Team-BHP - Volkswagen Taigun Review

Dear VW Taigun owners,

I am posting this on behalf of my friend. He owns a VW Taigun 2022 model, today the battery went kaput although the vehicle was used on daily basis.

The battery guy indicated that it's due to auto start/stop function the battery died pre-maturely.

Is it possible to permanently switch off auto start/stop function in VW cars?

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wheeloholic (Post 5873224)

The battery guy indicated that it's due to auto start/stop function the battery died pre-maturely.

Is it possible to permanently switch off auto start/stop function in VW cars?

No. Battery failure under 2 years is a common issue reported across all VW Taigun/ Skoda Kushaqs. Please ask him to avail under warranty. Many members including myself have availed this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KkVaidya (Post 5873447)

No. Battery failure under 2 years is a common issue reported across all VW Taigun/ Skoda Kushaqs. Please ask him to avail under warranty. Many members including myself have availed this.

He checked with the dealer, they claimed that warranty for battery is only 2 yrs, since it is completed, they cannot do it.

Is the battery failure something to do with auto start/stop? or the car came with low quality battery?

Hello all, just got done with my 3rd year service for my Taigun 1.0L Topline, at around 19,200 Kms mark. I was told by the ASC advisor that the battery is showing a defect and that I should replace it immediately. He told me it would cost me around Rs.11,000.

That seems way too high. Has anyone changed their battery after warranty period here? If yes, what was the cost? Would doing it at, say, an Exide reseller instead of the ASC void the warranty of the vehicle?

Edit:

I just checked the VW official service calculator and it says battery replacement + labour should be only around Rs.6,123. I guess I need to call the ASC manager and ask why the price was inflated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by asmr (Post 5876012)

I was told by the ASC advisor that the battery is showing a defect and that I should replace it immediately. He told me it would cost me around Rs.11,000.

If I remember the battery cost for variants with Auto Start/Stop was higher compared to the ones without. Initial batches of Taigun were launched without auto start/stop.

Also accidentally he might have shared you the price of battery for a GT variant which is 11k INR plus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsi_niks1989 (Post 5876375)

It seems logical, yes, but the service calculator has no field to differentiate between the older batches without Start/Stop and the newer ones with that feature. My car is from the older batch, by the way.

On the second question I had, based on a quick online search, there are conflicting answers on whether changing the battery outside of an ASC voids or impacts the warranty of the vehicle or at least the electricals. There is even a thread here about Skoda raising "non-genuine fitment" issue in such a case for a Rapid.
My understanding is that it shouldn't have any impact if I change the battery myself instead of doing it at the ASC. But I am not willing to risk another 4 remaining years of warranty cover even partially if the impact will be there. Looks like I should just go to the ASC and get this done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by asmr (Post 5876526)

But I am not willing to risk another 4 remaining years of warranty cover even partially if the impact will be there. Looks like I should just go to the ASC and get this done.

Update: So the ASC confirms again that warranty for electricals will get affected. Further, there are 3 variants of battery it seems. Costs are 8500, 11000 and 15000 it seems, including 28% GST. They will have to select the battery variant based on what the vehicle came with when rolling out of the factory, it seems.

For a battery change, they need 4hrs. After the new battery is put it, they will need to reconfigure/calibrate/run diagnostics and that takes the additional time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by asmr (Post 5876661)

I got the battery of my Slavia 1.5 DSG changed. This was a 60AH EFB battery which costed me 15k including labour. The existing battery was 2.5 yrs old and I was concerned about it giving up randomly and hence got it changed proactively. The existing battery did show 'good health' in the battery test and the service manager told me I need not change it already. But I could sense the cranking speed slowing down and interior lights dimming when cranking which wasnt the case earlier. Also due to a lot of experimenting with the car with engine off and ignition ON, I was not really hoping to push more with this battery.

The 1.0 engine without start stop has a battery thats of lower capacity and costs around 8k, while the rest of the cars be it 1.5/1.0 with start stop have a bigger battery. No use in having this start stop system when it will just need a bigger battery after some time which will eat all the fuel savings, if any.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KkVaidya (Post 5873543)

Nothing to do with the Auto Start/Stop. It is the quality of the battery.

I have heard from VW showroom , Auto Start/Stop system is a bane to Indian conditions, whenever i start driving first thing i do is switch off this system in order to save battery, this system keeps interrupting when you are in signal or crawling traffic, definitely rather than battery this technology aint feasible in here

Quote:

Originally Posted by vagsan (Post 5876694)

I have heard from VW showroom, Auto Start/Stop system is a bane to Indian conditions, whenever I start driving first thing i do is switch off this system in order to save battery, this system keeps interrupting when you are in signal or crawling traffic, definitely rather than battery this technology isn't feasible in here

Almost all car manufacturers are now putting this auto start/stop feature in the cars. I honestly do not remember if it was Mahindra (with their micro hybrid) or Suzuki who started this trend.

I feel auto start/stop is more interrupting than helping. The start/stop is not calibrated well in the cars I have test driven (Creta, Seltos, XUV700, Verna, Virtus, Slavia) to adapt to bumper to bumper city traffic. Frequent starting engine would have bad impact on battery life.

If anyone has any idea about how this should be handled? I am in a conversation with the workshop, and the HDFC Ergo Surveyor:

On November 10, 2024. I was driving in Satara, when a buffalo charged out of a bush, (see video) and collided with my car - VW Taigun. (Buffalo is ok thankfully) Despite taking evasive measures, the left side of the car is dented.

Front dashcam video
https://youtu.be/njuXxq4s5SI
Rear Dashcam Video
https://youtu.be/4NtbW6GjLFc

I took the car to VW Downtown on November 11, which is my Authorised Service Center. HDFC Ergo’s surveyor checked the car on November 12, and approved most of the repairs, however, some more damage was found inside the hood, with a plastic headlight clip being broken. In my knowledge this part cannot be repaired as it is plastic. The HDFC Ergo surveyor called me to say an “outside agency” will do these repairs. However VW will not honour their warranty on the rest of the headlight in the future.

Moreover a quarter panel has a slight dent, and needs repairs as well, it is very clear from the second video that the buffalo, one can see it kicking to the left, which is very clearly the cause of the previously non-existent dent. This is being denied totally.

I do not accept this as I will have nobody to go to if something happens to this headlight in the future. I have also paid for zero-depreciation insurance on my car, and have an impeccable driving record for the past 22 years. I do not expect to be sent pillar to post on a new car for no fault of mine just so the insurance company can save some money, for which a sizeable premium is paid.

If anyone has any idea of what should be done, please let me know?