Serviced my Rapid TDI DSG at an independent garage: My observations

The first crank after the whole service showed a noticeably easier startup and slightly lower idle clatter.

BHPian kugo_93 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Dear members I would like to share my service experience of my skoda Rapid Tdi Dsg done at a FNG for the first time. The car is about 6 and a half year old and has done close to 57000 kms. The last annual service was done a Skoda ASC at 47150kms. However I was disappointed when I was told that the diesel filter was not replaced and when inquired they said that the company policy had changed. I am pretty sure their inventory was the problem. Secondly the engine oil was filled much higher than the max mark on the dip stick. Again I was told that its acceptable. Now as the car is now out of warranty I wanted to get the car serviced at a FNG. Luckily a good friend of mine happens to own a FNG close to my house. This time the 6th annual service was carried out there.
I have a habit of checking the car fluids before any long journeys.

Lately I found that the coolant expansion chamber has got dull and upon inspection the coolant colour had become dark:

I decided to change the coolant as a precautionary step during this service. The coolant used was the genuine VW G12 evo ready mix which is currently used by the ASC. 7 Litres was procured and 6 litres went in. 1 litre is kept for emergency.

Lot of research and also by referring to our members posts I decided to go with Motul X-cess 5w40 Fully synthetic Engine oil. Rest of the filters were OEM.

The parts used:

Here are my findings at 57000 kms, ( Last service was carried out at 47150 kms).

The air filter condition since last service:

The new air filter going in:

Oil filter condition:

New oil filter and O rings:

Engine oil and coolant filled in:

The coolant expansion chamber had to be detached and cleaned property to get rid of the discolouration formed. The final outcome was good:

The first crank after the whole service showed a noticeably easier startup and slightly lower idle clatter. A test drive was conducted to make sure all was good and I am happy to note that the response of the motor on this oil is way better than the ASC oil. The engine revs more freely and the gruff note coming in the 2000-3500 rpm range has subdued by a noticeable margin.
(Could be a placebo effect) The temps shown at he mid stayed at the stable 90 degrees as before. The coolant level dropped by about 200ml after the test drive which was topped up till the max mark. ( Total 6 litres). Any other interesting findings will be updated in the followup posts.

Thank you for staying till here, hope you have a good day ahead.

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