battle! Which unfortunately even i am facing past more than a month just to get my Air bag harness replaced.

[fordfreak]

Been a while since I posted an update. Though the car has been used a little less over the last month and a half, there are a few updates to talk about.

Firstly, I managed to back into a steel beam while parking at the mall. It was fixed to the wall at a height where the sensors and camera didn't pick it up, and nor was I able to see it through the rear windshield. Now the boot sports a small dent. Felt pretty stupid after the bump, but decided not to get it fixed for the moment since it isn't very prominent.

Secondly, someone seems to have scraped the front bumper a bit. No clue when or where did this happen. I am guessing this happened while parked on the street. Have managed to clean it up to a large extent, so it doesn't need to be touched up right now.

Lastly, I have gotten rid of my perpetually leaking Pirlelli tyres and replaced them with Yokohama. Got the dB ES501 (225/55/R16 94V). Upgraded the size slightly based on the advice received on the forum (went from 215 to 225).

Pretty happy with the tyre change so far. The Yokos are extremely quiet and comfortable. Grip is also good, but I haven't really tried it out at stupidly high speeds (I don't intend to). Only drawback here is the lower speed rating. The Pirellis were 97W, while the Yokos are 94V. I guess this won't make a difference based on the actual usage conditions. Got the balancing and alignment done as well. The whole affair cost Rs.51,500. Pretty expensive, but hopefully won't be visiting puncture repair shops 3 - 4 times a month now.

ODO stands at 32,115 as of now. Next on the agenda is the fourth service which is due in the middle of December. Will get the door frame rust looked into during this visit. Praying that they don't screw up anything else on my car this time.

On another note, I got a mail from the Volkswagen dealer regarding insurance renewal. The seemed to have mistaken their brand for BMW in one line.

[fordfreak]

Happy 4th Birthday!!

Can't believe that my car is already 4 years old. I still remember how excited I was when I went to pick up my Passat from the showroom on the 23rd of December, 2011.

Time has really flown and I have had a lot of ups and downs over the course of owning my beast. Considering the car has spent a lot of time in the workshop (cumulatively I think around 4 - 5 months), the distance covered has been low (32,900 kms).

One thing I cannot deny, is the ability of the car to put a smile on my face every time I take it out for a drive, (and the ability of the service center to wipe off the smile every time I send the car to them ).

Tried calling up the dealer to fix up the 4th annual service, only to find the number (listed on the VW website) is not valid any longer. I believe they are shifting their Budge-Budge facility closer to their Topsia unit. Called up the service adviser who had worked on my car earlier (He is the only seemingly reliable person I have dealt with so far!), and he will get someone to call me regarding for an appointment.

Bought the Godrej Aer Twist (Petal Crush) smell freshener for the car last month. Love the way the car smells now!

Some of the things I love:-

• Solid build quality
• Low-end grunt
• Fuel economy
• Extremely comfortable front seats
• Understated looks

Some of the things I hate:-

• Poor dealer/service experience
• Having to wait an eternity for spare parts
• Low reliability of some parts
• Slightly firm ride while using the rear seats

Hoping to have a few more years of (hopefully) trouble free time with my Passat before changing to something new.

[fordfreak]

4th Service completed:-

I had asked the service adviser whom I know to have someone call me to fix a service appointment, since I could not get through to any number listed on the Volkswagen website. I got a call back the same evening, but surprisingly they did not have any slot available until the 5th of January, 2016.

Booked an appointment for the 5th at 11:00 a.m. and sent the car at the given time. Main jobs to be done were the 4th annual service and rust-repair. I had requested them to look into the moody reversing camera and the loose sun-blind as well.

The service was carried out as normal without any hitches. The service adviser has asked for 10 days to get back to me regarding the rust problem, as they have sent the pictures to Volkswagen. They checked the reverse camera and found nothing wrong.

Now the (slightly) crazy part. The rear sun-blind had a problem of falling off it's rails frequently. He diagnosed it as a broken clip. He said changing the part would mean changing the entire assembly (Rs.48,000!!!!), as the required part did not come as a child-part. He showed my driver how to fix the sun-blind firmly into place if it ever fell off again. I will see if I can get this done at a more reasonable price.

I was charged Rs.17,612.00 for all the work done. The car spent the entire day at the workshop and was returned around 6 p.m. in the evening in a clean condition. Overall the experience was fine. Nothing to complain about. Real test will be when they take my car back to repair the rust.

I have also been advised to change my rear brake shoes after 3,000 kms more. Is it normal for brakes at the front/rear to wear out faster than the opposite end?

ODO currently stands at 33,200 kms. I haven't been driving her much since I have been travelling a lot lately. Hopefully will get to spend more time in the city in the coming months and enjoy the car more.

(On an unrelated note - Will be booking a City VXMT (Petrol + Manual) soon. Very sad to be letting my old Corolla go. More on all this on another thread.)

[rpunwani]

Dear fordfreak,

At the third service, the brake fluid has to be replaced and at the fourth service the DSG gearbox oil & filter have to be replaced. Trust you have got this done ?

[coloneljasi]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

I have also been advised to change my rear brake shoes after 3,000 kms more. Is it normal for brakes at the front/rear to wear out faster than the opposite end?

Yes, it is indeed normal. This is because the electronic parking brake and auto hold functions actuate the rear brakes. This and the fact that the rear pads are smaller in size contributes to the slightly increased wear.

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by rpunwani

Dear fordfreak,

At the third service, the brake fluid has to be replaced and at the fourth service the DSG gearbox oil & filter have to be replaced. Trust you have got this done ?

Yup. Got all the above mentioned jobs done at the third and fourth services, respectively. Is there anywhere I can read up about what jobs are to be carried out at what intervals (for any car brand/model)?

Originally Posted by coloneljasi

Yes, it is indeed normal.

Thank you for clearing out my doubt