[halfbytecode]

Well, they actually switched over to 61 Ah 330 A DIN batteries, from the earlier 60 Ah 280 A DIN batteries.

The difference became apparent after decoding the PR numbers of my car, and revelation of the 60 Ah battery from the relevant PR code.

[keeru]

Originally Posted by halfbytecode

Well, they actually switched over to 61 Ah 330 A DIN batteries, from the earlier 60 Ah 280 A DIN batteries.

The difference became apparent after decoding the PR numbers of my car, and revelation of the 60 Ah battery from the relevant PR code.

Does it mean, it is recommended to replace the battery from the service station?

[itwasntme]

A word of warning for weak batteries in our modern diesel cars. The electronics and electrics are very sensitive to voltage irregularities and you will end up with far more costly repairs than a 10k battery.

In my Cruze with a weak battery, I ran the risk of the starter motor solenoid not disengaging properly once the engine was on. This can lead to replacement of the starter motor and flywheel if both are damaged.

Also starter motor cranking intermittently can also lead to serious mount damage leading to compulsory change of the mounts.

I suggest immediate replacement of such weak batteries especially for 'big' diesels.

[halfbytecode]

Originally Posted by keeru

Does it mean, it is recommended to replace the battery from the service station?

Acoording to multiple techs, it would be fine to go with a 60 Ah battery, from the aftermarket. The cold cranking amperes (CCA) need to be equal or more, which I think for the Amaron 60 Ah battery are 600 Amps, whereas it is 540 Amps (330 A DIN) for the VW batteries.

60 Ah is the battery capacity, and the difference is negligible. Moreover, the earlier VW batteries had the capacity of 60 Ah. (As per what I have been told it would even be fine to go for 66 Ah batteries with sufficient CCA. This should not put an abnormal load on the alternator.)

This issue comes up as we do not have 61 Ah car batteries in the aftermarket in India, at least they are not readily available, if at all.

[keeru]

Saturday, had visited VW A.S.S, Hosur Road, Bangalore to enquire about the availability of battery.

Meantime, clicked the below where you can see the two different batteries of different power ratings placed side by side.

As per my vehicle's part number (MY 14), the battery is 61AH.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by keeru

Saturday, had visited VW A.S.S, Hosur Road, Bangalore to enquire about the availability of battery...

Why do you want to buy it from the dealer? It's going to cost you a bomb. Haven't you tried the online options or aftermarket ones?

[keeru]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Why do you want to buy it from the dealer? It's going to cost you a bomb. Haven't you tried the online options or aftermarket ones?

Hi, the only reason I'm thinking to buy from the dealer is for the 61 Ah battery which is not available in the aftermarket.

Before purchasing a new one either from the VW dealer or from aftermarket, I wanted to try charging the battery for a couple of hours.

Please suggest if this works for a 2.5 year old battery (odo reading 55kms)

Thanks,

[keeru]

Guys, is that only me who feels that my GT TDI slightly pulling towards the left ?

To give you a quick background of the issue, my GT TDI (2014 MY) running on the stock apollo tyres has a tendency to slightly pull towards the left.

Have been noticing this behavior right from the purchase of the vehicle. Have tried wheel alignment & balancing a couple of times after which alignment seems to be fine but problem crops up after a good run of 500-1000kms.

General observations:

1. When driving on a national highway where the road is properly aligned, I feel the car tends to move straight for a couple of seconds (may be 5 sec driving at 80-90kmph)
2. In the city the car will always pull towards the left (is it due to the roads in the city which are slightly inclined towards the right??)
3. In the city roads when there is no traffic, I take the hands off the steering wheel for a couple of seconds to test the behavior, the steering wheel automatically gets slightly turned towards the left by a few degrees after which the car started to pull.

As of now, I suspect three reasons:

1. Defect in the tyres itself

2. Electrical assisted steering wheel which is very sensitive to the ups&downs of the road

3. (This is a bit high) In-proposition of the weight ratio due to 1.6 lt diesel Engine which are considerably heavier by few kilos loads more weight towards the drivers side because of which car pulls towards the left?

Please advice, Thanks.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by keeru

Guys, is that only me who feels that my GT TDI slightly pulling towards the left ?

Hey keeru I own a 1.6 GT TDi (MY14) myself and I did have this issue for the initial few Kms. But I swapped my OEM rubber to 205/55 Kenda Komet on the second day and since have not noticed this issue.

Now I even have swapped the OEM rims with an aftermarket 15" that has only increased the foot-print of the tires.

Though I don't advise or support this method, I have tried to take my hands off the steering on well paved tarmac and the car just rolls ahead in a straight line, which actually gets a bit spooky at times!!

But of course, I have never tried these tests within city limits, where it is not advisable and not very conclusive either, as the road surfaces are not good.

[keeru]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

I swapped my OEM rubber to 205/55 Kenda Komet on the second day and since have not noticed this issue.

Hi Vik0728, Thank you for the details.

This week, I'm planning to swap the tyres with Michelin primacy 3 st 195/60/R15. Let me do the tests after that

[Thad E Ginathom]

When I bought my 1.6TDI it was, as it is now, for or five months before its annual service was due. I found that I had to add half a litre of oil.

Just lately, luckily I checked when filling the screenwash and found the dipstick showing minimum. I added one litre.

It is years since I had a car that used much oil between services, and back then, it was due to the imperfections of age. However, I am now making a mental note to check monthly.

The manual states that a certain amount of oil use is normal. Chennai's Ignite-Garage Raghav confirmed this and reassured me. Most of my motoring is city stuff: it is not easy on engines.

Sharing my experience as a reminder to other owners: check your oil level regularly. Do not rely on dashboard warning lights. It is only an oil pressure warning light, and if that stays on after engine startup, some very serious problem is there, and a car should be towed, not driven away,

[Thad E Ginathom]

Rattling AC (cabin ventilation) fan?

Anybody else had one of these? Mine has had it since I bought it: had always thought that it was part of the general extra noise that comes with diesel. Had not even thought about occasionally not hearing it.

Combination of climate control and Chennai means that it is set to the magic number for us, and never altered or turned off. For some reason, did so recently, and realised the rattle stopped.

So easy to diagnose. Just that I never did!

The last time I had an AC noise, with my Swift, the engineers removed a dead geko from the works!

[anshurao]

Hello,

I recently got a call from my VW dealer asking me to get my 2014 GT TDI for a software upgrade as per the 'Diesel Service Action' program. Have any of you got the ECU reprogrammed ? If yes, any noticeable change?
This question puzzles me the most, should I get this done? and will this mean I lose power?

Any inputs will be welcome.

Thanks,
Anshu

[Immix]

Originally Posted by anshurao

I recently got a call from my VW dealer asking me to get my 2014 GT TDI for a software upgrade as per the 'Diesel Service Action' program. Have any of you got the ECU reprogrammed ?

Is your GT TDI a late 2014 model with the facelift and 1.5L engine? If yes, then there should be a software upgrade waiting for you.

The 2013-14 GT TDIs with 1.6L engines do not have a software upgrade ready as of now. I was at the VW workshop today and asked the service advisor there to check. He put in my 2013 GT TDI's VIN in his system and found no recall notice or software upgrade notice for my car.

[MavericK46]

Originally Posted by Immix

Is your GT TDI a late 2014 model with the facelift and 1.5L engine? If yes, then there should be a software upgrade waiting for you.

The 2013-14 GT TDIs with 1.6L engines do not have a software upgrade ready as of now. I was at the VW workshop today and asked the service advisor there to check. He put in my 2013 GT TDI's VIN in his system and found no recall notice or software upgrade notice for my car.

I received a mail from VW about bringing in my 2013 GT TDi for the Diesel-gate remap, in December. The update was performed when I dropped her off for the annual service in January.

Not only was the software update performed, a piece of plastic labeled an 'airflow straightener' was fixed to the air filter assembly as well.

EDIT: The remap did kill the violent kick up the backside when floored in 2nd or 3rd. However, I sense that she is back to pretty much her old ways after about a thousand odd kms of driving post the s/w update.
It could very well be placebo, but not only do I find any lack in performance, the driveability is better now and the fuel economy has seen an uptick as well.

Cheers !

Sundar