[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by petrolveins

This has me little worried, I have a new petrol Elantra and I use it once in 7-10 days for about 50 KMs. Should I be worried about its battery? What precautions would generally be recommended? Start the car daily and idle it for a minute is ok? Thank you!

Last year I injured myself by breaking my arm which resulted in close to 2 months of very low usage. It was being started but maybe 2-3 times a month by the driver. This got the battery weak most likely.

Then once i recovered, I was listening to music in the parking lot. This made the weak battery even weaker and then started acting up.

You can start the car once every week or better yet take it for a half hour drive on a sunday.

Currently my dad's Altis due to lack of driver being available is facing this. I don't use it in the weekdays and take it out on weekends.

If I don't take it on weekends then I rotate with the Altis for a week.

[iliketurtles]

Well, that sucks. Yes, VW's warranty claims process is circumlocutive, but I remember once bypassing the wait (I don't remember for what exactly...an actuator plus something else) by simply paying up and then getting a refund once the warranty came through in the next day or two. It struck me as a better solution than leaving the car with them for 1-2 days more!

Why didn't you have the car flatbedded to the service center on Monday itself? Anyways, fingers, eyes and laces crossed, you'll get the car today. Until then, remember to take deep breaths. No point raising your blood pressure!

[graaja]

This time, the SA kept his promise. I got a call around 4PM yesterday telling me the car was ready. I went there and after signing some papers I was given the key in 10 minutes. Cost INR 0.00. Here is the invoice.



The original Varta battery rated at 60AH, 280A DIN.


The replacement Exide battery rated at 61AH, 330A DIN. The SA told me that they have increased the instantaneous current capacity of the battery.


Another irritating experience. While taking delivery, I saw a plastic piece lying around in the boot. Turned out to be the securing clip on the tape that holds the tool kit to the spare tyre. Some inefficient guy probably removed it from the tape, did not know how to put it back and just let it lie in the boot. Gave a piece of my mind and had them put it back.

On a lighter note, this brought back memories of my early engineering days when I used to open up the tape recorder at home to do some DIY job, and after closing up, there always used to be one or two spare screws left

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Why didn't you have the car flatbedded to the service center on Monday itself? Anyways, fingers, eyes and laces crossed, you'll get the car today. Until then, remember to take deep breaths. No point raising your blood pressure!

It never crossed my mind to ask for a flatbed transport. As the workshop is just 20 minutes away, I was just thinking about taking it there myself. Also, even when I think about it now, I still prefer driving it there than seeing the car on a flatbed truck. Would break my heart

Originally Posted by Vid6639

This experience shows the difference between other manufacturers and VW.
...
It was a very seamless process and I was informed that the battery had a defective cell plus non usage caused the issue.

For an 11L car, if I can get this type of service, not sure why a customer paying 22-25 lakhs has to face so much inconvenience.

Totally agree with you there. They probably give more priority to proper technical procedures than making it customer friendly.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by graaja

It never crossed my mind to ask for a flatbed transport. As the workshop is just 20 minutes away, I was just thinking about taking it there myself. Also, even when I think about it now, I still prefer driving it there than seeing the car on a flatbed truck. Would break my heart

I hear you, even I drove the car down for a battery replacement. It was only the coolant leak that forced me to flatbed the car over. And yes, it was heartbreaking to see. Like seeing a loved one being wheeled to hospital in an ambulance. Bit dramatic, maybe, but that was the emotion that struck me at the time.

[graaja]

25000 km milestone reached



Car is running great as usual - touchwood! Even after nearly two years, I am still finding excuses to hit the highways with the Jetta. Since the Polo GT TSi joined the Jetta, I have been using the GT for all city drives and Jetta does its duty only on highways. The Michelin P3STs are holding well and I dont see any increase in road noise.

There is just one issue. The windshield washer nozzle is not spraying a uniform mist of water as it used to. It is now spraying water to the roof. Will get it checked during the next service.

Also, the MID gives the "Inspection Now" message everytime I start the car. From Karan's thread I found that this is just a bumper to bumper visual inspection and can be done in 20 minutes. When I called VW and talked to a mechanic, he was telling me a list of things that can be done (oil top up, brake cleaning, bumper to bumper inspection etc) which would cost approximately 1500 and I can get the car the same day evening if I left it in the morning. As all these jobs will be done in less than 2 months' time, I do not want to spend on these jobs right now - 4 months before would have made sense.

If time permits, will visit the showroom and talk to the service manager and see if they can just do a free visual inspection, as all the other jobs will anyway be done in April when the car completes 2 years.

[Tanveer_2558]

If you want to get rid of the inspection now message, Just press and hold the trip button and turn on the car, You will get a notification on the MID to reset the service interval, Select OK and your done, You can see your new service due status in the service info menu. This step is supposed to be done at the service centre after the 7500 kms and the 15k servicing, But they either don't know or just lazily skip it everytime.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

If you want to get rid of the inspection now message, Just press and hold the trip button and turn on the car, You will get a notification on the MID to reset the service interval, Select OK and your done, You can see your new service due status in the service info menu. This step is supposed to be done at the service centre after the 7500 kms and the 15k servicing, But they either don't know or just lazily skip it everytime.

Hi Tanveer,

I tried this. When I turn on the car with the trip button, I get a message if I want to reset service message. I select Ok, and I get a prompt that service interval reset. But even after this acknowledgement message, when I turn on the car, I still get the "Inspection Now" prompt. Guess this will have to be cleared in the system using their diagnostics tool.

[batterylow]

Seeing the made in Spain marking on the Exide battery, I was curious as I didn't know that Exide India has manufacturing plants in Europe, turns out this is a different Exide, (http://www.exide.com/en/about/locations.aspx), compared to the regular Exide that India is used to (http://www.exideindustries.com/)

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by graaja

Hi Tanveer,

I tried this. When I turn on the car with the trip button, I get a message if I want to reset service message. I select Ok, and I get a prompt that service interval reset. But even after this acknowledgement message, when I turn on the car, I still get the "Inspection Now" prompt. Guess this will have to be cleared in the system using their diagnostics tool.

Hello, Missed your post before sorry! Have you tried resetting it via VCD's? Resetting the service details was located somewhere in the instruments, Or else if your going to visit the service centre soon ask them to do it.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

Hello, Missed your post before sorry! Have you tried resetting it via VCD's? Resetting the service details was located somewhere in the instruments, Or else if your going to visit the service centre soon ask them to do it.

No problem, Tanveer. I will check if I can clear this using the VCDS cable. If VCDS cable is also not possible, will take it to the service center and get it cleared. Worst case, I may live with this for a couple of more months and get it cleared during the 2nd year service

[graaja]

With all the attention I have been giving the Polo GT TSi in the past couple of months, last week end, I decided to pamper the Jetta with a wash and wax.



After 2 1/2 hours of hard work and sweat









The car is due 2nd service in 2 months. Following are some minor issues I need to get fixed.

1. The windshield washer spray is spewing out water onto the roof instead of the windshield
2. The wipers need replacement
3. I noticed an uneven gap in the front bumper above the left front wheel. I think when they fit a new bumper last time, this gap should have been there which I noticed only now. Will see if they can correct this.
4. I do not have mudguards installed on the car. On wet roads, lots of mud gets splattered onto the bottom side of the rear bumper. Planning to go for a mudguard. Last time I asked, they quoted about 8K for the mudguards. Is this worth the money? Need input from fellow Jetta owners on this.

I have decided to live with the "Inspection Now" message for the 2 months, as I am not getting time to take it to the workshop to clear the message.

[graaja]

2nd Service Done

Got the 2nd year service completed. The car has run 25,693KM. The service was due only on April 2nd, but I decided to get it done a couple of weeks earlier so that I can ride it for a couple of weeks before some long rides coming up in April. Had taken an appointment on Saturday for Monday morning 9:30. Took the car to the workshop and was attended within 10 minutes (relaxed with a coffee during the wait). The service advisor told me for 2nd service following work will be done.

1. Oil change
2. Fuel filter change
3. Air filter change
4. AC pollen filter change
5. Brake check
6. Water wash
7. AC disinfectant

I politely declined the AC disinfectant. He asked if I wanted to do wheel balancing and alignment. As it costs 1500 for this, I declined that as well.

I had a couple of complaints.

1. The windshield washer instead of spraying a mist, was spraying a thick stream of water, and this too on the roof instead of the windshield. I asked him to check this.
2. The wiper blades were gone and were leaving behind streaks. I asked him to replace this.

He gave me an estimate of 11K for the regular service and 2.5K for the wiper blades. He said the car will be ready by evening 5:30. At 5:00PM, got a call saying the car was ready. Went to the workshop and checked the car. The car was cleaned well and looked good. They had fixed the thick stream of water problem. It was a misty spray now, but the water was still spraying too high onto the roof instead of the windshield. They then made some adjustments to the nozzle and brought down the spray to the middle of the windscreen. The spray now is perfect as it was on the first day I took delivery of the car. The new wipers are also doing the job very well and the wipe is very clean without any marks.

I also asked to check the headlight washers (I have never seen them in action). When they activated the washer, I found that the washer was spraying the water towards the inside of the headlight in the area of parking and indicator lights. This was there on both the headlights. I asked them to align this properly. But they could not find any adjustments to change the direction of the spray. That is strange. The headlight washers are supposed to spray water on the glass in front of the projectors. This is definitely a design flaw.

Total cost Rs.13,346. Of this Rs.2,102 was for the wiper replacement (2000 for wiper + 102 fitting charges).



Overall very satisfied with the service. Will get wheel alignment and tire rotation done outside, and also either a 3M treatment or a DIY waxing in the next week.

A few pictures of the car at the time of delivery.

[iliketurtles]

Good to hear your experience went off like clockwork too. Did you manage to sort out your insurance conundrum?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Good to hear your experience went off like clockwork too. Did you manage to sort out your insurance conundrum?

Got the following quotes from various insurances companies.

Bajaj Allianz - 53.8K
ICICI - 43.5K
Tata AIG - 39.6K
HDFC - 35.6K

Of these, Tata AIG did not have a cashless facility. I asked them to send me their official cashless garage list, but they were side stepping this question till end, and were telling me they will not give this in writing, but they can confirm over phone. After too much pressure from me, I received an email that mentioned they have cashless facility with my dealer. But by this time I had lost trust.

HDFC guy was very straight forward. He said they have cashless facility with my dealer, but not all VW dealers. Same with ICICI as well.

I then took these quotes to my dealer and asked him to get a reduction in Bajaj Allianz premium. After some negotiation the premium for Bajaj is at 46.8K. The insurance guy at the dealer showed me that this is a 55% discount on the premium. I had read somewhere that insurance guys can give upto 50% discount on the premium. So, I think 55% is itself a stretch and I will not be able to reduce this any further.

Though the premium is still close to 11K higher than HDFC, I have decided to stick with Bajaj for the convenience.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by graaja

*snip* I have decided to stick with Bajaj for the convenience.

I'd agree with that sentiment, Bajaj Allianz seemed to have the most comprehensive network of cashless tie-ups when I was checking things too. Purely from that perspective, it's the pick of the litter.