[Tuisha110HP]

Hi Forum members,

I recently did my third service from Aryaveer Skoda, Moti Nagar. Apart from regular servicing, I made them aware of certain noises coming from rough roads and from somewhere inside the steering column. The car has done just 33K KMS.

I asked them multiple times what the ETA was and why the noise was coming from the car. After the road test, the advisor informed me, it's all normal and there is NO NOISE. I hesitantly agreed to that and asked the car to be serviced. Now lies the issue that bothered me about the technical knowledge the guys at ASC have.

I chose to wait till the service from 9 AM to 3 PM. At 3 PM, when my car was getting lined up for the wash, I asked the advisor to bill me. Came the surprise. He said, we did another test, and the suspension mount needs to be changed/greased. Man, they could have well told me that in advance and I could have left for my home, instead of waiting for the car to be worked upon for suspension issues at the last hour.

Nevertheless, I asked them to change the mounts and drop the vehicle at my home.

Now, coming to the most interesting part, whenever I turn my steering from left to right and vice versa, a peculiar knocking sound comes. The intensity reduces when the car is in motion, but it is very irritating whenever the car is stationary.

I asked the service advisor to pick up my car after two days, which they did and returned the car to me in the evening after a full day. You may ask, what was the issue and what solution is given? The solution given is:

THIS IS PRESENT IN ALL SKODA RAPID. We cant do anything with respect to this. WOW.

Now, I asked around a few Rapid owners all of them denied having this sound in their cars. I visited a well-known FNG who suspects a steering rack issue. I called the service advisor, Mr Ghanshyam and told him about the feedback from FNG. He simply ignored all my protests. Said, they don't believe anyone who is not from ASC. And when I asked him what the solution he has for my issue, to which he replied: " If you are not satisfied, can't do anything. You can visit any ASC but we can't help you. SORRY No reply to chat and video that I sent.

I am simply appalled by the attitude of ASC. Is this where SKODA INDIA is heading after Zac Hollis left?

Please listen to the sound in the video below and please share what can be the issue. Is this a steering rack or column issue?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCjBqXs7KTo

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Turbohead]

Did you try going to another Skoda service centre? If not, that would be your next move.

It's definitely not normal.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by Tuisha110HP

Hi Forum members,

THIS IS PRESENT IN ALL SKODA RAPID. We cant do anything with respect to this. WOW.

Attachment 2392074

This is what I seriously dont understand from some manufacturers, most specially VAG. If the same car was out of warranty, the service center would have diagnosed it as a fault and handed the OP a bill worth 1L-1.5L for steering pump failure and replacement, bushes, some unknown and unheard of part replacements just for the heck, steering assembly changing etc. Since it is under warranty, the general feedback will always be "Its ok, nothing wrong".
I think we should boycott all such manufacturers and not buy their products anymore. As consumers, where we pay the highest road taxes on the car and fuel coupled with astronomical GST on cars, the least we expect is acknowledging an issue and resolving it by honoring the so called warranty. Why is the VAG group acting like this in India? It is not exactly setting the market on fire with high volumes and trouble free ownership (Refer new EPC and DPF issues). Even the limited number of patrons or devotees of this brand will dwindle and look elsewhere if they don't act soon.

I don't see the day is far off when VAG will meet the same fate as FIAT, Ford or GM who had to leave India. RIP.

As regards the OP, tough luck my friend. Perhaps another dealer may be able to diagnose and help. If not, try to leverage all social media channels Indian and Global to get attention since only this seems to work with VAG. All the best!

[Kosfactor]

Given the odometer reading and the symptoms mentioned, it is unlikely to be steering rack - more like the suspension strut mount bearings. This may not be covered in warranty either.

[SideView]

Something i posted on Nissan thread,which i feel is also relevant in this scenario.

Take a test drive, show them the proof that it is not an common issue.(most of the time it is not) Without putting up a fight sadly nothing gets solved.

One thing to be careful with Nissan ASC, do not fall for their sweet talk that it is the same case with other vehicles and is an non-issue

As soon as they say that select a random vehicle and do a testdrive with them and see if it exists. (Check if they agree to this)

(Or better do a testdrive of demo vehicle before and see if the issue exists, so that you know if they as BS’ing or not)

This is based on my history with Nissan ASC and me been a naive newbie owner (expecting that all ASC are truthful)

Either you prove them that they are wrong or accept it as a common issue.

Even if they dont budge after your proofs, escalte to skoda higher ups and create a stinker in social media.

Good luck

[Jeroen]

It almost sounds like a bit of play? Can you feel any play in the steering wheel whilst driving?

Should be simple to find the cause. Once that is established it can be decided if it needs fixing or not.

Good luck
Jeroen

[Tuisha110HP]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Did you try going to another Skoda service centre? If not, that would be your next move.

It's definitely not normal.

Yeah, I am contemplating visiting a different service center. My problem is simply the attitude of service center in acknowledging there is an issue. Until or unless, there is a breakdown, they simply brush is off.

Originally Posted by hrman

This is what I seriously dont understand from some manufacturers, most specially VAG. If the same car was out of warranty, the service center would have diagnosed it as a fault and handed the OP a bill worth 1L-1.5L for steering pump failure and replacement, bushes, some unknown and unheard of part replacements just for the heck, steering assembly changing etc. Since it is under warranty, the general feedback will always be "Its ok, nothing wrong".

Exactly my point. Since it is under warranty, they are not paying heed to the issue.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

It almost sounds like a bit of play? Can you feel any play in the steering wheel whilst driving?

Should be simple to find the cause. Once that is established it can be decided if it needs fixing or not.

Good luck
Jeroen

Hi Jeroen,
Yes, I feel physical feedback when the sound comes. It was not there when the vehicle was new. Developed in recent times.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Tuisha110HP

Yes, I feel physical feedback when the sound comes. It was not there when the vehicle was new. Developed in recent times.

You really need to get the steering linkage checked for play and the steering box itself. As other members suggested it might be a good idea to try a different service centre.

Any half competent mechanic should be able to find the root cause of this. You do need to get the car on a lift preferably, so you can really pull at all the various components to determine where the play is.

Depending on where the play is, steering linkages including ball joints, steering box or slave steering box you can determine what the best course of action is.

But the bare minimum they should have done is at least identify where the noise comes from.

Good luck

Jeroen

[Tuisha110HP]

A quick update:

I got an email from Skoda After sales Manager for North India and he promised to get my car checked by Skoda technicians. I will update the thread whenever I have an update on the visit and checks done by them.

[TwerkyC0ffee]

Hello OP, it’s been more than 15 days. Any update on your issue?

[AKSarkar1]

I have had first hand experiences and hope to document my perspective to help owners on this forum. Like the known issue of ABS sensors failing on Polos/Ventos and their Skoda counterparts, the steering rack is another big shortcoming of the car. Only long time owners are aware about this. No it is not normal but yes this is a common issue.

I have owned two Polos and currently still own a Vento and this has happened on all cars in a running of less than 15K Kms. You can still continue driving with steering rack making noise, it doesn't affect the driving dynamics majorly in the city or even in general but needless to say it is not good for the car's health.

I got my rack repaired last week for 2K, it is not the 'perfect' option but got the work done and the rack is almost as good as new now. My suggestion would be to ditch the authorized centre and go for a FNG known for doing such work. After the repair, I once again realized how beautiful the driving dynamics are of these cars, definitely worth the hassle they cause from time to time

[McLaren Rulez]

This post may be of help: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post4429642 (My Lieblingswagen - 2015 VW Polo MPi Comfortline)

Solution was to grease the strut mounts and is a common problem with the Polo/Vento/Rapid. It did not have to do with the steering rack itself. However, I'm not sure if your noise is the same or not. FYI, VW did it for free on my car when I insisted that this was not normal.

[Tuisha110HP]

Originally Posted by TwerkyC0ffee

Hello OP, it’s been more than 15 days. Any update on your issue?

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

This post may be of help: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post4429642 (My Lieblingswagen - 2015 VW Polo MPi Comfortline)
.

Hi All,

Sorry, I was terribly busy and could not update the thread. I got a call to visit Aryaveer Skoda and a technical expert from Skoda inspected the car. Not naming the gentleman on the public forum. They kept my vehicle for 3 days and it looks like the issue is from Steering Rack or Steering column.

An order for the steering rack has been placed and according to SA, the make is a little different from the earlier version and may have improvements. The caveat to this one is ASC is asking me for the payment for the rack. I have changed the tires to 195 sections from stock 185's in Ambition. I am sure there is no difference in any components related to this issue between a Style Variant and an Ambition Variant.

Mr Zac Hollis, when he was here, Twitted and emailed a few fellow ACTIVE variant Rapid owners saying they can upgrade to Ambition or Style Alloys at SVC and that won't affect the warranty.

Also, the other side of the coin is, they are not sure if the rack is the main issue. It would be changed and then checked for noise. If that does not solve it, the diagnosis would move to Steering Column. Hence, even if I make the payment, the results are not assured. During my last service, I in fact changed my suspension mounts and paid 6000 INR. Still there is noise on rough roads.

I have decided to move back to my stock tires, as I have them in my Ford Freestyle and visit the ASC when the rack arrives.

So far, it's been a healthy conversion with Skoda technical team and ASC. They said they would try to include the changes in the warranty. Fingers crossed!

I will post the next updates when the rack arrives, and I drive it. Before I conclude, here are the issues related to the post:

1) Noise from the Steering column when moved from left to right and vice versa when the vehicle is stationary.

2) A clucky metallic noise from underneath the steering column, down from the right side when driven on rough roads and when you encounter potholes. The sound sends physical feedback to steering and it pushes the direction of steering sideways. Does not come on smooth roads but becomes a headache on rough roads. Feels like something with break. Its been there from 15000 kms on ODO and no solution yet.

[Clayton Crasto]

Hi, did you get the rack replaced under warranty? How is the car behaving now?

My Polo is at VW Goa right now for a steering rack replacement too, under warranty. I faced the exact same sounds you described in point 2. The car has clocked 29,800 kms, with ABS sensors replaced 6 times under warranty.

Last year the strut bearings were greased FOC, when I was getting similar sounds, but the clunking issue doesn't come up in this case on bad roads.