[Chrome6Boy]

I have the 2016 Vento TSI. When I had run 99,920 KMs the gearbox died on me, only 1-3-5 gears engaged, reverse and 2nd did not. The gearbox was replaced under warranty.

Yesterday it happened again, the car has run 125,000 KMs. Reverse did not engage and the gear indicator was blinking. I had it towed to the service center today. I am waiting for their analysis.

I really love the car and don't want to change it under any circumstances, but I do a lot of my driving on the highway and need a dependable car. Unfortunately I cannot buy any car with a similar performance (TSI + DSG) below 20 lakhs. I was waiting for the Altroz EV, and was hoping to keep this car until then.

[Chrome6Boy]

I got an update from the service engineer at Sundaram Motors yesterday saying they were able to fix the issue after disassemling and reassembling the DSG. They want to do extensive road tests before handing over the car to me. They haven't told me what exactly was wrong yet.

[mac187]

Originally Posted by Chrome6Boy

Yesterday it happened again, the car has run 125,000 KMs. Reverse did not engage and the gear indicator was blinking. I had it towed to the service center today. I am waiting for their analysis.

This failure doesn't seem to be linked to the gearbox (i.e. total failure like before). The fact that they claim they were able to fix the issue without changing any parts points to a different root cause. You need to figure out the root cause. It maybe service related issue too.

[Chrome6Boy]

Originally Posted by mac187

This failure doesn't seem to be linked to the gearbox (i.e. total failure like before). The fact that they claim they were able to fix the issue without changing any parts points to a different root cause. You need to figure out the root cause. It maybe service related issue too.

Previously only the mechatronix was changed. However now it is the clutch which has worn. Apparently the car runs fine after resetting the clutch but it is only a matter of time before the clutch will fail again. It will cost Rs. 70,000 to replace the clutch.

[petrol_power]

Originally Posted by petrol_power

Update:
VW Dealer contacted me today mentioning that VW has decided to extend special support, and mentioned that some percentage of Multiclutch and flywheel cost will be covered by VW. The car will be checked after this replacement and if they find any issues in mechatronics, VW would bear the full cost for mechatronics unit.

.

And the final update (happened a month back, but was too busy) . The dealer had informed me that company will bear 1.4 lacs and I need to pay only 70k initially. But when the works were over they said that I will have to pay 1.4 lacs. I called up VW again immediately, but they were behaving as if they don't care at all, and it was like take away my car from workshop. One thing which we all have to understand is that it's not the dealers of VW who has a really bad careless attitude, its because of the company policies. VW was in no mood to even see the mails sent by dealer earlier.

Anyways I was fed up with VW and felt that I should not waste my important time with VW anymore. So paid the amount and took the car out. And that was the final nail in coffin for my relationship with VW/ Skoda.

And regarding cars for enthusiasts, I hope there will be more attempts like xuv 700 as I will never touch VW / skoda in india anymore, just to avoid the interaction with their dealers.

My car still has lot of other issues, for which I have been showing them for almost 2 years, but dealer neither company is ready to rectify it.
All they know is to do oil top up and cleaning while giving for servicing.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by petrol_power

And that was the final nail in coffin for my relationship with VW/ Skoda.

Yikes! Could be the final nail in the coffin for my DSG (Taigun 1.5 DQ200) booking too.

I was already getting cold feet after reports of multiple Kushaq breakdowns (not gearbox) and Zac saying these are 'normal' in the launch phase. VW also claims that all issues have been sorted with the DQ200, which we know is not true.

VAG cars claim to be premium but you have to make a ton of compromises for the driving experience and the latter is the only reason for booking the car. But this sort of attitude towards the customer is just pathetic! Going back on their word after the work is completed?

By the way - did the dealership give it in writing regarding the 50% goodwill payment of 70k earlier? Also - is this EVM?

[drivingmelody]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I was already getting cold feet after reports of multiple Kushaq breakdowns (not gearbox) and Zac saying these are 'normal' in the launch phase. VW also claims that all issues have been sorted with the DQ200, which we know is not true.

VAG cars claim to be premium but you have to make a ton of compromises for the driving experience and the latter is the only reason for booking the car. But this sort of attitude towards the customer is just pathetic! Going back on their word after the work is completed?

This is not very confidence inspiring. 1.5 DSG was ruled out because of DQ200 and with three breakdowns of Kushaq 1.0 AT is also really bad. I am confused, should I wait for Taigun price reveal at all.

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Y
But this sort of attitude towards the customer is just pathetic! Going back on their word after the work is completed?

This has been their attitude for a very long time, they love to go back on their word and avoid giving warranty claims. Remember the 1.6 TDi injector issues - VW knew the injectors could fail any time but never issued a recall, blamed adulterated diesel and what not.

I asked the workshop manager at that time on what would i do if my remaining 2 old injectors go bad in the middle of the night on a highway, he had the audacity to tell me that I should call RSA in that case.

Sad to see the OP had to shell out full 1.4L, i sold my Vento off before the injectors failed, it’s not just the dealers who are bad, company’s attitude is equally poor here, there is a reason why we do not see such threads for other manufacturers. I understand that a part can fail but what makes
or breaks the customer is how a manufacturer behaves.

I owned a FIAT for 7 years and even you would know how customer support works there, in here, all your emails to VW/Skoda go right back to dealer, does not matter what the level of escalation is.
Lovely cars marred by poor parents.

EDIT : Just saw that on very first page of technical stuff, we have 3 VW threads running with the caption of pathetic/slow service, sort of gives an idea.

[kpkeerthi]

Thanks for sharing. While I sincerely empathize with your feelings bold threads like these (a lot of owners do keep mum due to sheer embarrassment) are a constant reminder to self that I should never step into a VW/Skoda showroom leave alone purchase their product.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Yikes! Could be the final nail in the coffin for my DSG (Taigun 1.5 DQ200) booking too.

I don't know how you plan to use your DSG 1.5 Taigun, but I know you are a biker, so I am sure you will be mighty pleased with it. It is the cheapest way to get closest to the feel of a bike.

DSG is a classic case of glass being half-empty or half-full. It is in the league of big boys of sporty transmission (PDK, ZF8) at a stellar price but comes with the pain of it being a VW offering.

I have posted this several times on this forum, DSG is a great choice for enthusiasts. However the buyer must expect the worst case scenario such as this. All this India 2.0 is just product packaging. Their reliability and customer service standards have not changed and they are incapable of redemption. If you are an enthusiast, just be prepared for the following and it will work out just fine:

1. Buy extended warranty and follow the service schedules religiously.
2. For upto 2 years beyond ext warranty, prepare to shell out 50% or 2L for a major DSG repair.
3. For later years, it is either 100% or private garage repairs (the prospects of which are looking great, we will see many such threads in future)

To the OP:
I agree the whole experience is terrible but take a step back and ask yourself if you hadn't signed up for this when you bought Polo DSG. I am sure most Polo DSG buyers know it's only a matter of time to face such a problem. My suggestion would be to go ahead and get your car fixed and get a steering wheel with paddle shifts - it will elevate your driving experience 10 times. It will make you forget all these bad experiences and put a smile back on your face.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by petrol_power

And the final update (happened a month back, but was too busy) . The dealer had informed me that company will bear 1.4 lacs and I need to pay only 70k initially. But when the works were over they said that I will have to pay 1.4 lacs. I called up VW again immediately, but they were behaving as if they don't care at all, and it was like take away my car from workshop. One thing which we all have to understand is that it's not the dealers of VW who has a really bad careless attitude, its because of the company policies. VW was in no mood to even see the mails sent by dealer earlier.

That is very sad to hear. From what Ive been told, VW isnt known for really good service in Cochin and a lot of it depends on how much you as the owner can stay in the good books of the service advisors.

Can you please name the dealer? That is important. Tomorrow they will pull the same stunt with another forum member or a reader of this thread. Without knowing the name of the errant dealership, others cannot benefit from this update.

[NotanF1driver]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Also - is this EVM?

Originally Posted by petrol_power

And that was the final nail in coffin for my relationship with VW/ Skoda.

Hello. Surprisingly, I had a different experience with a VW service center recently. My father's Vento TSI developed a series of issues with warning lights in the instrument cluster.

These were: Yellow - ABS sensor, traction control (the usual VW warnings), check engine and EPC. Red - Steering exclamation. I quickly noticed that the power steering was not functioning.

Due to the red steering warning lights, we did not drive the car. On checking with VW service, they said that the car can't be picked up due to COVID restrictions. However, the car was picked a week afterwards. It took the service center 3 working days (I think) to look into this. The third/ fourth day, a guy came and dropped the car back. The warning lights were gone, and the power steering was normal. We were not charged anything! The car was out of warranty (this is a 2015 car), but we had purchased a 2 year service pack which had included 2 normal services (spare parts were extra). The service center had informed us that the cost of the spares in this repair (a pair of ABS sensors were reported to be damaged) was covered in it. We were puzzled, and no additional information was shared with us on what was the real cause. ABS sensor can't cause EPC and steering issues.

Nevertheless, the car is back and I just drove a 100 kms, with no issues. Fingers crossed. Maybe VW wanted customers to say good about the service with the imminent launch of Taigun? Sadly, this incident (with other expensive repairs) has raised questions on the car's reliability (and expenses) in the coming years. My father has expressed that he lost trust in the car.

[Kosfactor]

With VAG themselves moving to a planetary gearset and then jumping to DSG once again with the 1.5 (not indianized yet?!) - the best transmission for enthusiasts and those who do not want to be on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck is - Manual Transmission.

Very reliable hands and legs doing the gear shifting as we please, come on there are only so many years left before good MTs disappear forever.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by petrol_power

And the final update (happened a month back, but was too busy) . The dealer had informed me that company will bear 1.4 lacs and I need to pay only 70k initially. But when the works were over they said that I will have to pay 1.4 lacs. I called up VW again immediately, but they were behaving as if they don't care at all, and it was like take away my car from workshop

Just bumped onto this thread. Sorry to read about your travails. VW has behaved horribly here, but not for the first time by the way,

Since the VW/dealer had promised to you the initial repair amount (1.4 lakhs), can you not take that same assurance (email etc) back to them? Or is there something amiss?

I know the incident must have left you fuming (rightly so), but now that VW has formally repaired/replaced parts, please do not forget to take the additional warranty coverage (typically 2 years) that is associated with such new part replacement, specially when it comes to the gearbox assembly - and in your case the dual mass flywheel as well.

Also, there is an incident report (with diagnostics) that the dealer is required to submit to VW. Please try & get hold of a copy from the dealer.

For the general reference of us readers/owners, can you confirm the odometer reading when the issues started cropping up? Also, would you know if the AT gear oil was changed as per schedule (IIRC, it should be ~60,000 km servicing mark).
Just finally, can you let know if any remaps were done? Just checking to see if the gearbox was "opened" at any point of time in the past..

I have been driving a Vento for the past 6 years now, and it has the same (in)famous 7-speed DQ200 gearbox. I have completed 83k km till date.
Touchwood, I have been blessed only with the good wishes so far.

Intrigued by the DSG technology, I did some research into the working of this complex, yet lethal piece of technology (link (DSG, demystified! All you need to know about VW's Direct-Shift Gearbox)).

Though I have not experienced even a hiccup till date as far as the DSG is concerned, I will be the first to admit and say it loud -
The DSG is like a double-edged sharp knife, it can help you solicit the best and the most wonderful driving experience (for me in the last 6 yrs). But when things go south, it can cut you bad enough to leave a life-long scar.

Having known the bad side, the one thing I have done, is purchase the extended + add-on warranty for the longest time possible viz. 7 yrs in my case.

[yd_gli]

VW and their India shenanigans. They'll never improve. I owned two VWs in the US and how different was their attitude towards after sales over there. They would bend over backwards to resolve issues. Here, it is quite the opposite.

I am glad I got rid of my GT long before it became a liability. Localization and that DSG gearbox have completely taken away the sheen from their products. On my wife's insistence, I went to have a look at the T-Roc. I just laughed when the sales guy asked me to fork out 27L for a car with that gearbox. No thanks!