[Dusk Tiger]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

There is not that much to the real, useful, mechanical part of regular service for a young car. Even at dealer prices, I guess it is not that profitable for them. I have the impression that my VW service centre was, therefore, concentrating on re-selling 3m products and services, and doing it on an opt-out basis, so that, unless we tell them Do Not Want they will simply do all that stuff and charge handsomely for it.

Of course, if somebody does want, then that is fine. Has anybody compared VW dealer prices with 3m Car Care prices? If they are the same, and people want the treatments, then the dealer is a convenient one-stop shop. I just object to the passive selling. VW sure don't mention internal/external treatments in the service schedules!

Yes, they are actually trying to sell 3m services , i saw a few 3M banners in the waiting area .What if a customer never asks for a breakup and finds out only after everything is done and has to pay for it nevertheless, in that case isn't it shadily ripping people off? From my experience they weren't keen on telling me what will be done till I asked them to show me another customer's first service bill .Till then the SA kept saying that I should expect 13k bill. Even for the 6 month check up they charged me 500Rs for the oil topup .I read online in a volkswagen issued circular that cars should be checked for oil consumption in 6 month checkup and if oil is consumed it should be topped up free of cost . However I read it almost 4 months after I had done it , so din't mind bothering them.

[Thad E Ginathom]

In the old days, we used to regard it as a necessary to check our oil levels every week, and before any long trip. Oil, coolant, break fluid. We expected oil to be used up on either very new cars, or very old ones. If we needed, we bought some from dealer, and topped up. In the elderly cars we drove, there was probably a can of oil in the boot. It was part of driving.

These days, we are spoilt. The dip stick barely needs to leave the engine from one annual service. Although we should check, and the manual probably says we should, but it is a long time since I heard of an engine seizing up on account of the driver forgetting to look at the oil level for a long time.

[CPJ]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Consumption of 1.2 lit of oil in 7500 km does not look normal to me.

Please check the current oil level on the dipstick (in the morning after an overnight parking). Is it above the maximum mark (due to 1.2 lit top up)? More oil than necessary can cause great problems in the engine.

Hi Rahul,
Sorry for the late reply. After the free inspection, I went on a road trip of around 3500 KM and was monitoring the oil levels through out the trip. The Oil level is steady at the specified level with no rise and drop.
Regarding the consumption of 1.2 Litres of oil in 7500 KM, I guess I will have to believe what the service advisor told me as normal consumption. As of today the oil level is perfect.

Regards,
CPJ

[Dusk Tiger]

Got My Polo 1.5 TDI today after the 1 year/15k kms Service . My ODO read 11150 kms . I have attached the bill to this post . I had an issue of paint chipping off the base arm of one of the wipers ( pics attached) .It started during the 10th month of ownership (wasn't due to any damage from lifting the bonnet because it was the top edge of the lower arm which never interferes with the bonnet, it was more like a poor paint job and the metal oxidised underneath and the paint just started chipping off ) .I had asked the SA to claim warranty . When I asked about this during my visit to pick the car up today , the SA asked me to come to the place where the cars were parked and show it to some guy who was incharge of warranty claims. When I went there the car was all washed up with the doors , bonnet etc open and I noticed that they had put the wipers in full extension and then opened the bonnet and latched it without noticing that the inside edge had hit the wiper and already lost paint . I politely pointed it out to the SA and he said that it's a design issue and they can't help it .I took him to another polo and asked him to try the same thing , he was surprised to see the wiper not interfering with the bonnet's open position then he came back to my car and lowered the bonnet and put the wiper in the service position ( without pulling the 'arm with the blade' out) like I had suggested in the first place . Then he said "Ok sir we will touch up the bonnet " and got it done . Then I proceeded with the paint chipping issue for which a new guy came and started explaining to me that it cannot be claimed as it will be rejected and also that it can happen only due to damage and they can touch it up if I want . I finally agreed not wanting to waste anymore time . Then after 15 mins the painting guy comes and he tells me that they don't have that form of paint and they can't do it . I told them okay ,I will get it done elsewhere but if god forbid the wipers have some issue please don't tell me that warranty is void because it was painted somewhere else. The guy laughed and said it won't be an issue .I even took him to almost all cars in the service bay to show him that the type of paint loss in my car was different , some cars had small damages in the wiper arm but the paint in the areas not damaged was intact , but in my car the paint is coming off like a 20 year old wall , in which when you press an area slightly the paint just withers and breaks away like crispy chips . Apart from these minor issues everything else went smooth and they adhered to my request of omitting unwanted stuff .

[Ambersariya87]

I own a Polo 1.2 (P) and one thing that I have noticed during my various encounters with the Service guys is that if you complaint anything about the paint and ask for warranty claim, they have tendency to deny that in full steam. I had complained them about small chips of paint on the bonnet, the answer that I got was that it should have been due to small pebbles on the road which flew and struck on the car. I was not convinced and asked them to show the same in other cars and the cars that he showed did not had the same chipping off problem.
Another problem that i have noticed is that paint wears away from few areas prone to it like bonnet area just below the wipers. Not sure if any other owner has noticed similar issue.

[srichida]

I usually park my car outside and I had been out of town for 2 days. When I took my Polo out for a drive the next day, I saw the Glow Plug/Engine Management Light blinking continuously while driving, even after turning off and turning it back on couple of times.

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/w...anagement-lamp

I drive straight to a service center for a quick check-up. The service engineer opened to bonnet to find a wire neatly gnawed away by rats! When asked for an estimate on repair costs, he casually replied 4-4.5k!

Here's a pic of the rat bite!





Now, does this really warrant a 4k service charge?

Can I get this fixed somewhere else without losing warranty?

And lastly, How can I prevent this from happening again? Mesh? Tobacco?

I will be better off using Uber if I have to shell out 4k every time for a rat bite!

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by srichida

Now, does this really warrant a 4k service charge?

Nope. 100 Rs. at best but depends how you do it. Can be done using a 20 Rs. insulation tape as well but won't last long. VW charges a ridiculous rate for fixing up these rat chewed cables.

Originally Posted by srichida

Can I get this fixed somewhere else without losing warranty?

That rat has already nullified your warranty. Kidding!

You can get it fixed at home.

The connector has the bare cables left. Unplug the connector, remove the insulation from the cables, undo the cloth tape from the other end, use 2 new cables and either solder the ends (match the colors of the cables and don't mix them up!) and apply heat shrink tubing over the soldered leads OR use butt connectors with a crimping tool. Re-plug the connector back.

Originally Posted by srichida

And lastly, How can I prevent this from happening again? Mesh? Tobacco?

Have a look at these threads:

How do you protect your car from rats?

Rat-proof Fencing as a solution for the rodent menace?

[srichida]

Thanks Gannu! You saved me from getting ripped off by VW guys. Will try to do this myself and save 4k!

[Thad E Ginathom]

My Polo ran with a couple of twist-and-tape repairs to front-light cables for a couple of years. Would be doing still if I still had it.

[Gannu_1]

Got my 60K service done. Here's the invoice copy:



MFMA (minimum fuel mass adaptation) test was also done (no additional expenses) to test the quality of the injectors upon my request. It takes at least 20L fuel in the tank and approx. 20 minutes for the test. The VAS laptop is plugged to the OBD port and the system prompts ignition on/off, pressing acceleration, brake and clutch pedals in a random sequence before the test commences. Then the engine begins sounding like a backup generator in various tones! Glad it came out well - all injectors are healthy. Could only take one screenshot of the PC when the test was in progress:



Brake pads need no change for at least the next 5-8k km. The discs will be skimmed at the same time.

[tharian]

Need some clarification on the first check up.
My sisters 1.2 has crossed 6 months, but run less than 2k kms.

I remember the SA telling us the first check up is at 7.5k kms. I don't remember if it was one year or 6 months and does the next full service fall one year from the check up?

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by tharian

I remember the SA telling us the first check up is at 7.5k kms. I don't remember if it was one year or 6 months and does the next full service fall one year from the check up?

First check up is 7.5k or 6 months and 1st full service is 15k or 1 year. Both are from the date of purchase.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

First check up is 7.5k or 6 months and 1st full service is 15k or 1 year. Both are from the date of purchase.

Thank you.
Is the check up mandatory or will it void warranty if not given at 6 months?

[Dusk Tiger]

It is better to get it done because most new cars have oil consumption within the first 6 months.. i.e the engine oil level will go down a bit. They will top it up and ask you to pay for the oil. In my case the SA said it was 500 ml of oil and I had to pay them 500 rs for it .

[Epic]

Originally Posted by Epic

Hi guys,

So I have completed around 55k kms on my 2011 (Feb 2012 registered) Polo 1.6. I have noticed two issues:

1. Brakes seem to give out excessive brake dust. So much so that there is a black patch formed in my parking area under both my front wheels. My brakes were already changed during my 2nd service / 30k kms.
2. My suspension feels loose. I don't know if this makes sense but I get excessive noise while going over bad roads. Shock absorbers were changed in Feb 2015. Also, my tires have never been changed from the time I have bought my car. Could this be adding to any problems?

Please help.

Gave the car to VW North (Mira Road, Mumbai) for 60k kms service and for the above issues and they have diagnosed as follows:

- Front brake pads and brake disks need to be changed.
- Lower arms to be changed.
- Balance rod bushes to be changed
- Linkage to be changed
- Steering rack to be changed

I was pleasantly surprised that they changed the steering rack under good will warranty which was a cost worth 10k including labour.

The car is absolutely silent on the road and while driving over bumps too.