[rapidrahul]

Thanks All. Will keep posting updates as I keep gathering the miles on the car.

@AutoIndian : I was just shown the part price which was 26500, but wasn't charged a single penny. So everything was covered under warranty.

[rapidrahul]

Hi Guys,

It's been a week since I've had my car back from the Service centre after the EGR Cooler replacement andI've been driving it everyday since then.
I've put about 500 kms on the car now and so far no issues have creeped up and the car is still running smooth.

[sandeepmohan]

I surely am not tech savvy enough but why is a EGR cooler carrying coolant in it? The function of a EGR cooler is to carry exhaust gases and bring down the temperature of the same.

Found this useful link on the subject and the results were spot on with what you went through. I believe the EGR does get a channel of coolant running for bringing down exhaust gas temperatures before it sends it to the intake.

http://www.autorepairinstructions.com/?tag=cooler

The coolant disappearing each time was probably the result of excess heat build up in the engine which caused the coolant to be pushed out of the system via the radiator or coolant tank pressure cap.

Your engine did not over heat at all. It was probably on the verge of it. If it did over heat, you should have got a chime and a alert on your instrument console.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

...why is a EGR cooler carrying coolant in it? The function of a EGR cooler is to carry exhaust gases and bring down the temperature of the same.

You need to go carefully through the article you posted the link of, to get the answer automatically:

How does a EGR Cooler work? The exhaust gasses are directed through the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) System Cooler to remove heat before the exhaust gasses arrive at the EGR valve. This system uses engine coolant to reduce the exhaust gas temperature entering the intake. Unfortunately this system deals with extremely high temperatures which fatigues the metal components causing cracks. Which seems to be a common problem on most diesel engines. For example on the Ford...you don’t even know there is a problem, just a slow coolant loss. At first you may notice just a loss of coolant with no leak. As this condition gets worse, you’ll see white clouds of smoke from the exhaust pipe. This is the coolant leaking through the cooler into the intake and vaporizing, exiting out the exhaust pipe.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

You need to go carefully through the article you posted the link of, to get the answer automatically:

I believe I have and have mentioned the same. Not much to add other than this line.

[rapidrahul]

Hi Everyone,

I just came back from a drive down south.

Had gone to Wellington (Ooty) for a week.

Plan was to reach there on the same day and thereafter, start the exploration. Was extremely skeptical on how the vehicle would perform after the EGR replacement and had kept my fingers crossed for anything that would happen out of the blue.

Started from Pune at 0400 hrs on 23rd March. Wasn't able to cover much distance before 6 am, due to incoming vehicle lights but I am of the thinking, that whatever covered during this time is an add-on.

Crossed Kolhapur at 0730 hrs.

Took our first break at 0930 hrs after crossing Belgaum and just before Hubli. Stopped over at Hotel Kamath and had some wonderfully refreshing and fresh idli wada. The car ran like a dream and had no complains in strecthing its legs.

Started again at 1030 hrs and was on the nice road by 1430 hrs. Wonderful road but a very short stretch if you are going towards Mysore.

Off to Mysore road and thats where the AVG speed got killed.

Ran into usual traffic but there a lot of speed bumps which cause you to break very often.

Finally crossed Mysore at 1730 hrs and started heading towards the Bandipur forest. We were a little skeptical on whether we would be allowed to enter as we were not sure of the 2000 hrs deadline. Once at Bandipur, the speed was reduced even further as there are numerous bumps all along the way at about 500 mts distance from each other. moreover the road was narrow and had to offroad a couple of times to let oncoming traffic pass by.

We crossed Bandipur and Madumalai at 1900 hrs ad headed towards the 36 Hear-pin bends. What joy it was.. the vehicle was easily able to negotiate the turns and the steep climb and I plunged into 1st gear only about 2 times..

We were at Ooty at 2000 hrs and stopped over for a cup of tea..

The car behaved extremely well and is running smooth now as well..

Will update the return journey after a while..

[Tornado]

Hi Rahul,

Howz it going now? Just wondering.

Regards

[rapidrahul]

I am sorry guys for an extremely late reply. The car is doing great and running extremely well. I have no complaints as of now.




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[rapidrahul]

Hi All,

I've clocked around 35000 km's on the car and so far everything else seems good except for the below:
1) The engine noise has increased a bit.
2) Cold start requires about a minute or two of idling and then the engine runs smooth and draws adequate power.
3) just yesterday my fron passenger side power window stopped functioning.

Have booked an appointment with the Skoda Service centre in Wagholi to get the Power Window checked.

I've also heard that a software upgrade for the ECU is available which deals with most of the cold start issues. Will try and get that loaded as well.

Will keep posting the updates.

[alpha1]

I am just skeptic about one thing.
If the EGR cooler can leak so easily in the initial months of a new vehicle, how would it fare few years down the line?

And the Rs26500 price sticker?!
Looks like Audi's price list.

[santoshr]

I have a question for the geeks out here -

If the EGR is shut off using a ECU map, will then the coolant even go into the EGR cooler ?
Will the EGR cooler play any part since the valve at the exhaust itself would be off, no EGR, no cooling of EGR required ?

[rapidrahul]

I have now clocked about 43000 km's on my Skoda rapid TDS and it is running as a charm.. Another long trip awaits as I plan to drive down again from Pune to Jammu come October.. The only change - I wil now be driving along with my 2 month old son.. Any pointers would be highly appreciated since the equation has changed now and my drive time would have to be reduced. The plan is as follows:
Day 1: Oct 1 - Drive from Pune to mumbai in post office.
Day 2: Oct 2 - Mumbai to Udaipur. Leave at 3 AM and reach uaipur by about 6 PM.
Day 3: Oct 3 - Udaipur to Chandigarh. Again leave by 4 AM and reach Chandigarh by 6 PM.
Day 4: Oct 4 - Chandigarh to Jammu. Leave around 5 AM and reach Jammu by early evening.

Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.
PS: I would have to stop every couple of hours to have my baby out of the car seat and for his changes and feeding.

[rapidrahul]

So after driving around my rapid for 46000 km's and dealing with Skoda ASS for about 2 and a half years, finally decided to let go of the beast and replace it with the Cheetah.
Got the delivery of my Silver XUV 500 W6 yesterday and will be taking it for a spin to mumbai this weekend to get some miles on it and get used to the handling of the car before I embark on my yearly home trip to Jammu on it.
Will update the initial ownership report and images shortly.

[Dieselritzer]

Congratulations on buying the cheetah. I hope it gives you a niggle free experience, and what an awesome car to have for a trip to Jammu. Just ensure you carry with you everything you need and plan the breaks properly as you would have a Baby on board. I'm not even married, and i have no clue why i am giving you gyaan about travelling with a baby

[santoshr]

Hi,
I did a road in the rapid Pune - Bhutan - Pune with a 6 month old daughter and you have be really prepared. Extensive planning, checklists and what not went into this trip.

We would leave every morning after a round of potty and feeding, at around 10.00 another round of milk this would be in the car. We would plan to break for lunch at around 1200/1300 and this break would usually be of a good 30-45 minutes where we would let her play on the table do her stuff load her up with milk. And then the last stint of a couple of hundred kms to reach the destination at 4ish.

We were carrying -
1. Bottled water since we din't want the water for her to change
2. Steam cooker for sterlizing bottles and heating water
3. 6 bottles to ensure an entire day's quota would be managed
4. More than enough cans of Lactodex, she was already on this before the trip began
5. Supply of diapers/wet wipes to last three weeks
6. Her complete Medical file, and prescribed travel medicine.
7. Baby monitor
8. Diaper Rash cream
9. Sun screen lotion (approved by the doc)
10. Bottle brush, liquid soap

There's more to this list but ya you get the idea. Be extra prepared and carrying extra item for the child and us travelling light is the key. Me and wife were actually in backpacks. Hope this helps.

And btw how much did you get for the 45000 2 year TDI Rapid.

-Santosh