[Rajeevraj]

On November 30th, the car quietly entered its 10th year. No major updates to share post the mid-life refresh. Just wanted to document the event here. Odo is at 74k now. Glad that I did the upgrades and refresh- Pretty happy with the car and the thought of upgrading is not popping up for the time being.

[Rajeevraj]

End of November, my Vento 1.2 TSI DSG completed 10 years. Thought it would be a good time to post an update and also look back at the journey with the Vento over the last 10 years. This is the longest I have held a car and it is the longest by a huge margin. The good thing is that I still enjoy the car tremendously and hence hope to retain it for quite some time more. First question on everyone's mind maybe: How is the notorious DQ200 DSG? Yes, it is still on the original gearbox. Fingers crossed for this to continue.

Intent here is to do a recap of these 10 years, but at the same time keep it short enough to not bore the readers too much.

Where it all began

It was mid 2013. I had changed 3 cars in 6 years. Was driving an pre-owned SX4 and at some point decided I wanted an automatic car. That whole story is documented in this post.

Short version:

• Booked the hot hatch in town- the Polo GT TSI.
• Most people were horrified. Downgrading from a large sedan to a cramped hatch?
• I was not convinced myself-But I was blown away by the TSI DSG
• Volkswagen comes to my rescue. Launches the Vento TSI in Oct 2013 for INR 9.99L
• Was outside my budget, but decided to stretch. 2 dealers and 3 color changes later, the Vento TSI came home on November 30th 2013.
• There is not a day where I don't congratulate myself for stretching and taking the call to go for the Vento. That rear seat and boot space have been invaluable.

Snap from the PDI

Delivered and ready to roll




2014-The First Year- Peaceful and exciting, the Honeymoon period

• Replaced the HU with Blaupunkt Philadelphia 835 on Day 1. Little unlike of me to do something like that on a new car. In retrospect was a great decision. Worked perfectly for the 9 years I had it without any glitches.
• 11,000 km done in the first year and the first service costed ~INR 11000.
• A year of automatic bliss with the TSI DSG. The TSI DSG was not mainstream as it is now, so it was hard to explain to people how good it was. The Vento 1.2 TSI was a niche product. Although the Polo GT TSI was also niche, it was more popular.
• Some ridicule on moving to an Automatic. 'Can you not drive a manual?' was a common question. I just smiled and said- 'Wait and watch over the next few years'
• Looking back, I seemed to have been a little obsessed on mileage. Not sure why.
• Wanted to do a remap after 1st year, but was worried about warranty, DSG etc.. so that was postponed.
• Realized the full benefit of Hill Hold- Again, not a common feature in 2014. Already missed cruise control.
• The detailed year 1 update here.

The lovely reverse sensor indication with the distance in cm. Those were the days where the vehicle hardware from VAG pretty much had support for all these things.

2015- The 2nd year-23,000km

• More running than in the first year. Odo reached 23000km. Detailed Year 2 update here
• 2nd Service cost was ~INR 9000. VW service as always in the 'Not too great, not too bad' state.
• Couple of bothersome issues that would repeat. The Lock carrier cracked sometime during the year. Was replaced in 2nd service. Discs juddering when braking from high speeds. Again an issue that would repeat.
• The 3-->2 DSG mild jerks remain bothersome. Service Center has no solution. Everyone faces this, so did not worry much about it.
• Begin to appreciate the build and interior quality. 2 years and the interiors remain as is.
• First detailing job done from 3M Car Care at 18 months. It is a black car. Needed more love than usual to maintain. Detailed update here
• Everyone with TSI's were modifying left right and center. I remain scared due to potential DSG troubles and related warranty issues. Decided to do it after warranty is over. Again, VW had other plans in store.
• Broke the myth that S mode dropped milage. Highway runs became exclusively in S mode.

On one of our trips- Mettupalayam-Kotagiri route.


Ready for an event. Became the ride for the bride and groom for a wedding in the family



Post the Detailing at 3M.

2016 and 2017-A Quiet Period and a realization that this car is here to stay

• First non standard expense. Finally had to replace the discs. Skimming may have done the trick, but replaced it
• A visit to 3M in June 2016 for a wash turned into another detailing with a paint sealant package. I don't recall why I fell for it. But hey-Black car.
• Completed 30,000km in August 2016. A detailed update here
• The 2014 Refresh of the car introduced cruise control. Something I miss today.
• These 2 years were fairly quiet. Car performed brilliantly. Previously around the 4 year mark is when I got an itch to change. Slowly began to realize that this one can be a keeper.
• First tyre change. The stock Apollo's were terribly puncture prone.
• From the 3rd Service, I started relying on Wheels Wisdom to manage the service. Main reason to start to use them was that it was always impossible to get a quick appointment at VW Service Centers. Also, I personally could not be there the whole day to monitor the work. The first experience with Wheels Wisdom was good and I continued to use them for managing the work on the car for 3-4 years. Detailed update on Wheels Wisdom is at this link

One of my favorite pics. At Muzhapilangad Drive in beach-Kannur, Kerala


Another Trip Pic. Somewhere near Jog falls, Karnataka


Got this Window blinds from Volkswagen Dealer itself. Still use it today.


At the 3M Center for the paint sealant


Finally got rid of the puncture prone Apollo Alnacs. Michelin Primacy 3ST was the choice of shoes. Moved from 185 to 195.

[Rajeevraj]

2018 and 2019 -5th and 6th years, 50,000km and series of minor issues

• 2018-The 5th year also was uneventful with the odo getting close to 50,000
• The build and interior continued to impress. Absolutely no squeaks and rattles in 5 years
• Volkswagen Warranty was 4+1 and with 5 years done I was like-'Ok no warranty issues, lets get the mods going'. Volkswagen was not going to let me. They launched 2 additional years warranty and I was now covered for 7 years. I went back to not doing anything till warranty is done.
• In the 5th year, did a full on ceramic coating. Was done by Krithi Car Care run by Bhpian Krishna Prasad(Doing it independently as at that time Krithi as a company had not launched). Really really good job done.
• Finally changed the bulbs to Osram. Long overdue change.
• 2019 was a bit messy. Started with the AC stopping to work. Was a flap motor issue for which the whole dash needed to be removed. Was done in a day but was the first instance of something stopping to work.
• Next issue happened soon after. A trip had been planned and we had packed the luggage into the boot. All ready to set off. Tried opening the boot to put some last minute stuff- It would not open. The mechanism had got stuck. Luckily happened before we started in my hometown in Kerala. Went to the service center which was close by and I don't know what they did, but got it open and replaced the boot lock.
• In a momentary lapse of concentration managed to scratch the front bumper. Could not live with it and replaced it. Kind of an oversell by the service center, should have taken it outside and got it painted.
• Again in 2019, somewhere, hit a hump hard. Seemed ok apart from a small crack in the inner bumper lining. Planned to take it over the weekend to the service center. Went off on a mall visit and as I reached the 2nd floor parking, I saw the bumper give away. It was totally broken. Again, good thing was that it was 3-4 km away from Volkswagen Whitefield. Managed to bring it down to ground level and arranged a tow truck. Got it fixed the next day and also installed the underbody guard.

Somewhere near Hampi-From yet another trip



The bad luck with the underbody hit. Fortunately no major damage.





The boot opening issue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A9ZhjKUKLE

The flap motor replacement. So much of dismantling required for one small replacement



The beautiful detailing work done by Krishna











2020 and 2021-The 7th and 8th Years- Covid times and Out of warranty

• During 2020 and 2021, running drastically came down due to Covid. The main event of note was that finally all warranties expired and I was free to do what I wanted.
• What continued to impress me was how the car had held itself together. The Volkswagen 2.0 cars were starting to come out and there was a lot of chatter on reduction in perceived quality and discussions about roof liner quality etc. It was during this time that I even paid attention to the roof liner. It was as good as new in the Vento and I was wondering what the fuss was about. I realized it after sitting in an initial batch Taigun.
• Everyone was now talking about the DQ200 DSG as it made its comeback in the new VAG group cars. I was like-Hey, have had it for 7 years. It was brilliant and continues to be brilliant.
• One other bad experience happened when the car would not start from my first floor office parking. Had to get a tow truck and fortunately there was a bunch of office securities who helped push the car to ground level. Was a starter harness issue-As per the garage I took it to, maybe rats biting through.

First drive once covid restrictions were lifted. A lake on outskirts of Bangalore


The way the interiors held up never ceases to amaze me.






This was a fun occasion. Had taken the car for a work related demo and they had a nice set up to park the car.



That terrible day when it failed to start and had to be towed.


Something not mentioned before. The amount of luggage this car can take. Amazing.

[Rajeevraj]

2022-The 9th year- Finally the year of Modifications

• With the covid times behind us and usage starting to pick up again, the dilemma of the way forward came to the fore. Do I start planning for an upgrade or do I continue with the Vento for at least a couple of years more?
• There was no real reason to think of an upgrade- Just that when you look around 9/10 cars you see were newer models. SUV's all around and that made you think-Is my car getting old.
• Finally sanity prevailed, mostly driven by the fact that the car was doing good, odo was not at some massive number and mostly importantly, the fact that sedans were slowing going out of the market. The D Segment space was almost dead, the C Segment sedans now cost as much as the D segmenters and did not feel a good enough upgrade. So a real sedan upgrade would basically mean going to the big germans segment-which was not affordable in any case.
• With that out of the way, finally did a long set of modifications which made the car feel new and reborn. All the modifications have been detailed in the initial posts of this very thread, so just listing the set of things done.
  
  • The Remap-A wish since the first year. Finally got done. A wolf moto ECU+TCU Stage 1 remap with launch control. Done by Engineering Exponents Whitefield. . This started my association with Engineering Exponents and gave me the confidence to hold on to the car longer.
  • Service: Full Service with the Transmission fluids also changed.
  • HU: The Philadelphia HU had served me well- Changed to Key Largo 980. An Android HU
  • Speakers: New Helix components at the front and Helix speakers at the rear.
  • Suspension Overhaul: Changed to Sachs Shocks
  • Lights: Changed to LED lights. New Fog Lamps.
  • Tires: Tires changed to Continental UC6
  • Dome Light: Passat Style dome light added
  • Detailing: Another round of detailing from 'Detailing Mafia'

From a trip- Somewhere near Chikmaglur



Recap pics of the modifications

[Rajeevraj]

2023- The 10th Year-Clarity of thought and at peace with the car

• One major issue in the 10th year was an issue with the radiator fan which was not functioning properly(somehow got a lot of play) and resulted in a coolant warning as I was returning from a long drive. The coolant looked ok and the light went away and I continued the journey. Next day a local service center identified the issue and Engineering Exponents helped fix it the same day as I had to leave on another trip the day after. I was very fortunate that a breakdown did not happen in some remote place.
• All the modifications succeeded in freshening up the car significantly. The drive experience due to the remap makes it feel like a whole new car. The drivability has improved across the rev range, the power feels obviously more and even the milage has increased when driven sedately. The drive experience is the first thing that ties us to a car and an already great experience has been upgraded at the right time.
• In addition, the new tyres, more premium shocks, HU, speakers have added to a fresher experience with the car.
• Even after 10 years, the car has held itself together very well. Both the exteriors and especially the interiors. Wear and Tear has been minimal.
• There is still scope for a lot of functional and aesthetic upgrades and now that I started doing it and have a good FNG to do stuff, feel confident of going further down this path.
• All these reasons, coupled with the challenge of buying a car in 2023-24, as nicely discussed in this thread have resulted in me being at peace with this car and barring some exceptional event(either positive or negative) that can trigger a change, am now clear in my mind that this will be my car for the next couple of years at least.
• Do I miss new features that are almost standard in cars of today. Of course- Especially things I cannot retrofit- Starting from 6 Airbags, I work in the ADAS domain so I know how useful those features can be, then the nice to have things like ventilated seats, 360 Cams, cruise control, powered seats, auto head lamps/wipers to name a few.

Another beach view


A new Turtle Wax Studio opened very close and I do my monthly washing from there now. They do a fairly good job.




After one of the washes.





2024 and beyond: The way forward: Upcoming Plans:

• One item that was pending since the last few months was a cruise control retrofit. Have got the cluster and the stalk and have confirmed that my BCM supports Cruise Control, the fit has been getting delayed due to a tool availability issue. Hopefully should be done this month.
• Also planning to do some damping on the doors which I wanted to do last year but put off.
• Even with all the detailing work, the exterior is looking a little battered. Maybe will do something about it over the next year.
• Cars that excite and interest me today: Although no immediate plans like I mentioned earlier, there are 2-3 cars always in my head as something I would like to own and would be a major upgrade. I am generally a fan of pre-owned cars and the first option would be to look for a nice pre-owned example when I get to that stage.
  • Audi A4: A friend recently got one and had a chance to drive it. Lovely understated premium car with all needed features.
  • Volvo S60(2019+): An unconventional choice. Have always loved this car and actually did see couple of good preowned examples too.
  • A set of BMWs- Primarily the 530d and 340i. Will probably remain out of reach, but no harm wanting them.

That concludes my 10 year update. Thought it would be shorter, but guess I kept rambling along. Google throws up frequent collages of my cars. So signing off with one of those that nicely extend from 2013 to 2021

[DeKay]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Suspension Overhaul: Changed to Sachs Shocks

Hey Rajeevraj,

Your detailed 10-year update on the Vento was a great read! I own a TSI too, and I can completely relate to the suspension struggles. Despite swapping out the OEM stock set for a new one a while back, the discomfort over sharp bumps and potholes persists, and it's quite frustrating.

I'm curious about your experience with the Sachs suspension. Could you please provide a brief review? Additionally, if you have the part number handy, that would be incredibly helpful!

Thanks a bunch!

[shifu]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

[*]The Remap-A wish since the first year. Finally got done. A wolf moto ECU+TCU Stage 1 remap with launch control. Done by Engineering Exponents Whitefield. . This started my association with Engineering Exponents and gave me the confidence to hold on to the car longer.

I have a 2016 Vento TSI and plan to hold on to it for few more years. The EW warranty finished this year, and now the itch to remap is very itchy

Can you give more details about the remap? Has this impacted the DSG?

Also, regarding the Key Largo 980 - was the installation plug and play (with no wires being cut)? I was looking for RCD 340, but its stock is quite limited. I just need a HU with ACP/AA.

[Bhodrolok]

Have a 2015 Vento TSI into its 9th year now, working great. But that itch remains to "upgrade" but just can't find a worthy successor without spending upwards of 50L.

The only major update has been a front suspension overhaul last year, driving it on 205 55 tyres from day 1 also did not help.

[Kickdown]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

[*]There is not a day where I don't congratulate myself for stretching and taking the call to go for the Vento. That rear seat and boot space have been invaluable.

You said it. Seems like a stretch initially but then you start realizing the benefits of it over the ownership period, and it all makes sense to have spent the extra money.

Personally, for me this thread comes as nudge in the right direction at a time when I am looking for a fast sedan to replace my 7 year old Ford Aspire DCT. Have my eyes on one of the VAG twins but was worried because of the disreputable DSG.

Did you have to take any extra precaution to protect the gearbox for such a long time? Any tips/tricks would be handy not only for my next car but my current DCT too.

[avdhesh15]

My City completes 10 years in March 2024, and I'm in a similar situation as you - why sell! The car still runs as good as new, and, has never failed me (touch wood). Wishing you many more KMs in your Vento (mine is close to 96k and should hit 100k on its anniversary).

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by DeKay

Hey Rajeevraj,
I'm curious about your experience with the Sachs suspension. Could you please provide a brief review? Additionally, if you have the part number handy, that would be incredibly helpful!

Thanks a bunch!

Since it has been more than a year now, struggling to recollect difference in detail. As you mentioned, the car was on stock for 9 years. It generally felt weak, bad roads were felt a lot inside and handling seemed compromised. The new ones from these perspective made a lot of difference. It does feel stiff over humps and potholes if you do not slow down enough or when the car is unloaded. Sorry for the generic feedback, but overall there is a lot of difference. I don't have the part number handy, will try to get it.

Originally Posted by shifu

Can you give more details about the remap? Has this impacted the DSG?
Also, regarding the Key Largo 980 - was the installation plug and play (with no wires being cut)? I was looking for RCD 340, but its stock is quite limited. I just need a HU with ACP/AA.

On the remap, have detailed it in this post and some additional feedback in this post. The Key Largo is a plug and play. It does have the disadvantages of being an android based HU. The other option I considered was a Pioneer HU with Android Auto.

Originally Posted by Kickdown

Did you have to take any extra precaution to protect the gearbox for such a long time? Any tips/tricks would be handy not only for my next car but my current DCT too.

Nothing specific apart from the usual things. Moving to N at long signals, driving a bit sedately in the first few min and last few min of drives. Always idling the engine for 15-30 seconds post starting off and more importantly before switching off (this has nothing to do with the gearbox, just a best practice for a turbo petrol engine). Overall this DQ200 DSG is a matter of luck also I guess.

[outdoorlover]

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

My City completes 10 years in March 2024, and I'm in a similar situation as you - why sell! The car still runs as good as new, and, has never failed me (touch wood). Wishing you many more KMs in your Vento (mine is close to 96k and should hit 100k on its anniversary).

Hey Avdhesh, looks like we bought our City in the same month and year! I had bought a VX CVT and it still purrs like it were in the first year! Haven't put much mileage on it as I had been travelling out of of the country for some years (it is still at 67K).

[shifu]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

*Okay, I guess the first question that comes up is: 'It is a DQ200 Dry Clutch Gear Box and is sealed for life'- What Oil change? This was exactly my reaction also. Turns out that the DQ200 does have both the gearbox oil as well as mechatronics oil. This is also detailed in this DSG Demystified post (DSG, demystified! All you need to know about VW's Direct-Shift Gearbox). It is also 'sealed for life', but it can be changed and when EE recommended to change it, I also decided to go ahead with it. It is not an easy thing to do and definitely requires good expertise and knowledge.

There is the process of DSG Adaptation that is done(again something I did not know) typically for new or replaced gear boxes. When the DSG Oil is replaced, this process is carried out. In simple terms, this is the process of running through pre-programmed steps and values for various parameters to match the gearbox to the real world conditions. There was an issue faced here where the gearbox was jerking in manual mode. This was finally traced to a code that was getting reset to a default value every time the tool was connected and had to be manually updated. (Full marks here to EE for not only keeping me updated about this issue and also explaining in fair detail what caused it and how they resolved it)

The rest of the service for the regular maintenance activities was also completed and the catch on the top mounts and link rods along with the new tires helped fix the suspension related discomfort I was facing.

Thanks for this post. I never knew that the DSG oil can be changed.

I am at 55k kms, in 7 years. So far *touchwood* there are no issues with my car's DSG.

What prompted you to get the oil changed? Is it dependent on the age, or odo reading? Or does EE have some diagnostics to check this?

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by shifu

Thanks for this post. I never knew that the DSG oil can be changed.

I am at 55k kms, in 7 years. So far *touchwood* there are no issues with my car's DSG.

What prompted you to get the oil changed? Is it dependent on the age, or odo reading? Or does EE have some diagnostics to check this?

I think there are multiple factors. I got it changed as Engineering Exponents recommended it as car was 9 years, 70+ km and we were going do a remap. In addition there is this nice thread here which talks about why transmissions fluids should be changed even if it called 'sealed for life' by the manufacturer. Since I had read this also, I did not think much when they said it should be changed.

Of course, as it is probably not a standard procedure recommended by the manufacturer, we do need to ensure who ever is doing it knows how to do it right and any pre and post checks that need to be done.

[Sen]

Incredibly useful thread, thank you for sharing!

A few questions if you don't mind:

* Has the armrest never squeaked due to the plastic top where your arm rests? Or is it just the cost reduction efforts that cheapened it in my MY2020 edition? Everyone knows they don't make Volkswagens like they used to in the early 2010s
* Where did you source the Sachs' components from for the suspension? I was thinking that sounded like the best way without giving up on the plusher ride (Bilstein B6s were my other consideration but are likely to be stiff)

I also find Engineering Exponents to be truly amazing, planning a remap but warranty holds me back. The juddering with the discs is common, I upgraded to Brembos of the same size with ATE pads.

I've been procrastinating writing a review update for Taco since 3 years have flown by with him, I should get to it.

Thanks again for the review!