Team-BHP - Skoda Slavia Review

Hello fellow 1.5 DSG owners, I have a question on how long did your first set if breakpads last?

A slavia, taigun and kushaq that i know had to their pads lasting only 10 to 15k km only. Mine is at 12 and I just heard a small grinding noise when coming to stand still from higher speeds, so I am guessing my pads are toast as well. This seems very less, I am not comparing it with 40k ish mileages of the toyotas, but even when comparing to the seltos GT line.

One another interesting aspect is, the same people have got 25k+ life on their second set of pads. Also, the skoda service insists on changing the discs with the pads irrespective of any disc damage . Is this a common practice even in this segment of cars now? In my previous experience, the discs were only replaced if they were damaged due to pad wear.

Fyi : none of these cars that i talked about are particularly aggressive driven. We all get higher pad life on our other cars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.jjp (Post 5933999)

.
• PPS Skoda Bangalore (Majestic)
I had to get a routine service at PPS Skoda in Bangalore (near Majestic) due to a recall. Unfortunately, this was a below-par experience. The service team tried to push multiple add-ons, even though I had specifically requested to only carry out routine services. It was one of the worst experiences I’ve had with Skoda after using their products for about 6 years.

Update

I received several calls from Škoda in response to a post I had made on Team-BHP regarding the issues I faced in my second service. They enquired about the difficulties I encountered and assured me that such incidents would not recur. Furthermore, they have addressed and resolved all the concerns I had with the service center. I genuinely appreciate the proactive approach taken by Škoda and am pleased with the way they handled the situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinaygeorgeroy (Post 5960408)

Hello fellow 1.5 DSG owners, I have a question on how long did your first set if breakpads last?
A slavia, taigun and kushaq that i know had to their pads lasting only 10 to 15k km only.

That's too low. Ask for a vernier measurement of the brakepads infront of you. I've done 25k kilometres on my Virtus GT and still on 1st set of brakepads.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinaygeorgeroy (Post 5960408)

One another interesting aspect is, the same people have got 25k+ life on their second set of pads. Also, the skoda service insists on changing the discs with the pads irrespective of any disc damage . Is this a common practice even in this segment of cars now?

It is not mandatory to replace the discs along with the brakepads but it is a good practise to do so.

Thought I would do a general update having owned my Slavia for over 20 months now. I bought my 1.5 TSI DSG Ambition back in September 2023. Have clocked 25,100kms till date and every kilometre has been sheer joy.

The Slavia is absolutely practical for everyday use, it is spacious, has a lot of storage, great ground clearance that has saved me innumerable times in Chennai, a potent and frugal engine and a great ride to top it off.

I have had 2 annual services completed at Gurudev Skoda and the experience has been fantastic. Car always returned clean with all jobs done as expected. The periodic service cost for the 1.5 is also surprisingly reasonable considering the brand. First service was ₹6497 and second service was ₹8906 (I don’t have the Service package).

As an owner I am also happy that Skoda is actively having recalls for any issues with the cars and not turning a blind eye, keeps the trust strong as a first time Skoda owner.

The initial reactions from everyone when I bought the car was that the 1.0TSI would be more frugal, but the reason for buying Slavia in the first place was the 1.5 and I can confidently say that the 1.5 is very efficient if the need arises. Just yesterday I did a 605km drive out of sheer boredom and below is the amazing fuel efficiency achieved. Was cruising consistently between 80-100kmph, still have 1/3rd tank of fuel left in the car.

On the topic of fuel I have been sticking to regular fuel since the very beginning, have done a tankful of XP95 in between and observed no perceivable difference. Hence sticking to regular fuel. Stock front brake pads still have about 15k life left in them.

Overall a solid car and the one I recommend to my friends shopping in this segment. That is the end of my random update. Until next time.

Skoda Slavia 1.0 TSI MT : 7000 KM UPDATE

So Slavia completed 05 months with us with exactly 7070 km on the odometer. The complete experience was pretty good with very few shortcomings.

I am listing the pros first.
1. Driving experience, as expected, is typically Skoda. Smooth power delivery, good handling, to-the-point steering with good feedback.
2. It never feels short of power. Overtakes traffic confidently and most of the time without downshifting, just like Rapid.
3. Gear shifts are smooth with short throws. I have rarely used 6th gear due to bad roads and speed restrictions (60kmph) on highways. 6th gear works best above 70 kmph.
4. I always try to keep the rpm below 2000.
5. It handles bad roads better than Rapid, thanks to its SUV-like GC. It never scrapped its underbelly, even on super bad roads.
6. The touch screen is easy and smooth to use. Wireless Android Auto works flawlessly.
7. The clutch is lighter than Rapid, with shorter travel.

Now the cons:

1. AC is ineffective after parking in direct sunlight. Rapid had better AC. Even Ecosport is better at cooling with its all-black interiors. AC fan doesn't respond to the ambient temperatures, which might be fixed with a software update.
2. AC touch controls are super annoying. Always had to take my eyes off the road to operate them, annoying and dangerous. Is it possible to replace them with rotary knobs?
3. It is complicated to switch between long-term/since last/since refuel trip information. In Rapid, it was much more straightforward.
4. There is a lag in first gear, most prominently felt going uphill when I have to stop to let oncoming traffic pass. I read it can be solved with Stage 1 tuning, but not going to do it at the cost of warranty.
5. Fuel economy is good on highways, bad on hills/bad roads and poor in start-stop traffic/enthusiastic driving. So if you want good FE, be gentle with the throttle.
6. Wireless charger worked only 10% of the time. And when it worked, it raised the phone temp quite a lot. Anyways, I never needed a WC.
7. Lava Blue colour is difficult to maintain. Think twice before opting for dark colours.

Overall, the car is running fine with no issues till now, and I expect it to remain this way in future. I have received complimentary SMP for two years which means I am good to go till 45k or 3 years.

Hello fellow BHPians,

As mentioned earlier, I recently brought home the Slavia 1.5 DSG Monte Carlo in Deep Black, and I must say, it’s an absolute stunner in terms of appearance and road presence.

However, after driving the car for about 20 days, I’ve encountered a few issues that I never faced in my previous vehicles — a 6-year-old Polo GT TSI and an 8-year-old Skoda Superb. Given Skoda’s reputation and my prior experience, these early concerns are quite surprising and a bit concerning. Here's a detailed breakdown:

1. Driver-Side Power Window One-Touch Operation (Inconsistent Behavior)
The Slavia appears to offer one-touch up/down functionality only for the driver-side window — a significant step back compared to segment standards, where all windows usually get this feature. More concerning is the inconsistent functionality of even that single one-touch feature.
At times, the window rolls down with a single press, but doesn’t respond to the one-touch up command unless I keep the button pressed. It then starts functioning normally for a while, only to misbehave again later.

Is this a known glitch, or is there a reset or calibration I'm missing here?
It’s a bit surprising (and frankly, disappointing) that even this limited functionality isn’t working reliably.

2. Wireless Android Auto – Random Disconnections
This has been the most frustrating issue so far. The wireless Android Auto connection drops intermittently, even though the phone remains connected to the system via Bluetooth.
Here’s what I’ve tried:

disconnect and re-connect the phone

Restarting the infotainment system

Testing with Apple CarPlay on an iPhone (which also didn’t work, except for Bluetooth)

After several unsuccessful attempts, the system started working again — seemingly on its own — without any clear trigger. This unpredictability is far from reassuring in a new vehicle and affects the overall driving experience.

3. Brake Noise at Higher Speeds (and Occasionally at Lower Speeds)
While driving with my family on a highway trip, I noticed a distinct noise while braking around 80–100 km/h. The sound is faint but noticeable — reminiscent of worn-out brake pads in my older cars.
This is a brand-new vehicle (just ~20 days old), and such sounds this early on are not what I expected. I even tried prolonged driving and short breaks hoping the pads would settle in, but the noise persists. It occasionally appears at lower speeds as well.

Final Thoughts
Having driven the Polo GT TSI and the Superb for several years, I expected the Slavia to carry forward Skoda’s renowned driving and build quality. These initial glitches are making me second-guess my decision.

Interestingly, none of these issues were present in the test drive vehicle, which felt absolutely smooth and refined in every aspect.

I would greatly appreciate input from fellow members:

Are these known issues with the Slavia anyone facing it already?

Is there any recommended fix or reset procedure I should try?

Should I escalate this to the service center already?

Thanks in advance for your insights and help!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pranavk2118 (Post 5966970)

Hello fellow BHPians,

As mentioned earlier, I recently brought home the Slavia 1.5 DSG Monte Carlo in Deep Black, and I must say, it’s an absolute stunner in terms of appearance and road presence......

I would greatly appreciate input from fellow members:

Are these known issues with the Slavia anyone facing it already?

Is there any recommended fix or reset procedure I should try?

Should I escalate this to the service center already?

Thanks in advance for your insights and help!

1. Normal behaviour and a known issue. It used to be much worse for us 2022 MY car owners. 2 Software campaigns later it is still inconsistent but nowhere as bad as it was initially. You will learn to live with it.

2. Your 6 year old polo and 8 year old superb had wireless AA and carplay? :O. VAG wireless AA and carplay is still better than most. This problem exists with most marques. Plug your phone in for a more consistent experience.

3. Also normal brake behaviour. let the pads bed in a little. If it persists, get the pads only (not disc!) scrubbed by the ASC, the pads will be good for a while after that. D-BHPian Audioholic (a pioneering Slavia 1.5 DSG owner)
has mentioned a permanent solution here:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5960428

Congrats on your purchase, but please relax about these niggles. Even our Toyota Innova Hycross had a couple when we bought it. Cannot escape it these days with cars getting increasingly complex. Coming to my Slavia DSG, it too had some of these niggles and more. Most are sorted, others have emerged, but boy do I forget about them on open roads.. I guarantee that you will too. Nothing this side of 40 L comes close dynamically.

Quote:

2. Your 6 year old polo and 8 year old superb had wireless AA and carplay? :O. VAG wireless AA and carplay is still better than most. This problem exists with most marques. Plug your phone in for a more consistent experience.

Quote:

Congrats on your purchase, but please relax about these niggles. Even our Toyota Innova Hycross had a couple when we bought it. Cannot escape it these days with cars getting increasingly complex. Coming to my Slavia DSG, it too had some of these niggles and more. Most are sorted, others have emerged, but boy do I forget about them on open roads.. I guarantee that you will too. Nothing this side of 40 L comes close dynamically.

Thank you for your wishes!

When I referred to my previous Polo GT and Superb, I was talking about the overall quality I experienced with those cars. I had installed a third-party wireless Apple CarPlay system and even did a Stage 2 tune later on, but never faced issues like the ones I’m seeing now. Everything worked smoothly and reliably, and I didn’t have a single complaint for years. Maybe I was lucky, but honestly, I didn’t expect this kind of experience from Skoda—especially within just 20 days of ownership. It’s quite surprising.

That said, as you mentioned, I’ll probably get used to it over time. For now, I’ll focus on enjoying the new car. Thanks again for the good wishes and for sharing your experience—it really helps!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinaygeorgeroy (Post 5960408)

Mine is 1.0. I am close to 90000. Just got the brake pads replaced as advised by the service advisor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pranavk2118 (Post 5966970)

1. Driver-Side Power Window One-Touch Operation (Inconsistent Behavior)
More concerning is the inconsistent functionality of even that single one-touch feature.
At times, the window rolls down with a single press, but doesn’t respond to the one-touch up command unless I keep the button pressed. It then starts functioning normally for a while, only to misbehave again later.

Is this a known glitch, or is there a reset or calibration I'm missing here?
It’s a bit surprising (and frankly, disappointing) that even this limited functionality isn’t working reliably.

Ah! The infamous Skoda driver side window malfunction!

It was a recurring theme in our Rapid for the last decade or so, and also on our Slavia.

It’s just something you get used to. Ask the ASC to check the window motor anyway. Do you hear a squeaking noise when rolling the window?