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-   -   Quality lapses & fit/finish issues in my brand new VW Vento TSI AT (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/256309-quality-lapses-fit-finish-issues-my-brand-new-vw-vento-tsi.html)

Hello Everyone,

I had purchased a Volkswagen Vento Highline Plus AT TSI, Carbon Steel Grey colour in March-2022 from PPS Motors, Hyderabad . My car was manufactured in February-2022. It was one from the last lot of cars before the car was supposed to be phased out.

In the process of usage, I had observed few terrible quality & technical issues which had me wondering, reputed brands can go terribly wrong if they don’t put their expertise to the right use. It was clear that the last lot of cars didn’t have the required precision & care in the manufacturing process. The following points re-assure me about the same.

Issues observed :

1. The car had come without proper Wheel Alignment & Balancing from the factory. The steering was off-centre and the car was pulling terribly. It was very difficult to drive the car in a straight line.

2. The Steering Column outer cover is fixed tilted to the left. The Indicator & Wiper assembly is also fixed tilted to the left.

My Thoughts - The lower steering column cover (picture attached for reference) is held at its place by a ‘Socket Head Collared Bolt’ screwed to the “Ignition Switch Lock Cylinder” and the upper column cover clicks onto the lower cover. The lock cylinder & the indicator stalk assembly slide onto the steering column. So, I suspect if the steering column itself is fixed tilted because all the parts which slide onto it are slightly tilted and not accurately fixed. This gives an illusion of driving with an incorrect steering position, unaligned with the column cover and is also an eyesore and a great distraction.







3. Rattling noises have been observed while turning the steering wheel either ways, especially audible when the cabin is silent.

My Thoughts - It could probably be noise from the Clock Spring.

4. Seat covers have not been properly cut & stitched leaving behind ugly gaps exposing a serious quality issue.



5. Chipped paint on the hood straight from factory.

6. Improper finishing with sharp edges in the cabin, near the front cupholders.



7. Loud squeaking noise from the front left window when l raise or lower it, especially after a car wash or rain.

** Most shocking thing being a “ QC PASS “ sticker on the windshield, with so many issues in the car. I really doubt if they had taken a test drive of the car before dispatch from factory. Totally unexpected this from Volkswagen, India.

Hey Teja030! I'd welcome you to the club, but that's a sore experience and I hope it all gets sorted for you pronto!

As a suggestion, I'd suggest making your own thread to discuss this (the visibility boost you'll get is worth it) and make sure you don't get too let down by this - the car will bring you grins that will reappear every day you get in. :)

Sad times with VW going the direction it's in, they used to be so much more focused on the build quality and ensuring stuff was put together well above most other things..

Thanks for sharing, teja030! Moving your post out to a new thread. A new thread means 100X the views & 100X the visibility in search engines, including Google. Will add to homepage later this week :thumbs up.

@ BHPians, if you should spot any good post in an existing thread that deserves its own new thread, please report the post and we'll move it out for greater visibility.

Thank you!

I am sorry you had such an experience with a brand new VW! The issues you have are surely distracting and have the potential to leave a bad taste in your mouth everytime you get inside the car. I really hope VW and PPS sorts out the issue for you and help you transition to the part where you start enjoying your car.

It is sad to see these inconsistencies noted on a car that’s new! My question is, didn’t you conduct your independent PDI checks prior allotment? Perhaps, it’d have saved your some peace of mind. Nevertheless, I believe the ship has sailed from VW side. Try to make some amendments with your dealer and see if they can offer some fix to ease the rough inconsistencies seen.

Definitely not acceptable especially when you are paying more than a million rupees for a car! Having owned a Polo and a Vento, I can assure you that this is not normal. Luckily, most of the parts that are scratched or chipped (especially the plastics) can be either replaced or smoothened out.

Were these problems there at the time of the delivery? If yes, then did you raise these concerns to a competent authority? Sadly this is the level that VW India has come to these days, there was a time where even the sharpest of eye could not find a fault with the fit and finish in these cars.

However, speaking from my personal experience with multiple VWs (2 from this gen), issues are bound to happen. My Polo came with a broken water reservoir for the windscreen fluid while my Vento came with a creaking noise that got so bad that it sat in the workshop for a month a few weeks after delivery.

Please be firm and voice your concerns to VW, they owe you answers and help! I am sure this will get sorted soon and your car will serve you well for the years to come! :)

Sad to see so many issues in a new car. :Frustrati
Did you not check these issues during PDI?
Did you take up with VW? What is their say?
I guess almost all these issues can be fixed by their ASS team. Hope you get a fix soon and enjoy the car to utmost.

This cannot be a new car or this seems to be abused at dealership. Such a car cannot pass VW factory QC SOPs.

VW cars from factory are one of the finest lot among all car manufacturers.

Yikes!!

This is simply awful! We've seen cars with problems before, but never one that can hurt a non-discerning customer!

Okay, at least this thing is somewhat easily rectifiable. This is likely to be just the rubber beading in the window sill, again, surprising in a brand new car, but presumably easily rectifiable. My local VW dealership almost made me change the power window motor as well when I got this fixed with them, but I insisted that they just replace the beading and the noise went away afterwards.

They have just sold you an used car, to be frank no manufacturer would let this kind of vehicle in to the market. Approach the Consumer court if dealer is wasting your time.

Hey Sen! Thank you for your response. A VW is sure to bring a smile on the face while you are at the wheel. But unfortunately I haven't smiled with a grin yet on my car. I am yet to get things sorted out at the dealership. I have been travelling extensively on work commitments and unable to squeeze in time . But, back of my head I want to get this sorted asap and have good long drives.

As you've mentioned, VW has gone haywire on quality and precision as of today. The Polo GT TDI , which I had bought in the year 2011 is miles ahead of the 2022 VW Vento in terms of sturdy build, fit & finish . Nevertheless, I would keep posting further updates on the thread.

It's actually quite shocking to find these kind of inconsistencies on a brand new car and that too on a VW. I could only do a formal PDI before delivery at the showroom before dusk set in and didn't have a chance to visit the stockyard as the car was already in the showroom as per another customer's request to see the car.

The 'VW Vento TSI Highline Plus AT' during the first quarter of 2022, was in very limited stock and was being sold immediately as and when any vehicle arrived at the dealership from factory. There was no choice of choosing from the stockyard lot really.

Things I could check thoroughly :
1) External Body
2) Engine Bay
3) Stereo

Things I couldn't check thoroughly due to limited light * :
1) The Steering Compartment
2) The Seats
3) Internal Fit & Finish
4) Test drive of the vehicle ( usually not allowed )

* The above issues are very rare and not usually seen on a VW and this belief of mine has taught me a lesson. I should have been more careful. But nevertheless, the ball is in my court now :Frustrati

I shall post further updates after my meetings with the dealership.

Yes ! All the mentioned issues were there right at the time of delivery but unfortunately my eye just missed them.

I shall post updates after what the dealership says. I haven't taken it to them yet. I am just gathering all my courage to watch them rip open my brand new car because, that's what they usually do at dealerships .:crying

Atleast visually, the car looked brand new with all the plastics intact, Just 26 Kms on the ODO and the Tyres brand new. Paint also looked quite fresh without many hairline scratches.

The VW you have been talking about is, The VW of the past. At present, I don't think VW has those standards anymore, atleast after what I have seen on my car. Car without a Wheel Alignment and an Off-Centre steering wheel at the time of delivery is atrocious to say the least !

Hi, congratulations on the new car!


As for the misalignment of stalks, I have observed the same in my Polo (MY'22). What I've seen is that the stalks are purposely misaligned. As seen in the photo below:



The cutout for LHS stalk, by design, is placed a little lower than the RHS stalk. My guess would be to keep the left stalk within the reach of left hand when it is in its most upwards position. And yes, the whole column is tilted to the left in my Polo too but it never caught my attention. The best you could do is live with it and enjoy the drive. Good luck:thumbs up


Regards

Hi, I have a 2022 model Polo with rain sensing wipers function. By any chance, are the right side stalks set to the auto mode? If that's the case, there will be this misalignment between the left and right stalks. Set it to the "off" position and check if the stalks are at the same level. If not, then there is an alignment issue.

When checking for steering alignment issue, I'd much rather believe the tire alignment report than comparing it to other elements on the dash. In the end all that matters is whether the steering and the tires are aligned properly. Of course, if the dash elements are misaligned, they can be an eyesore but that can be easily corrected.