[heydj]

I also have rapid tdi 2015 and mechatronic failed in 3rd year and after 26k kms. Skoda replaced under warranty however i still had to pay 50k and then fuel injector failed at 37k kms in 6th year. Skoda refused any help and i paid out of my pocket about 60K. Imagine with such less driving all i am doing is getting sucked by Skoda like a leech.

Skoda rapid is nothing but unreliable car on which i wasted so much of my money. Now i have stopped driving it as have lost faith in car. Better to use bus number 11.

Try escalating to get it replaced however from my own bitter experience good luck. Just one thing dont buy Skoda/VW again.

[Sumer]

I feel saddened by what the OP is going through. Reinforces the fact once again in my head that either a good old manual or a TC for me. I don't want blistering quick DSG shifts at the cost of reliability and the fear of a sudden breakdown

[audioholic]

I have something to ask the management at Skoda/VW. I hope someone makes this reach out to them. These two companies have been selling cars with DSG boxes from more than a decade now. And technologically its the same boxes sold worldwide with a limited number of variants. To my knowledge it is the DQ200, 250 and 380 and maybe a few more. Lets keep aside the fact that these transmissions fail at some point or the other irrespective of which one it is. Now in spite of this being obvious, why arent they preparing their service technicians to be able to repair the mechatronics unit? Across the world, independent mechanics have done this successfully. Even in our own country, mechanics are learning this and are offering solutions to these DSG failures. Why cant the manufacturer do this and offer cheaper repair solutions to owners? Is it sheer arrogance on their side or something else?

To mention a few examples, here is one not so well equipped mechanic but who is knowledgeable enough to strip down the DQ200 and sort out the issue with the valve body. Its in Malayalam so I didnt understand the specifics, but looking at the way they stripped it to bits, I was impressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MQsTed46ss

Like this, Why cant the company offer such a solution instead of asking to change the whole unit? Did they not think about this in their India 2.0? Its high time they do so.

[ScorpWarp]

Originally Posted by roadrunner_nv

I had the budget to go in for the Kodiaq but as a principle, no more VAG cars in my garage ever. lack of ownership from Škoda. I did not want to wait till the gearbox screwed up. This has to be the most screwed up brand to open shop.

True. I am in similar dilemma, have the budget for Kodiaq but not the courage to buy a Skoda. I had decided long back not to consider Skoda after reading so many horror stories about dealers. After Zac took over I was in mood to reconsider given how good the Kodiaq is and it is a petrol. But the lingering doubt about Skoda holds me back. Regarding ownership of issue I had very good experience with Mahindra, there was a known issue with Scorpio clutch master cylinder failure. It did fail on me, fortunately I was near a dealer workshop in city, who sent driver ro take the Scorpio back to service center and they replaced entire assembly free of cost when I reminded them about the issue being a known issue. I was all set to escalate all the way up but I was pleasantly surprised about Mahindra service center acknowledging the issue and resolving without charing a single penny even though it was outside warranty. This was long back in 2013. I wish Skoda shows similar commitment to customers.

[careind]

I was a Skoda lover back then. Then I bought a Rapid in 2015. Went to hell and back within 3-9 months. The difference between then and now is, Now I just love Skoda and dont intend to own a Skoda, ever.
I strongly believe that these are great cars and have the wow factor if they are owned by someone else and you are an onlooker, but unreliable to own especially as they age.

Absolutely no warnings in case of major breakdowns like injector or mechatronics failure, whereas other brands never see these failures during their lifetime or at least at the rate at which Skoda is piling up. And doing nothing about it!

A Toyota/Honda/Suzuki does not make your heart race, but they definitely give you peace of mind during travel. So after an age, I think it would be better for me to stick with them!

[jayeshdamle]

Hi Vinay, I can understand what you must be going through and I am surprised by the reply from the dealer, I had similar experience with my 2011 Superb wherein the DSG gearbox gave up after 5 years, but Autobahn Mumbai at that time acknowledged and had the DSG replaced free of cost. I hope Zac interferes and you get it replaces for free. Do update us on the outcome.

[Tuborog]

I totally empathize with OP. Reliability trumps everything, specially if one travels a lot on highways!

Two years back, I went for the Civic for the same reason, instead of Octavia. I like the Octavia a lot and it was definitely a better value for money out of the showroom, but the 10 year warranty on the Civic and reliability was tempting. It might be few seconds behind Octavia from a launch, but surely can have many more fuss free launches. Fortunately, safety wise, Civic is at par with the Octavia, so did not have to compromise on that. I am overall vey happy with the Civic, and totally love the driving dynamics, looks etc. So it was not a compromise!

I had owned an SX4 for 11 years and 90k km, but only had to go for regular servicing and link rod replacements twice (2k for link rod replacement, each time). I did not need any other part replacement. Says a lot about the reliability of Maruti. I have always got the car on the same day and service experience was fantastic, at the very least! Things might have changed with current gen Maruti cars.

I see the OP had to visit ASC multiple times in last 40k km, which really takes out the fun of owning a car. As most of the members are advising, ditch it and get a Honda / Toyota. At least you will not compromise on safety and will get most of the modern age features.

[SnS_12]

I think a better idea would be to have a polling with every new car thread that goes live. The polling criteria could be the ownership experience of a current customer for any product of that brand on the lines of servicing, reliability, cost of ownership etc. This could give potential first time customers of that brand a sense of what they are getting into and what has changed/improved over the years.

For eg Skoda brand owners mostly have had a mix bag experience till date and reliability concerns especially over the DSG gearbox is still far from over (maybe the newer ones are better, which only time will tell).

Similarly, such a poll will help a brand like TATA, where the cars and ownership experience is definitely getting better and will help in changing the overall mindset of what general people have towards this brand because of the issues people faced with older models like Indica/Aria etc.

This would give a firsthand impression from the actual owners of cars or followers of the brand and what they think about it and maybe push the brands to offer a better overall ownership experience or at least a better product.

[sandeep.menon]

Originally Posted by dingolphie

I guess it’s these shenanigans from VW/Škoda that give Toyota their confidence, cos OP would certainly look at reliability and ASS in a new light when buying his next car. 10 years ago, I test drove Toyota and turned my nose up. Now, I’m using my dads Yaris for longer trips, cos my wife doesn’t trust our VW!

Amazing point, deserves to be amplified.

True - Reliability and Accountability can command a premium. That explains the very high brand premium Toyota enjoys in the SUV / MUV segment in India, with both the Innova and the Fortuner appearing overpriced to even a benevolent buyer. And extending this (very logical) observation, Maruti's and Hyundai's reasonably strong reliability and accountability characteristics are perhaps why Toyota hasn't been able to extend a similar dominant position in the hatchback segment.

I too love the Kodiaq, but find it very difficult to recommend it over the Fortuner to anybody, even with all the features and the super useful adaptable suspension set up going in the Kodiaq's favour!

[TheCarLover]

Originally Posted by audioholic

To mention a few examples, here is one not so well equipped mechanic but who is knowledgeable enough to strip down the DQ200 and sort out the issue with the valve body. Its in Malayalam so I didnt understand the specifics, but looking at the way they stripped it to bits, I was impressed.

Like this, Why cant the company offer such a solution instead of asking to change the whole unit? Did they not think about this in their India 2.0? Its high time they do so.

The concept of service is long gone. The business model across all industry is "if it does not work, replace". That seems to be the mantra for achieving targets

[WorkingGuru]

The sole goal seems to be to sell an over priced product to a very limited market, and since most Indian cars are under-utilised - to milk the unaware affluent buyers who've bought into the brand. Too many operative hassles to offer an honest mass market product that sells in large numbers, which are well utilised and will need streamlining of service center work-flow to service those cars. IMHO many brands including FIAT have had the same attitude. They want to draw profits with minimal operative effort in streamlining processes. All while giving flimsy excuses to the Head Office in Germany/Italy.

Originally Posted by audioholic

...Like this, Why cant the company offer such a solution instead of asking to change the whole unit? Did they not think about this in their India 2.0? Its high time they do so.

Going by their reputation & business practices, seems that the intent is missing. Nothing personal to VW group, it just seems like a business practice suitable for a few such car companies.

IMO Intent of running scaled operations & actually gain market-share by foreign companies that are somewhat fair to customers was seen in Renault (with products like Triber & Magnite), and to an extent even MG Motors.

[itsbaman]

My experience with Skoda Rapid 1.6 MPI 2015.
1. Three times clutch assembly replacement.
2. 04 nos. ABS sensor replacement.
3. Alternator replacement.
5. Engine coolant elbow replacement.
6. Three times broken lock carrier replacement (pretty sensitive part)

Clutch assembly, lock carrier, coolant elbow, 04 ABS sensors, alternator - 01 no. each. All within last one year.

A great machine. But definitely not a reliable one.

And goodwill is not really the forte of Skoda. Never got a single rupee discount even after regularly serviced from Skoda workshops only. This time I got the clutch replaced from a local but experienced mechanic. Let's see how it goes.

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by audioholic

To mention a few examples, here is one not so well equipped mechanic but who is knowledgeable enough to strip down the DQ200 and sort out the issue with the valve body. Its in Malayalam so I didnt understand the specifics, but looking at the way they stripped it to bits, I was impressed. https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=-MQsTed46ss

Like this, Why cant the company offer such a solution instead of asking to change the whole unit? Did they not think about this in their India 2.0? Its high time they do so.

Because their mechanics are rigid and lazy. That's the simple conclusion I have derived after having my car serviced (and my wallet ripped) at the ASC for 6 years. VW ASCs are only good at "replacing" parts, not repairing them.

To give you an example, the control arm donut bushes in my car were worn. The control arms of the Jetta don't have integrated ball joints. So you can just press in new bushes and reuse the arm without issues. In fact, the bushes are even available separately with an OE VAG part number. What does the stealership do? They replace the entire arm for 13-14K each!

Second instance, the tappet cover gasket was leaking. What would any sane mechanic do? Replace the gasket and call it a day. What does VW do? Replace the entire tappet cover and bill me 20K.

The only folks who have been happy with VW ASCs in my experience have been people who have had only oil changes done year after year.

As for the DSG, Skoda fanboys can thump their chests all they want claiming an executive higher up in the chain is taking interest and trying to solve issues. But the fact of the matter is that they continue being arrogant idiots and fail to acknowledge the fact that they have sold a number of these flawed examples. A 10 year warranty was standard in China for these DQ200s. All a VAG customer gets in India after a failure is a 90K bill and several trips to the service centre begging for warranty.

[Mickey1986]

Going through the thread will put any prospective buyer into double minds..

Strongly contemplating Kushaq 1.5 DSG as at this time, this is only one I like. But coming back to the problems of DSG - with 6 year warranty and then yearly maintenance package (VW has it and hence presuming Skoda too will have it - Anytime warranty), helps in covering the unseen expense of this gear box?

[ASHUJNMC]

Mod note: Trimming Quoted post, please avoid quoting entire large post for short replies. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Sidban85

I also have Skoda Rapid 1.5L Diesel and now that I was considering to buy a new car, the hanging DSG sword and my experience of 4 ABS sensor failure and 1 injector failure ruled Kushaq out day 1.
======
I still hope that Skoda does something good for OP's car.

Time and time again i see internet forums filled with VW and Skoda complaints. Their attitude is like - we are doing you a huge favour by letting you buy our cars you ungrateful people. Just shut up and be happy with what you have got. We are not gonna do you any more favour by providing you world class warranty and ASS.