[IndianGuardian]

There is a Volkswagen Rejuvenation Camp till December 31, 2012. According to the ad:

'At the camp you can avail services like: Surface Refinement, Interior enhancement, GermKleen treatment, AC disinfectant.'

Does anyone know if these services are free? VW hasn't answered this clearly on their FB page either.

Also, what is interior enhancement?

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by aniket.tiwari27

I have a very basic query here : My office is within the premises of an organised township. So every 100m/200m there is a speed breaker (I cross atleast 8-10 daily one way) and they are big ones where you will definitely have to slow down. So, driving at 2nd gear within the gaps (sometimes it reached 2100rpm) is better or after crossing one I should upshift to 3rd and then again come downshift to 2nd? I believe the former should be a better approach and latter comprises with very frequent gear shift. But driving at 2nd gear also in 2000+ rpm is not fuel efficient either.

So, whats the best approach considering engine health and fuel efficiency both?

The former one, as constant up shifting and again down shifting within a few hundred mete will result in more clutch use. As even with max 2100 rpm you reach is well within turbo range of 1500-2500 rpm, which means fuel is being burnt with more air.

Another way is, which is just my point of view. After reaching a certain momentum, you could slot in neutral and let the car glide over the road and after crossing the speed breaker, slot in 2nd and drive off.

Either of them are fine, since once foot is taken off the accelerator, fuel supply is cut to the engine.

One more thing I have learnt is that in free rolling in neutral gear, there is less resistance/ no engine breaking which result in more momentum compared to rolling in a gear, like in your case 2nd gear.

Just my views. Drive safe.

[el lobo 6061]

Here is the leaflet of the "Rejuvenation Camp" from VW Facebook. Camp valid till 31 Dec 2012.

Originally Posted by IndianGuardian

There is a Volkswagen Rejuvenation Camp till December 31, 2012. According to the ad:

'At the camp you can avail services like: Surface Refinement, Interior enhancement, GermKleen treatment, AC disinfectant.'

Does anyone know if these services are free? VW hasn't answered this clearly on their FB page either.

Also, what is interior enhancement?

I don't think the services are for free. Only a few VW accessories have discount and rest all be paid for. Otherwise VW would have a lot of cars to pamper for free. I did stay away from these ads and rather get services done directly from a 3M Car Care.

[newtonMeter]

fellow ventopians,

lately i am feeling my TDI is running very stiff, the clutch seems stiffer. Also, i am now too disappointed with the suspension! the rear THUD is making me go mad. not only is the thud prominent when there are pot holes, but also at high speed on a plain road-when there is a small dip or slightest depression the rear just makes that aweful sound:(. How could VW not fix this? The front also crashes sometimes
German cars CANNOT ride on indian roads. Period.

Is there a way to improve the suspension setup? please help.

Apart from that, the constant squeaking of windows, sometimes from dash, sometimes from rear parcel tray just makes me go urrrrgh!

When a basic model of maruti or hyundai like eon/alto or even Tata indica (old ones) can handle the roads so noiselessly, why not a quality snob like VW!

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by newtonMeter

How could VW not fix this? The front also crashes sometimes
German cars CANNOT ride on indian roads. Period.
Is there a way to improve the suspension setup? please help.

The rear suspension sound is indeed loud and heart breaking, it comes in as if some bazooka hit the underbody, it even comes in on small speed breakers on speeds as low as 10 km/h. I dont see any way to avoid this than to completely ignore it and pump the volume up.

Try keeping the air pressures low for the rear tyres for a week and see if some improvement comes up, i run mine on 29-30 and the THUD sounds are way lesser when it used to be 34.
I wonder if this thud sound was the result of VW pumping the GC up for indian versions, whatever it is, should have been sorted out.

Apart from that, the constant squeaking of windows, sometimes from dash, sometimes from rear parcel tray just makes me go urrrrgh!

Add that irritating armrest to the list, feel like breaking it of.
.anshuman somewhere mentioned that real Skoda VW start from Laura/Jetta and i sort of agree with him, these are clear cut cost cuttings.

The armrest squeaking isnt even in cars a segment below, rubber beadings too.

When a basic model of maruti or hyundai like eon/alto or even Tata indica (old ones) can handle the roads so noiselessly, why not a quality snob like VW!

Good question and only VW can answer this, wonder what happened to build quality. Such issues used to come with Fiat's, i expected a lot more from VW when i bought the Vento.

I still believe its the best all rounder sedan but reliability and durability is something which remains a question mark and these things make that question mark bigger, there is a reason why Verna sells 4500 units while Vento can only manage 1700-1800, these small niggles and poor after sales.

[newtonMeter]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

The armrest squeaking isnt even in cars a segment below, rubber beadings too.

Thankfully i have sorted out the armrest squeaking by inserting a thin sponge/rubber material between the plastic and the top leather cover. You can pull out the top leather cover, insert a thin sponge/foam and re attach the cover, the squeaks will go.

the cause for the squeaks was a gap between the leather cover which sits on a metal wire frame and the plastic lid.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by newtonMeter

fellow ventopians,

lately i am feeling my TDI is running very stiff, the clutch seems stiffer. Also, i am now too disappointed with the suspension! the rear THUD is making me go mad. not only is the thud prominent when there are pot holes, but also at high speed on a plain road-when there is a small dip or slightest depression the rear just makes that aweful sound:(. How could VW not fix this? The front also crashes sometimes
German cars CANNOT ride on indian roads. Period.

Apart from that, the constant squeaking of windows, sometimes from dash, sometimes from rear parcel tray just makes me go urrrrgh!

When a basic model of maruti or hyundai like eon/alto or even Tata indica (old ones) can handle the roads so noiselessly, why not a quality snob like VW!

@nM, my experience in the last 15 months / 19k kms has been diametrically opposite to yours. My car has just gotten better and better over this period.

• The clutch has softened considerably ( or I have gotten used to it)
• I feel the suspension is just right for comfort. Though a little less ideal for enthusiastic driving, it is a good balance.
• I enjoy long drives and these drives have been virtually squeak-free. I get a little squeaking only on rough roads, which is fine by me.
• No armrest squeaks.
• At high speeds, the car glides over uneven surfaces, without the thud sound. Of course at medium speeds, the sound is prominent and there is nothing one can do except approach speed breakers at reducing speeds (rather than constant speeds).
• One thing though, I still hate the raw TDI noise at cold starts.

I don't know how much this feedback is helping you but thought I will share this anyway. Certainly not a general issue with VW cars. Most probably it is a quality issue that you might be facing. I suggest you take these things up with VW if they are bothering you too much.

[newtonMeter]

Originally Posted by nileshch

@nM, my experience in the last 15 months / 19k kms has been diametrically opposite to yours. My car has just gotten better and better over this period.

[*]The clutch has softened considerably ( or I have gotten used to it)[*]I feel the suspension is just right for comfort (though a little less ideal for enthusiast driving), not too hard, not too soft.[*]I enjoy long drives and these drives have been virtually squeak-free. I get a little squeaking only on rough roads, which is fine by me.[*]At high speeds, the car glides over uneven surfaces, without the thud sound. Of course at medium speeds, the sound is prominent and there is nothing one can do except approach speed breakers at reducing speeds (rather than constant speeds).[*]One thing though, I still hate the raw TDI noise at cold starts.

I don't know how much this feedback is helping you but thought I will share this anyway. Certainly not a general issue with VW cars. Most probably it is a quality issue that you might be facing. I suggest you take these things up with VW if they are bothering you too much.

Awesome to hear that nileshch! I have booked a checkup session with palace cross on 27th. Hopefully we sort some things! My 15k service is still away. Any recommendations about the tight service center and service advisor in Bangalore?

[hrman]

Originally Posted by newtonMeter

fellow ventopians,

Apart from that, the constant squeaking of windows, sometimes from dash, sometimes from rear parcel tray just makes me go urrrrgh!

Check and see if there is residual glue on the window beadings after you removed the sun-films. This usually causes the window squeaks. You can take it to VW or 3M and see if they can remove this. I read on this thread of one of our BHPians who got VW to apply some lubricating paste to the rubber beading on the windows and the squeaking was gone. You can try this for the dash as well.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by newtonMeter

Awesome to hear that nileshch! I have booked a checkup session with palace cross on 27th. Hopefully we sort some things! My 15k service is still away. Any recommendations about the tight service center and service advisor in Bangalore?

The Palace Cross workshop is the only good one out there. VW Whitefield have yet to open their workshop. Feedback about their showroom has also been good so I'm waiting to see how they handle customers at the workshop.

[Rehaan]

This is a real pain in the Vento. Due to the way the rubber strip touching the window is designed, small leaves slip in and get trapped. My car is parked under a gulmohar tree with several small leaves :(



cya
R

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

This is a real pain in the Vento. Due to the way the rubber strip touching the window is designed, small leaves slip in and get trapped. My car is parked under a gulmohar tree with several small leaves :(

You could use a vacuum cleaner to clean those on monthly basis. Just lower the windows and run a sweep of vacuum cleaner and all those leaves should be removed. Else changing parking space could be an alternative or even covering the car when it its parked in the night.

[msd63]

Got 2nd annual service done. VW palace cross,the only working service centre charged me 11k. When I mentioned about problems with the engine being jerky after starting from cold the SA told me about software update that is required. Apparently it has been done and I wait to see the difference. My Vento is one of the earliest one and is more than 2 years old. Anyone else had the update done?

[noopster]

ECU software update was mentioned by my SA during 30K service as well. I asked them to be careful not to mess up any of the useful pre-activated features (autolock at 15 kmph for example) except the honk and honk-honk for lock/unlock that I specifically asked them to disable. I think it's a routine software update, no change as far as i can see.

However my HV AC unit needs to be replaced (under warranty) and they didn't have AC vents in stock either. Parts have been ordered or so they say, for the past 3 weeks! Ridiculous.

[msd63]

I must say that the update seems to be very good. Firstly the cold morning start does not seem to bother the engine and secondly the car does not have that speeding even when the foot is off the pedal, it slows down as it should. I wonder what the ECU controls? I am also miffed that the update wasn't done at the time of first annual service. Clearly palace cross better than downtown in Bangalore.