Team-BHP - Skoda Yeti@ India (An ownership review) EDIT: Now sold!

Quote:

Originally Posted by fi.robin (Post 2649286)

What is the teflon lube actually meant for? Is it OK to apply on rubber?
I am living with this squeaking noise for a couple of years in my Fabia and would love to get rid of it.

Wonder what makes these rubber squeak prematurely.

Hi Robin,

Teflon or PTFE (Poly Tetra Fluoro ethylene) is an industrial lubricant which is in the the form of a dry lubricant and is neutral to almost most substances and is non-corrosive. It is also used as a non-stick surface on utensils and even on steam irons.
In this case, it is available as a PTFE mixed with a carrier liquid which evaporates quickly after the application and leaves only the dry Teflon powder on the surface.
The key to removing the squeaks in the door seal is to apply it in the right place. In our Yeti's the culprit is the felt seal at the top of the doors. There is a V groove between the seal, where the rubber rubs against each other and this creates the squeaky/ creaky sound. If the seal is similar in your Fabia, you can try applying the Teflon lube to the seal and should cure the creaks.
Teflon lube is also available in many places as a grease , and is rubber friendly so can be applied.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pramods (Post 2647979)

Great, will go and see if I can get the Teflon lube from there. if nothing I have accepted this as a feature that makes you use the lovely music system every time you step-in! lol:
-Pramod

You can solve this problem permanently! In my case its been more than 6 months and no more creaky sounds!

Regards,
Behemoth

Hi Demonhead,

how was ur overall experience at TAFE? u think TAFE has improved on its customer experience now?

Cheers,
Sid

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demonhead (Post 2607775)

Hi,

Approx "Bangalore" OTR cost: I got the ambiente for approx 14lakhs ex showroom + i think arnd 2.75 Karnataka's ridiculous registration cost :) and about 70k for insurance, zero dep and extended warranty. So in total for around 17.45 lakhs OTR. So i think this is around 2 lakhs off the sticker price. I dont know if others have got a better deal here however my ideal price goal for the ambiente version as well as my budget was 16.5 lakhs OTR which is where i started with negotiation. However after a long drawn out process and on-road drives i let the heart take over and pushed myself to shell out an extra lakh.. I have already clocked 600 kms over the weekend and i am absolutely in love with it.. :) I have discovered extraordinary will power too in doing a proper run in for the first 1500 kms and keeping my right foot in check with such agonising pain! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Behemoth (Post 2649407)

The rubber lining is similar in Fabia, with the 'V' groove. Will get hold of this lube and give it a try.
And yes the noise comes from the top of the door :)

Hi guys, have been owning a yeti for the last 5 months now. It's one of the best cars I have ever owned (well the honda accord i last owned may be an exception on the refinement front). Amazing mileage (averaging 13.5-14 within Mumbai), great handling. The only ONLY issue is the door noise which is absolutely irritating. While I initially blamed it on the poor Mumbai roads, the noise started to increase over time. I went back to the service centre last week, where I was told its nothing but setting of the door that needs to be corrected. I got back the car the same evening (and surprisingly the guys weren't as bad as I had thought they would be). While the metallic screeching sound had vanished, the glass rattling sound and the sound of the rubber gaskets squeaking around turns and on humps remained. I have been asked by them to resend it for another round of check and corrections. But this has left a doubt in my mind about the build quality of this car, that I have and still consider a strong vehicle. Hope it doesn't end up being an expensive wrong choice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pramods (Post 2632553)

As suggested please try the 3M compound first, if it still visible then you will need to get this done via professional, the touch up done by any shop still need lot of work, they need to do the touch up by fixing the clearcoat directly in few drop of paint, this will allow them to rub the surface and make it smooth, if they just do a brush touch up and don't apply the clear coat after rubbing that surface you will have the touchup are visible like what you have right now! I generally do all this my self, you need to have the paint(it need to be prepared based on the formula) thinner, hardener and clear coat, 3M compound, rubbing compound and also sand papers, but better to get done from professional, just let them know that they need to use the clear coat and then rub the excess level the surface, once the clear coat is rubbed use the 3M compound to get the shine back!
Most importantly see if you can leave with the scratch, most of the the time touch up are not good enough and they look worst that the scratch!

-Pramod
PS: I got my collinite 845 wax, just waiting for the right opportunity to get that applied, have heard its the most durable wax available and generally stay good for 4-5 month after application

Thank you n.devdath, shankar.balan,thad e ginotham, behemoth and pramod for your time and feedback. It was really informative and a significant learning for me to deal with scratches in the future. My apologies i couldnt log on earlier and respond as i was travelling. On the scratches from my dog - i went to the dealer for some paperwork and they applied some of the skoda wax/ solution to rub off the scratches.. It seems to have removed/ dulled most of the scratches except a couple of them which can be seen at real close inspection.. I decided to leave it at that for now and consider the 3M compound at a slightly later stage.

Just back from a fabulous 800km trip around ooty and back! What a joy the yeti is on long drives! 5 of us with luggage through some good and difficult terrain (around villages near ooty) was such good fun. I was on a steep climb when a lorry suddenly got stuck and in that situation i realised how useful the "hill hold" option truly could have been! I didnt think i would need that when evaluating between the ambiente and elegance version! I can only rationalise that the budget would have been a bit too stretched for me else i would have loved to have that feature. Also I managed to touch 150km/hr a few times and my word i have to look at the speedometer and then get my dad to see it from the passenger seat to really believe it!! She really feels rock solid at those speeds and i just dont feel the hesitation in accelerating to that speed. My parents loved the comfort and practicality of the yeti. My usual budget conscious, forever tata cars buyer, father was constantly going "oh god this is such a simple feature why cant every manufacturer make it standard!" :) Oh and he drove her for 20mins on the entire journey and was advising my younger brother "this car is not for you till you turn 25! this is way too much power!!" :)

I only had one grouse that i'm getting quite irritated about as im not sure whats best - tyre pressure. I have stuck with the recommendation of 32psi all round, after doing my own trial and error, for best results in city driving conditions in bangalore for two of us. When i drove out with 5 people this time i tried a combo of 34psi up front and 36psi at the back. The ride was a bit bumpy and i went with 34psi all round. I was very concerned that im going too low but just went for it with family comfort in mind. Adding to all of this is the measurement variation in petrol bunks!! There was atleast 2psi difference(either higher or lower) in a few bunks i tried on the highway!! That really got to me and i realise at the end of the day i really dont know whats the "ideal" tyre pressure on the yeti cause i really dont trust the reading value.. I could only play it by the "feel" of the car on the road.. I wish there was a handy measurement tool that i can buy to help me know the "real" reading the next time i fill.. The alternative of visiting a renowned tyre dealer all the time does not seem viable to me.. Any suggestions guys?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sachin Bhatt (Post 2650491)

Hi Sachin,
If you try the Teflon lube I recommended a few posts back, you will be pleasantly surprised. This creaky door seals is a typical Yeti problem worldwide and has a lot to do with car washing and waxing. The rubber is very good quality, but tends to creak if it comes in contact with any wax type substance. It also has a typical design which I have not seen in any other car. If you need any advice on where to put the lube, I can upload some pics on my Yeti threads: 'battle of the unequals' & 'battle of the cross breeds' you can read more on my ownership experiences on these threads.
Regards,
Behemoth

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sachin Bhatt

Hi Sachin,

Please go to Autobahn. They fixed the noise, compressor etc problems very well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demonhead (Post 2650824)

On the scratches from my dog - i went to the dealer for some paperwork and they applied some of the skoda wax/ solution to rub off the scratches.
I was on a steep climb when a lorry suddenly got stuck and in that situation i realised how useful the "hill hold" option truly could have been! I didnt think i would need that when evaluating between the ambiente and elegance version!
I only had one grouse that i'm getting quite irritated about as im not sure whats best - tyre pressure. I have stuck with the recommendation of 32psi all round, after doing my own trial and error, for best results in city driving conditions in bangalore for two of us. When i drove out with 5 people this time i tried a combo of 34psi up front and 36psi at the back.

You are welcome Demonhead!
In fact I am starting to see some commonalities between the Yeti buyers here!
Three of us, Shankar, myself and you have a dog (in fact Shankar has three!) I have a 6 1/2 year old Lab and one of my criteria for selecting the Yeti was that he should fit comfortably in the boot, which he does easily! No other sedan met this criteria and other SUVs were just too big for city use.

The Hill hold is actually very useful in cities, as when exiting the parkings on the ramps as we often have to stop in between. We don't need to use the handbrake method at all now, with this feature (even the Ambiente has this - mine is Ambiente version, it is only the new base Active version which does not have this.)
Regarding the tyre pressure, after experimenting quite a bit, I have settled down on 32 Psi all round for normal use and if going outstation with full load and luggage, 32 in front and 34 in rear. This gives a nice comfortable ride.
But as you mentioned, the air pressure meters vary in accuracy from place to place and I rely only on a dependable shop for the Nitrogen top up in the tyres.

Regards,
Behemoth

One dog max at a time in the Yeti. All three big buddies wont fit at the same time. In the earlier Scorpio I could manage 2 of them easily.

Hill Hold is indeed very handy on parking ramps and on inclines in the hills.

I maintain a constant standard 32x32 PSI on all 4 tyres. As far as possible I fill AIR only in a few places with proper pressure readings. I also carry my own Air Pressure gauge with me but dont always use it. I find 32 all round perfectly comfy as most of the time it is just 2 people in front with luggage in the back.

In my case, I just dont like sedans and standard hatches. I guess it will always be an SUV type beast for me, as long as I can continue to manage, maintain and afford one.

Cheers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Behemoth (Post 2651400)

Three of us, Shankar, myself and you have a dog (in fact Shankar has three!) I have a 6 1/2 year old Lab and one of my criteria for selecting the Yeti was that he should fit comfortably in the boot, which he does easily! No other sedan met this criteria and other SUVs were just too big for city use.

The Hill hold is actually very useful in cities, as when exiting the parkings on the ramps as we often have to stop in between. We don't need to use the handbrake method at all now, with this feature (even the Ambiente has this - mine is Ambiente version, it is only the new base Active version which does not have this.)
Regarding the tyre pressure, after experimenting quite a bit, I have settled down on 32 Psi all round for normal use and if going outstation with full load and luggage, 32 in front and 34 in rear.

Regards,
Behemoth

Quote:

Originally Posted by pramods (Post 2652285)

32 psi all around is working for me, I feel anything between 32-34 psi works for Yeti, last weekend I went to Rukhad(MP tourism near seoni) for lunch, the MP road has gone back in time of 2001, 25 km from Maharashtra border to Rukhad took almost 2 hr one way! Anybody traveling from Nagpur to Jabalpur please take a note, you will have to find the road within potholes to drive. Nonetheless Yeti took all this in stride and everything is as is no new sneak and no body scraps.
-Pramod

Thanks all - I am going to stick to 32 psi all round too.

New problem, need help! - 2500kms done and yesterday onwards i noticed a slight play in the clutch :( There is 1/4th of the clutch freely depressing now and i noticed a small amount of oil leakage under the left front wheel.. I will go to TAFE tmrw for a check however im wondering if this is what i had dreaded initially - my getz petrol half clutch driving transition to Yeti causing issues.. I am all the more worried as the entire family is looking forward to a drive to chennai the day after and im not sure whether i can drive around with this worry now.. Any thoughts on why and what this issue could be and whether it needs significant work to negate chennai trip on thu?

Thank you once again for your time..