[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by shobhit.shri

It's two years since your last update. I hope you have already crossed 50000 KMs mark. How is the car doing now?


I need to buy a new car, and Vento TSI is one of the top contenders.

I guess with VW, no news is good news . Car is doing pretty good. Usage has been less in the last 6-7 months. So has not hit the 50k mark yet. Currently at 47+k.

Just finished the 5th service. Still drives beautifully and has aged pretty well. No niggles or rattles and feels just as solid as day 1. The longest I have kept a car is 4 years and this is now 5 and happy to state that there is no itch for an upgrade. Potential DSG worries still exist, but that has been the case from day one.

Have planned for a more detailed update later this month as it completes 5 years.

[aadya]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I guess with VW, no news is good news

The entire Team BHP keeps the fingers crossed when it comes to the German Aam Aadmi group cars. We all wish you well and keep touching the wood.

[Rajeevraj]

Been a long time since I updated this thread in detail. As mentioned in the previous post, with VW, no news is always good news. But with the 5-year milestone up and considering some spruce up I did for the car, thought it was a good time to provide an update.

The last update was at 30K Km and that is captured in detail in this post. This post also summarizes the ownerships milestones so far and links back to the previous key updates. In case you have not read the thread and don’t have the patience to do that, just work your way back through the links to get a quick summary.

Car is exactly 5 years old today and ODO is at ~47,000Km. As mentioned earlier, my day to day running is minimal as I don’t take the car to office regularly. The Km’s are from weekend runs and long drives. Some key thoughts that come up in my mind at this time.

• I have never kept a car for 5 years in my car ownership history. This is the first one and thankfully currently there is no upgrade itch.
• Whatever said and done about VW and their poor performance in India, they do know to build solid cars. 5 years done, and the car feels exactly as it did on day 1. No rattles or squeaks and nothing looks faded and/or worn. One reason why I have not felt tired of the car.
• The car has gone through a 100 upgrades and facelifts and special editions (ok, not 100, but you get the point), fortunately for me, the heart of the car- the TSI+DSG combo has not changed and is the same today as it was 5 years ago. So, no heart burn on that aspect.
• Enough has been said about the TSI+DSG combo, but even after 5 years, no drop in the joy I feel when I take it out. The DSG worry is there and will continue to exist-but the 6/7-year add-on warranty really will help give that additional peace of mind (Details below).
• Service experiences have been mostly ok, and apart from the 5th year service, bills have been in the 9-12k range with no major out of cycle repairs so far.
• The last service was an expensive one. I had scratched the front bumper a couple of times and wanted to fix it. Decided against a tinkering from a 3rd party and went ahead and replaced. In addition, the lock carrier was cracked, and the discs and pads also needed to be replaced. Because of these things, it ended up a tidy sum of ~35k
• While the DSG has been generally trouble free, there had always been the issue of D3-D2 jerks. Sometime earlier this year, there was a software update done and since then. have noticed a great reduction in these jerks.
• Two recurring issues faced which I generally did not expect.
  • Disc and Pad wear and tear. Had to replace the discs at ~25k, then again faced shuddering issue at 38k and did a skimming, and now in the most recent service replaced it again. Seems to be a common problem with VW cars as this thread indicates.
  • Lock Carrier- Had never heard of this thing till I got a VW. It has cracked 2 times in the last 5 years, seems to be vulnerable to hits.

The Add-On Warranty
In September VW revised its warranty packages from the 2+2 to a 2+3 option and more importantly started offering a 6th and 7th year add on warranty. Details in this thread. For this year car had been out of warranty, but as soon as I saw this, had made up my mind to take it for the 6th year. It is expensive at 22367 for one year, but considering it is a DSG car and with it reaching the 50k range, did not think much. Details in this post.

The 5-year itch
While there was no desire to change the car, there was an itch to freshen up the car. Had initially thought of doing a remap, but with the news of the add on warranty, parked that idea. Instead did the following:

• My maintenance of the car has been above average at best, hence decided to treat it with a detailing package. Opted for the Opticoat ceramic coating and also an interior deep cleaning. This was done by a friend who is getting into this business full time.
  
• The other long pending item was a bulb upgrade. My friend suggested the Osram Nightbreaker Laser and opted for that. Definitely a significant difference from stock. Also upgraded the fog lamps to HB4 Osram Nightbreaker.

So, with a full-fledged detailing package and these minor upgrades, felt like a whole new car again. Some pics to close out the update

My brain Freeze which messed up the front bumper. Did it twice without any external factors involved.

Swirls everywhere

Demo of the Stock Vs the Osram Laser-Low beam and High Beam.

Serviced, detailed and ready to enter the 6th year.

[Rajeevraj]

Faced a strange issue of no air coming out of the center AC vents. The stream from center vents has been weak for some time, but did not really notice it as the months of Jan and Feb were pretty cool in Bangalore and AC was always set at a higher temperature. But noticed the difference starting March and finally the center vents stopped streaming air completely. Reading up a bit on the forum, realized that it seemed to be a common problem and the root cause was the Flap motor going for a toss.

Sent the car to the service center and at that time realized that the work involved was quite high as the dash had to be removed. I had a long trip to Kerala due and could not drive down with a defective AC in the month of May. So gave the go ahead for the replacement. Was not totally comfortable getting such a labor intensive work done close to a long drive, but had no choice. Thankfully was done smoothly.

I was under the 6th year add-on warranty, and this should have been covered under it. Unfortunately since the add on warranty is again provided by a 3rd party, dealer said that there will be a 2-3 day turn around time to get the approval post conveying details of the defective part. Again, was not sure how true this was, but went ahead under my own cost.

Overall, my planned on this was messed up, but the issue is resolved now and the AC working better than ever now.

Some pics.

[Rajeevraj]

So finally after 5 years and 5 months, I finally hit 50,000Km. Although it was a pretty slow progression, thought it was not too bad considering I don't use the car for daily commutes.

While it has been pretty much a fuss free ownership over the last 50K Km, a little concerned with issues that begun to crop up. The AC issue in the previous post was the first real issue I faced (apart from the disc/pad premature wear and tear) (Edit: By the way, this fix worked well and the AC is as chilling as it has even been. On hindsight it was a good decision to get this done before the drive to hot and humid Kerala). This was followed by an even stranger issue couple of days back. I was at my home town in Kerala and was starting back to Bangalore. Picked up some stuff from my sisters house, put it in the boot and then headed to my in laws place to pick up rest of our luggage. When I got there and tried to open the boot to take out some stuff, it refused to open. Did not work with the boot release, the key fob button or the physical key. Just got a weird noise of the motor attempting to open the boot. Shown in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A9Z...ature=youtu.be

We knew someone who knew an SA at VW Calicut, called him and he asked to come down. Went there and he promptly attended to it, they first tried with their system which did not work as there did not seem to be an issue with the electricals. It seemed the release latch was stuck. One of the technicians managed to open it-How exactly I was unable to see as I was politely told I cannot be there on the service floor. . They said the latch had got misaligned and made an attempt to lubricate it and fix it. They were not sure about it, so asked them to go ahead and replace. VW expensive spares have started to bite. This lock replacement cost ~3500. But they got it done quickly and I was on my way in an hour. Good service and response.

Again, this was something that potentially may have got covered in the Add On warranty, but could not wait for that approval process. Was thankful that this happened at home and 20 min from a VW Service Center.

Hope such issues do not continue and the fuss free ownership continues. Few pics taken a couple of weeks back. Since I got the ceramic coating done 6 months back from Krithi Car Care, have tried to be careful with the washing and do it only when needed. Below pictures after a good wash from Feynlabs

[Rajeevraj]

So my 6th year woes continue. A week back when going over one of Bangalore's infamous humps, I felt a hit as I went over it a bit hard. A quick check did not reveal anything alarming, so left it. 2-3 days later when I took the car, immediately noticed some resistance at the wheel when turning the steering. A close look revealed that the inner bumper had cracked and a small piece was hanging and brushing the wheel.

Still thought it was just the inner bumper lining cracked and decided to take it to the service center over the weekend. Set out on Saturday, had to visit a mall and thought to do that first (bad decision) before heading to service center. Reached the mall parking and checked it out and noticed half of the bumper liner was starting to fall, looked deep under and noticed the the VW famous lock carrier had also cracked. I fiddled with it and the whole thing came down.

So ended up being stuck at the 4th floor parking of a Mall with the lock carrier and inner bumper lining half lying on the floor. First thought was to completely remove it and slowly drive it to the service center which was around 20 min away. But considering the condition of the roads, did not want to risk that.

Finally for the first time in my ownership experience, reached out to VW Roadside Assistance. I did not have much hope that it would work. Started off badly when I was told that I was 'In queue at number 1' for about 15 min. But once I got through, things moved well. The support guy got my location and said he would forward details of Towing partners in the vicinity. As promised got an SMS with 4-5 numbers. Called one of them and he took my location and said a tow truck would reach in half hour.

As promised the tow truck turned up in around 45 min. The fact that I was in the city definitely helped. While I was waiting for the tow truck, was faced with a bigger issue, how to bring the car out of the MLCP. There was no way the tow truck would be able to get in and out of the MLCP.

Took a small risk, tied up the broken half of the lock carrier in place with a rope and slowly brought the car out of the MLCP. Thankfully did not cause any further damage.

The tow truck managed to take it safely to the service center. Although the tow truck itself was a ramshackle vehicle, the driver was pretty skilled and navigated through peak evening traffic on ITPL road pretty efficiently. We also got caught in a huge jam and by the time reached the center, it was close to 7PM.

Service guys had left for the day, one guy at the showroom was helpful and guided me to park, fill out a slip and hand over keys to the security. I was told I would be contacted the next day(It was a Sunday, but apparently now they run a skeleton shift on Sundays).

The next day after a couple of follow ups, the SA called me, got the vehicle checked in. I landed up at the service center to speed things along and due to my presence, initial next day delivery became 6PM and then when I said I can wait, became 3PM.

The inner bumper lining, Lock Carrier were replaced. Had been toying with the idea of the Sump guard, went ahead and put that also. Service guys worked efficiently and I was out as promised by 3.30PM. Total damage to the wallet was a significant Rs 11500

Couple of picture below. Could not take many.

Broken pieces removed. Can see the places where it cracked



New parts along with the sump guard fixed.

Overall yet another unexpected situation close on the heels of the last issue. But as always, I try to see the positive in all this. It happened within the city, close to a service center, prompt response from VW Road Side Assistance as well as the towing team. Good response from the service center also. In addition, considering the damage, was lucky the hit did not impact any critical part. So will rejoice in the small mercies of an adverse situation.

[contact.nitin7]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

So my 6th-year woes continue.
Overall yet another unexpected situation closes on the heels of the last issue. But as always, I try to see the positive in all this. It happened within the city, close to a service center, prompt response from VW Road Side Assistance as well as the towing team. Good response from the service centre also. In addition, considering the damage, was lucky the hit did not impact any critical part. So will rejoice in the small mercies of an adverse situation.

Sir your last post was over a year. How is the car driving now?

Really loved the - OptiCoat how much did it cost, and how is it looking now?

This would be the 7th year, Congrats

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by contact.nitin7

Sir your last post was over a year. How is the car driving now?

Really loved the - OptiCoat how much did it cost, and how is it looking now?

This would be the 7th year, Congrats

Missed to respond to this earlier. Car is doing great, getting to 7 years now and hence will run out of all warranties.

Since the issues in the post above, have thankfully not have had any major issues. Did not do any long drives at the start of the year and then of course Covid kicked and running has reduced to almost nothing in the last 6 months.

Opticoat was done by Krithi Car Care which is a recent venture by a friend and Bhpian. Almost 2 years now and still looks great.

Overall very happy with the Vento TSI. This is the longest I have held a car and intend to keep it for long. With the TSI +DSG combo going out of the market, all the more reason to retain it. Of course, DSG issues will always be a concern, but that is something known from Day 1.

[mbz180]

Hi Rajeev,

I just read through your entire thread for over 2 hours & was glued to it! I'm happy that your ownership & service experience has more or less been trouble free & importantly, the car still feels great Incidentally, in around 12 hours time, I'll be going to take delivery of a pre-worshipped September 2018 manufactured Vento 1.5 TDI (MT) with 13,500 kms on the odo, hence my sudden interest in VW Vento threads!

Seeing posts of several bhpians on your thread complaining about brake judder under hard braking especially from high speeds & the issue persisting inspite of disc/pad changes, could it be that what is being experienced is the ABS kicking in?

ABS is a combination of threshold & cadence braking. Simply put, sensors detect when a wheel is rotating slower than the speed of the car (due to the wheel getting locked under hard braking). Valves reduce hydraulic pressure on the affected wheel momentarily to unlock the wheel & again brake & release repeatedly ensuring that the wheels don't lock. It's like rapid brake-release-brake-release & all modulated. When ABS kicks in, very often, you will feel the brake pedal "pulsate". That's when you know the ABS is in action.

I have an ex-rally driver friend & on a routine drive in a non ABS car, during an incident of emergency braking, I noticed that instead of jamming on the brakes, he instinctively rapidly pressed & released the brake pedal repeatedly without locking the wheels till the car came to a stop. That was the first time I saw a human ABS in action

Regards,

Prithvi

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by mbz180

Seeing posts of several bhpians on your thread complaining about brake judder under hard braking especially from high speeds & the issue persisting inspite of disc/pad changes, could it be that what is being experienced is the ABS kicking in?

Prithvi

Definitely not ABS kicking in. ABS feel is very different. This brake judder happens on gradual braking from high speeds and not just on sudden harsh braking.

Wish you many many happy miles of ownership .

[mbz180]

I brought her home for the first time today! A couple of pics of my new ride.

[Rajeevraj]

7 year Update

Finally hit the 7 year mark on my Vento TSI. Thanks to VW launching their extended and add on warranties, was able to cover the car under warranty for the full 7 years. While that was great peace of mind, fortunately or unfortunately, did not have the need to use the warranty in any way. So VW and its reinsurers have made a bunch of money on my behalf.

On the car itself, nothing much to say. ODO just ticked over 59000km. Running has been almost non existent this year due to Covid. From Jan to November it had run only ~500km in total, since then with a couple of long drives and daily usage in my home town, usage has picked up.

As it is well known, the car is superbly put together and in 7 years has not shown any major signs of aging. Especially the beige interiors have held together really well. A detailing job once every couple of years have kept the black exteriors reasonably ok. Some pictures at the end of this post.

Fortunately even after 7 years, the TSI/DSG combination has never ceased to impress. Every drive is still enjoyable and coupled with the comfortable interiors, have helped keep the thoughts of upgrade away from my mind.

I do want to do some mods now, been thinking about it from year 4, but every time I was able to extend the warranty and that pushed me back from doing anything. Now that fear is gone and since I intent to hold on to the car for the near future, actively thinking again. Several wonderful threads here on TSI mods for reference.

Some latest pictures below: