[s4ch]

A question, wondering if anyone has faced this before:

My Polo seems to have a problem with charging the battery. Recently put in a new Amaron battery, however within a week or 2 used to get the notification on the media unit saying the battery is low. Also the lights would occasionally flicker when using the AC/wipers or putting a load on the electrical circuit. Then eventually the battery went completely flat and I was not able to start the car.

Today, I used a powerbank jumpstarter, and it started immediately. However after driving around for almost an hour, came home parked the car, and tried to use it again 15 mins later and it was completely dead again, not even enough juice for the car to unlock using the fob.

So I am thinking the alternator probably has some problem? Don't think it is the battery as it is not more than a few months old.

Wondering if anyone has faced a similar problem and/or replaced the alternator, and how much this would cost?

[seedyk]

Originally Posted by zen

Quick update:
What I'm being told by the dealer is that VW are looking to replace Bajaj as the add-on warranty provider. As a result, Bajaj are playing hardball while processing warranty claims and issuing warranty extensions.

Hey Zen, you're a saviour to dig deeper into this. I'm in the same boat, albeit with another VW model.

I have a Dec 2015 Polo MPI with one year add on warranty expiring in Dec 2020. Knowing VW and their whimsical behaviour, I had started following up past week and received a similar response saying that I can avail add on warranty only once in 7 years which completely contradicts what they confirmed last year (warranty can be purchased each year until 7th year) when i purchased my add on warranty.

Have you heard from the dealership or any update on this?

I intend to write to the higher ups at Volkswagen as this is a grave breach of trust to go back on their own words and keep changing their policies at their whim.

[zen]

Originally Posted by seedyk

Have you heard from the dealership or any update on this?

Sad to say I have no update as I got tired of dealing with a brick wall. All the best with your attempts!

[seedyk]

Originally Posted by zen

Sad to say I have no update as I got tired of dealing with a brick wall. All the best with your attempts!

That's unfortunate to know. Can imagine your plight. When does your add on warranty expire?

Mine expires in December 2020, and when i visited the service centre, they first began by telling me that I can purchase the addon warranty, albeit one month prior to the expiry.

Then the service advisor went and checked with his senior and came back to tell me that it is not possible to renew it for another year. So there is something surely fishy about this entire deal.

Pretty sure that if we push them around this will get resolved.

To begin with I intend to write a stern but polite email to Volkswagen India's customer care with a cc to Steffan Knapp, Herbert Diess and the recently appointed India head Gurpratap Singh Boparai citing lack of trust in Volkswagen's whimsical communication and changes of policy at their discretion every six months.

I have the email IDs for the first two, however, Gurpratap's email does not reflect across any of the public domain websites. If anyone of this forum has access to it, request you to share the same. You'll be surely doing an unparalleled favour to me and quite a few others.

Hope to hear from you guys out here.

[GoBlue]

Wanted to share an update of my 2015 Polo GT TSI which has done around 58k+ in 5+ years. To summarize:

1. Car had a DSG failure in June '20
2. 5th year add-on warranty expired in March '20
3. Car was with VW for around 2 weeks for investigation/diagnosis
4. Mechatronics was replaced by dealer/VW under goodwill
5. Car is back in action

The DSG failure was relatively free of any drama. The gear indicator began blinking one fine day after having started the car while still in P (it's default state) and continued to blink in all gears in D/S. The shifts became jerky and a little bit weird. On one occasion the DSG would refuse to shift to an odd gear (2 -> 4 -> 6) for upshifts as well as downshifts. The malfunction indicator was also lit on the cluster.

Gave BUB, Pune (short for B.U Bhandari) a call and shared the symptoms with them. Although I was convinced that the DSG has gone kaput, decided to let them take a call as after all they are the experts.

As for the rest that unfolded, let me just put it in short - the response from BUB/Volkswagen was exemplary, to say the least. They handled the entire process brilliantly and there wasn't a single occasion where I felt that things were going sideways. The SA that I interacted with was not known to me and I did not have to escalate anything to higher-ups within BUB/VW.

Drove the car to the workshop on June 27 as per the appointment that I received. They informed me outright that the car might have to remain in the workshop for 2-3 weeks until the issue is diagnosed and solved. I asked for a loaner car to be provided ASAP and left the place.

Long story short, they took 1 week to confirm that the Mechatronics had failed. They informed me that VW has decided to replace the Mechatronics and will bear the cost of the same, but that I would have to bear the labor cost. The labor cost was around 2.5k INR. I was also told that the Amaron battery that I had gotten fitted from outside would be an issue while claiming warranty, and that I would have to replace the battery with a VW (Exide) battery - if the warranty claim was to be successful. I was okay with the labor part, and regarding the battery replacement was skeptical but decided to proceed as it wasn't much of a hassle. The Amaron battery was literally brand new, having bought it about 3-4 months back and could be sold off as a buy-back to the person who fitted it.

I gave the go ahead for the above. I was asked to pick up an Ameo Diesel DSG as the loaner car, which I did and was with me for the 2nd week.

Do note that in this 2 week duration I kept getting regular calls/updates from the SA. I treated him with the respect that he deserved as a professional/human being and was calm and polite in dealing with him. The 1 week delay in providing the loaner car and the illogical buy-a-new-battery-from-us request was irksome, but I understood the position the SA was coming from and never made him feel that I was bothered by this. On the contrary, I empathized with him under the principle that one needs to let something go to gain something. It was easier to buy a new battery from VW than a new Mechantronic unit.

1 week later the car was handed back to me with the new Mecha unit installed. The gear shifts were noticeably smoother than before. I was also showed the old Mecha unit. Was surprised to see how big in terms of form-factor it actually is.

All in all extremely happy with the BUB experience, I would give more credit to B.U. Bhandari for the exemplary professionalism demonstrated, atleast in my case, than VW itself. This could have made for a severely traumatizing experience had the dealership been a stealership.

To sum up a revised opinion about the the Polo GT TSI 1.2 after this debacle:

1. Is the DQ200 7-speed dry-clutch DSG gearbox overrated unreliable shit: absolutely, yes.

2. Does the DQ200 DSG provide a unique driving experience in the 10l price bracket: absolutely, yes.

3. Is the DQ200 DSG an engineering marvel: absolutely, no. it's poorly engineered for the very fact that it is not reliable.

4. Is the VW Polo a great car: absolutely, yes.

5. Does the 1.2 TSI deserve a Manual 6-speed gearbox: absolutely, yes.

6. Is it the aim of the VW/Skoda company to fleece people: absolutely, not. people need to stop generalizing.

7. Is B.U. Bhandari Volkswagen Pune the best Volkswagen car dealer/service provider in India: absolutely, yes.

8. Do I regret buying the Polo GT TSI: absolutely, no!

9. What if the gearbox fails again?: it worked fine for 5 years/58k km. I'll take my chances with the new Mechatronic unit.

10. Should people buy a pre-owned Polo GT TSI 1.2 (as it has been discontinued and new units are not available): yes, but only if the car is stock (no mods). It is not worth taking the risk of having to shell out ~1.5lacs for a DSG failure if the pre-owned car is modded. I was informed that goodwill warranty is provided by VW only if the car is bone stock.

11. Will my next car be a Skoda: absolutely, no!

12. Will my next car be a VW purchased from and serviced by B.U. Bhandari, Pune: absolutely, yes!

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by seedyk

Hey Zen, you're a saviour to dig deeper into this. I'm in the same boat, albeit with another VW model.

Originally Posted by zen

Sad to say I have no update as I got tired of dealing with a brick wall. All the best with your attempts!

I recently got add-on warranty for 5th year and it is possible to get for 6th and 7th year also. I have shared all details and the cost of each year's add on warranty in my post here (Volkswagen Polo 1.2L GT TSI : Official Review).

It is true that VW and Bajaj are having a troubled partnership and that's why it is becoming difficult for customers to buy the add-on warranty which VW has outsourced to Bajaj.

[seedyk]

Originally Posted by anshumandun

I recently got add-on warranty for 5th year and it is possible to get for 6th and 7th year also. I have shared all details and the cost of each year's add on warranty in my post here (Volkswagen Polo 1.2L GT TSI : Official Review).

It is true that VW and Bajaj are having a troubled partnership and that's why it is becoming difficult for customers to buy the add-on warranty which VW has outsourced to Bajaj.

You are right about availing the 5th, 6th and 7th year warranty. However the catch is that you can avail the add-on warranty ONLY ONCE in these three years.

Now that you have claimed the 5th year warranty, you have claimed your right to take add-on warranty and will NOT be eligible to take it again. Surprising, isn't it?

Would request you to check the same with your service centre in Bangalore as two leading service centres in Mumbai have rejected my 6th year add on service warranty as I have already availed it in the fifth year. And if they oblige, it would be great if you can take it on email. Would be helpful for many of us out here.

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by seedyk

You are right about availing the 5th, 6th and 7th year warranty. However the catch is that you can avail the add-on warranty ONLY ONCE in these three years.

You are right. I was under the wrong impression that the add-on warranty can be purchased every year. I checked with a VW employee who works in their service division.

But this is a really confusing warranty strategy. If I want to buy add-on warranty in 7th year, I should drive without warranty in 5th and 6th year? Does not make any sense!

[seedyk]

Originally Posted by anshumandun

You are right. I was under the wrong impression that the add-on warranty can be purchased every year. I checked with a VW employee who works in their service division.

But this is a really confusing warranty strategy. If I want to buy add-on warranty in 7th year, I should drive without warranty in 5th and 6th year? Does not make any sense!

This is rather a very misleading claim by Volkswagen, and worse, they are intentionally misrepresenting by not informing prospective buyers of the same.

I personally know at least a handful buyer who have chosen the brand due to this 7 year warranty. Sadly, I had to break it out to them that the add on warranty can only be availed once. Their reaction was " i knew this was too good to be true"

Also, the sales executives at Volkswagen Downtown maintained until December 2019 that add on warranty can be purchased each year (without a limit). They have suddenly changed their stance and are acting oblivious to their earlier assurance.

We Volkswagen owners surely need to take this up Volkswagen India.

Any clout there?

Sadly Steffan Knapp (who has probably moved on to another role at VW) isn't hands on with such things as compared to his counterpart Zac Hollis from Skoda.

[manish84]

My GT TSI is making high noise when the AC compressor is switched on. Inside the car, there is no difference in noise levels. However if I stand out, the noise is noticeably higher. There is no clicking or screeching noise. Just the normal engine noise is amplified. In Delhi now, on my journey from Mumbai to Delhi and back. Should I get it checked immediately or is it okay to wait till reaching Mumbai? What could be the cause?

[jalajprakash]

Originally Posted by manish84

My GT TSI is making high noise when the AC compressor is switched on. Inside the car, there is no difference in noise levels. However if I stand out, the noise is noticeably higher. There is no clicking or screeching noise. Just the normal engine noise is amplified. In Delhi now, on my journey from Mumbai to Delhi and back. Should I get it checked immediately or is it okay to wait till reaching Mumbai? What could be the cause?

I too have noticed the same but it just seems that the cooling fans come on every time the AC is switched on which makes it quite loud outside. My car recently completed 2 years and I've noticed this since day 1. I'm fairly sure this is nothing out of the ordinary. Would welcome others to share their experience regarding the same as well.

[lionell]

Originally Posted by manish84

My GT TSI is making high noise when the AC compressor is switched on. Inside the car, there is no difference in noise levels. However if I stand out, the noise is noticeably higher. There is no clicking or screeching noise. Just the normal engine noise is amplified. In Delhi now, on my journey from Mumbai to Delhi and back. Should I get it checked immediately or is it okay to wait till reaching Mumbai? What could be the cause?

Originally Posted by jalajprakash

I too have noticed the same but it just seems that the cooling fans come on every time the AC is switched on which makes it quite loud outside. My car recently completed 2 years and I've noticed this since day 1. I'm fairly sure this is nothing out of the ordinary. Would welcome others to share their experience regarding the same as well.

Indeed, both of you are right. The noise is the fan kicking in. It makes quite a ruckus and may even kick up loose dust from underneath the car. There is nothing wrong in it and no need to worry. Quite common.

[karan85]

Originally Posted by lionell

Indeed, both of you are right. The noise is the fan kicking in. It makes quite a ruckus and may even kick up loose dust from underneath the car. There is nothing wrong in it and no need to worry. Quite common.

Yup, I had the same issue. Recently had my fan belt replaced and the noise is significantly lower. Not sure if it was the belt that was making the noise or something else they replaced with the belt but the noise is definitely two notches less than what it was.

[lionell]

With a heavy heart I’ve sold my GT TSI. Was overjoyed with the power and that slick DSG.
The honeymoon period lasted for 6 months then the issues began.



First it was the mild clunking sound from the left side of the suspension which gradually increased, many trips were made to the service station and they always denied that there was a sound. They’d come back to me and say that its a silent engine so you will hear some sounds. Wasn’t convinced and took it another FNG and they confirmed there is a sound but it will have to be examined.

Finally after a complaint to VW over email all they did was forward that to the ASC. They kept the car for two days and said the left strut and mount has leaded and they’ve replaced it. After another 3 months the clunking started again and this time they replaced the leaking stabiliser rods.

 Some respite but temporary and I went off for a 6000 km tour from Jodhpur (Rajasthan) down south. While climbing the infamous ghats after Bandipur to go to Coonoor the engine overheated and we were stranded, with a 2 year old kid in tow.

VW RSA was helpful in getting the vehicle to Coimbatore next day. The diagnosis a faulty sensor in the closed loop coolant system. Repairs were carried out and we cautiously carried out the journey of the next 3000km back home after a 3 day delay and added hotel expenses in Coimbatore. Midway we felt the steering column give way and there was a lot of play in it. It would clunk over even mildly bad roads. After returning that was replaced albeit under warranty.

The car seemed fine for the next couple of months and then it started again, this time the right side of the suspension seemed to have developed a clunking sound and the steering column also had mild vibrations over uneven roads. Gave it to ASC and now they replaced the right strut and rubber mount. 2 months later the same story of clunks. Also mentioned about the jerk issues from D1 to D2-D3 and vice versa, was handed out a additive to be added to the petrol. At a routine service they said there is no suspension issue, this time I started to look for an option. Took it to Nexa while we looked at the XL6 the exchange team drove the car around and the news wasn’t good they mentioned a very low price as the suspension needed work. I explained; with the list of components that were replaced and they were surprised the issue persisted.

Utterly disappointed with VW and its quality of components and even more so the lack lustre response to solving issues at the ASC in Jodhpur.

Finally sold the vehicle to Cars24 and booked the XL6 auto as we need a little more space than the polo for our family.

[Sreesh1009]

Originally Posted by lionell

With a heavy heart I’ve sold my GT TSI. Was overjoyed with the power and that slick DSG.
The honeymoon period lasted for 6 months then the issues began.


Utterly disappointed with VW and its quality of components and even more so the lack lustre response to solving issues at the ASC in Jodhpur.

Finally sold the vehicle to Cars24 and booked the XL6 auto as we need a little more space than the polo for our family.

A lemon can leave a bad taste in the mouth. Back in 2010 we had to decide between the Polo and i20. Thankfully we chose the i20 but then the Honeymoon period ended in 2 years and problems never ended.
Nevertheless, congratulations on your XL6, hope to see an ownership thread soon.
Ciao.

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