[ajmat]

Originally Posted by nitrous

OT:
But, Why is this "failure" engine worshipped by so many and used by VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda in umpteen models?
Or did we get the older version and it has been updated everywhere else?

The basic engine is good and tough - it is the electronics around it and the water pump which spoil things

Again - carry a spare coil pack is a must!

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by nandishpal

yesterday i drove a vrs,which had done only done 6k on the odoemeter,i was too excited to drive this car as it was pretty new & give me the same feeling.to tell you guys the drive took me aback.
i have not seen such a bad steering wheel response in what ever few lakh kilmoters i have driven in my life,the suspension was very hard & had squeaking noise all around.i did not even enjoy the sitting position,the reflexes of the car in turning,U turns & sharp turn are pathetic.i am glad i drove 1 before taking a call on it.i think i was carried away by the hype created all over about the RS.definitely not a drivers car.

D O C T O R E D!

Ajmat - when we say engine is reliable, we do not talk only about pistons, valves, crankshaft, etc. It has also got to do with auxilliaries like cooling system, timing system, gearbox/clutch, carbs, Fuel injectors, ECU etc

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by alpha1

D O C T O R E D!

Ajmat - when we say engine is reliable, we do not talk only about pistons, valves, crankshaft, etc. It has also got to do with auxilliaries like cooling system, timing system, gearbox/clutch, carbs, Fuel injectors, ECU etc

Agreed

In its earliest forms, the engine was bulletproof

[navin]

Originally Posted by nandishpal

i have not seen such a bad steering wheel response.

are you sure of the antecedants of this car. The vRS is not an untidy car (atleast compared to the others in it's category).

Originally Posted by v1p3r

The RS is overpriced, badly built, and does nothing well without a turbo. But the fact that it comes stock with a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods, and a 20v head, means that you can build it to in excess of 350 whp without changing the internals. The stock crank is known to hold 500 whp.

1. Overpriced - debatable under 15L there are few cars that are as thrillling to drive
2. badly built - maybe you meant poorly serviced but bad build is not really a vRS issue. Skoda (and their dealers) do suffer from a poor service record.
3. I would hesitate to put 350hp into a FWD drive car. The engine/transmission are only part of a car. When modding a car one must recognise the limitations of all of the car's systems.

It is not that fuel pumps of Hyundais, Hondas, etc do not fail it is just that when that of a Skoda fails we fear that the dealer/service station will not be able to service it correctly, efficiently and economically.

Lastly saying that the vRS is nothing without it's turbo; well it was designed to work with a turbo just like a wheel rim is designed to work when shorn with tyres and not naked.

Originally Posted by HAFI

And the manual specifically says that the timing belt replace is at 90000.
The service adviser also comented that if the vehicle is rash driven or ripped hard then the timing belt should be replaced early.

Agreed that many vRS are driven hard but even my car which is normally carefully driven had it's timing belt and clutch parts changed well before 60K. See thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-promised.html

In short it is not that the vRS is a bad car but that it suffers from expensive parts costs and a set dealers that have still to understand the level of service that the customer wants. This despite the fact that Skoda has been in India for more than 10 years now.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by navin

Lastly saying that the vRS is nothing without it's turbo; well it was designed to work with a turbo just like a wheel rim is designed to work when shorn with tyres and not naked.

Honda have shown us that you can produce a reasonably fuel-efficient 1.8 litre engine that puts out atleast 130 hp without a turbo. That was my point.

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by Navin

This despite the fact that Skoda has been in India for more than 10 years now.

I thought they came in 2002.

[Siva]

Guys, I just briefly scanned thru this thread. I have a RS and has done close to 50000KM.

Other than the stuff that wears out now & then and is taken care of during regular service I have not had anything to complain about (of course except the ground clearance that it was born with and a little extra kmpl would have been nice). The only thing worth mentioning was when I had to get the AC Fan replaced at about 15000KM coz it started making weird noise (randomly). That's about it.

If you really want to know the problems - Mats are almost gone with no replacement available, one of the xenon lights randomly switches off - comes back on toggling the switch (keep forgetting to tell the service guy about this).

Its a solid car, probably not designed for Indian roads but boy has it worked or what.

[ajmat]

Why? - Wear and tear - from 3-5 yrs of use depending on battery and type of running

How do I know? - Xenons may not alwas light up immediately, you need to switch on an off. Need to keep gunning the starter till car fires up. Stereo switches off till car fires up and comes on 10 sec after running

What is the damage? Rs 7000 for an amaron
What is THE damage? You wife could get ill tempered and develop muscles if forced to push start. Reduced clutch, flywheel life if push started

When can this happen? 3-5 years of use

What else can it be? shorting starter motor, Xenon light ballast

How do I prevent it ? Maintain battery where possible, longer drives preserve charge


Anything else - carry a set of jump start cables, and pick on a car your size to jump from - innova , another Skoda - I tried from a Getz and it barely managed after revving the nuts of the getz

[ajmat]

Why? - Wear and tear - from 3-5 yrs of use depending on type of running

How do I know? - You can feel the gears getting crunchy during shifting although there is no clutch slip. especially 1st-2nd


What is the damage? Rs 16000 for pressure, plate, friction plate and release bearing. Add 30k for a new flywheel if you are merciless or car is 60k or more

When can this happen? 40k of city use

What else can it be? Bad synchromesh, worn shafts but yo have to have been brutal

How do I prevent it ? Gently on the clutch, be smooth, no traffic light drags

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by ajmat

How do I know? - You can feel the gears getting crunchy during shifting although there is no clutch slip. especially 1st-2nd

What else can it be? Bad synchromesh, worn shafts but yo have to have been brutal

Sounds more like a synchro. You can try a different GB oil maybe but rapid shifts will exacerbate the problem.

if forced to push start. Reduced clutch, flywheel life if push started

hmm...havent tried that on a EFI car so far.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ajmat

How do I know? You can feel the gears getting crunchy during shifting although there is no clutch slip. especially 1st-2nd

Ah, know that feeling. Like the impending doom, wot

What is the damage? Rs 16000 for pressure, plate, friction plate and release bearing. Add 30k for a new flywheel if you are merciless or car is 60k or more

When can this happen? 40k of city use

1. If the flywheel doesn't need replacement, 16K for a Euro clutch job is not bad at all. In fact, I'd say its very reasonable.

2. However, if the flywheel needs replacement every 60K, that just plain sucks! And at 30 grand a pop, it hurts.

3. 40K is way too early for a clutch job on a petrol. I haven't owned any petrol car that required a clutch overhaul before 75 - 100,000k.

But then, the RS goes like stink too. One drive on a great highway with sweeping fast curves and it seems worth it. For a pure driver-oriented car, who's complaining? We offroaders spend more money annually on our Jeeps......Jeeps that have a book value barely into the 6 figures, and wear a 60 year old rusty design.

[.anshuman]

Skoda cars are very good to drive but expensive to maintain. Instead of blaming the car timely precautions would save a lot of money.

I have compared the maintenance costs of my Elantra with a friend's Octy TDi, the Octy's maintenance cost is very high and some parts cost more than thrice that of the Hyundai. The failure rate and life of parts is also lower. I dont find Octy's 20kpl figure and long engine life good anymore after the comparison.

[ajmat]

Well, one needs to consider that the previous owner may not have treated the car as well as I. This is the first time that I have paid for a clutch change. The Honda, Zen and Sierra never had a clutch change ever. The Swift had one but that was a manufacturing fault.

More updates on my Skoda thread coming soon.

[.anshuman]

I forgot to mention, Anyone buying a pre-owned car should get the timing belt inspected ASAP as the odometer reading might have been changed or the previous owner might have skipped the timing belt change to save on money.

[alpha1]

Why does flywheel needs to get replaced along with clutch?

Infact, what wear and tear a flywheel suffers really?