[Resolved]  Skoda India — Serious Manufacturing Defects in Skoda Rapid

Address:

New Delhi, Delhi

I would like to convey some really grave issue I am having with my car – a December 2011 Skoda Rapid Diesel – Air-conditioning : From the first summer season, the AC have been giving trouble. It used to trip and start pushing in outside air. At several occasions, it resulted in heating up of car. Everytime I was told we have done flushing, cleaning, top-up, recirculation, etc. etc. The problem still stays. Interestingly I have been told that AC tripping is a standard safety feature on the car when it occurred first by your Pune Office. Though after a while it disappeared and then re-appeared. I have got emails which says so. Is it a standard safety feature ? Engine : Due to heating up, while checking for the coolant levels, I noticed murkiness and oiliness in the coolant box several times. Everytime was told its due to dust and all and we have flushed and fixed it. Finally last year there was a major issue of oil and coolant getting mixed and due to which the base engine was changed. Not sure if the problem has been fixed finally. Power Windows : The cars power windows getting stuck from day one. Everytime its put on a scanner, some settings done. Problem still stays. Car Pulling Left : From day one again, the car keeps pulling to left. Everytime I complained, I am being told – this is an issue with these tyres and the car. Problem stays. Seat Structure : I complained many a times about the stiffness of the seats. I was told there is some replacement to be done in this car. Though for last one year the dealers don’t have the required parts in inventory. Recently there has been an issue of water pump leakage which in turn ruined a couple of other parts. I reported a particular problem in my car in the Month of April 2012 (First Summer Season) that the AC trips and the recirculation vent keeps on opening and closing by itself andthis causes ineffective air conditioning & foul smells entering into the car. Since then my car has be called to the Delhi Service station at least 6-7 times in a period of 3 months. Every time I was told a new story like the motor getting heated up, or problem with internal wiring, or problem in wheel teeth settings and what not. The L2 technical department kept asking for logs and videos as I have been told and guided the dealership to resolve the issue. The flying doctors inspected the cards. Even the OEM vendors inspected the car. My car was literally taken apart which led to various other problems such as dashboard rattling, continuous flow of outside air in the car due to ill fitting by mechanics, completely ruined air conditioning and internal décor with grease and dust. After this, the usual trend of the car is that it goes for a issue for one day, problem resolved, comes back, then again goes for 2 days for same problem, then for a week and then something major happens and then its gone for 15-20 days. Its been happening for last 3 years and I am so tired of this cycle. It raises deep concerns about the engineering of the car as if it has been put on the roads for customers to test and then fix the problems.