[nair]

It is time for my 6 month inspection and the same is being displayed in the ODO as well. How critical is this inspection? My father has underwent surgery recently and I don't want the car away from home even if it is for 3 - 4 hours. Can I extend the inspection by a month or so?

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by nair

It is time for my 6 month inspection and the same is being displayed in the ODO as well. How critical is this inspection? My father has underwent surgery recently and I don't want the car away from home even if it is for 3 - 4 hours. Can I extend the inspection by a month or so?

You should be able to extend the inspection by a month or so. I don't think it'll make any difference to the car per se. Your only worry should be loss of warranty, should anything go wrong with the car and VW are mean enough to deny it on the contention that you delayed the inspection (very unlikely).

As far as I understand VW aren't very particular about the 6 monthly inspection. The annual 15,000 km oil change service is more important.

[Brumby]

Originally Posted by Brumby

Hi Friends,

My GT TSI is around 4 years old now and I have noticed a very strange issue with the deterioration of the rubber sealing on the plastic panel in front of the ORVMs on both sides. The rubber has become brittle and has cracks.

This is very strange for me as this was never an issue with any of the other cars that I have or owned in the past. My 9 year old Innova has all its rubber parts soft and no signs of deterioration, even the swift which is 6 years old and parked alongside Polo does not have any such issue.

Has any of the fellow members have faced similar issue. I don't know the price of the OEM part but would like to know if it is available in the open market. I'm sure it won't be covered under the extended warranty which is still valid.

Request for your comments/advise.

Regards.

Went for the annual service on 15 October 2018 at VW Mumbai North (Mira road). The issue was discussed with the service centre manager as an official complaint was sent to VW India a few days ago.

VW India has refused to accept it as a quality issue saying that sunlight and boring water will cause deterioration of the rubber.

I am really wondering about the following:
1. Where did VW mentioned in the owner's manual that the car is only to be parked indoors and only distilled/mineral water is to be used for cleaning/washing.
2. Wondering that why VW has not made sure that the dealer stockyards and workshops are completely sheltered.
3. I am not sure but is the manufacturer (VW) storing all the manufactured cars in sheltered facilities? I have worked on car carriers (ships) and loaded cars from various manufacturers' yards across the globe and have seen all cars stored in open facilities. May be they have some special materials that they use for cars manufactured for the Gulf region.
4. If the rubber quality was deteriorated due to direct sunlight or boring water, how come the door beadings and other rubber parts have not deteriorated. May be I was indifferent to the mirror trim, and purposely parked the car in such a way that only the mirror trim was exposed to sun and made sure to wash only the mirror trim with boring water while the rest of the car was being washed with Evian

Though I asked the service centre to replace the parts at my cost, they have asked me to wait as they genuinely want to raise this issue with VW because almost all cars of similar age suffer form this problem.

Waiting for the service centre to respond. Will update once I have a reply from them.

Regards.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by nair

It is time for my 6 month inspection and the same is being displayed in the ODO as well. How critical is this inspection?

It's a gimmick as other manufacturers offer free service. For VW annual service is important. All they would do is check fluid levels and do a free wash.

Ask the service adviser if it is really necessary to visit or you could reset the notification by your own.

Originally Posted by Brumby

VW India has refused to accept it as a quality issue saying that sunlight and boring water will cause deterioration of the rubber.

Looks to be a clear case of improper quality rubber material parts supplied by VW OEM vendor.

If water was an issue, other rubber parts would also deteriorate which isn't the case.

In my Vento no issue for almost 7.5 years.

[Brumby]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Looks to be a clear case of improper quality rubber material parts supplied by VW OEM vendor.

If water was an issue, other rubber parts would also deteriorate which isn't the case.

In my Vento no issue for almost 7.5 years.

That's exactly what I told the people handling this issue. The problem these days is that manufacturers designate dealers to handle customers' complaints, even if its an issue with quality at manufacturing level.

Un-officially I came to know that some VW official addressed the person responsible to solve this issue as, how can you not handle the customers with such complaints by giving excuses of water quality, parking in open etc. etc.

I am still waiting for a response though I made it very clear that even if VW does not acknowledge this as a quality issue, I will still go ahead to change this trim, however spending INR 1800 for replacement every 3-4 years does not make me happy.

Regards.

[Thad E Ginathom]

This is absurd, and it reminds me of the Polo air-vents debacle. Never did I hear of any such car component that did not last the reasonable life of the car, let alone degrading or falling apart in a year or two.

I don't know, but I find it hard to believe that such parts are fitted to European models. Some extreme cost cutting must be involved. This sort of cost cutting is petty and only damages the company.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by Brumby

Went for the annual service on 15 October 2018 at VW Mumbai North (Mira road). The issue was discussed with the service centre manager as an official complaint was sent to VW India a few days ago.

VW India has refused to accept it as a quality issue saying that sunlight and boring water will cause deterioration of the rubber.


Regards.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I don't know, but I find it hard to believe that such parts are fitted to European models. Some extreme cost cutting must be involved. This sort of cost cutting is petty and only damages the company.

Just to put it out there, a couple of relatives stay in Mira road and they had their first set of split AC's become garbage in a year of usage, because the condenser pipes (is it called that?) weren't copper. Something about the air in Mira Road. They realised it late, took in the loss and replaced the AC's.

Nothing against you'll, but do take this fact into consideration.

[Brumby]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

Just to put it out there, a couple of relatives stay in Mira road and they had their first set of split AC's become garbage in a year of usage, because the condenser pipes (is it called that?) weren't copper. Something about the air in Mira Road. They realised it late, took in the loss and replaced the AC's.

Nothing against you'll, but do take this fact into consideration.

I understand what you mean, but don't you think that on the same car one particular rubber has deteriorated while the others are not affected at all. This was the main reason for raising a query with VW.

Regards.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Having said that, fuel supply issue will mean the car won't get pick up power, the engine itself will jerk, shudder, etc. Fuel systems are quite sensitive to bad fuel in India, and in cases where contaminants do enter the fuel pump, it will fail sooner than later. Has happened with me within a week of driving the Octavia TSI. Fuel quality, supply rate, etc has no connection to the DSG shuddering.

I think you and I are saying the same thing - if fuel quality is the culprit, it should have impacted my 1.8 TSI MT Laura as well but it has not - even once in last 9 years.

In case of my GT TSI, in addition to the "resistance"/jerk shown by DSG to downshift from 3rd to 2nd upon slowing down, an additional problem started showing up after @12000km - when I accelerate after slowing down, DSG would shudder before finally upshifting from 2nd to 3rd (to passengers it appeared like engine knocking, but the driver can easily tell it's the gearbox - as if the DSG clutches are engaging/disengaging back and forth for a second or so). This did not happen in M. This went away after the additive but came back after a couple of tank fulls without additive. This is an easy problem to solve - DSG is overzealous to upshift, the software can be and should be rewritten to calm it's nerves and just delay the upshift to 3rd by 100 RPM or so. The clutch shudder will go away. I sold the car at 45000km mark, but from 12000km to 45000km, I didn't put the additive often. I rather switched to M when I needed to accelerate after a momentary slow down and then shift back to D. Smooth life...

My GTI has done 8000KM and the problem has not shown up but I am keeping an eye.

[s4ch]

Hi, I'm facing an issue with my Polo GT TSI and wondering if anyone could help. I haven't used my car for 2 months as I was travelling, and today when I started it and began to reverse there was a weird sound coming from the wheels (not exactly a grinding noise but kind of brrr brrr). I drove a few metres and the sound stopped, however it still occurs when I apply the brakes. The brake pedal too does definitely feel softer than it used to and there isn't as much bite in the brakes. I did get the car services OK about 3 months ago and everything was fine before I went travelling.

Any advice on what could be the culprit? I did call us VW RSA and they say they want to tow the vehicle for Rs.4000 to the nearest service centre to diagnose. I'm not keen on spending that much just for towing unless I really have to. Is there anything I could check myself to diagnose the issue? Or does VW have a mobile service team that could come and have a look? I'm in Pune. (The guy from RSA was adamant that they only help on the roadside with issues such as flat battery's and flat tyres and that they will have to tow for anything else). I can take it to VW service myself but its about a 20km drive and I don't know if that will cause any further damage.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by bhargavd

Please do, I think a lot of the GT-TSis have this issue but hasn't been quantified ever.

Even my GT-TSi started facing the shuddering issue around 15k KMs. Didn't bother with VW or ASC. I drive sedately most of the time and brakes did have the "bite" even with the shuddering.

I could live with the shuddering till about 25k km after which changed to brembo disks and pads from a BHPians garage in Pune. Extremely satisfied with the performance and better braking even after heating up than stock.

EDIT: Hi, at which garage in Pune did you get your brakes looked at? Thanks.

Originally Posted by raman.aries

Dear members,
My 10500kms run Polo GT TSi has developed brake shudder. I understand that this has happened with several polos. How can I take it up with the company?
The dealer seems to be pretty useless in this case - Their response was that I have replace it at my own cost. The car is within its warranty period and this seems like a quality defect and I feel I should not be punished for the company's mistake.

EDIT2: Could someone explain the symptoms of brake shudder? Not sure if this is the problem I have. Thanks.

[JishD]

Originally Posted by wangdu

Hi Friends, Please weigh in your thoughts.

My search for the Hot hatch had these contenders, the Polo TSI, TDI, Figo S or the Abarth Punto.

Test drives of all but Abarth is leaning me significantly towards TSI. Last year I did drive the Avventura Abarth and I can gauge how the Punto experience shall be.

In summary, why TSI

Bro you're late into the game if you're thinking of resale in 4 years . The changes from 2014 (my Polo GT) have been incremental. Wait for the new Polo. Honest advice.

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by s4ch

Hi, I'm facing an issue with my Polo GT TSI and wondering if anyone could help. I haven't used my car for 2 months as I was travelling, and today when I started it and began to reverse there was a weird sound coming from the wheels (not exactly a grinding noise but kind of brrr brrr). I drove a few metres and the sound stopped, however it still occurs when I apply the brakes. The brake pedal too does definitely feel softer than it used to and there isn't as much bite in the brakes. I did get the car services OK about 3 months ago and everything was fine before I went travelling.

EDIT2: Could someone explain the symptoms of brake shudder? Not sure if this is the problem I have. Thanks.

What you are experiencing is most likely the rear brakes shoes brushing against the drums. I presume you left the car parked with your handbrake engaged. Two months would have possibly caused the rear brakes to have jammed against the drums. If I am right your handbrake would also be feeling loose, as in not pulling back when you release the handbrake lever.

The best option is to have the rear drums opened and cleaned at a nearby ASS or FNG.

Another option to try is to gently drive the car forward and backward a few meters at a time while engaging and disengaging the handbrake lever. This might free up the brake shoes and they may retract fully and not brush against the drum.

Last but not least a quick and dirty way is to jack up the rear, remove the wheels and try to spin the the wheel hubs by hand. They should rotate freely with the handbrake released. If they don't move or offer stiff resistemce then you can be sure its the brakes jamming up agianst the drums. A firm knock on the drums on all sides with the wheel spanner should likely free them up while rotating them with hand.

My advise is to get the brakes cleaned at a garage, particularly if you are not handy with tools.

Brake shudder is completely different and happens due to overheated discs that get warped. This results in uneven contact between the discs and the pads leading to a brake shudder when you brake from a high speed.

In your case it is most likely the rear brake shoes that have jammed against the drums due to 2 months of remaining engaged.

[rajamuneeb]

Hi guys. Need a bit of help. In Gurgaon there are two dealers of VW. One is on MG road and the other one at Sohna Road. Which among the two is better in service and customer handling. Kindly advise. I am thinking about a Polo GT.

[bosporus]

Originally Posted by rajamuneeb

Hi guys. Need a bit of help. In Gurgaon there are two dealers of VW. One is on MG road and the other one at Sohna Road. Which among the two is better in service and customer handling. Kindly advise. I am thinking about a Polo GT.

My experience over 6+ years and 3 cars in the family, all of which are in active use (I still drive my Vento that I purchased in end 2011) is that Frontier VW - the MG Road guys - are stellar, both on the sales side and the service side. They generally have great people, but for me the key is that if perchance there is my lingering issue, raise it to the management and it’s promptly, and to your satisfaction, taken care of.

I’ve had no experience with the Sohna Road guys, and despite discount offers on service, have never been tempted to go to them.

[rajamuneeb]

Originally Posted by bosporus

My experience over 6+ years and 3 cars in the family, all of which are in active use (I still drive my Vento that I purchased in end 2011) is that Frontier VW - the MG Road guys - are stellar, both on the sales side and the service side. They generally have great people, but for me the key is that if perchance there is my lingering issue, raise it to the management and it’s promptly, and to your satisfaction, taken care of.

I’ve had no experience with the Sohna Road guys, and despite discount offers on service, have never been tempted to go to them.

Thanks Bosporous. I will surely check out the Frontier VW. I causally walked into the Sohna Road showroom yesterday and found the sales guys very casual with little focus on customer orientation. He told me GT TSI aren't available and he would have to order it and when I asked how long will you take to deliver it he says I will make one available immediately as I can give you the from the list of cars which have been ordered by other customers. I found them too contradictory in committing anything so wasn't very satisfied with their approach.