[wildon]

https://youtu.be/Lby8uyr10Dg

Accoustic Sound and Leaving Home lights feature

https://youtu.be/ONTWEc9qR5E

Cornering lights feature

With OBDeleven you can tweak the options in Rapid and its easy to use as well

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by wildon

With OBDeleven you can tweak the options in Rapid and its easy to use as well

Thanks Wildon, this is really helpful and I was actually contemplating buying one since for any Vcds tweaks I had to haggle with service people, and it’s already 40kms from my home, looking forward to source one and explore more with this machine.

[Tuisha110HP]

Originally Posted by sachin_cs

[b][u][*]a screw was protruding from the F-R wheel cladding[*]Door beadings were making squeaky sound over potholes[*]A grrr noise after switching off the engine[*]Glovebox and armrest rattle

Hey Sachin, wonderful thread. I am too facing squeaky sounds and mild dashboard rattling, mostly from the passenger side corner. Also, the volume buttons are making rattling noise on uneven roads, though functionally everything is working fine.

Do you have similar issues with your car? How has been the solution to your issues after the service?

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by Tuisha110HP

Hey Sachin, wonderful thread. I am too facing squeaky sounds and mild dashboard rattling, mostly from the passenger side corner. Also, the volume buttons are making rattling noise on uneven roads, though functionally everything is working fine.

Hi there, hope you & your family are doing great. I will address your concern with their solution in bullet points-

• Squeaky Sound- It seems like a common problem on all Skoda’s and the culprit is the door beading. The solution I have found is to clean the beadings (the doors and the sill) properly as they tend to accumulate a lot of dirt over a period of time & also occasionally apply Formula 1 high performance protectant (basically a plastic, rubber, interior polish) to make the beadings soft. It works for me as of now.
  
• Dashboard Rattle- Try to locate the source of rattle first. I did by removing all kinds of loose item like coins, glasses, data cables which might create a false rattle & I realised that the glove box latch was not locking properly and resulting in a mild rattle, which could be easily replicated by banging on the glovebox lid. I pointed it out the warranty manger and he recorded a video of it and it was replaced under the warranty in a week.
• Rattle from passenger side- In my car, I again tried locating the source of the rattle and it turned out that it was from the door beadings, which was solved by the method mentioned above and also the seat belt buckle when released in haste gets stuck in unnatural position between seat and the side panel & since it’s in contact with the side plastic panel it would result in rattle. Sometimes these small bits result in ruckus inside an otherwise perfectly fine cabin. Tough time for people with OCD
• Volume control rattle- I have not faced this issue as such. However I have heard that the steering mounted controls on Skodas do give up early at times, if your car happens to be in warranty, I would highly advice you to get it replaced soon. Do compare it with new cars available with your dealer, will help pinpoint the issue.
• Grrr noise after switching off the engine- as mentioned in the service update that it was a faulty EGR vacuum solenoid. Replaced under warranty now.

Right now, my front armrest is awaiting a warranty approval as it makes a creaking noise when I rest my hand. I will update the thread once that happens. I have come to a belief that the interior of Rapid is already so silent that it makes tiniest of a rattle more apparent. Keep me updated, whether these suggestions work for you or not.

[Trooprex]

Hi Sachin,

Congratulations on your Rapid TDI-DSG ownership. A very tasteful review about the car in the lush green woods of Bastar. I'm from Raipur too and can relate the urge to spin a new car in Airport road and around the stadium.

This has got me thinking again to wait for the new TC AT to be offered by the VAG with the new 1.0 TSI engine in the coming months. I'm waiting for the new TSI-AT combo reviews eagerly and am sure the way Germans do things, this new combo may still be fun. I've got a well maintained petrol FIAT Punto for 9 years and am looking for an upgrade (read 'The Itch'). What Punto has taught me the most about the build quality and driving dynamics, cannot be satisfactorily found with the Japanese and Koreans (No offense though they make some good engines). After owning a Punto, the only cars that I'm inclined to are from the VAG simply because of their ride quality, build quality, handling, European engineering and all the more Timeless designs.

A very well put review, enjoy your Rapid with the time of your life!

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by Trooprex

Hi Sachin,

Congratulations on your Rapid TDI-DSG ownership.

Thank you so much Trooprex, good to know that you are from the same city. Well yes, it’s very difficult to find upgrades when you have euro cars and that too a Punto, the benchmark for build and ride-handling balance. If I would have been in your place, I would keep the punto and add another European car to my garage if the space permits. I really hope the TC TSi mating is as good as DSG if not better, as even we might be in a need of a second car very soon and I just don’t feel like going back to Asian brands, as it is apparent that after getting Rapid, we have done 32k kilometres in 16 months and my other cars have done only 12k in the same period. The driving pleasure is unmatchable for sure, hope it stays reliable too . And yes, Rapid is a keeper, I have planned to nurse this car till its extinction & probably this is our last diesel car as well, with the future of diesels all gloomy especially with VAG India 2.0 strategy. If you don’t mind, do share pics of your steed.

[saisailendra]

Beautiful car and a beautiful thread.

Color : I own a Carbon Steel color Vento Tdi Manual transmission. I have to admit, the sharp lines on the Rapid does more justice to the color than on the Vento, but nevertheless, both look great on that color. The color is just fabulous looking and as you said, maintaining it is a pain if one doesn't like that aspect, but a pleasure if one likes to do so. I surely find pleasure in maintaining my cars paint too. Yours looks awesome and shiny in every photo. Have you tried Collinite 845 insulator wax ? If you haven't, then give it a try, it'll just deepen and saturate the dark color like no other product does. There's a lot to tell about that product, but long story made short, it's a wonderful product.


Rattles : The Vento too had horrible rattles from the door in the beginning. I felt like I'm driving around in a decade old, roughly used car. Thankfully, there is a post which gives a solution for the same issue on Team-BHP. The solution is to just insert a thin rubber pipe (called levelling pipe in hardware stores), in the slot in rubber cladding above all 4 windows. It's difficult to explain in words but once you see the post, you'll understand it clearly. This trick works like magic and all the sound just vanishes. The downside is, it takes a bit more effort to close the doors. The upside is, it doesn't need regular maintenance like cleaning the rubber thoroughly and waxing those areas, and of course, a silent ride.


Check engine light : Reading your post gave me a huge relief as even in my car, I got the check engine light recently. It disappeared after switching off and restarting the car and never came back fortunately. But still there was a little worry behind my mind and because of the covid time, I couldn't do anything about it. Reading that no error was shown on the OBD Scanner gave me peace.

The service : Isn't having a ₹.0 bill for a regular service of a German car so happy to see ? Even I have the service care package and it surely saves a lot of buck. I'm glad they've given you the underbody protector free of cost. I have to get one installed on my car too.

The restaurant experience : I totally understand and completely feel the way you must have felt that night. That feeling when someone ruins the properly maintained paint for their stupid acts is agonizing. I've faced them too. Mostly happens on the bonnet and trunk. People place bags, writing pads and what not ! And most of the times, the damage is already done before we intervene. I guess we just have to move on with these as repainting will take away the factory finish. We just have to hope that these scratches are superficial and can be easily corrected by a polish..

Anyway, happy driving and wish you many more happy years with the Car.

[sachin_cs]

Much needed monsoon pamper

My parents really think that I have gone crazy, this morning I washed my bae and as expected also got a nice earful from them. They were like why do you keep cleaning the car every now and then, when you know its monsoons and tomorrow morning office commute would again make her dirty. I don’t know how do I explain them but I just can’t stand even a particle of dust on my Heisenberg

And then I read your post, I was grinning ear to ear:

Originally Posted by saisailendra

Beautiful car and a beautiful thread.

Color : I own a Carbon Steel color Vento Tdi Manual transmission. I Have you tried Collinite 845 insulator wax ? If you haven't, then give it a try, it'll just deepen and saturate the dark color like no other product does. There's a lot to tell about that product, but long story made short, it's a wonderful product.


Rattles : The solution is to just insert a thin rubber pipe


Check engine light : Reading your post gave me a huge relief as even in my car, I got the check engine light recently.

The service : Isn't having a ₹.0 bill for a regular service of a German car so happy to see ?

The restaurant experience : I totally understand and completely feel the way you must have felt that night. That feeling when someone ruins the properly maintained paint for their stupid acts is agonizing. I've faced them too. Mostly happens on the bonnet and trunk. People place bags, writing pads and what not ! And most of the times, the damage is already done before we intervene. I guess we just have to move on with these as repainting will take away the factory finish. We just have to hope that these scratches are superficial and can be easily corrected by a polish..

Anyway, happy driving and wish you many more happy years with the Car.

Thank you so much for such a lovely reply and you have really read the ownership review in depth. Your Vento looks beautifully maintained sir and regarding collinite 845, I’m yet to use as I’m a big carnuba fan, but it will surely be on my cart next.

Rattle: Thanks for guiding me through it, the rattles really don’t go along with my OCD so I will try to get this DIY happen asap

Check Engine light: I’m suspecting it to be voltage fluctuations, hopefully everything is fine and whenever you go to the Service centre do get it checked just for that sake of peace of mind.

Service: Touchwood the bill and experience has been A+ so far, hope they serve me well in the future. Do get the engine protector installed, it also does wonders in keeping the engine bay clean especially during monsoons.

And the scratches are subsiding with every wash and wax session. But as mentioned by you, people love bonnets for some reason and I do observe new scratches from time to time, some things are not in our hands at times I believe.


Thanks again for your reply and wish you many happy miles with your Vento. I see you have an Altis as well, do share your experience how different are the driving dynamics of the Asian & German Machines.

[saisailendra]

Originally Posted by sachin_cs

Thank you so much for such a lovely reply and you have really read the ownership review in depth. Your Vento looks beautifully maintained sir

You don't have to call me Sir. Just Sai or Sailendra will do.
You are most welcome and it's my pleasure reading your Ownership review.
Thank you for the compliment about my Vento.

I also forgot to mention that the Vector art of your car that your friend made for you is great. I remembered this after 30 minutes of submitting the post and so the edit window was closed.

My parents really think that I have gone crazy, this morning I washed my bae and as expected also got a nice earful from them. They were like why do you keep cleaning the car every now and then, when you know its monsoons and tomorrow morning office commute would again make her dirty.

Even I come under the same category of washing my car to a brilliant shine irrespective of the season & of-course listening to parents saying it's an unnecessary job.

" If the car is going to step out, it has to be shiny " is what I've been practicing lately. Should see how career and life will change the habits.

Rattle: Thanks for guiding me through it, the rattles really don’t go along with my OCD so I will try to get this DIY happen asap

Here is the link to the post :DIY - Getting rid of door rattles (DIY - VW Polo/Vento: Getting rid of Door Rattles)

I see you have an Altis as well, do share your experience how different are the driving dynamics of the Asian & German Machines.

You are right about the Altis. We actually live in a joint family. Uncle drives the Altis (1.8 Petrol MT). I drive my Vento. Dad drives the Jetta (2.0 Tdi MT). I take the wheel of Jetta whenever we go out together though.

Altis is, IMO is a car that demands to be driven genly. She won't be very happy with sudden throttle inputs and quick shifts. I don't know how to put it technically, but can explain it the way I experienced it. Normally, once we accelerate to a certain RPM and decide to upshift, the RPMs instantly come down when we depress the clutch in our cars (Vento, Rapid, Jetta, etc). But in the Altis, I see this isn't the case. The RPMs stay there for a moment and gradually decrease and it does take sometime for us to get used to it. Gives me an odd feeling. But the car is built like a tank when it comes to reliability. It hasn't given a single issue since the day it was brought home. It's handled a bit roughly(unpaved roads, reasonable speeds on potholes) but never gave an issue. And it's very spacious. Feels airy inside and the rear seats, unlike the Germans are very comfortable for the third person and can easily fit 4, if the need arises. I haven't driven the car for long durations, so can't comment on the long drives aspect. But one thing's for sure, the engine (1.8 L Petrol) is super refined and can be fun to drive albeit needs some adjusting to it. It's been stable in fuel economy too (~12 KmpL) since the beginning in on city roads.

The Jetta on the other hand, is a different beast altogether. Be it seat comfort, acceleration, engine refinement, suspension, braking or anything. As a driving machine, Jetta never disappointed us. The only downside is the few issues it came up with, maybe thrice in its 8 Years of ownership, like door locks being problematic, water pump failure and once a faulty radiator fan, which drained the battery. These were common and known issues of Jetta, experienced by several owners. They were all 2 day repairs in the ASS. But the moment we drive the car, we forget all these and just enjoy the drive. It's a very well engineered all rounder. And no, except for the design cues, the Vento comes no close to this one in terms of anything.

So, the Asian is a reliable car, whereas the German is the car that puts a smile on the drivers face.

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by saisailendra

....
So, the Asian is a reliable car, whereas the German is the car that puts a smile on the drivers face.

That was quite an explanation from an owner’s perspective, I could relate with the altis rev match behaviour you mentioned above. And Sai thanks a ton for the link to DIY, I’m trying to source the pipe now and I hope it solves my issue permanently. Also could you please suggest me any place/website to source genuine Collinite stuff.

P.S.- I just stumbled upon your ceramic thread and boy it’s a gold in itself for DIY freaks

[saisailendra]

You're welcome

Collinite 845, I bought one bottle from GreenzCarCare website a few years ago. It's listed at ~ ₹ 2.1k now. One bottle will last for more than a year with regular usage (almost 1.5 years or more). Later I had a pack of 3 ordered to a friend's place at USA and he brought them here.

Sourcing it from the US will make it much economical, if you have anyone coming from there. But with the ongoing pandemic, I think that might not be very easy.

Thank you for your kind words about the ceramic thread. The coating's holding up very well. But I really miss applying Collinite on my car and staring at it, now that it's covered with the Ceramic coat. The saturation and depth Collinite gives, specially on a dark colored paint, is unmatched. Even the water beading is excellent for few weeks, making maintenance washes a breeze. The only downside of it, is it's odor while applying, which could be a little bit uncomfortable depending on the sensitivity of the person. But the finish is worth it.

I'm personally as fan of Collinite 845 and I hope you don't mind me praising it so many times.

Cheers

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by saisailendra

Thank you for your kind words about the ceramic thread. The coating's holding up very well. But I really miss applying Collinite on my car and staring at it, now that it's covered with the Ceramic coat. The saturation and depth Collinite gives, specially on a dark colored paint, is unmatched. Even the water beading is excellent for few weeks, making maintenance washes a breeze. The only downside of it, is it's odor while applying, which could be a little bit uncomfortable depending on the sensitivity of the person. But the finish is worth it.
Cheers

Going by your words, seems like I’m already smitten by the product, I’m super excited to try it out on my car since we both own the same colour and the way you have maintained your car is just crazy, I always felt that I’m too obsessed with clean cars but I now I feel, I don’t even do 10% of the way you maintain your car, I will plan a road trip to Hyderabad just to meet you buddy

I looked in Amazon and they seem to sell it at 2.8k while Greencarzcare have listed it at 2.4k, these people want me to buy a microfibre too. Probably I will go ahead with them & I hope there’s an option to remove microfibre thing, as I have close to 30 MF napkin dedicated to my car already

Cheers!

[saisailendra]

You will not regret the purchase Sir. It'll make you thank yourself for buying the dark color.

One thing I'd advice you is regarding the application. Don't at all go by all the detailers on YouTube about application. I notice they seem to be applying too much of a product and making the whole process cumbersome.

You can go by my word in this aspect :

Application becomes much easy when the product is like a liquid rather than a paste. So in our summers, just shaking the bottle vigorously will help loosen all the semi solid blebs inside and will give you a nice liquid consistency. In cold weathers, you can submerge the bottle (till the cap) in really hot water or warm water. Give it some time and it'll melt to form the liquid consistency we're looking for, after which you can shake to mix all the chemicals inside (solvents + wax).

I prefer sponge applicator (I do a DIY Sponge slice) to a microfiber. Sponge applicators don't absorb much product and it'll make application much easier than a microfiber, specifically for this product. I just cut a slice of sponge from the big sponge block that we get in market for ₹10-₹20. With these slices, even if I happen to drop the slice on floor, I can simply discard that and make another, without hurting the pocket. If you prefer to buy a branded/pre-made applicator, it'll work great too.

The last thing that's needed for our job is a microfiber cloth to buff off the dried wax. Once you have these 3 ready, you're all set to apply the wax.

Once you have the liquified Collinite bottle and sponge at hand, the first thing is to prime the sponge applicator. In the internet, we find people pouring a little product on the applicator. But I feel, that's just a waste of product. What I do is :

• Shake the bottle & remove the cap.
• Hold the bottle in left hand & sponge applicator in right hand.
• Place the sponge applicator at the opening of bottle tightly.
• Shake the bottle once so that the wax comes in contact with the pad and comes back.
• Repeat this 2-3 times for the first time for a pad at different spots - just to prime the pad.
• You may also squeeze the pad so that the wax is distributed all over the pad. I don't do this step though.
• Now the pad which is primed can be wiped on the panel. It'll be enough for about half large panel.
• Once you feel your pad is out of product, again place the pad at bottle opening and shake only once. Once will be more than enough. If you aren't satisfied, then you can do it twice. More than twice is just overkill.
• Continue applying the product on the car.
• Wait for few minutes depending on the weather and then perform the finger swipe test.
• Once the wax dries, you can buff it off and your car will shine like anything.

Whether to wax entire car and buff off entire car or doing panel after panel is personal choice. I personally feel convenient doing entire car at once.

If we apply the wax frequently, then sometimes we can notice high-spots on large panels. I usually notice these on my bonnet. Nothing to worry as these will be gone within a week or after a wash or so. I don't do anything to remove that, as it's barely noticeable.

I hope you can understand what I'm trying to explain. It's a bit difficult to depict without pics, but I don't have any at hand right now. If there's any information that I can help you with, I'll be glad to.

Please excuse me for spamming on your ownership thread, haha. It'll be a pleasure to meet you too Sir. Looking forward for it.

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by saisailendra

If there's any information that I can help you with, I'll be glad to.

Please excuse me for spamming on your ownership thread, haha. It'll be a pleasure to meet you too Sir. Looking forward for it.

Thanks a ton Sai for sharing such detailed procedure for collinite application with minute nuances and your expertise & No, you are not spamming my thread but enriching the community here. Also please do not call me ‘Sir’. I’m really astonished with the amount of knowledge and expertise you have when it comes to car detailing. I initially thought of ordering 845 when I finish my Formula 1 carnuba but I’m so intrigued by your word and your thread that I’m ordering it now . I will definitely update you once I go through the process.

Also this time around, last year I was in Hyderabad for some work and it was my first road trip in Rapid and I stayed for a week in Gacchibowli, man the traffic in Hyderabad is crazy, I had lot of heart in mouth moments when negotiating the old city traffic. This year as well, I was suppose to be in HYD but this pandemic happened, once things get normal, hope I drive down soon and we will meet.

P.S. Anyone looking for a mother of car detailing thread Or a DIY ceramic coating, here’s the link https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...ento-home.html (My experience with Car Care products; How I Ceramic-Coated my Vento at home)

[saisailendra]

It's my pleasure sharing what little I know.

Oh yes, the pandemic has worsened many aspects of life. And now these continuous rains. Hope life goes back to normal soon.

Old city is certainly the worst part of city to drive in. I myself think several times before taking my car there, which of course, happens rarely. If I ever have to go to Old city, then I'd go there by cab. Old city is a congested place and people in general drive very bad there (I don't mean any offence to readers from Old-City), but it's a horrible place to drive a vehicle.

In the rest of city, though the traffic is moderately heavy, the drivers are rather gentle and sensible. Road rage is less and we find less rough drivers when compared to few other cities (Delhi in my experience and some metro cities too, by some posts on the forum). (Exception : many cab drivers).

Enough ranting now, lol. Hope you do enjoy Collinite and I look forward for updates regarding the product as well as regarding your beautiful car.