[graaja]

Sorry to hear about this Adi! Though this is an unfortunate incident it is good to hear that you are safe! Hope the issues get resolved soon and you get the car back in perfect shape.

Originally Posted by rutvij

I did ask my service adviser about your car. He was aware of it and told me that there was some issue due to modifications made in steering wheel.

I may be wrong. But this looks like the service guys shifting the blame to the mod to cover up some mistake they did during service!! I doubt if changing the steering wheel would result in an electrical overload. And it is too much of a coincidence that this should happen as soon after the service.

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by graaja

Sorry to hear about this Adi! Though this is an unfortunate incident it is good to hear that you are safe! Hope the issues get resolved soon and you get the car back in perfect shape.



I may be wrong. But this looks like the service guys shifting the blame to the mod to cover up some mistake they did during service!! I doubt if changing the steering wheel would result in an electrical overload. And it is too much of a coincidence that this should happen as soon after the service.

If it was indeed because of steering, what happened in the last 6000 kms that I have driven on it? They're even blaming it on the LED tail light replacement. Now I am seriously pissed.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

If it was indeed because of steering, what happened in the last 6000 kms that I have driven on it? They're even blaming it on the LED tail light replacement. Now I am seriously pissed.

Do you have the photos you took? Can you upload them here?

This is interesting. First steering wheels and then tail lamps. I'm surprised they haven't blamed the 3M wax for the cause of the fire yet.

[Chethan B G]

I think you have upgraded everything with oem replacement parts. It will all be plugged and play. What problem can the have?

[Arjun Reddy]

Sorry to hear about this Adi. It really pains me. Good that you are safe after the short circuit.
This should put Skoda's new found customer service mantra to the test.

[rutvij]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

If it was indeed because of steering, what happened in the last 6000 kms that I have driven on it? They're even blaming it on the LED tail light replacement. Now I am seriously pissed.

When I had gone to pick up my car, on my request my service adviser talked to yours. He told me that they have sent the data to Skoda India and awaiting reply from them for further course of action.

[KaranP]

There's no way that a few Plug n Play fittings can wreak such havoc..
Don't let these guys strongarm you

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by KaranP

There's no way that a few Plug n Play fittings can wreak such havoc..

Don't let these guys strongarm you

I am myself not sure now about how 'original' the steering is. It was dirt cheap, but quality is 'look wise' identical to the original ere are replica GTI steering a making rounds. Hence I am concerned whether to use it after the mech atomic change or not. Also i strongly feel that if it was steering related, something would have happened in the last 6000 odd kms I drove with it. Why just now right after the car was serviced?

[parth.jain]

Hey adi. Sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident, I hurts to read about it!

Did you hear from the service centre guys about what's the status? I hope the mechatronics or any other critical electronics part has not suffered any damage, and just replacing the wiring harness makes your car perfect again!

I am pretty sure something was done carelessly during the service. Most probably during the engine bay washing, some water might have seeped in to some place which caused the short circuit (If they was the engine bay) or if some connection was exposed to water.

I hope your car hits back the road pretty soon!

[iliketurtles]

Terrible to hear about this, but if everything was plug and play with no wires sliced and spliced, how can this be put down to modifications? I hope your steed is back on the road again very soon and that Skoda doesn't try to take you for a ride with bizarre arguments

[VeyronSuperSprt]

From what you have written your A.S.S doesn't appear competent enough to give you an accurate diagnosis of the cause of fire. For that matter very few Skoda A.S.S's are. What this means is that you run the risk of your A S S not isolating the real cause of the mishap and worse, not eliminating it. This also means that the risk of a repeat incident is considerably high.

Accessorising your car by itself is not the issue. It is the quality of workmanship during the fitment such as tampering / accidental shorting etc done by the mechanics that is the real problem. And during service, it is possible that further tampering by the ASS mechanics would have aggravated the issue leading to the mishap. Additionally your car has been fitted with non original "dirt cheap" accessories and the risks associated with that don't need to be gone into here.

Consider yourself lucky that the fire did not reach the petrol tank.

Given the background, and the very high possibility of the real problem not being isolated and removed it would not be advisable to continue to use the car as the mishap could recur.

Under the circumstances I would advise you to repair the damage and sell the car rather than continue to use it.

[Arjun Reddy]

How would selling the car help? You are just transferring the risk to another family.
What should be demanded if the ASS cannot diagnose and rectify, Skoda should send in their technical experts to diagnose and rectify the same.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Skoda should send in their technical experts to diagnose and rectify the same.

If that happens, Skoda will blame the owner for the modifications and may entirely shift responsibility.

Once the responsibility is not on them, they will start charging for every other thing that they feel the need to be replaced, to maintain the integrity of the system.

That can be expensive.

[parth.jain]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Once the responsibility is not on them, they will start charging for every other thing that they feel the need to be replaced, to maintain the integrity of the system.

Skoda used to be really good at this, had experienced it once. Can't comment about how it is done by them.

Theoretically, I think they can void the warranty as they clearly say that any un-authorised accessories will void the warranty. Practically, they should not void the warranty since no wires were spliced and everything was plug and play, and splicing of wires is the reason given by them to void the warranty!

Please make sure they do not take you for a ride and try to know the actual reason behind this unfortunate incident. You can try some other service centre (If one is available to a commutable distance)

[sunny310c]

Hey Adi, really sorry to hear about this incident. Obviously, the engineers at the service center aren't competent enough and are looking for the easiest way out. Although we are quite sure the mods are not the reason for this problem, out of curiosity, what is the explanation the dealership is offering? Why do they think the mods are to be blamed? Another bhpian (abhinav.gupta88) has been using the paddle shifts for sometime now and he hasn't reported such a problem.

As for whether the steering wheel is a genuine Skoda part or not, am trying to figure that out myself. Will let you know if I find something. In the meantime, I am really hoping Skoda handle this in a professional manner that reflects their claims of improving customer satisfaction. Keep us posted on how things go. All the best and I hope things work out to your satisfaction. Will be watching this thread keenly for updates.