[Samurai]

A close friend of mine since the 80s called me yesterday. He has a 4 year old VW Vento TDI. Recently the engine had started knocking heavily at lower speeds. The vibration was so hard the engine mount bearing had to be changed.

According to Elite motors in Singasandra (Bangalore), the fuel system has to be replaced as the fuel tank contains small shiny silvery particles, which will cost ~2.5 lakhs. This is because of adulterated Diesel usually from old fuel stations where tanks are not cleaned. They say Turbo connecting house(CNA) and CR System (CNA) need to be replaced.

My friend obviously doesn't want to spend 2.5L, if the fuel system can be cleaned. The vehicle is not in warranty. I am quite surprised that Vento fuel system can't survive an occasional bad fuel fill-up. What are his options?

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by Samurai

A close friend of mine since the 80s called me yesterday. He has a 4 year old VW Vento TDI. Recently the engine had started knocking heavily at lower speeds. The vibration was so hard the engine mount bearing had to be changed.

This is definitely not a generic issue with this car but has your friend got the injectors in his car checked? The injectors in 2011-2012 Vento's are failing at very high rates and VW is not willing to change them under goodwill, you can google Skoda Rapid injector advisory and see if the symptoms match his.

Ask your friend to personally visit the workshop and tell the service people to show him the log sheet after a vag com scan is done, we can see the fault codes then and see if the workshop is being honest or trying to fleece him. This is no Audi A6 that it can not take a bad dump of diesel, my Vento also has had many cases of adulterated diesel intakes (frequent village type places) and all i see is a drop in performance and increase in harshness.

My car was also having a performance drop and slight knocking at lower speeds so when i took my Vento for 3rd service this time, i requested them to do a thorough check on injectors. The VW workshops are such liars that they lied on my face that every thing is good with injectors, this despite mailing VW few days in advance about issues with my car. When i requested them to show me the log sheet, they sheepishly said that 2 injectors are bad and will be replaced under extended warranty. The same was done few days back and the car is running smooth after the change. That is another story that they made me wait 7 hours for changing 2 injectors wherein the repair took 2 hours and i had to wait for 5 hours for claim approval from VW

Neither do i trust VW, nor do i trust their dealers. Ask your friend to push his case as high as possible, social media etc. A Vento owner recently got all 4 of his injectors and EGR replaced under goodwill warranty as he had not purchased extended warranty, he pushed his case hard with facts and finally won. If there is some thing wrong with injectors, VW will do it since they know they are faulty but for any thing else i do not have much hopes. A good garage in bangalore can have a look maybe and believe me they will do a better job than these VW chaps.

After owning a Vento for 3 years, my conclusion is that they have extremely poor service and no respect for their customers. The injector fiasco with my car and making me wait for 7 hours for an injector change without a single apology has made sure that i will never buy a VAG product in future. You are at the mercy of your dealership since all mails sent to VW get forwarded to dealers. Sad state of affairs and i don't think they will ever change, they are happy selling 3000 cars and the sales will only go down with time

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Samurai

According to Elite motors in Singasandra (Bangalore), the fuel system has to be replaced as the fuel tank contains small shiny silvery particles, which will cost ~2.5 lakhs. This is because of adulterated Diesel usually from old fuel stations where tanks are not cleaned. They say Turbo connecting house(CNA) and CR System (CNA) need to be replaced.

How on earth did the service guys come to conclusion that the fuel system needs a change?

What troubleshooting have they done on their end to get to this great conclusion!

Engine knocking, vibration, clatter - tilt the option towards injectors and their health. First get the tank cleaned, fuel filter changed, drain the water from the fuel filter, run a diagnostic scan to get the health of each injector. Check for compression leaks too.

Is there any smoke being noticed during regular usage?

[dark.knight]

Its now absolutely essential that all authorized service stations of all brands should, along with proof in the form of scan reports (if available) and/or photographs, issue a signed advisory stating that a particular spare-part has failed beyond repair and the only solution is to replace the same. This should be specially followed when the cost of replacement is high (over Rs.10k). Replacement costs in the range of Rs.2.5 L for a Rs.10 L vehicle is not doable for most people, hence the company must give all diagnostic readings or a written report on a letterhead.

Since when do businesses operate on oral estimations & recommendations? Even for the smallest of purchases there are quotations & work orders issued these days. The car industry has gotten away because they know the customer has no choice but to accept repairs whatever they maybe, to keep their depreciating asset from depreciating even further. Are they not making margins on spares & labour? If yes its their duty to issue a tangible notice, not oral notice. This can make accountability easier in future.

Coming to the problem, its possible that the fuel may have messed up the fuel system but its not a common occurrence. The only way one can be sure is with a 2nd opinion of a skilled mechanic or other authorized stations. As members above me have explained, an OBD reading is also key to better understand the truth.

[ajmat]

He went to the worst dealer in Bangalore. Suggest he try VW Palace Cross

[docaxe]

Must be one bad ASS . Take your car to another workshop and keep the higher ups in VW in loop about the same. I do agree these German beauties are expensive to maintain outside warranty.

[Samurai]

My friend had made some inquiries and was suggested Suguna Diesel near JC Road and also Nayak Diesel as places to get the fuel system cleaned.

But you guys are suggesting to get the vag com scan log before taking any action, am I right? And preferably from another dealership...

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Samurai

But you guys are suggesting to get the vag com scan log before taking any action, am I right? And preferably from another dealership...

Exactly, get the car scanned thoroughly using VAG COM and then decide on the route of action.

If there is a better ASC, go there and try what they say.

[sajusherief]

Yes, please visit a different service center. A second opinion is always worth for a 2.5L work. I've been there for a mirror replacement and the kind of attitude just shoved me away from giving my car there for service.

[GTO]

Samurai,

Your friend might want to go through this thread.

And here's another one with good advice - link.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Samurai

According to Elite motors in Singasandra (Bangalore), the fuel system has to be replaced as the fuel tank contains small shiny silvery particles, which will cost ~2.5 lakhs.

Hi,

Please let me know how this episode ended?

I had a very similar experience, hence asking.

[Samurai]

I think he had to replace the injectors and High Pressure Fuel pump. I don't remember the cost he incurred at the end.

[gururajrv]

2.5L? They must be joking

For the same price, I can get a good classic Baleno or City VTEC and mod it the way I want and have two cars in my garage!

Like Jaggu said, it’s always better to stay with the car if they are going to meddle with it carelessly and then pass the cost of the repercussions onto us! But, how many of us can really detect or stop the foreman from doing something that they aren’t supposed to be doing? They can still fool around noobs like me at least saying it’s procedure

Jokes apart, this is unacceptable! It’s always better to get second opinions from different dealerships or FNG’s in few instances to understand if it’s a problem that needs rectification or a problem created by the service people itself.