[adi_petrolhead]

After the new gearbox installation, I faced another issue with the Octy. This time, the Engine light was active on the MFD, but no error on the infotainment, no drop in performance, and I believe it has come up for a lot of others here on the forum. I do not know what fix they got.

For my case, I strictly said no to send the car over to the service centre and asked them to bring their diagnostic tools to my place. After almost three days of arguments and frustration filled calls and emails, they finally came with the diagnostic tool and run a test. The test showed two or more errors, one with the Gearshift Lever position, other two with the Transmission Control Module (TCM).

Combined with this, ever since I got the new gearbox, the car did not perform as per the original characteristic. In tiptronic(TT) mode, the car would usually auto-blip on a downshift and rev match, but now with the new box, it was happening only some times. Earlier it used to happen in any gear at any RPM even if I downshift to 1st, it will auto-blip the throttle. But not anymore.

The errors were "Sporadic", and were erased after running the test plan and "Guided Functions" was performed. We went for a trial where I showed the technician what my problem was in TT mode, and he agreed. We then spoke to the factory technical person but he wouldn't understand my concern and said that the transmission is not programmed to maintain engine speed on downshift!


Fine, I figured out a work around during the test drive and was able to activate auto blip but not every single time.

We came back and run diagnosis again, yet again the fault was detected in the TCM, we checked for any loose connections, etc, but could not find any fault.

They wanted the car at the service centre but I bluntly refused. After performing yet another test plan, where in all the gear modes are tested in the vehicle being stationary, no faults found, made another diagnosis, the fault was gone.

I have driven only about 10 kms since, and till now the Engine lamp has not been activated.

Not only is the gearbox unreliable, but also the mechanics and technicians don't know the traits of this gearbox because they have never owned these vehicles, not used any of the vehicles with DSG in their day to day routine.

Graaja, the Wet clutch DSG7 is the one in the Audi Q3 35 TDI and is rated for a higher torque rating of about 500nm.

I test-drove the Audi A3 recently which was a 35 TDI model with DSG6, and frankly, that gearbox may be a bit ore reliable than the DSG7, but has no comparison in performance. The downshift times in D mode in the Audi A3 were very poor. For my car, downshift is instantaneous. I like that. But in the Audi, it was a 1.5 second lag between me depressing the accelerator >50% and the gear downshifting from D6 > D5 or D4.

I could live with this Octy if they give me in writing it is road worthy, which they haven't till now, and give an unlimited unconditional guarantee on the gearbox.

Can other Octy TSI owners pls try out the TT mode if possible and share how was the downshift action? Was is slow and steady like in D mode, or does the throttle Auto blip every single time in every gear?

[sud]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Can other Octy TSI owners pls try out the TT mode if possible and share how was the downshift action? Was is slow and steady like in D mode, or does the throttle Auto blip every single time in every gear?

Whenever I downshift, the rpm shoots up and tries to maintain the speed.

On a different note, I find the engine braking is inadequate and even dethrotling a-pedel doesn't slow down as much as I like. I am not sure if others feel the same.

[itwasntme]

Adi, can confirm that my TSI DSG does blip the throttle on manual Sports mode. Managed to check 5-4-3-2 shifts but could not confirm for 7-6 because I ran out of road.

[Scaryskodamenon]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

You can keep the DSG in D, no need to shift in manual mode and use 1st gear instead of 2nd. Do not use the N mode frequently. Its mentioned in the manual that try keeping the car in the same mode as much as possible, also mentioned is that change as fast as possible from P to D or R to D. Doing it slowly, step by step movement, can harm the gearbox.

Hi Adi I have to thank you for the detailed write ups of all the issues faced during your not so sweet ownership experience of 1.8 TSI. I also observed that gear box hardly shifts to D1 unless the car is close to standstill. I did feel a light jerky action when speed was very low and car was still in D2 during my initial drive right after delivery of the car.Same feeling which you will have in a manual car if wrong gear was selected. Based on several information collected about DSG I decided to manually downshift the car to 1 using paddle shift if the speed was below 10KMPH and to change back to D1 once I was sure the traffic was cleared for acceleration.This I hoped will allow me to prevent slipping of clutch in D2 thereby preventing overheating of the gear box.After this I never got that jerky feeling at low speed.

I follow few other things to ensure longevity of the DSG. I do give the car a minute or two after firing her up for the first time to ensure the fluids are at the right place and at right temperature before riding away. After shifting to D from P I just release the brake and allow clutch to engage and the car to roll before I press accelerator. After the day's ride is done I give the car atleast two to three minutes idling time before putting away for good.

I took the car to vagtunes Kochi to replace cabin LED's , LED's on number plates as well as to change the fog lamps to cool blue. Ran a diagnotic test in vcds and found no error.

I am not very sure how good all above steps are technically but seems to be working fine as of now.

[kdadi]

came across this interesting video from road and track online:

https://youtu.be/W42zsFYjZvM

maybe relevant for skoda dsg owners.

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by kdadi

maybe relevant for skoda dsg owners.

Kind of sums it up for dry clutch dual clutch gearboxes.

Originally Posted by Scaryskodamenon

Based on several information collected about DSG I decided to manually downshift the car to 1 using paddle shift if the speed was below 10KMPH and to change back to D1 once I was sure the traffic was cleared for acceleration.This I hoped will allow me to prevent slipping of clutch in D2 thereby preventing overheating of the gear box.After this I never got that jerky feeling at low speed.

Your handle says a lot about your apprehension with Skoda, then why did you buy one?!
Any way, don't you think going through this mental regime of remembering to shift to D1 manually everytime you're creeping in traffic kinda defeats the purpose of an automatic? You may be comfortable doing it with the help of paddles but I don't know how much it actually helps the gearbox life. The main culprit for mechatronic failures is the sulphur which gets separated from the synthetic oil, due to high temperatures and deposits on the electronics and causes short circuits which leads to erratic behaviour or complete part failure.

Clutch, flywheel etc is a wear and tear part and will need replacement as such in due course due to use/abuse.

That said, it's one of the more notorious boxes, and Skoda is still unclear whether they changed the oil to mineral type or not, to avoid the sulphur issue.

[Scaryskodamenon]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Your handle says a lot about your apprehension with Skoda, then why did you buy one?!

At this price point the choices were limited. Not a fan of Corolla with an uninspiring drive and a Hyundai elantra with an unsettling drive. I didn't have the patience to wait for new civic or Elantra 2017. Safety was a key priority where Octavia trumped others. After selling City AT ,was left without a car for highways. I was never interested in jumping to the bandwagon of these pseudo SUV's. I did consider innova ,but with no offense to innova owners couldn't get over the taxi image.The fact that I owned an innova taxi contributed to the feeling. Being a small family, innova didn't make the sense. Audi A3 was never a choice due to lack of back seat space. Idea is to use octy for four years as I have taken extended warranty and then take a call to exchange.

I got a reliance motor secure premium cover which gives me an option of zero depreciation for five years along with few add on's including engine and gear box protect, not only in case of accident but also in the instance of failure due to gear box oil as well as engine seizure due to leakage of coolant , all for RS.43000 after factoring in my NCB for City really helped me in my decision to buy.

That's basically a trouble free ownership of five years. And believe me ,in KERALA Skoda does have a halo effect.

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Any way, don't you think going through this mental regime of remembering to shift to D1 manually everytime you're creeping in traffic kinda defeats the purpose of an automatic? You may be comfortable doing it with the help of paddles but I don't know how much it actually helps the gearbox life.

As you rightly said with paddle shift the procedure is not that cumbersome. I did have trouble during my initial drive but now it has become a habit.At low speed the fact that the car doesn't change from D2 to D1 will certainly leads to slipping of clutch at D2 to maintain engine RPM to speed. This will lead to overheating of clutch. My idea is to reduce this overheating there by reduce one more factor contributing to the failure of gearbox even at the cost of slight discomfort of manually changing the gear from D2 to D1.

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Skoda is still unclear whether they changed the oil to mineral type or not, to avoid the sulphur issue.

I did have a discussion regarding the same with the service manager at pinnacle Skoda along with other common issues with regard to Octavia before buying. I have to say manager turned out to be well informed guy with a wide range of experience. He confirmed that after gearbox issues Skoda has changed the oil to mineral oil and updated the software. Pinnacle is catering to almost five cities in Kerala for last three years and is yet to report a DSG failure. I do agree I have to believe his words as I don't have a data to cross check.

[adi_petrolhead]

Update:

Have been quite busy with work and driving cycle has reduced a fair bit. Also I had switched to my Vento for about 3 weeks because there was road work going on in the colony.

So two months to go for three year milestone, so many events that I have listed here:
1) fuel pump failure
2) 3 batteries
3) front suspension noise not corrected till date
4) first mechatronic failure (fire)
5) clutch slipping issue (multi clutch replaced)
6) noise during up shift after clutch change, gruff feel while driving, poor fuel economy. Now this problem was the biggest of all. They had absolutely no clue about the solution, however it was evident that it needs a new gearbox. They updated 3-4 different(or same) versions of the DSG software. Then changed the clutch 2 times. Tried all different sizes of shims, Tried to make adjustments in the Mechatronic unit. Note that all this work, needs the gearbox to be removed from the vehicle completely. So they removed and re-installed the gearbox in my car at least 5 times in one month. Opening the gearbox ruins the bolts, pin bearing, damages the flywheel, because until now the flywheel was fine! But they ruined it too, and mind you removing the gearbox means you must remove battery, remove the air intake, remove the starter, remove the passenger side front wheel, suspension, and then you can access the gearbox. Finally after a lot of trouble and haggling with Skoda, they changed the gearbox and the flywheel.

As expected, the car started running like silk. For only about two weeks. Again came a problem of the Engine Malfunction Light(EML) showing up on the dashboard. On investigation, it shows fault in Transmission Control Unit(TCM) and the gear selector lever positioning.

It simply means that now due to constant opening and closing of components inside the engine bay, I can assume that they have left something loose, and didn't bother to check before handing over the car to me. There is a mechanical sticking of the gear shift locking pin which is quite evident, and after that happens, I turn off the car, restart it, and there is the error. Once the error comes, sometimes the performance dips a little bit. Also randomly, the gearbox won't auto-blip in manual mode downshift. The gear would change down but in a lazy manner. I have spoken to Skoda tech head in the factory and he refuses to accept that the gearbox has/had an auto-blip feature. They're yet to fix this issue, because I refuse to give the car to them unless they gave me a replacement loaner Octavia or any other DSG car which is in the same showroom condition as I have kept my Octy. I am a very busy guy, and handle plenty of phone calls over Bluetooth during my 7-8 hours of commute in the whole week. I drive on the highway so I need a mechanically sound car, with good tyre life and brakes, and good headlights. The dealer never understands that. I asked the dealer specifically to give me a new gear shift selector, and a new software update for the gearbox, and my problems will be sorted, but they cannot do anything on my car since the case is too elevated now and now the factory foreman only will open a bolt on my car.

The service history till now includes the brake pads changed at 42K kms after I started feeling vibrations on speeds over 100 km/h. They're holding up good as of now, but I feel about 20% dip in braking performance.



Brake fluid was changed during last service, which was at 57K kms.

Now when I asked the dealer to give me new spark plugs, he refused saying the schedule doesn't mention the change. Even when I insisted, he didn't budge and advised not to get new spark plugs now. I think he didn't want to create a new problem with ill-figment of new plugs and a misfiring engine. However he mentioned that the plugs are scheduled at 90K kms. I shall get it changed when the car goes for the gearbox issue correction.

Tyres are holding up really well. I just love the grip from these Michelin 225/50/16 PS3. Best part is grip in the wet, the more I try to test the limits of the traction control, more the tyre sticks to the road! And that's after 25K kms on them and only one tyre rotation. I usually drive very very sedated way, and that's why I didn't opt for rotation of tyres plus among all the other problems on the car, I was just happy to have my car back after two months so never got the time. Only issue with the tyres, they're a size too big for the rim size. It badly needs 7.0j rims. I am looking for a good upgrade on the rims either 16" Borbet or 17" momo. But with Momo I am thinking that I would actually be down grading on quality from the current original alloys.

I plan to keep this car for at least 125K kms, or 5-6 years whichever comes earlier. It ill be out of warranty in any case in 2017, so it all depends on how the gearbox is holding up, cos I would not get a 2 lakh repair job on the box after a couple of years. The interiors are holding up really well. No rattles, no squeaks, well, there's one ! The seat belt latch. When ever I adjust my seat up or down, the seat belt latch rubs against the leather seat and makes a very disgusting (farting like) sound. I am on the hunt to replace these latches with the ones in Jetta because they're felt lined from the outside to prevent rattles and such 'rubbing' noises.



This is the kind of fuel efficiency it is returning after all this use, I am not happy but the traffic conditions here are not consistent to give a good FE.


This is my usual commute report every week, my actual work place and my weekend home, usually I complete this journey in 2:15 hrs, and the FE then increases to about 14.5-15 km/l. Three years back I would get around 16-17 km/l on the same route, because of less traffic. In the last three years the traffic on the route has quadrupled I think, and hence my low FE due to constant braking, long waits at toll booth, but since our Ex-CM has passed the decision on no tolls for LMV from 15th August onwards, I think I will not only save about 7-8 mins on the journey, but also increase the FE. Trust me if you can find an empty patch of road on an expressway and slot it in Cruise control at about 100 km/h, this car will return 19-20 km/l.
It goes down to about 7-8 km/l in the city and when I use all 180 horses in 7 seconds if you know what I mean. I still am addicted to listening those revs post 3000 rpm all the way to 6500 rpm. That's in fact the only thing that's kept me interested in the car, that engine, oh that engine. Cheers!

[rugsrags]

I just took my car for its 45k service. The amount charged was 14.1k. The service advisor had listed a lot many more incidentals like interior cleaning for 2.2k tyre alignment and balancing etc. I removed most of it but let them do the Injector head cleaning for 1250/- as the acceleration was feeling a little sluggish of late even though post service it should have improved in any case.
There air filter wasn't replaced as it wasn't in stock and the front brake pads needed a change too but weren't in stock. There is a story behind the air filter though. The service centre has recently shifted shop to a different city and earlier it was really close to my workplace. To see the new setup i decided to take the car myself for the service and since it was a different city i had no option but to stay back while the service was done whereas earlier i used to leave the car for service and head to work since it was just 5 minutes away. While waiting and getting bored otherwise i decided to stick around the floor most of the time and inconspicuously since the management has an objection to customers being on the floor. I saw the mechanic remove the air filter take it outside clean it using compressed air and fit it back. I made no comment as i understood it won't be in stock and in any case didn't want to draw attention to myself in order to see the entire service through. Now comes the beauty. When the bill was being made i saw the charge for air filter in it and questioned my service advisor about it by casually asking him that is he sure it's been replaced since i believe it isn't in stock. He replies sir we managed to arrange it and it's been changed and very confidently tells me he'll call the workshop manager and get it confirmed. The workshop floor manager comes looks at me and realises i'v been around most of the time and sheepishly tells the advisor that no we didn't change it. It was a good charade that was enacted and i'm sure they get away with most of the customers this way since i noticed that most of the vehicles were there either with drivers or picked up by them. I let it be and only berated the service advisor for trying this cheap trick with me but with no other workshop around i'm pretty much at their mercy in the future too since skoda as a company is never very customer centric anyway either.
I'm sure happy that otherwise my car is pretty much niggle free (touchwood) since i'd hate to be in adi's shoes since i can well imagine the kind of fleecing i'd get from the workshop i go to.

[rutvij]

Originally Posted by rugsrags

He replies sir we managed to arrange it and it's been changed and very confidently tells me he'll call the workshop manager and get it confirmed. The workshop floor manager comes looks at me and realises i'v been around most of the time and sheepishly tells the advisor that no we didn't change it.

Most of the dealers are transparent with regard to this and will return you the replaced part. If they do not then it is always a good practice to ask for the old part.

[rugsrags]

Originally Posted by rutvij

Most of the dealers are transparent with regard to this and will return you the replaced part. If they do not then it is always a good practice to ask for the old part.

Well of course i always insist on the old part but since i was personally monitoring everything in any case I intervened and sorted the issue right there and then.

Hi guys... i have a curious issue with my octavia and have listed it here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post4092957
If any help advice can be given will be highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[adi_petrolhead]

5th Service @ 69000 kms:

Although my fight with Skoda India and the dealer goes on, I am forced to drive the vehicle as i have no alternate other than that.

Due to the excessive testing and extended time during which my car was at the dealer, they drove it for around 1000-1500 kms, and hence the service came early for me. Usually I get the service at every 12k to 13.5k kms standard, but this time its the full 15k interval as per the MID.

Routine service included Engine Oil change, Oil Filter, Air Filter, Brake Fluid(already done during previous visits).

Apart from that, the coolant in my car had turned from a pink to a rather rusty and strange orange. Hence got it replaced.

While cranking up the car I feel slight jerk, and wanted to inspect the spark plugs. There was a lot of deposition on them but I wanted to replace it rather than clean. They did not have any in stock and with the excuse that no one has ever come for spark plug change in a TSI Octavia A7 till now. It is ordered, but there is some ambiguity with respect to pricing of the same. They quoted me Rs. 1790/- per unit, where as the service cost calculator at the Skoda website shows a price of Rs. 810/- per unit.

Other than that the service inclusive of parts, coolant and labour cost Rs. 11,500/- which I find reasonable.

Some minor body work is needed which shall be attended to in December, and Skoda is replacing the steering in my car because they damaged the leather during their 'tests', but as a 'goodwill' measure.

[adi_petrolhead]

In addition to the service, last week, since the spark plugs were out of stock, the same arrived at the dealership and I got them replaced yesterday.

The MRP was Rs. 1665/- per unit, plus taxes. Its really confusing because nobody knows why the service cost calculator on Skoda's website shows the price at Rs. 810/- per unit. The dealer did explain me that the Bosch make plugs are more expensive than other brands, I do believe him but he will be getting back to me with a proper answer from Skoda because what they print on their site is supposed to be the final word.

On inspection I found that the plugs were still good. The scheduled change as per the dealer was at 90K kms, where as the service cost calculator suggests it at every 30K kms.

I was feeling slight jerks at idle and I just wanted new plugs after 70K kms, so I went for it. I Don't feel a remarkable difference in the performance, though I shall give it a 500-1000km breathing period to fully comment on the performance. Attaching a picture of the old plug, and the new plug's packing. You can also note the part number mentioned on the box for future references.





As always with respect to the service of the vehicle, I am satisfied with the job the dealer does. Its only when the warranty comes in play, the factory sits on their heads and doesn't give them that much freedom to perform quick actions.

Request mods to move this thread to the Long Term Ownership review section.

[hitsun23]

Hi Adi,first of all would like to congratulate you on a wonderful Ownership Thread ,was following your Thread since long time.
I am considering Octavia Tsi Style Plus,since my previous car i.e(Fluidic Verna) met with an unfortunate accident.
I was waiting for Facelifted Octavia for few months but as of now there are no-signs of it launching in india, so would like to know your opinion whether i should wait for facelift or consider buying the current version on sale.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

So two months to go for three year milestone, so many events that I have listed here:
1) fuel pump failure
2) 3 batteries
3) front suspension noise not corrected till date
4) first mechatronic failure (fire)
5) clutch slipping issue (multi clutch replaced)
6) noise during up shift after clutch change, gruff feel while driving, poor fuel economy.

I plan to keep this car for at least 125K kms, or 5-6 years whichever comes earlier.

Well I guess patience and persistence are virtues that grow when you own a Skoda, good to have in all other areas of life but in terms of car ownership I'm not too sure. Your car seems to be, even for a Skoda, bordering on the lines of a lemon with so many failures as above.

You have about 2-3 years more to fulfill the sell-off plan, hopefully the car is done with its tantrums and can give a satisfactory performance to complete its k(c)armic cycle and move on to other owners.