[gkrishk]

Tiguan is indeed an impressive car.

Undoubtedly. I do like VWs. I have owned a Beetle in the 70s, an old Polo in the UK in the 80s, and recently a Polo GT TSI and now a Tig.

But..

The dealership here in Trivandrum sucks. I've been waiting for a tyre (or set of tyres) since 20th August.
Parts-simple ones like tyres-arent available elsewhere.
Emailed customer care again and again- all they do is refer you to the lethargic service dept at the dealers.
No way I could speak to any manager/responsible person at VW Hq. There is no management/middle management address or email ID easily available.

I just havent taken my car out of town for a month and a half as its still on the thin space saver.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by gkrishk

Tiguan is indeed an impressive car.


Emailed customer care again and again- all they do is refer you to the lethargic service dept at the dealers.
No way I could speak to any manager/responsible person at VW Hq. There is no management/middle management address or email ID easily available.

I just havent taken my car out of town for a month and a half as its still on the thin space saver.

I agree with all the above. If you don't have a responsive service dealer, it is an issue. Fortunately, Pune is reasonably well served.
I had a simple issue - per VWI recommendations, the engine air filter is to be changed annually. The dealer cleaned, inspected and reinstalled the old filter, saying replacement isn't necessary. VWI customer care responds, but nothing meaningful and even today they aren't saying when then is a filter replacement mandatory, if not annually.
For escalation, send an email to Steffen.Knapp@volkswagen.co.in and customer care. Seeing his name may give the customer care gang some incentive to take some action - perhaps. Won't cost you anything to do this and in your case, it is a serious enough matter.
Even Tata is more responsive than VWI, which is something VWI should be ashamed of.

[raz0405]

Please don't take a chance with Air Filter or wait for an answer from VWI. The best practice is to change the air filter every year or every 10-15 K KMs. The conditions in India warrants air filter replacement as prescribed. Lot of things are dependent on a clean air filter. Air filters for Tiguan should be available outside and is easy to install. Needn't have to go to the service center to do that

[Sawyer]

That may not necessarily be the best thing to do; in the US, a Tiguan Diesel engine air filter replacement is recommended at 60,000 kms, so the service dealer may well be doing it right. And replacing one needs some care such that there is a proper seal when it is reinstalled, in addition to the fact that air filters perform better after some use.

With EGR, unless the engine is severely stressed often by running it above 3500 rpm, very little fresh air may be drawn in through the air filter, which is probably the reason for this recommendation.

In my case, the car has done just 7500 kms in the first 12 months, so I have some time to research this further and to keep making a nuisance of myself with VWI customer care!

[kamakaze]

First Day with Tiguan.

The engine is reluctant to speed in the beginning but it does get better once it's warm. The diesel gets quieter after 40 kmph and once you are past 60, it's quite silent.

I get a warning every time the speedo crosses 80. Yet to figure out how to fix that.

The Infotainment system is not bad. My Koleos had Bose 8-speaker system with an active subwoofer. This one has no subwoofer but bass levels are good.

The tyres were way overinflated. 55 psi on all 4. The ride was stiff. Got it down to 35 right after but the TPM showed 39-39-43-44 psi today morning. This is the first time I am driving a car with Tyre Pressure Monitoring.


Fellow travellers, what's your experience with the TPM systems?

Thanks,
kamlesh

[Sawyer]

The Tiguan TPM system is very useful; and it shows the correct cold reading only after some time on the road. Till then it shows the last sensor reading when the car was last driven, and since the cold reading is the one to see, the time to see what is this cold pressure is after driving the car from cold for a few minutes. In the dashboard display, the retained numbers are indicated by a greyed out display which becomes fully lit once those few minutes are over.

I keep mine at 34-35 cold in the city, and 38 all around for highway drives. Of course as the car is driven the pressures rise by 3 to 4 pounds, but that is how it should be.

Used with some intelligence, it is no longer necessary that the air filling station gauges need to be accurate - which they very rarely are. Check your cold pressure on the TPM and ask/check for only differential outcomes after filling.

[sreejinair]

Originally Posted by kamakaze

I get a warning every time the speedo crosses 80. Yet to figure out how to fix that.

Fellow travellers, what's your experience with the TPM systems?

If the warning light on the speedo is of the winter tyres, you should be able to change it (increase/decrease) under the settings menu. Click car button on the right bottom and then click the settings (again on the right bottom). Click tyre and at the bottom of the screen you should see an option to change that warning. If its not that and its because of the govt speed limit warning thing, then I dont think there is anything you can do to change it. It should happen at 80 and then at 120 (I guess)

I was never able to get the TPMS match with the tire pressure system at the gas stations. My Tiguan always display a few psi more than what is displayed outside whether it be a gas station or filling it manually via the 12V air compressor. Hotter the tyre/weather higher the psi, you will notice a rise in psi when driving fast on highways, mine usually goes up by 2-3 psi and the opposite when driving at slow speeds in the city, remains the same (32) as neither the city nor the driving condition gives an opportunity for the rise in psi

[shrinath_m2]

Originally Posted by kamakaze

I get a warning every time the speedo crosses 80. Yet to figure out how to fix that.

Congrats on your new ride kamakaze! I believe silver is very easy maintenance. Good choice on the comfort car

The speed warning, is an irritant gifted by our very far sighted politicians who thinks India is developed country; you can not silence it (Audible speed alerts to be mandatory by July 2019).
You will hear it even better if you can go beyond 120
If anyone knows how to shut it up, please let us know.

[kamakaze]

Originally Posted by sreejinair

If the warning light on the speedo is of the winter tyres, you should be able to change it (increase/decrease) under the settings menu. Click car button on the right bottom and then click the settings (again on the right bottom). Click tyre and at the bottom of the screen you should see an option to change that warning.

Winter one gone! Thans.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by gkrishk

I just havent taken my car out of town for a month and a half as its still on the thin space saver.

I have just had some movement towards a response from VWI; I suggest sending an email to christopher.dsouza1@volkswagen.co.in from whom this forward motion seems to have been initiated.

In my case it appears that the VWI mandate for air filter replacement will be stated to be every 2 years or 30,000 kms.

[Sawyer]

I have found that the Tiguan is best driven in E mode - and I suspect that in settings one can force the AC to still run in normal mode - in the city as well as on highways. The nice and probably unique thing about this mode is how it moves the transmission to neutral as soon as the foot is off the accelerator. And all it takes to engage the transmission in E mode again is a touch on either brake or accelerator. Very neat way of maximising economy and keeping the turbo cool, particularly on long highway drives. And all it takes to immediately move the car to sports mode for overtaking/ghat climbing is tapping the DSG stick back; and tapping it back again to come back to E mode. I can't see why every high end car does not have this feature, but I suspect that very few do. The other high end car I know well, a BMW 5 series, does not have this feature for sure. It would be particularly relevant to all engines that are turbo charged.

For some reason, the E mode is lost every time the car is put to bed, and has to be selected via the mode selector on start up, else the car starts in D mode. That's the only minor inconvenience about it. It is also a more gentle way of getting a cold engine into action.

Having used it extensively, I don't find any downside to it. I wish VW had made this the default drive mode.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I can't see why every high end car does not have this feature, but I suspect that very few do. The other high end car I know well, a BMW 5 series, does not have this feature for sure. It would be particularly relevant to all engines that are turbo charged.

Most of the BMW's have this as Eco Mode since many Years now. It does not change the transmission to Neutral though it goes to Auto Hold at stops and you don't need to press the brakes. This happens on all the modes and not just on Eco. On one of 6 cylinders, Petrol, I find ECO mode better for the traffic as it sort of holds the excessive power that comes in other modes. So ECO modes will have a different sort of tune like they have for Sports.

But I am not sure how will it be relevant to Turbos!

[Sawyer]

Lots of cars down to even budget ones with AMTs have an Eco mode; but I am referring to the one in the Tiguan that also automatically moves the transmission to neutral as well, that is the key feature that I refer to. It is relevant to turbos because whenever that happens, at say 120 kmh, the turbo spools down for the time till the foot next touches either pedal, allowing it to get a rest and cool down, which can only be good for its service life. And used intelligently, it reduces the need to keep the engine idling for some time after stopping from a long drive, to keep the turbo from cooking.

The BMW 5 series of 2018 does not have this feature, and I think this is quite unique, actually. And very useful.

[itwasntme]

Does it indeed do that? Interesting logic. I'm also assuming that the DSG is unaffected by repeatedly disengaging and reengaging a high gear directly on the move?

When it does move to N, is there any difference in the feel of the car because there is zero engine braking at that point in time.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Does it indeed do that? Interesting logic. I'm also assuming that the DSG is unaffected by repeatedly disengaging and reengaging a high gear directly on the move?

When it does move to N, is there any difference in the feel of the car because there is zero engine braking at that point in time.

It absolutely does that; the engine noise and rpm needle immediately shows the drop to idling speed. And since this is all automatic, and a standard feature in the E mode, it is a safe assumption that this will not affect DSG life; any necessary safeguards must have been built into the car by VW.

And of course the car is then coasting. But all it takes is a touch to either brake or accelerator pedal for it to come out of coasting mode, instantaneously. Or by tapping the DSG stick back to shift it to S mode. Again, one assumes that any risk of coasting that one is taught about when learning to drive has been mitigated by VW engineering. I have not hesitated to be in E mode even when going down ghats - touch the brake pedal and this mode is immediately disengaged and full engine braking restored until one accelerates again and removes the foot from that pedal for coasting to again start. Probably the same thing happens if the shift paddles at the steering wheel are touched.

This is more than turbo life, come to think of it. For any number of kilometres driven, the engine in E mode will have run a significantly lower number of revs than if not in E mode. Which is good for fuel economy AND engine wear and tear/service life.

Why this is not a common feature in the cars than can support the engineering expense needed to have it, is a mystery.
PS: Of course, one must not try to save even more by then turning off the engine - I haven't even dared to try that stunt! Or been stupid enough to do so.