[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by Swift Express

It was two of us Me n my wife.. she had to get down at 4 places - stream crossings in particular when you near high passes. At moore plains watch out for detours that you will have to take at sections where small over stream bridges are under construction. The detour is through loose sand and hence ensure that wheels do not spin.

Excellent pictures and congratulations on the trip. Also this is not the best time for a trip there as the passes open up now and the snow melt is highest due to peak summers. Even in July I have experienced pretty high snow melts and slides. However the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh-Pangong circuit is doable in sedans with some care. The rest of the areas need an SUV. Having said that the Vento seems to handle rough roads much better than its competition. I know a coworker who has dubbed his Honda City as a city only car because it cannot take roads outside the city due to its bottoming out problem.

Originally Posted by bala80

Looks like yours is the trendline/comfortline with the 14" wheels. 15" wheels with 195/60 profile should take care of the GC issue I beleive...

Yup its a Trendline as it doesn't have fogs.

[Swift Express]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Excellent pictures, hoping that this is just a short glimpse/trailer for more to come up in a proper travelogue.

Are you having stock tyres JK/Apollo or did you upgrade? Any punctures or sidewall damage encountered during the whole journey, knowing its a treacherous one? Lastly did you use any navigation aid GPS throughout the journey, if so which brand?

Congrats on being the 1st person to take a Vento TDi to Leh on Team-BHP. Inspiration for many of us.

Apollo is not reliable (had six punctures from start to 35 k run) according to me and hence had upgraded to Bridgestone MY-01 185/60 R 14 . 10 mm extra width coupled with stronger side walls and new valves.Had filled up Nitrogen before leaving from Mumbai. kept checking with the tyre inflator and only had to fill in when i reached back to delhi. Zero punctures in the 5000 plus kms run. Had thought about Michellin also but the side walls were not that strong.

Will start posting the travelogue soon. I had purchased a VW Authorised GPS - NAVON. But the damn thing did not have maps for J&K. Tried gettin updates from Naviextras.com but there was no update for J&K. The GPS helped with navigation through small towns in punjab when i took the Krishangarh - Hanumangarh - Bhatinda route to reach jammu. Also helped in delhi. Road network in J&K is not that dense and beyond sonamarg hardly few junctions. hence did not miss the GPS.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Excellent pictures and congratulations on the trip. Also this is not the best time for a trip there as the passes open up now and the snow melt is highest due to peak summers. Even in July I have experienced pretty high snow melts and slides. However the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh-Pangong circuit is doable in sedans with some care. The rest of the areas need an SUV. Having said that the Vento seems to handle rough roads much better than its competition. I know a coworker who has dubbed his Honda City as a city only car because it cannot take roads outside the city due to its bottoming out problem.



Yup its a Trendline as it doesn't have fogs.

This summer season has been doddgy with unusually cold weather coupled with Rain in drass and kargil. Hence snow melt was thankfully not such a big problem. On most passes thick walls of snow were still standing. In a months time i guess this season the situation will get worse with increase in snow melt. Ultimately its all about driving skill and patinence . At many places you will have to keep one side of your car wheels on higher ground and drive so that the underbelly does not get hit. Most dangerous is driving through slush as you have to drive through tyre tracks which leads to mud in between scrapping the bottom. its ok as long as it is only mud. but in some places there are sharp rocks in the piled up mud and hence you have to drive dead slow. At many place you will need to ask your copassenger to get down to get that extra precious GC.

[blackdiesel]

Though out of topic, just wanted to note this here as VW is also involved in this:

'Car companies restricting spares sales' - The Times of India

[Swift Express]

Originally Posted by blackdiesel

Though out of topic, just wanted to note this here as VW is also involved in this:

'Car companies restricting spares sales' - The Times of India

VW Doesnt have a dense network of service stations across India. For example there is no Service station in Srinagar. Hence if on a long drive you are in urgent need of a small spare you will get stuck. This is not the case with Suzuki. This directive makes a lot of sense and should be complied with. Atleast basic spares need to be made available,

[siddharthdeb]

Water Leak

Guys strange problem in my new vento, today since it has been pouring like crazy in Mumbai, i noticed that the car was leaking water through its rubber beadings. Only the driver door was opened when i was getting in during the downpour. I managed to wipe the beading dry but i could still get a few drops of water coming in. Anyone else faced this issue? It is pouring out there and my 5 day old is standing in the rain all alone?

Plus my ownership thread is up too

Sid

[fiesta]

Oh man!! Never heard of such an issue before.. VW don't ask me to carry an umbrella while driving..!!

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by siddharthdeb

Water Leak

Guys strange problem in my new vento, today since it has been pouring like crazy in Mumbai, i noticed that the car was leaking water through its rubber beadings. Only the driver door was opened when i was getting in during the downpour. I managed to wipe the beading dry but i could still get a few drops of water coming in. Anyone else faced this issue? It is pouring out there and my 5 day old is standing in the rain all alone?

Plus my ownership thread is up too

Sid

@Siddharth,
I have tested the car in heavy rains - never faced any of this issue. Doubt if any of the others out here have faced this problem. Probably you should run it by the VW workshop.

Others,
Your inputs are solicited on the below quoted discussion on the Rapid thread.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

I don't really believe this is an overall GC issue for the Vento or Rapid - rather I think the suspension (bounce) is at play. As for me the opposite has happened, the front bumper base scrapped the inclined section once when I was backing out my car from an inclined parking place.

...

I believe the car suspension causes a little bit of bounce and hence the one-off incident(s) with you guy(s).

[souravc]

Originally Posted by siddharthdeb

Guys strange problem in my new vento, today since it has been pouring like crazy in Mumbai, i noticed that the car was leaking water through its rubber beadings.

Sid,
VW has changed the beadings under warranty for quite a few of us albeit the reason was different ( door squeaks) . You should immediately contact your SA and get the same replaced , its a 20 min job - drop a mail to VW customer care and let them know your annoyance too .

@Ninja - its more of a design issue with the car parking rather than with the car . A ledge kind of parking surface with a steep incline ( I mean the angle rather than the length of the incline) will cause that scrapping, which is a building design issue - if only they took care to round it off and made the slope more gradual , the same would not happen

[newtonMeter]

Hi Guys,

i have found a potential problem to the beading squeak. I was frustrated last Saturday with the squeaks and decide to search extensively. Found a solution for "car window lubrication" with WD 40. Most of us would be aware of WD 40. (its used to un-JAM nuts, remove squeaks from moving parts, it lubricates too).

So sprayed WD 40 all around the window channel (Rubber Part) on 4 doors and the squeaks are gone!!

Now the hand rest started to squeak:( if i put my arm on the soft cover). It seams the the soft cover is suspended on a metal coir frame to give it the cushion effect. which seems to squeak now.

Any one else have the issue?

[siddharthdeb]

Originally Posted by souravc

Sid,
VW has changed the beadings under warranty for quite a few of us albeit the reason was different ( door squeaks) . You should immediately contact your SA and get the same replaced , its a 20 min job - drop a mail to VW customer care and let them know your annoyance too .

well in my case the front right door was completely out of alignment. Hence the leak. Hopefully this has solved my issue with the leak.as far as the squeak is concerned the guys at VW are aware of it and seem stumped with the problem.

Sid

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by newtonMeter

Now the hand rest started to squeak:( if i put my arm on the soft cover). It seams the the soft cover is suspended on a metal coir frame to give it the cushion effect. which seems to squeak now.

Any one else have the issue?

Yes, I had (have) this problem. During the first servicing I raised this issue directly to the workshop guys - they were aware of it. Fortunately I could showcase the difference on another Vento which hardly had no squeaks right there. They sprayed some fluid - and the squeaks were reduced. However it is not a permanent solution - the workshop guy meekly asked me to come over to the workshop whenever the problem arises again.

[aniket.tiwari27]

Originally Posted by siddharthdeb

well in my case the front right door was completely out of alignment. Hence the leak. Hopefully this has solved my issue with the leak.as far as the squeak is concerned the guys at VW are aware of it and seem stumped with the problem.

Sid

Even I have this issue. It surfaced in just a month's time after my purchase. Yet to show this to the service center.

[newtonMeter]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Yes, I had (have) this problem. During the first servicing I raised this issue directly to the workshop guys - they were aware of it. Fortunately I could showcase the difference on another Vento which hardly had no squeaks right there. They sprayed some fluid - and the squeaks were reduced. However it is not a permanent solution - the workshop guy meekly asked me to come over to the workshop whenever the problem arises again.

oh if its just a spray solution, let me try WD 40 on that too. did you see where they sprayed the solution?

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by newtonMeter

oh if its just a spray solution, let me try WD 40 on that too. did you see where they sprayed the solution?

All over it and inside the arm rest (box).

[khoj]

Don't want to rock your boat but in a brand new car door can be out of alignment due to two primary reasons
1. The door hinges are bad. Solution : Get the hinges replaced under warranty
2. The car has been shunted and who so ever repaired it did not align the door properly. Solution None really. The dealership will never own up to it. Do get the hinges checked though as they can be expensive to replace.

Originally Posted by siddharthdeb

well in my case the front right door was completely out of alignment. Hence the leak. Hopefully this has solved my issue with the leak.as far as the squeak is concerned the guys at VW are aware of it and seem stumped with the problem.

Sid

Regarding the WD 40, while it is a universal kind of jack of all trades. For lubricating the beadings especially the felt encased window channels, there is a specific liquid. I cannot recall the exact brand name (it could be ABRO) but any decent accessories shop will have this. This is made specifically for the window channels and will not have any adverse effects (such as drying up/hardening the insides) on the same.

Coming to the hand rest squeak, this arises out of weak locking clips inside the door pads and or weak locks on the arm rest itself which in turn locks it on to the door pad. I know this as my father's Aveo had the exact same problem and was resolved only after GM changed the door pads, of course after having tried a zillion things over a course of nearly an year. This is rare but does happen and apart from replacement there is no other solution at-least that's how it was with GM.

Originally Posted by newtonMeter

Hi Guys,

i have found a potential problem to the beading squeak. I was frustrated last Saturday with the squeaks and decide to search extensively. Found a solution for "car window lubrication" with WD 40. Most of us would be aware of WD 40. (its used to un-JAM nuts, remove squeaks from moving parts, it lubricates too).

So sprayed WD 40 all around the window channel (Rubber Part) on 4 doors and the squeaks are gone!!

Now the hand rest started to squeak:( if i put my arm on the soft cover). It seams the the soft cover is suspended on a metal coir frame to give it the cushion effect. which seems to squeak now.

Any one else have the issue?