[capt.chandru]

I'm glad i chose to cancel my order on the SKODA Octavia.

I believe SKODA engineers go by data given by the service centers, whereas the service centers are not trained and controlled by SKODA INDIA properly.

SKODA Authorized service centers have been there for a long time and have made faults like this before in huge numbers, and when earlier customers started excusing it due to lack of knowledge, they got used to it and have this feeling of " Why don't people just pay " , even if it is our mistake.

With less than 4 Dealers per state, customer do not have an option to look for another service center to service their cars.

As customers we would be forced to deal with the nearest service center, who would take the liberty to treat us as badly as possible, as we would not have any other option.

In one of the earlier posts, somebody was asking why Maruthi or Hyundai owners do not complain, it is because they are taken care of so well, by the service centers, since there are 4 service centers in a city and we can easily look for another option. Like MNP. PORT !

[anandpadhye]

But what did TAFE actually do when you gave the car to them?
Can you please post the scanned copy of that bill?

[sagarpadaki]

Hi Catamaran, can you check your user manual as to what is the change interval for diesel filter? And then can you check if the filter was changed during the service at the described intervals. If not then you can grab skoda by their necks. Because its the service center responsibility to ensure that the diesel filter is changed at the intervals mentioned in the manual. This can be a crucial advantage to you in putting the blame entirely on skoda

[Catamaran]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Hi Catamaran, can you check your user manual as to what is the change interval for diesel filter? And then can you check if the filter was changed during the service at the described intervals. If not then you can grab skoda by their necks. Because its the service center responsibility to ensure that the diesel filter is changed at the intervals mentioned in the manual. This can be a crucial advantage to you in putting the blame entirely on skoda

Will check this. The manual is in the car. Reported the matter to all higher ups in Skoda. Hope to have some decision soon.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Catamaran

Will check this. The manual is in the car. Reported the matter to all higher ups in Skoda. Hope to have some decision soon.

Share the matter on their FB page also. Ur will get the attention of all users and Skoda too.

To my knowledge the sedimentor cab his around 500-600 ml, during the 100K service of my Ritz the mechanics at Maruti had opened it to check and empty the sedimentor so it was almost full - got around 400 ml and there was still place for more to fill in before the warning lamp lit-up.

Anurag.

[Raosaheb Desai]

Originally Posted by Catamaran

Will check this. The manual is in the car. Reported the matter to all higher ups in Skoda. Hope to have some decision soon.

Hi Catamaran,

These imported diesel engines are too sensitive to handle Indian fuel quality.
At 50k, I had issue of DPF clogging in my X Trail. Though Nissan replaced whole Exhaust assembly under warranty, it took almost more than month.
Also diagnosed some faulty sensors, so afterwards they replaced all sensors, complete wiring, ecu, ecm, egr and so many other small bits.
I saw the invoice raised to dealer. It was almost 6 lac only for parts.
Many of the parts like dpf can be serviced, but as it was under warranty they replaced everything.
I would have scrapped the car rather than paying 6 lac + labour
Its foolish to run high end diesels without proper warranty cover.
Hope your issue get resolved quickly.

In my case, company was blaming the fuel quality initially. But after showing some attitude and talking to higher authority at HAI they did everything promptly.
In such cases dealer role is very important. Unless dealer put forward your case strongly, its not taken seriously by big companies.

Regards

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Hi Catamaran, can you check your user manual as to what is the change interval for diesel filter? And then can you check if the filter was changed during the service at the described intervals. If not then you can grab skoda by their necks. Because its the service center responsibility to ensure that the diesel filter is changed at the intervals mentioned in the manual. This can be a crucial advantage to you in putting the blame entirely on skoda

Well, you need a bill to check what was actually done during the service, isn't it?

[Catamaran]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Well, you need a bill to check what was actually done during the service, isn't it?

I do have the bills and they have charged me for a filter element. I googled the part no. and is supposed to be for the fuel filter. Marikar service centre has reported that the fuel filter date of manufacture is older than normal. They must have used some old stock which did not work.. Anyway awaiting Skoda's reply. Will update once I have the final decision

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Share the matter on their FB page also. Ur will get the attention of all users and Skoda too.

Anurag.

Thanks, will do this if I do not get the issue covered under warranty. For the moment awaiting final response from Skoda...

[lurker]

Is this simply a fuel pump issue or has the faulty fuel pump damaged the engine ? Since you dropped the car at the service centre yourself, I doubt the engine has been severely damaged beyond repair. If they refuse to honor warranty, the least you could do is to take the car away from Marikar Motors and deposit it with somebody more knowledgeble like http://germantech.co.in/index.php or http://www.petes.in/ or http://vagtune.in/ all of which are based in Kerala and whom you can depend on for reliable repairs. Since you are also in Dubai, just ship the part numbers and get it repaired outside Marikar or TAFE. It seems both of them have a very notorious reputation as Skoda dealers. Marikar also manages Platino, which has very poor reputation as BMW dealers. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-cars-new.html. So whichever way you look at it, do not leave your car with them for repairs out of warranty.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Well, you need a bill to check what was actually done during the service, isn't it?

I was under the assumption that the service center was hiding the fact that the fuel filter was not changed at the required intervals and thus wanting to put the blame on the car owner

Originally Posted by Catamaran

I do have the bills and they have charged me for a filter element. I googled the part no. and is supposed to be for the fuel filter. Marikar service centre has reported that the fuel filter date of manufacture is older than normal. They must have used some old stock which did not work.. Anyway awaiting Skoda's reply. Will update once I have the final decision

Diesel filter even though old does not have anything like an expiry date. Its not a engine oil/gear oil to go bad sitting on shelf. Even if its old stock, as long as its the correct part it will do its job as intended.

Even if they say that the fuel filter being old is the cause for this issue then again skoda is to be blamed and not you.

[Catamaran]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Diesel filter even though old does not have anything like an expiry date. Its not a engine oil/gear oil to go bad sitting on shelf. Even if its old stock, as long as its the correct part it will do its job as intended.

Even if they say that the fuel filter being old is the cause for this issue then again skoda is to be blamed and not you.

Yes, but it can also be that they just charged me and did not change the part and that is why the manufacture date is old. The point made by the Skoda service Engineer to the Marikar Service Manager that " if Tafe had taken more care this could ha been avoided" adds more to this doubt.

All kinds of doubts and questions.. Anyway shall wait for feedback from Skoda. I still have not lost hope ..

[9thsphinx]

Man, another messed up story of a Skoda going bad. Every car has its share of problems - be it European, Japanese and American. How is it that this particular Czech brand is topping the charts so well in being so infamous?

Now that it has been put forward, do VW cars come with a water in fuel detected warning system? If not, they must. Water in fuel is by far the easiest workaround for a dealership to revoke themselves from all responsibility. If there wasn't any to begin with, they just add some to the tank and that's it - too far fetched, but remotely possible.

@Catamaran - I hope your problem gets solved. Skoda is trying to earn back the reputation they've lost in the past and taking care of such instances is one way of going about it.

[vipinendran]

Originally Posted by aniketi

I may sound silly, but i have one honest question in my mind which experts should answer. I am reading this kind of story again & again (5-6 times), and surprisingly its with German cars only like Skoda, Audi. So aren't these so called great, very costly cars are not capable of handling adulterated fuel in the first place?? When other low cost cars like Tata, Mahindra, Maruti etc can handle similar fuel with ease, why not these German cars?? It means they have serious technical flaw in their cars. More problem, more concern is that they are not rectifying it even after knowing it. This is really serious and shocking. Also the quotes they are giving for rectifying are insane. In 4.5 Lacs you can buy whole new engine altogether !!! Some cars as well

In India, better we should stop buying such cars because we will never get 100% pure fuel everywhere. There will be instances when you have to refuel your car at unknown petrol pump. If such incidents starts happening & you are stuck in the middle of nowhere, its really dangerous. Imagine you are traveling in remote place with your loved family & the children in your so called great car, and you are stuck like this at odd hours :( Anything can happen.

Thank god i own a Japanese car. I will never buy german car for sure after reading so many horror stories.

This is excatly the reason why my friend who very often hits the highway, went ahead and purchased a Scorpio even though he liked the yeti very much. I Shudder at the thought of getting stuck in a remote place with your family just because you car cannot get used to the poor quality of fuel available in many petrol banks across the length and breadth of our county.

[coolmel]

A similar issue happened like this a week back here in Mumbai. You should check up on the same. Looks like the Yeti's filters do have a problem and Skoda is directly blaming the pumps for the same!

[Turbo car]

kuddos to skoda...they are more inventive than all other brands in innovattive customer fault finding "stories" !!!

i nearly booked a rapid last month but decided against it purely based on the skoda horror stories..they are deaf to the Indian consumers needs and the same is the example of BMW not providing the spare Tyre; irrespective of so much demand for the same raised by the consumers in India..

These german car makers have no real idea about the Indian road and fuel conditions and they don't adapt the car to suit the said environment..unfortunately they are still smug in having decent sales figures...

i loved Japanese cars like Mitsubishi pajero which are virtually trouble free but unfortunately they evolve at snails pace in the global market...

Skoda is never going to learn..for they are too arrogant when it comes to customer handling..even the media is soft on them as they are good advertisers ....so finally the consumer gets taken for a ride...