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Old 17th April 2017, 22:15   #8716
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Friends, I need your help.

My Vento TDI highline has completed 4 years and is 53,000 Kms old. The last 13K kilometers have been progressively bad, thanks to the horrible rear suspension (the infamous thud) and weakening front ones. The car wobbles even at low speeds on Bangalore roads and the thuds have gotten worse. As a result the rear doors have been squeaking for a while now. For the past couple of months, i hear a squeak when I close my boot. At 45K Kms, Bangalore Motors changed the stabilizer bar bush and lower control arm. It was OK for a while but its back to being bad. To compound matters my tires are due for replacement. I feel a lot of play in the steering wheel of late.

The car is perfectly fine otherwise, except for the ride quality is down to the sewers. Since I am due for service late this week, I plan to do the following in the chronological order

(1) Get my car serviced from VW Whitefield this week
(2) Replace the front and rear suspension from a reputed garage
(3) Replaces the tires & get the wheels aligned
(4) Replace the bulbs with white light (headlight / foglight / rear plate lights)

No (3) is no problem as I know where in Bangalore I need to get it done. However, I need help with (2). I have read coolboys post on the TRW struts. However he is in Delhi & I believe he ran into issues later with TRW giving up the ghost in 30K Kms. I would appreciate if someone can recommend where I can acquire the parts reliably in Bangalore and pointers to a reputed garage who can do a good job. I would prefer pointers from Vento owners who may have experience with these garages directly working on their car - preferably suspension work. Alternatively, I am wondering if one should go with the company struts and have them replaced in my service window.

Finally, pointers on point (4) is also much appreciated, though its not a must on my radar today. (1) (2) & (3) are the important ones that need to be ticked off by this month.

Last edited by SR-71 : 17th April 2017 at 22:17.
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Old 17th April 2017, 23:19   #8717
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by SR-71 View Post
Friends, I need your help.

==========
Since I am due for service late this week, I plan to do the following in the chronological order

(1) Get my car serviced from VW Whitefield this week
(2) Replace the front and rear suspension from a reputed garage
(3) Replaces the tires & get the wheels aligned
(4) Replace the bulbs with white light (headlight / foglight / rear plate lights)
============

Finally, pointers on point (4) is also much appreciated, though its not a must on my radar today. (1) (2) & (3) are the important ones that need to be ticked off by this month.
Which shockers to get for the Vento is a tough one. I actually feel, if you can get your hands on the German one's which the car came with, should be a good option. But the german one's are twice the price than the Indian one's in the Gurgaon service center. Around 8400 something against 4K for the Indian one's. I am talking about the front one's here.

Rachit

Last edited by khan_sultan : 29th April 2017 at 08:24. Reason: edited quoted post for better readability
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Old 25th April 2017, 20:00   #8718
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Hi, I have the 2011 Vento which came with the very aged no-usb no-aux (forget Bluetooth) music system. What's more is that i still have this ancient system installed. It's about time I upgrade and I'm in the market looking for a replacement. VW themselves don't seem to sell the new USB and Aux unit anymore (the guy at Volkswagen Whitefield said they had service issues with the Aux/USB system).

I'm writing here to ask if anyone knows what's the advice for a compatible and hopefully OEM looking music system which offers USB and AUX. I can live without Bluetooth but the music must get an upgrade. .
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Old 25th April 2017, 20:50   #8719
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anandbangalore View Post
Hi, I have the 2011 Vento which came with the very aged no-usb no-aux (forget Bluetooth) music system. What's more is that i still have this ancient system installed. It's about time I upgrade and I'm in the market looking for a replacement. VW themselves don't seem to sell the new USB and Aux unit anymore (the guy at Volkswagen Whitefield said they had service issues with the Aux/USB system).



I'm writing here to ask if anyone knows what's the advice for a compatible and hopefully OEM looking music system which offers USB and AUX. I can live without Bluetooth but the music must get an upgrade. .

Get the RCD330+. There are quite a few people on the forum who have upgraded to that unit. Completely OEM looking, since the RCD330 comes stock in either the rapid or vento, or maybe both.
Available on aliexpress for close to 100 USD, which is very VFM for what it offers. For music upgrade, you will need better speakers.
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Old 29th April 2017, 01:34   #8720
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Hello folks.

Looks like my 2011 Vento 1.6 TDi is in some trouble and I need urgent advice / suggestions. Last week, after about a 50 km drive (through a very dusty thunderstorm), I turned off the engine for a couple of minutes. On re-starting, the "check engine light" came on. This was at about mid-night and obviously there was not much I could do about it and chose to drive back home - a distance of about 12 kms, there was no lack of power, torque or any sort of mis-behavior from the car. I restarted the car at 6 a.m. the next morning and voila, there was no "check engine light", drove around for about 5-6 kms, rather spiritedly to test the car and everything was fine, again NO "check engine light". I called up my regular SA and he said false alarms for "check engine light" is a very common issue and to continue using the car as usual since there was no mechanical problem faced by me during this entire episode. According to him, it was just a malfunctioning sensor - probably due to the dusty thunderstorm.

I took his advice and used the car as usual. Fast forward to a week and about 500 kms later - the "check engine light" re-appeared today. This time, I was returning home from a short 12 kms drive, parked the car but when I got off, I noticed that it was not parked perfectly, so I got back and re-started the car - and the dreaded "check engine light" was back on. Since, I was home I decided to drive around the block to see if there are any performance issues - and thankfully, there are none. Other than the "check engine light", the car performs perfectly well, no lag in power, torque etc. Notice the common factor here (on both occasions) - The "check engine light" came on after re-starting the engine after a couple of minutes, after a long drive. I have decided to call it a night and will again crank up the engine in the morning.

I need your suggestions on what to do next. I have gone through the entire Team BHP vento thread and notice that this is not a very uncommon issue. After the previous conversation with my SA, I'm pretty sure he is least bothered until there is an actual mechanical problem while driving the car. Needless to say, my car is out of warranty and no I have never faced any injector trouble (have read a lot through the Team BHP threads), and the car still performs well.
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Old 29th April 2017, 10:40   #8721
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by utkarsh10 View Post
Hello folks.
Needless to say, my car is out of warranty and no I have never faced any injector trouble (have read a lot through the Team BHP threads), and the car still performs well.
Your injectors seem ok as there isnt any visible issues to you. Just take to ASS and get the errors checked on VAS. the error code to tell them why is the check engine light coming on.
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Old 29th April 2017, 15:32   #8722
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by utkarsh10 View Post
Hello folks.

Looks like my 2011 Vento 1.6 TDi is in some trouble and I need urgent advice / suggestions. Last week, after about a 50 km drive (through a very dusty thunderstorm), I turned off the engine for a couple of minutes. On re-starting, the "check engine light" came on. This was at about mid-night and obviously there was not much I could do about it and chose to drive back home - a distance of about 12 kms, there was no lack of power, torque or any sort of mis-behavior from the car. I restarted the car at 6 a.m. the next morning and voila, there was no "check engine light", drove around for about 5-6 kms, rather spiritedly to test the car and everything was fine, again NO "check engine light". I called up my regular SA and he said false alarms for "check engine light" is a very common issue and to continue using the car as usual since there was no mechanical problem faced by me during this entire episode. According to him, it was just a malfunctioning sensor - probably due to the dusty thunderstorm.

I took his advice and used the car as usual. Fast forward to a week and about 500 kms later - the "check engine light" re-appeared today. This time, I was returning home from a short 12 kms drive, parked the car but when I got off, I noticed that it was not parked perfectly, so I got back and re-started the car - and the dreaded "check engine light" was back on. Since, I was home I decided to drive around the block to see if there are any performance issues - and thankfully, there are none. Other than the "check engine light", the car performs perfectly well, no lag in power, torque etc. Notice the common factor here (on both occasions) - The "check engine light" came on after re-starting the engine after a couple of minutes, after a long drive. I have decided to call it a night and will again crank up the engine in the morning.

I need your suggestions on what to do next. I have gone through the entire Team BHP vento thread and notice that this is not a very uncommon issue. After the previous conversation with my SA, I'm pretty sure he is least bothered until there is an actual mechanical problem while driving the car. Needless to say, my car is out of warranty and no I have never faced any injector trouble (have read a lot through the Team BHP threads), and the car still performs well.
UPDATE:
The "check engine light" was gone again this morning. I was pretty irritated with this and still drove to the service centre. At the service centre, after a while or waiting and standing on my SA'S head, they finally plugged it in the VAG-COM and it threw up an EGR Wire error. Anyone has any idea why would this happen ?

Anyway, they promptly said that they will replace it within the hour only to inform me an hour and a half later that the part is out of stock. Meanwhile they have completely removed the faulty wire - according to them it's better this way. So, now the "check engine light" is permanently on.

They have placed an order for the EGR Wire and expect it by the end of the week. I have been advised to use the car as if nothing has happened and ignore the "check engine light"

I was charged a total of 750+taxes for running the scan. Pretty annoyed with the fact that I will have to make another trip to the service centre within a week.
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Old 29th April 2017, 20:11   #8723
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@Utkarsh 10 - I had exactly the same problem. Diagnostics was a bit different in my case. It was a case of fault in oxygen sensor wire. Bill was 2200 RS. The SA said it was a common occurrence in most ventos. As long as there's no loss of power, you are safe to drive as usual.
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Old 30th April 2017, 16:55   #8724
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

its a pity that the sensors on our vehicles cause more trips to the service stations than the actual issue.

While we all are happy that the bigger issue didnt surface and it was just the sensor or a cable error, we should demand better fitment or longetivity of the sensor life itself. I have replaced my ABS sensors at 90K kms( post 4 yrs of usage). while some may argue that 4 yrs & 1 lakh kms is good enough life, i feel it has to be double.
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Old 1st May 2017, 12:12   #8725
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Multicast please. I am also thoroughly confused about the suspension. The car desperately needs some work after rigorous 80K on Indian roads, much of which has been on the incredible Mumbai roads and smaller country roads.

The car is December 2011 make. Have asked VW to send me the parts details used in suspension with specific part numbers. They agreed and will send me an email with the details. But between front Sachs and rear TRWs and OEMs and Bilsteins, I still cannot find a reasonable permutation which most of us seem to agree, works!

Quote:
Originally Posted by SR-71 View Post
Friends, I need your help.


(2) Replace the front and rear suspension from a reputed garage
(3) Replaces the tires & get the wheels aligned
(4) Replace the bulbs with white light (headlight / foglight / rear plate lights)

However, I need help with (2). I have read coolboys post on the TRW struts. However he is in Delhi & I believe he ran into issues later with TRW giving up the ghost in 30K Kms. I would appreciate if someone can recommend where I can acquire the parts reliably in Bangalore and pointers to a reputed garage who can do a good job. I would prefer pointers from Vento owners who may have experience with these garages directly working on their car - preferably suspension work. Alternatively, I am wondering if one should go with the company struts and have them replaced in my service window.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
Which shockers to get for the Vento is a tough one. I actually feel, if you can get your hands on the German one's which the car came with, should be a good option. But the german one's are twice the price than the Indian one's in the Gurgaon service center. Around 8400 something against 4K for the Indian one's. I am talking about the front one's here.

Rachit
Hi Rachit,

Could you tell me which ASS was this in Gurgaon? I would be driving (relocating) to Gurgaon from Mumbai and wanted to get the suspension sorted before that but can't find a set that works to preserve the ride quality. Don't mind shelling out extra for the right set.

Last edited by Zappo : 6th March 2018 at 17:08. Reason: Housekeeping - Consecutive posts merged.
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Old 1st May 2017, 17:36   #8726
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by Annibaddh View Post
Hi Rachit,

Could you tell me which ASS was this in Gurgaon? I would be driving (relocating) to Gurgaon from Mumbai and wanted to get the suspension sorted before that but can't find a set that works to preserve the ride quality. Don't mind shelling out extra for the right set.
Hi,

The name of the Gurgaon VW Service Center is Frontier Auto World.

Rachit
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Old 2nd May 2017, 00:11   #8727
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

I have a 2013 Vento Diesel - the top manual variant. Or to be more precise my wife does. I recently upgraded my Linea to an S-Cross and my wife prefers to drive the S-cross which means I shall obviously have to drive the Vento. Now she has never synced the Bluetooth to her phone on the Vento. I can't find the manual nor could I find a YouTube video. If someone could tell me how to sync it, I'd be very grateful. Thanks.
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Old 4th May 2017, 22:44   #8728
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by invidious View Post
I have a 2013 Vento Diesel - the top manual variant. Or to be more precise my wife does. I recently upgraded my Linea to an S-Cross and my wife prefers to drive the S-cross which means I shall obviously have to drive the Vento. Now she has never synced the Bluetooth to her phone on the Vento. I can't find the manual nor could I find a YouTube video. If someone could tell me how to sync it, I'd be very grateful. Thanks.
You should have RCD 320 model which was for the 2013 model
Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review-original_vw_rcn_320_car_radio_with_bluetooth_usb_cd_sd_for_vw_polo_golf_5pro2016053038425.jpg

In which case you can go through the following steps
Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review-img_1375.jpg
Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review-img_1376.jpg
Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review-img_1377.jpg
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Old 5th May 2017, 01:40   #8729
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Quote:
Originally Posted by invidious View Post
I have a 2013 Vento Diesel - the top manual variant. Or to be more precise my wife does. I recently upgraded my Linea to an S-Cross and my wife prefers to drive the S-cross which means I shall obviously have to drive the Vento. Now she has never synced the Bluetooth to her phone on the Vento. I can't find the manual nor could I find a YouTube video. If someone could tell me how to sync it, I'd be very grateful. Thanks.
Hi invidious,
Because you own both vento and scross, I have a question for you. I am planning to buy a diesel and both scross 1.3/1.6 and Vento tdi comfortline dsg are under shortlisting. My daily running is around 75 kms from faridabad to noida for daily office commute. Vento is in consideration being an automatic. Which car would you suggest me between these 2 or any other option? Other than daily commute it would be used for quarterly long trips. I want to keep the car for around 6 years and need a more fuss free car.
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Old 5th May 2017, 03:22   #8730
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by SpoiledBratt View Post
Hi invidious,
Because you own both vento and scross, I have a question for you. I am planning to buy a diesel and both scross 1.3/1.6 and Vento tdi comfortline dsg are under shortlisting. My daily running is around 75 kms from faridabad to noida for daily office commute. Vento is in consideration being an automatic. Which car would you suggest me between these 2 or any other option? Other than daily commute it would be used for quarterly long trips. I want to keep the car for around 6 years and need a more fuss free car.
Pound for pound, the S-cross is a better car in terms of stance and ergonomics. Considering the S-cross is new, it won't be prudent of me to comment on maintenance costs. My biggest grouse with the Vento has been the lack of a dead-pedal. The Vento is solidly built though.

But I must point out that my driving is very less - I probably drive 120 km/week. If you are driving 75/kms a day, it makes complete sense to get an automatic. Do check if the AT has either a dead pedal or space to rest your left foot. The S-cross has Cruise Control which helps in longer drives.

If you are looking for a comfortable drive the Vento is a good car. If you are looking to enjoy driving, the 1.6 S-Cross is easily the winner. I have the 1.3 and it is a practical car.

I don't wish to confuse you more, but have you considered the top-spec Diesel AT of the VW Ameo. It has all the bells and whistles and if you are driving alone most of the time, you might wish to consider it and save a few lacs.
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