[rodiwa]

Thank you everyone for so many responses. I'll try to answer queries below.

Originally Posted by ike

For a car still in warranty, it'd have been more prudent to let the ASS diagnose the issue. If the fix isn't carried out under warranty you could have explored FNGs.

Agreed, taking my vehicle to authorised SCs is always my first option. However, I was shocked to learn that suspensions are not covered in warranty. I verified this with both Wakad service center in Pune, and another one in Kharghar/ Nerul by visiting them personally. I felt then going to FNG would make sense, but it hasn't helped much.

Originally Posted by gandharjc

Might I suggest driving another Taigun after ensuring the tyre pressure is at 33PSI? I understand you have already done this, but wouldn't harm to try it with another one. I TD'd the Nxon & Kushaq last week, and could immediately feel the 'thud' you're mentioning. I simply assumed it was the sportier setup on the Kushaq that lead to sharp thuds being felt; & I think it may be the case with you as well. The German twins are propbably simply set up stiffer.

True, I TD'd another Taigun model with similar distance covered at a service center in Kharghar/ Nerul. It didn't feel as bad as mine, but wasn't as smooth as a Creta or an Altroz. Made my more confident there's something wrong with my suspension.

Originally Posted by Guna

What about the tyres? You mentioned that you have covered 40k. Are the old tyres still on? Tyres can become hard over years and usage.

Yes, I'm still using the old stock tyres so far. But based on a lot of responses here, I'm strongly considering replacing them to better ones. I'm currently researching this one.

Originally Posted by Torque123

I see that the OP has not provided details of diagnosis performed by VW ASC. What was their diagnosis? I only see a comment on shock absorber not covered under warranty. Did their investigation lead to replacing the shock absorber?

Not taken it to VW first since it was not covered in warranty. Replied above, and also mentioned in first post.

Originally Posted by Torque123

Honouring or not honouring the warranty is the next step. Did the OP ensure that the VW ASC throughly tried to troubleshoot the issue? If they did then what were their findings? I am asking this because multiple FNG’s have been consulted here post the visit to VW ASC.

Not taken it to VW first since it was not covered in warranty. Replied above, and also mentioned in first post.

Originally Posted by akash_v12

rodiwa, would you mind sharing the service centre you've dealt with? When the shockers on our Vento went bust, our dealer did say that they are indeed not included in the warranty. It is true, so I'd recommend going ahead with the replacement.
AFAIK there's only one dealer in Pune right now, given Vidyut closed shop pretty recently. I cannot figure out which service centre this is, but if you want I could get you in contact with someone at their Hadapsar or the main service centre. Navi Mumbai dealers are not confidence-inspiring and I've had to deal with them thrice for a similar ordeal, albeit on a 110k KM run car. They have lost my trust and only after pressure from the higher-ups did they offer the rightful service.
Additionally, please share the diagnosis the dealer has given you.

Thank you for the confirmation! You're probably the first one to confirm that they are not in warranty. I was beginning to doubt myself.

I first went to Lucky's Hi-Tech Service at Aundh Ravet rd. Even with a few TD's, the mechanics refused to acknowledge something was wrong initially. Only after I was persistent and requested the owner to assess as well, did they agree that it was loud and bumpy. The owner suggested to replace the dampers (both front and rear) only, which I did. They charged me mostly for the parts.

I started facing similar issue after a month, which made me think something else must be damaging/ affecting the dampers as well. I decided to show a dedicated shock absorber repair shop in the area. Based on Google Map reviews, I went to Johnny Bhai at Hinjewadi. This was mostly to get an assessment, and not to fix anything this time. This is where they mentioned that steering rack and axle may have play. He also mentioned the dampers may not be working properly. TBH, the workshop was not very confidence-inspiring.

I am still looking to show around some more. Someone told me there are good workshops at Vashi. If you know any good workshops in Pune, do DM me the details. I'd love to get their assessment as well.

Based on a few YT videos, I am seeing some road side FNGs in Borivali that seem to fix such issues. But I'm hoping to get some insight using tech (via wheel balancing, and alignment type equipments), if there are any for suspension. Hence, my next visit to probably to the VW service center.

[Bazooka1989]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Had this issue on my Slavia as well and have observed it on most German cars I have driven. When you drive over a depression on the road, or any other scenario where the suspension is compressed and has to expand suddenly and send the wheel downward into this depression, the car makes a really loud thud as if something broke. However, this softened into a very smooth tap after I crossed 10k kms. After that, it has never occurred to me so far at 23k kms. But I believe these thud noises arise out of stiffer suspension setups that these cars have.

Thank you so much! My car has done just 750km till now, hopefully this issue will resolve with more kms on the odo.

[rodiwa]

UPDATE - I haven't been writing here as I haven't really been able to show the car around much. I did take it to the VW service center in my area. It was a walk-in. They put it on a ramp and visually inspected and said everything looks good. But I've requested a more thorough check such as the steering rack, etc. I've asked for a TD to be done before we open it up. The quality engineer was not available that day. I'll probably need to spend a day for next appointment, and I haven't been able to get around to do that yet.

The fact that they've already said "things look normal" gives me little hope, but I'd like to get a complete assessment from them nevertheless.

[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by rodiwa

The fact that they've already said "things look normal" gives me little hope, but I'd like to get a complete assessment from them nevertheless.

Have you been able to visit BU Bhandari Hadapsar or Wakad by any chance? Usually, VW suspensions tend to make thud sounds on larger potholes (as seen on our Vento and relatives' Slavia and Taiguns).
I would recommend going to one of them for a thorough check-up. VW Nerul (Autobahn), at least for me, is one highly incompetent service centre that cannot complete the job.

Note: I am in no way associated with BU Bhandari. I am speaking from the perspective of being a happy customer of theirs over 8 years.

[shabih]

I own a 2016 VW Polo MPI. Let me give you my two cents. I went to a nearby alignment and wheel balancing shop last week to get my alignment fixed. As usual the 'mechanics' there started to do their usual song and dance about my suspension not working properly and they did the same demo of trying to compress them and show how they are not getting compressed. I had not noticed anything wrong with my front or rear suspension till then but because of their stupid interjection, it got to my head that perhaps something is not right. The mechanic also showed me that the rear suspension was leaking and offered me very attractive pricing for replacement. Like an idiot, I followed his advice and got the rear suspension changed but told him not to do anything to the front suspension.

I then went to VW Noida for inspection and the mechanics there assured me there was nothing wrong with the front suspension. Phew saved me a few bucks.

Coming to the thud noise, I noticed this on the rear after the alignment guy replaced the rear shocks with aftermarket ones. So where was the issue? The black rubber damper that you see attached to the shocks, was making the noise. That part is not available outside usually and the FNGs will do some 'jugaad' to fit in anything that is available to them. I noticed that they cut out a portion of rubber from another suspension and stacked them together. I knew from the start that this wouldn't work. Alas, my hunch was right. Anyway, somehow they have fixed it for now. Let's see how long they last.

With VW cars, most FNGs are the worst advisors and they end up damaging related parts so my strong advice is to make friends at the company workshop and only rely on their advice. Do question them about any suggestion they make but they are far more reliable.

[Jeroen]

You can not test shock absorbers, dismounted from the car, reliably by hand! Unless they more or less move freely every shock absorber has a different way of responding to pushing and pulling. More importantly the rate at which they get pushed, or pulled, determines how they operate. Nobody is strong enough, only shows up on a car or test rig.

You need a special shock absorbers test rigs, but even in Europe I rarely come across them.

What you can do and gives some indication is compare an old shock to how a new one feels. Even that is far from certain. Because there is no way you can compress a shock quick enough similar to how it behaves when fitted to the car.

I recently fitted new shocks to my Alfa Spider and adjusted my front ones.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...ml#post5754076 (My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One)

I thought based on how they felt after I had taken them off, they were broken. However, that was exactly how they were supposed to feel. So virtually no resistance being compressed and difficult to pull out! Who would have thought. Again, how they behave under your car is a different matter all together.

One thing is for sure, sign of oil leakage means they need to be replaced. In countries with regelaar annual car testing (e.g. MOT) a leaky shock is an immediate fail.

Being able to push and pull them in more or less freely when taken off the car is most likely a sure sign of them being gone.

The old test of pushing hard down on the corner of your car and see how it bounces, or rather not due to the shock is still a good way to get an initial feel for the state of your shocks. Go corner by corner, push the corner down as hard as you can, you could get a mate to assist and let it go. The spring will,push the corner back up, a good shock should not let the corner bounce. See if you get the same response on all four corners.

Shock rarely wear out. It tends to be all or nothing. In 90% of the cases they work correctly or they simply don’t do anything at all. Anything in between is usually on their way out soon as well.

Good luck

Jeroen

[thirdmainroad]

The simplest way to get this checked is to ask for a test drive of the same / similar variant and to see if you can replicate the issue on that car.

While the Taigun has stiffer suspension than the Kusaq or Creta, and that’s precisely why I choose it - for it translates into better handling, there is no definitely no thud or clunk to be experienced.

I fear you’ve pushed this a bit too late - if you felt the thunk early, you should have simply tested other cars and come to a conclusion.

This very same very weird thing happened to me years ago, when I bought a brand new Amaze. Within an hour or so after driving out of the showroom - I noticed a suspension thud. I went back, they refused it at first, I requested a test drive car and drove it on the same road as mine and recorded the thud, which the SC then had to admit was real.

Then started a 2 month long process. They tweaked this and that, and gave it back, but the issue persisted. They then changed the suspension, and gave it back, the issue still persisted. They finally got a team from Honda factory to check the car - and it resulted in a complete chassis change.

Though I gave the car back the next day after I got it delivered - and it took 2 months - and Honda changed the entire chassis - and though I was giving them hell throughout - I did not ask for a new car, but for the issue to be addressed in full.

I then drove that Amaze real hard over 5 years and 1,40,000 km and it never gave me any issues - though of course I got the suspension changed around the 1.1L mark when it wore out.

You may still have a case because you have reported it.

Just test drive 2 other similar variants and see for yourself!

In addition, if you have an MRF Tyredrome near by, go there and ask for a suspension and road worthy test. They’ll give you a clear report.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

They finally got a team from Honda factory to check the car - and it resulted in a complete chassis change.
.

A complete chassis change? It would have been quicker and easy to give you a new car!
What did they do, took everything apart, got themselves a new chassis and bolted all the same parts back on again?

What was wrong with the chassis that led to these issues?

Could you elaborate?

Jeroen

[thirdmainroad]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Could you elaborate?

Jeroen

So this happened in June 2013, just a few months of the 1st gen release. It’s a little murky in my head and though they were long mail trails - I’ve since cleared my emails many times over.

It was really a very weird issue that had everyone stumped. The rear left made quite a “thunk” when driven hard over a speed breaker or pothole.

Sad, but I remember the first time vividly when we caught it. A close friend and I took delivery of the car, and noticed the clunk when I drove over a speed breaker a bit too hard 30 mins after taking delivery. I remember Leons face oh so clearly when it happened. He passed a few months back - after eating a cheap meal of fried rice and chicken on the marina beach. Severe food poisoning.

I’ll remember you for a long time yet, ya crazy Anglo!

Anyway - it really had everyone stumped. They first changed - I think the housing first, then the tyre and then just the rear suspension - and then the whole set, but the issue persisted.

They then asked me time for factory engineers to visit and I was there when they did. Some 7 people came, all Japanese and bowing at everyone and everything.

Like I said, it finally culminated in a full chassis change - which required a change in the registration. The deal was that Honda would give me 5 years warranty on the car + 7 years Honda roadside for free as well. But, I’d have to accept an amendment on the registration. At that point, I refused the amendment saying that the cars re sale value would be drastically hit and I demanded an assured by back value when I decided to sell the car, however long it took - not at the companies value but my value. I wanted this in writing from the dealer, endorsed by Honda. If this was not acceptable, I wanted a brand new car.

In a few days time, I was given the car back, and given 5 years warranty, and given a brand new RC book and insurance with the new chassis number with no amendment.

The whole process took a little over 2 months, and the dealer gave me a test drive Honda City while it was going on. They refused for any replacement car at first, but I found going to the dealer when they were crowed with customers like on a weekend and raising a really loud ruckus was getting me what I wanted.

I did get into a little trouble when I tried to foreclose the loan with my bank though - the RC in their records didn’t match with the one that I had, something we all had overlooked. The dealer - Capital Honda - owned by a ruling party bigwig, made this issue disappear as well.

I remember the funny thing is after all of this - the day I got the car re delivered.. I went and poured water into the coolant chamber instead of the spray can and drove it for a bit before I realised. They came and took the car on a flatbed, drained all the fluids for free and gave it back!

And a few years after that, when Chennai was flooded, my area was not, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about - I drove to a flooded area, got promptly flooded, and tried restarting the car - leading to all 4 pistons being changed, at an insurance cost of some 2.25 lakhs.

I did some crazy things with car - getting it stuck on a mountain top, and on the banks of the Cauvery, running out of diesel in the middle of nowhere - having my priority Honda care take care of it all - deeming it all having happened on “deemed roads” when they were not.

That car was truly Amaze!

[thirdmainroad]

Also to note, the “bolting” of the new chassis to the car was done in Chennai, but not by the local service guys, but by a specialist team brought in by Honda.

[santydagr]

Hi,

I had recently bought a Taigun GT+ and saved the exact same issue. In fact, just few weeks earlier was discussing this in the WhatsApp group. The thud in my car has significantly reduced after I upgraded my tires to UC6. I am not technically sound on this subject to tell you what changed but it did made a huge difference. On the bumps where I used to get a thud driving at 13 km/hr, now I can easily go upto 18-20 plus the ride quality has become very plush and cushiony. It is not as good as creta and it will never be because that comes at a compromise of stability at higher speeds, around the corners which is what VW is known for.

Cushiony ride at bumps makes the car behave like a boat at higher speeds, stiff suspension mapped the handling much better but is a compromise on bad roads.

IMHO, all you need is a tire upgrade.