[vinaydatla]

I own a 2015 Skoda Rapid 1.5 TDI AT and 2018 VW Polo GT TSI. Both are equipped with a DSG gearbox.

One week ago, my Skoda Rapid's gear lever refused to move out of "P". The glowplug indicator was flashing and the check engine light was ON.

I called Skoda Roadside assistance immediately and as the vehicle is not in NEUTRAL, I was asked to contact the nearest service center and get the vehicle in "N" before requesting for a tow truck.

As the service center was closed for the day, I had to wait for the next day. The technician from the A.S.S has pushed the shift lock release flap for the gearbox (inside the gear lever console) and moved the gear lever to "N". I had requested for a tow truck and paid the minimum charges for the towing service Rs.3304/- for within the city towing (It seems my RSA expired one week ago and Skoda has not reminded me of the renewal and I missed it too)

After one week of continuous follow-up, I get an update that Mechatronics has failed and the initial estimate of Rs.95000/- has been provided. Will the mechatronics fail without any warning or issue?
What are my options? Please suggest.

Car has been serviced only at the A.S.S that too Mahavir Skoda dealerships.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by vinaydatla

After one week of continuous follow-up, I get an update that Mechatronics has failed and the initial estimate of Rs.95000/- has been provided. Will the mechatronics fail without any warning or issue?
What are my options? Please suggest.

Ask them for the diagnostic reports signifying the failure. Hold out quietly but firmly for goodwill warranty stating there are no modifications, and that you have never serviced it outside Skoda.

Escalate to Zac Hollis on Twitter if necessary.

[vinaydatla]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Ask them for the diagnostic reports signifying the failure. Hold out quietly but firmly for goodwill warranty stating there are no modifications, and that you have never serviced it outside Skoda.

Escalate to Zac Hollis on Twitter if necessary.

I have received these diagnostic reports today.

[pta320]

Originally Posted by vinaydatla

I have received these diagnostic reports today.

Attachment 2261717

Attachment 2261716

It's a sad truth that VW makes weak transmissions and their DSG are the worst of the lot. They fail prematurely and can leave you stranded.

In your case , the P0914 kind of points towards this possibility.

I'd say push for goodwill, get it repaired and get rid of the car. These German cars become money pit as they get older.

Or outsource a salvaged transmission that works and get rid of the car. This maybe cheaper but can be a real pain.

There should be a lawsuit filed against VAG for selling rubbish in India. Try to find some owners (you will find plenty) who have been victim of DSG transmission failure and work your way forward from there.

In 2022, transmission failure on a 5-6 year old car is simply unthinkable.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by vinaydatla

I have received these diagnostic reports today.

Attachment 2261717

Attachment 2261716

Vinay,

Politely but firmly please hold out for 75%+ goodwill warranty quoting your Skoda Service history, age of car and reasonable mileage. Chances are high they will respond positively. Escalate to Zac as required.

Even if you have to pay ~40K, remember that if this was a manual, you would have needed a clutch/flywheel change at full cost (a real possibility at 80K km). That would have cost you easy 50K I believe.

Once the Mechatronic is changed, your car will be as good as new.

Keep us updated!

[vinaydatla]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Vinay,

Politely but firmly please hold out for 75%+ goodwill warranty quoting your Skoda Service history, age of car and reasonable mileage. Chances are high they will respond positively. Escalate to Zac as required.

I have asked the service advisor to check with the higher ups internally for a free replacement and let me know. Based on their update, I will reach out to Skoda Corporate.

Also I have requested for the clutch values to be verified so that the other devil in the DSG is also addressed. It seems they can only check this after the mechatronics is replaced and diagnostics are run.

[vinaydatla]

Originally Posted by vinaydatla

I have asked the service advisor to check with the higher ups internally for a free replacement and let me know. Based on their update, I will reach out to Skoda Corporate.

Also I have requested for the clutch values to be verified so that the other devil in the DSG is also addressed. It seems they can only check this after the mechatronics is replaced and diagnostics are run.

I have received an update from the dealership that no discounts are possible. I will reach out to Skoda customer care and provide an update here.

[vinaydatla]

Originally Posted by vinaydatla

I have received an update from the dealership that no discounts are possible. I will reach out to Skoda customer care and provide an update here.

I had issues reaching the customer care and the call back feature. I have written to Zac and received an acknowledgement from customer care with a copy to Skoda & VW - South India leadership and a copy to all levels of the dealership.

No one has reached out to me yet.

[vinaydatla]

The Skoda corporate team is not ready to offer any discounts or goodwill warranty for the mechatronics failure. They are ready to give this in writing.

[vinaydatla]

E-Mail received from Skoda denying any discounts or goodwill replacement.

Dear Mr. Vinay,

Greetings from ŠKODA AUTO INDIA!

This is with reference to our conversation regarding the subject vehicle.

We completely understand your apprehensions regarding the Mechatronic replacement, as discussed we would also like to put across our views, which is also in detailed explained by our Dealer partner, also the estimate is shared as per attached communication. Please be apprised we do not have any recall campaign of replacing Mechatronic for free of cost & it is out of our purview to cover the part under warranty as per criteria considering the age and other factors. Hence, request for you kind understanding.

Further, we would also request you to accord approval to our Dealer partner so they can proceed with the repair/part replacement process to resolve the issue.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing, vinaydatla! Moving your post out to a new thread so as to warn others. A new thread means 100X the views & 100X the visibility in search engines, including Google. Will add to homepage later .

@ BHPians, if you should spot any good post in an existing thread that deserves its own new thread, please report the post and we'll move it out for greater visibility.

Thank you!

VW-Skoda owners: How much cheaper would an independent garage be in this case?

Pretty sad on the company to first of all sell a defective gearbox that is destined to fail, and then refuse to offer any kind of goodwill warranty. Now you know why VW-Skoda will always suffer limited success in India - such moves destroy an already damaged reputation. They are also taking advantage of our weak legal system; compare this to China where they were forced to recall and offer a 10-year warranty on DSG models!

[itwasntme]

I'm surprised with this reaction from Skoda. It is a known issue and is going to needlessly provide ample negative publicity.

I suspect they would have agreed to an Octavia owner's request. Because this a is a Rapid, the beancounters have dismissed the request. At the least, they should offer 50% goodwill warranty.

Shame on Skoda!

[padmrajravi]

This is really bad customer support from Skoda. This should be great publicity for them, right before the launch of Slavia. Don't these companies think about repeat customers? Will any sane person, his friends, or family who went through this DSG drama ever set foot in a Skoda showroom?

Sure there will be arguments that newer DSGs are better, but growing brands is about building trust. Such categorical denial of support is just insulting the people who trusted Skoda to put their money on them.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Originally Posted by pta320

It's a sad truth that VW makes weak transmissions and their DSG are the worst of the lot. They fail prematurely and can leave you stranded.

Or we just get to know the failed transmissions. How many manual trannys get clutch replacement?
If we take that into account the DSG is not a big thing.

Appreciate the complexity of a shaft on shaft with two sets of clutches all controlled electronically. Hell in electronics, a 1 lakh phone also fails without warning. Or atleast at the slightest exposure of water/dust, it will collapse.

As compared to that a DSG, it's is still a brilliant piece of engineering. I take it as a high risk high return. The day I bought a dsg (touch wood 8 years 87 k kms) i put aside a lakh for the failure.

[vredesbyrd]

I knew Mahavir Skoda was scum (terrible experience with my Superb, their test driver left a foot long gash and they refused to repair it or give any sort of reimbursement) but this is just way too much.

Better going to an FNG, who knows what they will damage or steal?