[AirWind]

Originally Posted by graaja

Thanks VeyronSuperSprt. Now that you mention point #2, the climate was indeed very humid, and I had just washed my car. It is possible that some water got logged inside the exhaust and resulted in the smoke. If that is the case, I would be a relieved man

Sorry to hear, but water vapors cannot be grey though! I'm wondering if its diesel quality... or were you revving it in "P" mode or driving in "S" mode?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by AirWind

Sorry to hear, but water vapors cannot be grey though! I'm wondering if its diesel quality... or were you revving it in "P" mode or driving in "S" mode?

I was actually not revving at the time I observed smoke. I had stopped the car to pick up my aunt and the car was idling with the gear in "P", when this smoke was noticed. Also, now I think about it more, the smoke was a very light shade of grey, more towards white than black. It was definitely not the dark smoke that I have seen in many diesel cars.

[graaja]

Got the 7500km inspection done and the overall experience with the workshop was very good.

Booked an appointment last Tuesday, the 2nd September 2014. Was given an appointment for Thursday, the 4th September 2014 at 9:30AM. On Wednesday evening at 4:00PM, got a call from workshop confirming the appointment. On Thursday, while I was driving to the workshop, got another reminder call. I am impressed.

Once I reached the workshop, I was quickly attended by a service adviser. He explained me the work that will be done during this inspection - Oil level check (will be topped up if less), brake shoes check, AC and air filters cleaning, VAG scan to check for any error codes, engine bay check and a free water service. Wheel alignment was optional which I declined. There was one small problem I had with the horn pad - it required too much pressure on the right side. I asked them to look into this.

I was actually expecting this to be a quick operation and hence had planned to stay and take the car. But the service guy told me that the car will be ready only at 5:30 in the evening. So, I had to return back home and went in the evening. As promised, the car was ready at 5:30. The service adviser explained me all the work done on the car and handed over the car.

I asked him about oil top up and he said the oil level had not gone down and hence no top up was required. The VAG scan also did not return any error codes. They had also corrected the horn pad issue. A couple of days later, the service adviser called me and asked me if everything was fine with the car. Touchwood, so far I am very happy with the experience at the dealer. Invoice below:



The exhaust smoke issue:

At the time of taking delivery of the car (I had forgotten this when giving the car), I also mentioned about the smoke from the exhaust issue. One of the mechanics asked me if I was driving in traffic and had stopped. When I said yes, he said this could be because of the catalytic converter not hot enough to burn the pollutants and the excess pollutants trapped in the converter may have caused this smoke. He said not to worry about this. As I have seen this problem only once and as it has not returned back, I have to be satisfied with this explanation.

Cleaning the car with rough cotton rags:

There is just one thing that bothered me during this visit. When I took delivery of the car, I saw them giving the car a rub over with a dirty rough cotton rag I told them this is totally unacceptable. Here I am, cleaning, waxing and pampering the car with microfiber towels, and they will undo all this in one wash. The service adviser apologized and told me they will replace the rags with microfiber cloth henceforth. But I doubt if they would do this. So, next time, it is a strict no for a water wash at their place.

Another interesting sequence of events:

1. After I left the car for service and came back home, I received an SMS at 10:08 "Appointment for <Car Regn. Number> confirmed at 4th September 10:00AM"
2. At 1:08 in the afternoon, I got a message "<Car Regn. Number> is ready for delivery on 4th September 1:07PM, Invoice value 0"
3. At 1:09 I got another message "<Car Regn. Number> has been delivered. You will get a feedback call within 7 days...". I first thought did someone else took delivery of my car, but later guessed that this is some automatic message system which they are filling out in advance. To confirm, I called the service advisor and asked him the status and he told me the car is not yet ready and is in queue for water wash.

[abhilashgp]

Originally Posted by graaja

Got the 7500km inspection done and the overall experience with the workshop was very good.

Hi Graaja,

Wanted to know the black car mats that you have put on the car? Which brand is it?

Thanks,
Abhilash

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by abhilashgp

Hi Graaja,

Wanted to know the black car mats that you have put on the car? Which brand is it?

Thanks,
Abhilash

Buy 3D Kagu, they are available in both Black & Beige - They are the best. Contrary to our normal belief, Beige is easier to maintain and ages very well. You can get it at the dealership.

[abhilashgp]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Buy 3D Kagu, they are available in both Black & Beige - They are the best. Contrary to our normal belief, Beige is easier to maintain and ages very well. You can get it at the dealership.

Thanks Chetan. How does 3D mats work with water? Does it puddle in the mat? And does dust lie around in the mat or do they get absorbed?

I have a 3M nomad mat on my City and it never puddles and dust is trapped between the fibres, so a little anxious about 3D mats beyond their fit.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by abhilashgp

Thanks Chetan. How does 3D mats work with water? Does it puddle in the mat? And does dust lie around in the mat or do they get absorbed?

I have a 3M nomad mat on my City and it never puddles and dust is trapped between the fibres, so a little anxious about 3D mats beyond their fit.

Dust / water never gets absorbed. Mats are very easy to clean. Once cleaned with soap and water, it will be as good as brand new.

There are a lot of duplicates around in the market. Buy only 3D KAGU original. It has to be only KAGU..

[graaja]

Originally Posted by abhilashgp

Hi Graaja,

Wanted to know the black car mats that you have put on the car? Which brand is it?

Thanks,
Abhilash

Hi Abhilash,

The mats that I have in my car were provided free of cost by the VW dealers when I bought the car. I am not that satisfied with the mats as they expose a large part of the underlying biege carpet, and also the holes provided in the mats do not match with the buttons on the floor of the car. I am planning to change to Kagu 3D mats as well.

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Dust / water never gets absorbed. Mats are very easy to clean. Once cleaned with soap and water, it will be as good as brand new.

There are a lot of duplicates around in the market. Buy only 3D KAGU original. It has to be only KAGU..

Hi Chethan,

Are you using the Kagu 3D mats? Can you suggest a reliable source from where I can get these mats?

Edit: Missed your comment about getting them at the dealership. When I took my car for the inspection, I enquired at the dealership, but they did not have any mats. Will check with them again. Other than the dealership, is there any other source?

[abhilashgp]

Originally Posted by graaja

Hi Abhilash,

The mats that I have in my car were provided free of cost by the VW dealers when I bought the car. I am not that satisfied with the mats as they expose a large part of the underlying biege carpet, and also the holes provided in the mats do not match with the buttons on the floor of the car. I am planning to change to Kagu 3D mats as well.



Hi Chethan,

Are you using the Kagu 3D mats? Can you suggest a reliable source from where I can get these mats?

Edit: Missed your comment about getting them at the dealership. When I took my car for the inspection, I enquired at the dealership, but they did not have any mats. Will check with them again. Other than the dealership, is there any other source?

Graaja,

Please look at the post below.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ml#post2413278

[graaja]

Weekend in Valparai with the Family and the Jetta

Decided to go on a weekend getaway with family to Valparai. Valparai is tea country and lies about 100km from Coimbatore. As Valparai is not yet a tourist attraction, there aren't many choices for stay. The only place to stay I know about is the bungalows (there are four bungalows) in Briar Tea Estates. I had been to these bungalows twice during my cycling trips and loved the scenery and the food there. So called and booked a room for the weekend. They are quite expensive, but due to lack of any other choice, decided to give it a try.

The driving route is Coimbatore – Pollachi – Aliyar Dam – Valparai. Driving till Aliyar is quite boring through heavy traffic on a two lane road. After Aliyar, the fun begins.

The first 30kms takes you through beautiful view of the Aliyar reservoir and forests and hill roads with 40 hairpin bends. This is followed by lush green tea plantations. As always, it was fun driving the Jetta through these roads. The acceleration through the hairpin bends and the solid cornering is just awesome.

View of the Aliyar reservoir


Driving through mist


Through lush green tea estates




Finally, we arrive at our destination – Stanmore Bungalows. This is an old bungalow built during the British rule converted into a homestay. The staff were very courteous and responded to all our needs. The food was fantastic. Overall, had a fantastic weekend at the bungalow. Some photos of the bungalow and the rooms.





Beautiful view of the valley at sunrise from the bungalow.


On Saturday, one of the staff took us on a 2 hour hike through coffee and tea plantations.



After this, we trekked to a stream down in the valley and had a dip in the clear water.




Sunday morning, we checked out and visited the Balaji temple near Valparai. I had to drive through some really bad roads with huge craters.

Here is a sample crater. Copy and paste this crater all over the road - with some deeper and filled with water - and that is what you get for a 10km stretch. This was a good test for the ground clearance, and the Jetta passed with flying colors. Not once did it take a hit on the underbody.


Sunday afternoon, it was drive back home. Back to work on Monday

A few photos of the Jetta.

[Amarendranath]

Originally Posted by graaja

Weekend in Valparai with the Family and the Jetta

Woah! Fantastic visuals graaja. I have never heard of Valparai, shall definitely plan to visit this serene place.

Great shots of the Jetta All the images look absolutely gorgeous. Can i know which camera/phone have you used.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Amarendranath

Woah! Fantastic visuals graaja. I have never heard of Valparai, shall definitely plan to visit this serene place.

Great shots of the Jetta All the images look absolutely gorgeous. Can i know which camera/phone have you used.

Thanks Amar. The view of the roads from inside the car are shot with my Sony Experia L, which I specifically bought for the good camera. All the other photos are shot with my Canon EOS450 DSLR, most of them with the 18-50 zoom lens. A few of the shots of the Jetta are shot with the 50mm F1.8 Lens that gives fantastic sharpness and depth of field

[Accent Martin]

Originally Posted by graaja

I was actually not revving at the time I observed smoke. I had stopped the car to pick up my aunt and the car was idling with the gear in "P", when this smoke was noticed. Also, now I think about it more, the smoke was a very light shade of grey, more towards white than black. It was definitely not the dark smoke that I have seen in many diesel cars.

I don't own / drive an AT, but I have read that idling in 'P' is not advisable. Always select gear 'N' while idling.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Accent Martin

I don't own / drive an AT, but I have read that idling in 'P' is not advisable. Always select gear 'N' while idling.

Idling in Park mode without engaging the hand brake is not advisable especially in slopes, as the load of the car would be on the park pin which could damage it. Same also applies if someone rear ends your car while in park mode without hand brake engaged.

Usually, when waiting at signals, if it is going to be more than 10 seconds, I shift to Neutral and engage the hand brake. On rare occasions - like when I am waiting in the car for my wife to complete some shopping, I keep the engine running with AC on, the gear lever in park mode and hand brake engaged.

Now that you pointed it out, this raises a question. When I have to keep the engine running for say 5 or 10 minutes, and have to be parked, should I leave the car in Neutral with hand brake applied, or should I leave it in Park mode with hand brake applied. Can experts here please throw some light on this?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by graaja

Now that you pointed it out, this raises a question. When I have to keep the engine running for say 5 or 10 minutes, and have to be parked, should I leave the car in Neutral with hand brake applied, or should I leave it in Park mode with hand brake applied. Can experts here please throw some light on this?

If on a slope, first handbrake pull then slot in P. On level roads not so important. If you slot in P on a slope then engage handbrake, the load will still be on the gearbox. So it's pointless pulling the handbrake.