A long standing update to my ownership thread.
I would suggest you all to have a bucket of popcorn with you before you start reading it. It’s a very long post covering up events starting from 26 Jan 2014 to till date.
Putting it up point wise so if you wish to skip to other points.
Important trivias:
1. Road trip to Hyderabad (HYD)
2. Deformed tyre en-route to HYD
3. Injector failure during return 220 Kms from home
4. Car fixed but still limping
5. Renewal of insurance Zero Dep 4 year.
6. Butter smooth car with purring engine.
A. 26 Jan 2014
1. HYD calling
Well I had some important work coming up in Hyderabad on 24 Feb 2014. So either I could take a bus, train or a car. With bhpians its always got to be car, Live to drive. Hotel booking were done via Make my trip, as they provide best available discount and prices are lower than hotel can give, surprising.
Actually I could have saved another grand if I had done my booking on 26 Jan, due to Republic day discounts. Booked at
NKM Grands Banjara Hills by paying small token of Rs 5 via CC and rest payment can be done at hotel. Great way to book hotel.
B. 22 Feb 2014
1. A road trip to Hyderabad
Finally the day had arrived. Its a 700 Kms road trip and its first time I was doing such a long drive with my parents. As parents had never been to HYD it was a great opportunity. We decided to leave Navi Mumbai at 4 am to cover up much distance with less traffic. But it was only possible at 5 am that we could depart.
Route was simple Navi Mumbai-Pune-Solapur-Hyderabad. I had already plotted markers on Google Maps and so all was set. Road till Solapur is 4 lanes and after than 2 lanes. It was advisable to cover up much distance till Solapur so as to have enough time to reach HYD given its a two lane road which makes overtaking difficult. On top of that Solapur to HYD road isn't in any great condition. Though I came to know it has been recently repaired but the work was quite shoddy.
So anyway we left at 5 am and started driving towards Pune. Joined E-Way and to my surprise early morning traffic. Trucks & trucks all I could see. E-Way drive wasn't much great but none the less by the time we reached outskirts of Pune it was twilight which meant less strain on eyes from oncoming high beam.
As I had plotted markers along route it was easy to navigate, if I went by GMap suggestion, I would be cursing GPS for sure. After exiting Pune and joining onto 4 lane Solpaur highway it was a total bliss. Road was superb and could easily keep car at a steady 120 Kmph. Though at places there were few diversion due to ongoing NHAI work, building flyovers. None the less Pune-Solapur is a damn good road to drive on.
By lunch time we crossed Solapur and had lunch at a nearby Dhaba along the 2 lane highway. Then it was a straight drive to HYD. By 4:30 pm we were at the outskirts of HYD and then suddenly car started wobbling at speeds below 60 Kmph.
2. One of the tyre getting deformed just after entering Hyderabad.
The 2 lane highway wasn't great with a lot of pot holes and I thought it may have spoiled wheel alignment. So it wasn't a great start for trip. 650 kms through and car was unwell. We started on a lookout for a tyre shop to have alignment fixed. Few 20 Kms later spotted a Michelin tyre shop and we stopped by.
Drove straight into his bay, I guess the tyre shop guy may be surprised. Well we told him about our dilemma and he started looking at tyres. Behold front LHS was deformed. It turned into a donut wherein the top surface is a semi circle.
So after 14500 Kms of ownership it was time to use the spare tyre for the first time. The boot was completely filled with luggage and few other stuff we picked up. Damn it was tedious to get all the luggage out for the spare tyre. Dad asked tyre guy to put rear 185 section tyre in front for more traction and 175 section spare at rear. Gave the guy 50 bucks for changing two tyres. Next stop hotel.
3. Stay at hotel NKM Grand Banjara Hills
Finally we reached our hotel by 6 pm. They weren't having the rooms we had booked, so they upgraded our rooms to premier ones for free of cost. At least some good thing. The premier room were more spacious and had a fridge as well. The hotel also has free WiFi in rooms and that’s another plus. We had dinner at hotel but it wasn't that great. Retired for the day and planned out next day places to visit.
C. 23 Feb 2014
1. Visit to Chowmahalla Palace
After a 700 kms drive, a busted tyre and not so good dinner we woke up pretty late. Had breakfast at hotel as it was included in price. Freshened up and headed to visit Chowmahalla Palace. All places were already saved on GMaps, so no need for asking direction. The palace is huge and it took more than 2 hrs of cover all of it. The cars displayed at palace were a good addition with the canary yellow colored Rolls Royce.
2. Visit to Nizam Palace
Next we visited Nizam palace. Best part was all the silverware items. Whenever a letter/invitation was sent to Nizam, it was sent in a box made of silver which was beautifully crafted. There were plenty of them. Also a huge wardrobe made of Burmese teak and the very first elevator which worked from ground to first floor.
3. Salar Jung Museum
This place is huge and you need a complete day to actually understand everything that is on display. We only had 2 hrs. Took up an audio device which gives info about artifacts that are displayed. After spending close to 2 hrs, there was a lot to cover. Hoping to cover it next time I visit HYD. As when the bell rand at 5 pm, Govt people were almost dragging people out and sealing each room with red sealing wax. Later headed back to hotel for some rest after a lot of walking visiting various places.
4. NTR Gardens
Visited NTR Gardens in the evening. Hussain sagar lake looks superb at night.
5. Dinner at Paradise Biryani
We had heard a lot about Paradise Biryani and there was one very close to our hotel at NTR Gardens. Decided to have dinner over there. We only had veg food,
surprising since I had some important work and I didn't wasn’t to take risk. Dad didn't quite like the food but me and mom were going gaga over food. We
decided come over again tomorrow for dinner to try out mutton biryani.
D. 24 Feb 2014
1. Work for which I had come to HYD
The reason why I had come to HYD. I left early in the morning. Parents hired a taxi which would take them around, so Vento had one day off.
2. Parents explore HYD by hiring a taxi
With taxi, parents visited Qutob Shahi tombs, visited Charminar, markets around it and other few places.
3. Dinner at Paradise Biryani. Yes it was that good.
It was our last day at HYD and what better than dinner at Paradise. Had mutton biryani and it was certainly delicious. Dad also liked it and we got one packed as well. One of our relative requested to get one even though there were chances of getting fermented.
E. 25 Feb 2014
1. Onward return journey depart at 5 am.
We decided to leave at 5 am as the roads around HYD aren't so good given the 2 lane highway till Solapur. Bills were cleared previous night and we had asked hotel guys to prepare 6 sandwich for us, as we would skipping our complimentary breakfast. They had it ready by 4:30 am and delivered to our room.
2. Tank up at IOC
Car had clocked close to 800 Kms on a single tank and it needed a refill. Yesterday couldn't locate any HP pump within city or near NTR which meant early morning fill up was the only choice. En-route we did find HP pump but decantation process was going on, so couldn't fill up. I only prefer HP because of quality issues at other petrol pumps. Since we were about to do 700 kms of journey, filling up tank was a priority. We found a IOC pump and filled up tank till auto-cut and then another 6 lts using the air release switch.
Started onto journey and with morning breaking dawn we were outside HYD. Unlike Mum-Pune E-Way truck traffic, there was very less traffic on HYD-Solapur 2 lane highway. This meant we could criss cross lane to prevent pot holes and overtaking was much easier. By 11 am we were at Solapur and joined onto 4 lane Pune highway.
Since we had covered the bad stretch already we though it would be a pleasant drive all the way till home. But God had some other plans for us today.
3. All of a sudden car jerks
We had our lunch at a nice dhaba after crossing Solapur. Tummy full and all out drive till home. Nope.
100 Kms before Pune, car jerks all of a sudden at 120 Kmph. I though by mistake clutch may have been depressed by dad as we were already cruising in 5th gear. Behold engine check light pops up on speedometer console. I had my worst nightmare then and there. I asked dad to pull over. We waited for a few mins and turned off the car. Locked it. Waited a few mins and then restarted it hoping it may be just some small error.
Nope. Now there is engine glow plug also being displayed alongside engine check light. First thing first, opened up manual to know can the car be driven. Hopefully according to manual, when engine check light comes on we need to visit nearest VW Workshop ASAP and you can drive the car.
Coming to engine glow plug, according to manual you need to drive slow and visit nearest VW Workshop ASAP. So we decided to move on and see till when we can continue driving the car. The car had become a complete slouch and dad wasn't able to take the rpm above 2000. This meant we could only drive at a maximum of 80 kmph. But developing that momentum took its own time.
I feared the fuel from IOC was the main culprit, why else would my car fail. I never trusted any pump other than HP. One day with IOC and look where it got me. I feared with bad fuel, complete fuel system would be needed to be replaced, that’s a huge bill.
Damn, first the tyre and now complete fuel system. Is this a start of bad luck for me? To make matter worse, AC couldn't be operated since engine wasn't able to take its load.
I knew the best dealership in Pune is B.U.Bhandari with all Pune Vento owners in praise of it. Googled up VW BuB number and contacted their head SA. He said drive the car slowly and he will have the car checked up today itself. In mean while contacted fellow friend & bhpian @ninjatalli to appraise him about our situation and he was ready to be of any help possible. He gave me number of his SA Mr. Manish Singh. Contacted him and appraised him about our situation.
4. Car given for repair at B.U.Bhandari, Pune.
Reached BuB by 5 pm. I was expecting to reach home by 4 pm & relax. But here I'm at VW Workshop. Car was taken in onto ramp and Mr. Manish inspected it for any under body damage. None whatsoever.
Later they connected the car with VAS and it gave 2 errors.
1. Injector 1 malfunctioned.
2. Injector 4 malfunctioned.
Simply the best possible answer for it was bad fuel quality. I was cursing myself to having filled up at IOC. Mr. Manish assured me that they will get the work done under warranty. The car was having extended warranty until April 2015. We had talk with Workshop head Mr. Kedar Patwardhan and also emailed him soft copy of all previous service bills & extended warranty.
Since car annual service was due next month, I asked them to perform it as well.
5. Hired taxi back to Navi Mumbai
BuB Mr Manish arranged for a taxi. It was very kind of him. So we took taxi, Etios all the way till home. Even this was eventful. As we crossed Lonavala, traffic came to a complete stand still. Later came to know that a tanker had fallen over after taking turn at a much higher speed. We were stuck in jam for close to 35 mins.
Reached home by 9 pm. What an end to our journey. To sum it up.
1. One tyre deformed.
2. Complete fuel system of car compromised.
3. No car with me.
F. 28 Feb 2014
1. Car completely repaired & serviced 3rd year.
Got a call from BuB that car has been fixed and with 3rd year annual service also completed. I first thought that with fuel system compromised it would take them more than a week to have car fixed. Later SA Mr. Nilesh explained that fuel quality was okay but instead injector had malfunctioned due to bad manufacturing quality. It was sigh of relief as replacing complete fuel system would have meant a lot of overhaul. So anyway I was happy car was repaired and I could finally pick it up.
G. 1 Mar 2014
1. Drive to Pune to pick car up.
1 Mar 2014 being Saturday, dad is free to accompany me and we can take our other car Ford Fiesta to pick up Vento. I never imagined a day would come where I would need to travel intercity to pick my car. We left after lunch. Reached at 3 pm. Completed all formalities. Paid up for 3rd service for which bill came to Rs. 10,255. I was okay with it though I could have reduced was avoiding a few things. Lesson learnt never club things. Next service I would be able to keep bill below Rs. 9,000.
2. Onward return journey at 4 pm. Something not right
Car was under washing when we completed all formalities. Car came from wash but it was still pretty much dirty to me. Mr Nilesh did try to have it rectified but it was still not upto mark. Also their car wash left water mark, does Pune have hard water? Another lesson learnt never get car washed from workshop, they do shoddy job.
Biggest grudge after starting car.
Started the car only to find engine noise on higher side. Mr Nilesh said it to be normal after injector replacement and said it would subside after 1,000 Kms. I took his word thinking BuB is a good workshop and they know their work.
But I was so damn wrong!
3. Reach home. Wow my car sounds like a complete TRACTOR
Anyway drove car back. En-route the noise kept increasing. Finally when we reached home, my car had become a bull blown tractor. The noise engine was making could easily term it German VW tractor. I was so disappointed and there was no end to my bad luck.
Now only option was AutoBahn Automotive, Nerul from whom I purchased my car and I only heard bad reviews about them from others. BuB couldn't fix don't know what AutoBahn would do. I cannot take my car to Pune to have it fixed. I would spend a lot on travelling to and forth, plus toll.
With heavy heart, I decided to take it to AutoBahn on Monday as 2 Mar 2014 was a Sunday.
H. 3 Mar 2014
1. Start car early morning, puffing & smoking from exhaust & it still a TRACTOR
Early morning at 7 am started car to see whether it still was a tractor. Oh boy sure it was. If I was to go by BuB Mr Nilesh words, it would take 1000 Kms for sound to subside. But what the hell, my car is puffing & smoking from exhaust. I almost had a heart attack. My car parking was filled with smoke all around. Switched off car.
2. Decide to take car to AutoBahn Automotive, Nerul.
Decided to take car to AutoBahn at 10 am after having talk with BuB Mr Kedar Patwardhan. I had only driven car few 300 meters and it stalled. My car just wouldn't start even if I cranked it. Now what flatbed towing. Bad luck, it can't get even worse I guess.
3. Personal towing for car on flatbed. I never imagined it!
As I didn't have VW RSA(Road Side Assistance) for 3 & 4 year, this meant I would have to shell out of my pocket for a car which was fixed just 2 days back. Called AutoBahn to help me with flatbed towing. AutoBahn workshop manager Mr Pujari gave me number of a towing guy who does flatbed towing.
Personal towing would be cheaper instead of calling VW. Called Sadguru towing and they gave price of Rs 2500 to take the car to AutoBahn Workshop in Turbhe. I never imagined my car would land up on a flatbed so early. Looks like wish just came true. Towing guy took his own sweet 40 mins to arrive while I waiting beside car in afternoon. Finally they winched up car on flatbed. Everyone around was looking in amazement as to what was happening. I believe they would have never seen a 10 lac car on a flatbed.
Went home and got all the papers, bill and extended warranty paper while towing guy was waiting. Took my Honda Activa. Japanese reliability.
Towing guy wanted to take some other route which was shorter but had bad road. Anyway convinced him to take the longer route via Palm Beach and not to charge me more for it as it would take less time. That was my pitch.
4. Car given for repair.
Finally reached workshop by 2 pm and had the car parked at AutoBahn Turbhe workshop. SA alotted to my case was Mr. Tausif Khan, young & energetic guy. I was expecting someone senior to handle my case given gravity of situation. But anyway he opened up the job card. I explained him complete situation. I only asked him two thing, just get my car fixed and it should sound like a just another properly working 1.6 TDi.
He said he would just do that. Will he be able to deliver?
I. 4 Mar 2014
1. Car repaired. Purring like a cat. Asked them to deliver it at home.
I get a call from Mr. Tausif that they are starting to work on my car. Wow I was impressed, first time a SA called me informing they are starting work on my car. By evening, I get call that the car has been fixed. Surprise. Within few hours, that’s a superb turn around time.
What could fix mean, was the sound of TRACTOR gone?
I asked Mr. Tausif, whether engine was sounding as a 1.6 TDi should. He said, "Yes Sir". I was actually amazed. VW AutoBahn able to fix something which BuB guys failed to do, even though they are much praised than one AutoBhan which is despised. SA said, they refitted injectors and there was some bolt in injector 2 which was cracked which has been replaced. They also updated the ECU software to see to that there are no issues.
I asked my SA to deliver car at home as I can't come to pick it up. They said they would charge Rs 250 for delivering. I was fine with it.
2. Car reaches home but doesn't like to be just out of hospital. ENGINE CHECK LIGHT!
At 7 pm the car was bought outside my bldg for me to test drive it. But behold, engine check light comes on. Seems car just doesn't want to come home. Only suggestion was to take it back to workshop.
J. 5 Mar 2014
1. Again car is repaired. Asked them to deliver it at home.
Around 3 pm get a call from my SA Mr. Tausif that car has been repaired. There was some diesel on injector which is why check light had come on. They cleaned it and now all good. I asked them to deliver car back at home.
2. Few more issues. Back to Workshop. Sigh!
Car was back home but still wants to go back to workshop. I had asked my SA to look into reverse parking sensor, as they were giving continuous beep even though there was no object behind car. This time I went along and showed them the issue. Their head electronic technician inspected and said the module to which all the sensors connect has gone kaput. He replaced it with a new one and voila sensors working perfectly. Finally we knew what’s wrong.
Another issue was slight tick tick sound coming from dashboard or steering column. We took a long TD with head mechanic. He tried tightening all screws inside front wheel well, but still to no avail. He concluded its not from steering column, but from dashboard for which they would need to pull apart complete dashboard. I said NO. I can live with that sound but not with a refixed dashboard.
I asked my SA to have the module replaced under extended warranty as all VW accessories are covered in it and leave the dashboard problem for now. He said, he will ask his senior about parking module. I left the car with them. I aint taking it back until its all fixed.
K. 6 Mar 2014
1. Finally all repair work done. Again asked them to deliver at home.
SA called up in afternoon and gave the good news. AutoBahn has replaced the module on their own behalf and VW doesn't cover it under warranty. I was happy as reverse parking sensor would be functioning again. Total bill of Rs 752 which includes software update, delivery of car, wash, vacuuming, labor etc. I was fine with it.
2. Finally car is back. All good & purring like a cat.
Car was delivered late afternoon. Engine all good and reverse parking sensor working. 1.6 TDi was sounding just the way it should sound.
L. 27 Mar 2014
1. Insurance renewal, Zero Dep 4th Year. I have 25% NCB, will I be getting a good deal?
Insurance renewal was coming up as it was due on 4 April. I had started getting call from Policy Bazar even before my HYD trip for renewal. They said if you renew 45-30 days before expiry, you get much better discounts. There only problem is they cannot offer same insurance company which I'm having currently Bharti AXA. Truly lame. Every time you renew from Policy Bazar you will some new insurance company as they cannot renew of previous company.
Anyway while I'm getting calls from Policy Bazar, I hear none from Bharti AXA. They are quite and don't bother calling for renewal. Though I prefer Bharti AXA, I called them up and asked for quote. If you want a normal comprehensive quote their call center can give it, but if you require a Zero Dep quote it has to come from their office. I asked them to put in a request for same and give me a call ASAP.
Later I learn't, from 1 April 3rd party insurance was increasing which meant I would need to give higher premium for same policy. At one point I'm getting call from Policy Bazar and there is still no call from Bharti AXA for Zero Dep.
Straight away called up their call center and blasted the lady on phone. Yeah I know Its not her fault but she does represent the company. Told her either you give me a quote of Zero Dep by this evening or forget me from renewing from you.
Voila, I get a call within 15 mins. The guy on phone gave me a very good quote, also because of 35% NCB that I was getting.
Finally total premium came at Rs 19,035 for 4 year Zero Dep including RSA. Remember I didn't have RSA because of which I had to do personal towing. So this time got it with policy, so I can drive anywhere in India and if car fails within any city within 50 Kms Bharti AXA would provide RSA. Superb. I hope I don't have any breakdown.
M. 28 Mar 2014
1. JK tyre replacement report generated. Will I get approval?
I was first trying to get tyre replaced by VW AutoBahn. SA Mr. Tausif didn't believe early Vento came with JK. Now they come only with Apollo Alnac. Though he said, he will try but it was not fruitful. As I was quite busy which meant tyre replacement was long due. Finally got time. Called JK and explained them my problem. They gave me number of person who handles replacement in Navi Mumbai.
Called him and came to know that Vectra come with 3 years of warranty. I was quite close to 3 years as car would complete 3 years on 7 Apr 2014. JK guy came to Vashi on 28 Mar and I went to meet up with him. He noted down the problem and looked at the tyre. Tyre manufacturing date was 50th week of 2010, according to which 3 years is already over. I explained him I got my car on 8 Apr which means there was still one week for 3 years.
He opened up a tyre replacement job card and measured tyre tread. According to which I would have to bear 35% of cost. I was fine with it. 35% of something is better than complete 100 %.
N. 1 Apr 2014
1. D-Day to know whether I get replacement tyre.
Called up JK guy and he informed me that my claim has been approved. I can go over to tyre shop and get my new tyre.
O. 2 Apr 2014
1. New tyre installed.
Finally went over to Commercial tyre at Arneja Corner and got my new tyre and paid 35% of cost which came to Rs 1375 including fitting.
P. 3 Apr 2014
1. Few things out of place need to visit workshop
One day during cleaning up my car interior, I found that lever on co-driver seat which VW calls Space Max technology which allows you to move co-driver seat to have more legroom was not tight and could fall off. I then remembered that BuB guys had repainted seat frames and they have caused this trouble.
Another issue was, I wasn't able to move windows down & up upon pressing flip key unlock & lock button. AutoBahn had done fresh software install on ECU in which they might not have activated it.
2. All done, in & out in 20 mins flat. Thats quick.
Visited workshop. Met my SA Tausif. Explained him. He took a technician with him. While I waiting in workshop, the fixed the lever and it was not tight as it should be. For windows, he said they reseted ECM and now windows were working properly.
So I was in & out in 20 mins flat. Good work VW. No charges.
Q. 5 Apr 2014
1. Received info from bhpian regarding injector replacement.
In one of post about injector replacement on Team-BHP, I received a PM from fellow bhpian @torque18 where he too faced same issue with his Skoda Rapid TDi.
We shared a few PM. torque18 had a VW advisory which listed that all the injector made after 15 June 2012 have been fixed. So it means all injectors before it in 1.6 TDi have a pretty good chance of failure.
So in a way VW knows about it and reamins quite. Technically the cost of recalling is much higher than just replacing injector which develops fault even if customer gets stranded 200 Kms from his home.
After getting VW advisory I went down to have a look at injector manufacturing date for my 1.6 TDi. To my surprise there was engine oil on injector & engine cover foam. My first reaction was maybe engine oil is leaking. Straight away drove to VW AutoBahn and explained my problem to AutoBahn Workshop Manager Mr. Pujari as my SA Mr Tausif wasn't available. He sent head technician, who on looking said that there is oil on engine cover foam which is settled over injector.
He aslo added that when my car had come for injector trouble there was already engine oil & diesel on engine cover foam. Now I don't blame either AutoBahn or BuB as I myself don't know who is responsible for it.
I asked them to clean it. The engine cover was washed & vacuumed to remove engine oil but there was still plenty of it. I later kept it to dry out. So a false alarm but did get to learn that if there is engine oil leak there would be plenty of it around injector.
Anyway AutoBahn is still in my good books for the service they provide.
2. My injector manufacturing date:
So later checked out the injector manufacturing date and it is as follows.
Injector : 1 & 4 MK29 > 29/11/2013
Injector : 2 & 3 JK20 > 20/11/2010
So there is still probability of injector 2 & 3 failing but at least I know I can drive the car on 2 injector at least.
What next? A long drive!
Night is young. Road is calling. It’s time to ride.
Note : Pictures, service bill & under warranty bill in next post to keep things simple.
22nd January 2014, 20:40
(2)
Thanks
