[Thad E Ginathom]

My 1.6 Highline has joined the broken cabin air vent club. The car is over two years old, so out of the standard warranty, but I do have extended warranty. I wonder if it will cover this. And experience or thoughts?

[Kumar R]

Hello all - Next week my VW Polo 1.2 Petrol (Trendline) will be due for the annual servicing. It's a Feb 2011 model (delivery taken in June'11) so this will be the third annual service. The mileage is minimal (3000 km) and the previous two servicing bills have been for Rs 8,630 and Rs 7,688 respectively (for '12 and '13). Should I expect any surprises this time round and are there any items to be mindful about?

For what it's worth the Service Centre is OSL Exclusive, Kolkata. I notice that in each of the earlier two rounds of servicing, they have replaced the following:

-Air filter (Rs 225)
- Oil filter (Rs 283) [Second service only]
- Fuel Filter w/press (Rs 430) [Second servicing only]
- Dust and Pollen filter (Rs 644)
- a plug (Rs 130 and 71)
- a seal ring (Rs 25)
- and a gasket (Rs 122)

and of course, 4 litres of LP-4 engine oil

I'm also thinking of having a keyless door lock installed -- does anyone have an idea whether this can be done? As this would involve circuitry I don't want to go to a non-VW workshop.

[Ketan T]

Originally Posted by Ketan T

Thank you, Avon. I will keep you posted on the kind of service I get from BU Bhandari. I have taken an appointment for this Sunday.

I got my Polo serviced from BU Bhandari on Sunday. Overall experience was good. Definitely better than Vidyut. Car was serviced, washed and delivered in 3 hours.


They changed the engine oil (Castrol 3 litres), air filter, dust and pollen filter. They also did the wheel alignment.

Total charges- Rs.6254.00

[kutts]

Originally Posted by Kumar R

I'm also thinking of having a keyless door lock installed -- does anyone have an idea whether this can be done? As this would involve circuitry I don't want to go to a non-VW workshop.

VW would not install it for you. It does not come as a standard accessory so the only choice you have left is to fit it from outside.

I did this from a regular accessories shop (Autocop model) but stopped using it since past 1 year. I am not sure if it is a mis-configuration but it kind of behaves erratically. The whole central lock makes a big fuss if I unknowingly open it manually after having locked it automatically. It would not lock again and at most cases the indicator lights start blinking at double rate when I put it on to take a turn. So finally gave it up. Did not want to take it to the accessories guy due to fear of him frying up my ECU

Do let me know if VW agrees to your request in case their policies have changed.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by Kumar R

I'm also thinking of having a keyless door lock installed -- does anyone have an idea whether this can be done? As this would involve circuitry I don't want to go to a non-VW workshop.

Do not go for aftermarket systems. They are all crap and will give you headache after 1-2 years.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

My 1.6 Highline has joined the broken cabin air vent club. The car is over two years old, so out of the standard warranty, but I do have extended warranty. I wonder if it will cover this. And experience or thoughts?

Last month was 2nd time the air vent broke in my 2011 model. Pathetic quality in a German

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by Kumar R

I'm also thinking of having a keyless door lock installed -- does anyone have an idea whether this can be done? As this would involve circuitry I don't want to go to a non-VW workshop.

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Do not go for aftermarket systems. They are all crap and will give you headache after 1-2 years.

Agree with KK.

With the aftermarket security system installation, you may end up breaking the otherwise foolproof and safest locking mechanism VWs have. Most probably the doors will start getting locked from inside as well, even autolock may also start working which is highly dangerous since the locking mechanism is electrically operated and the electrical system is the one which fails first of all during mishaps like fire or flood and occupants may get trapped inside the car during those emergency situations.

Never go aftermarket for such crucial components of the car, only get authorized security systems if available.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Last month was 2nd time the air vent broke in my 2011 model. Pathetic quality in a German

Did you get them fixed? How much did it cost?

This must be my third summer in the car, and I am feeling that just maybe the AC isn't as up to the Chennai heat as before.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Did you get them fixed? How much did it cost?

This must be my third summer in the car, and I am feeling that just maybe the AC isn't as up to the Chennai heat as before.

One vent cost me Rs. 731.00 inclusive of taxes

[Kumar R]

The third annual servicing of my VW Polo TL 1.2 was done yesterday. I had little trouble getting an appointment with OSL Exclusive (apparently only A.S.S. in Kolkata). They have two centres - with one dedicated for 'major' work, repair and the other for routine servicing.

Last Tuesday I was unfortunate enough to get a bump on the rear bumper from an aggressive Tata Sumo and the Polo suffered a horrific looking bumper separation which was not made any easier by the very heavy rain and waterlogging. Due to this I gave the Polo to the OSL centre on Budge Budge road (which does major work -- in case there were structural deformities inside the body).

I gave the car to the OSL folks on Saturday. There was a bit of waiting (an hour I think) but otherwise no hassles and the service advisor was quick to spot a couple of very minor per-existing dents and recommending not working on them now. He did mention a possible bumper replacement (about 5-6k) but agreed that the engineers should check to see whether that was needed.

In the end no bumper change was required -- they just changed the hooks/rings which attach the plastic to the chassis. Cost of servicing (including the annual service) was Rs 7837 including wheel alignment, wheel balancing, 4 litres of engine oil and change of a couple of filters. I noticed the car was driven for about 16 km (test drive?) The car was ready for delivery in two working days and on arrival yesterday I was pleased to see that it was parked outside and all ready to be driven off. Billing and other paperwork was completed in about 20 minutes and the staff seemed courteous and knowledgeable. Overall a stress-free third servicing (fingers crossed)!

They did mention that it was not possible to retro-fit a keyless entry system or a rear wiper :(

[anarchy_99]

A foul practise by volkswagen service centre is they break the AC vents purposely when the car is handed over to them for inspection. My last four visit at three different service centres in Mumbai left me with the same experience.

One day i went to the Andheri VW service centre for a general check-up and the advisor started noting down all the details of the car on the job sheet, when he reached to the driver side AC vent he said, Sir this vent is broken. I was shocked that till that point of time it was perfect. Then he went to the passenger side and again same thing. I asked him not to do anything to it and i will take care of it. Then after i got my car back i sourced the vents from local importers in Mumbai and fixed them myself. The next time when i went to the Lalbaugh VW service centre then again the service advisor said that both the vents are broken. I was shocked. Again i replaced them my self and this time i sourced them from another importer. This time it was the Third Vw service centre at Thane and this time my car was sent via my driver and i saw the job sheet and it says that passenger and driver vents broken. This was when i lost my cool. I immediately called up the advisor and yelled at him,but he just kept saying that the car came in with broken vents.

The next day met a couple of my friends and was discussing this with them and my friend told me that they do this purposely as its very easy to break them. I asked him how easy is it and he showed me by breaking one on his car as his car was due for service and in warranty. Even i gave it a try and apparently it just needs moderate pressure on the part that moves the vent left to right. Now i figured out how all my vents use to appear broken to the advisors, they use to break it on the spot in front of you there and there. Now i could not do anything to all my previous loss as i do not have a hard evidence against them but thought to share this with fellow Bhpians so that they do not fall for this. The best way to tackle this is show them the vents yourself instead of they showing it to you.

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by anarchy_99

A foul practise by volkswagen service centre is they break the AC vents purposely when the car is handed over to them for inspection. My last four visit at three different service centres in Mumbai left me with the same experience. Now i could not do anything to all my previous loss as i do not have a hard evidence against them .

I think 2 things are at play over here, First, VW uses inferior quality plastics for the equipment and second the already existing "image" of VW in India.

In future do take pics of your car prior to handing it over to any VW ASC and surely this will help you in judging the existing and new-damage on your car.

Thanks.

[noopster]

You theory makes a lot of sense given that a lot of Polo/Vento owners struggle with this problem of broken AC vents. In my case they replaced one set at my 2 year/30000 km service (which thankfully happened at 18 months so I could still claim it under warranty, though they initially refused). I noticed them broken again recently, with the car at just over 50,000 km.

Unfortunately, I think the simple issue is just that the part quality of the vent is awful which explains why it keeps breaking. My guess is either kids fiddling with the vent or (more likely in my case) the car cleaning guy who gets over enthusiastic with his pochha kapda. I am no big fan of VW ASS but it's a bit of a stretch to imagine they go around damaging customer cars on purpose just to fix them and pocket the proceeds!

About the vent replacement, I checked with a trusted FNG since ostensibly the part quality would be better, but he said better to do it through VW ASS since he would source the same part through his contacts who would then demand their pound of flesh and I would end up actually paying more! VW does not sell spares over the counter which is a trade restrictive practice if I know one. If they did we could simply buy a set and get it fitted by a trusted garage at much cheaper.

How much did you pay for the vents from your importer source? I just got a quote from BU Bhandari VW of 4500 for the full set. My FNG guy quoted 6500.

[rnidumolu]

I had a similar issue with GM for my Opel Corsa. When the car went for service everything was fine and when I took the delivery the air vent was broken. I have given the complaint to the SA and he said he will fix it in the next service for free of cost. But when I have told the same in the next service he has declined it and said he has never promised me.

My mistake was I would have refrained from taking the delivery on the first day itself.

Now I am understanding this might be a regular practice by the service stations.

[srishiva]

The vents are so horrible that I had two of them replaced. The present ones are so hard to turn left to right that I feel so bad when the passenger tries to adjust and struggles with it :( Add to that they are placed so bad that you cant have air to blow over your chest or down. It just blows in your face.

[Rehaan]

We have a Vento TDI, and at around 25,000 kms i noticed that 3 of the front A/C vents were broken!

This is especially strange because we don't have any kids in the family, and the front vents are rarely ever touched.

The rear blower vents were broken too - but that I'd imagine is from being accidentally kicked when someone moves over from one side of the rear bench to the other.

Originally Posted by anarchy_99

A foul practise by volkswagen service centre is they break the AC vents purposely when the car is handed over to them...

This is the first time I'm hearing of this. Interesting theory - but I'd say poor part quality has something to do with it. Will keep an eye out at the next service though - thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by noopster

How much did you pay for the vents from your importer source? I just got a quote from BU Bhandari VW of 4500 for the full set. My FNG guy quoted 6500.

My second service was at 25 months. The SA said "sorry, we would have replaced it but your car is out of warranty".

I told him we had extended warranty - and after some thinking he said that "plastic parts are not covered under extended warranty".

After some back and forth, they offered a 30% discount as VW's "Goodwill warranty". I said that wasn't good enough, since the front vents just break on their own (Note: i was not asking for the rear vents to be replaced).

Finally, IIRC they extended a 70% discount. I paid Rs. 384 + VAT for the dual center vents.

Was supposed to replace the left vent too, but apparently they broke the last remaining replacement whilst trying to put it in

Sent my car back a week later when the part came in stock. A different SA was trying to charge me Rs. 1000+ for just the left vent. I refused.

Not to mention they were also trying to get me to replace all my engine and transmission mounts (Rs. 6000+) at just 30k kms, because i was complaining of a rough idle that started immediately after my 2nd service. That's a story for another day...

cya
R