giblet

My vRS CR 170 was remapped to 210bhp by AMD Technic in Thurrock. I then went back for a DPF delete and same map was used - but power increased slightly to 215bhp/348Ib/ft torque (unadapted). I've had it for a month or two now and there is hardly any noticeable smoke - in fact only if you boot the car do you get a little wisp but it's literally unnoticeable. In contrast, I had a 'bad' remap from another company with a previous car I owned and you wouldn't believe the amount of diesel smoke. It was ridiculous. It was like I was burning a tyre on a bonfire. I think a lot of it comes down to who does the work and how they remap the car. One thing I will say is - once you get rid of the DPF you get rid of any problem(s) that can be associated with it (that's why I got mine removed) and also the car revs and feels like its breathing more freely (hard to explain) but you'll feel the difference if you do it.

Problems and recalls of DSG-equipped vehicles[edit] The 7-speed DQ200 and DQ250 gearboxes sometimes suffer from power-loss (gear disengaging) due to short-circuiting of wires caused by a build-up of sulphur in the transmission oil.[23] United States of America[edit] In August 2009, Volkswagen of America issued two recalls of DSG-equipped vehicles. The first involved 13,500 vehicles,[24] and was to address unplanned shifts to the neutral gear,[24] while the second involved similar problems (by then attributed to faulty temperature sensors) and applied to 53,300 vehicles.[24][25][26] These recalls arose as a result of investigations carried out by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),[27] where owners reported to the NHTSA a loss of power whilst driving.[24] This investigation preliminary found only 2008 and 2009 model year vehicles as being affected.[24][27] China[edit] Since 2009 there have been widespread concerns from Chinese consumers particularly among the online community, expressed that Volkswagen has failed to respond to complaints about defects in its DSG-equipped vehicles. Typical issues associated with 6-speed DSG include abnormal noise and unable to change gear; while issues associated with 7-speed DSG include abnormal noise, excessive shift shock, abnormal increase in engine RPM, flashing gear indicator on the dashboard as well as unable to shift to even-numbered gears.[28] In March 2012 China’s quality watchdog the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has said it has been in contact with Volkswagen (China) and urged the carmaker to probe the issues.[29][30] In a survey held by Gasgoo.com (China) of the 2,937 industry experts and insiders, 83% respondent believe that the carmaker should consider a full vehicle recall.[31] In March 2012 Volkswagen Group China has admitted there could be an issue in its seven-speed DSG gearboxes that may affect approximately 500,000 vehicles from its various subsidiaries in China.[32] A software upgrade has since been offered to the affected vehicles in an attempt to repair the problem. According to 163.com - one of China's most popular web portals - in March 2012 about a quarter of the complaints about problems found in cars in China's automotive market were against DSG-equipped vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen.[33] The top five models that dominate those complaints were: Volkswagen Magotan - 6% Volkswagen Bora - 5.3% Volkswagen Sagitar - 5.3% Volkswagen Touareg - 4.7% Volkswagen Golf - 4% On March 15, 2013 China Central Television aired a program for the World Consumer Rights Day. The program criticized the issue associated with DSG-equipped vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen. on March 17, 2013 Volkswagen Group China announced on its official Weibo that it will voluntarily recall vehicles equipped with DSG boxes.[34] Some sources have estimated the failure rate of DSG-equipped vehicles sold in China being above 20,000ppm[citation needed]. Sweden[edit] VW Sweden stopped selling the Passat EcoFuel DSG as a taxi after many cars had problems with the DSG gearbox. They instead offered the Touran EcoFuel DSG, which is using a different model of the DSG gearbox [35] Australia and New Zealand[edit] "Volkswagen Australia confirmed on the evening of the 11th of June 2013 that it would conduct a recall across its Skoda,Golf, Jetta, Polo, Passat and Caddy models manufactured between June 2008 and September 2011. The recall will affect 25,928 vehicles within this range." "The recall will target a particular version of DSG, the seven-speed DQ200."[36] This recall has come about after sustained pressure from owners and the public after the death in 2011 of a young woman driving a 2008 VW Golf stopped suddenly on a major freeway and was hit by a truck from behind and crushing her car which was in a manual variant and not related to the DSG recall. Shortly after Volkswagen Australia has announced its recall on 11th June 2013, Audi and Skoda have announced they will recall 6,000 and 1,746 vehicles respectively which are equipped with the 7-speed transmission.[37] Japan[edit] The recall has been extended to Japan with 91,000 (VW and Audi using the same DSG) being recalled. [38] Singapore[edit] Volkswagen Singapore recalled approximately 6100 cars with the 7-speed DSG. [39] Malaysia[edit] 13 days after the Singapore recall, Volkswagen Malaysia also announced a recall for the 7-speed DSG. [40]

I covered the entire rear of the pads with some of this stuff as apparently copper slip is next to useless.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WURTH-BRAKE-PASTE-SACHET-5-5g-ANTI-SQUEAL-PASTE-MAINTAINANCE-BRAKE-COMPONENT-/310376699214#vi-content And it still squeals. Never did before I changed the disks and pads about 6 months ago. It's totally doing my head in. I actually don't want to drive my car anymore its that annoying.

BTW - You can get it remapped/reprogrammed for £300 and have all the characteristics for each drive mode (revs to change at, speed of gear change etc) changed to suit your needs - if you are unhappy with it's default settings. I can't fault mine. Just make sure you change the oil as per service schedule.

Sorry torque is completely wrong I'm sure it's not 348... I'll check my graph later.

Got the DPF delete and the engine seems a lot smoother and free (hard to explain but it feels like it is breathing easier). Power went up slightly to 215hp but the car was put on the rolling road immediately and the remap was noted as unadapted (it takes around 6 hours for the ECU to allow the changes to take effect as the engine slowly increases the fuel and air ratios safely, eventually it gets to the maximum that the map allows). Off the top of my head I think torque increased to 348Ib/ft <-- I need to check that... No smoke. Probably is a little bit but I can't see it from driving - and on another non skoda car I remapped I could see it constantly. Quite surprised really. All in all hard to recommend unless you are having constant DPF issues. But saying that, its gone now and I won't have to worry about that issue again.

Not in a Skoda there's not... unless you've got access to a Rally car.

No - I'm not sure but for the money I'm getting it removed as it takes that engine maintenance issue out of the question. Didn't know about launch control! I'll have to give it a go.

Mines gone wrong in my vRS Estate DSG 170 CR (currently approx. 210 - 220 bhp - can't keep it in gear for the rolling road). Removing it on Friday and remapping it again. Let you know the bhp output and how dirty it's rear gases are. It's a no brainer once it goes wrong. £400 for the DPF delete or £1200 for a new DPF fitted - plus I'm toying with the idea of a DSG remap for launch control, fast changing, no auto changing up or down etc - it's only another £200. Sorry environment.

I spoke to the dealer about half an hour ago when I took my car down for it's second service. He told me that Skoda are producing a 1.6 Supercharged petrol lump for the next vRS which will be available in 2010. He also told me that he didn't expect it to sell as well as the <2007 Fabia due to customers telling him that they don't like the new shape (including me). He told me that he thought the reason they were delaying the new model is because of they want to move the 16v Sport first then provide an upgrade path????? Doesn't make sense. I reckon they should scrap the new Fabia asap, get back to the drawing board and remodel, (not redesign) the <2007 Fabia and give it a 2.0 TDI lump running stock at around 170bhp. Fools. They've lost my money and talking to the dealer I'm not the only one.

You probably will think that I'm completely mental after reading my review, but after having a go in my friends newly modified GP on Saturday I've changed my mind and ordered one. Yes - it is a lot more responsive and having understood sharrkriders comments about the power delivery I looked at it in another light. I've hopefully made the right decision. My local dealer gave me a reasonable price for my Fabia Feb 06 55 @ £7500 and I managed to get my local dealer to come within £300 of DC Cooks internet price of £11738 @ £12000 on the nose. This bearing in mind is with the dealer seeing my Fabia, with slight knocks to boot (I used to reverse into my drive and literally pushed up against the plastic wheely bin - not realising that the lid was putting little dimbles in my boot. I saw the dimples one day, there's 4 of them, and blamed my local garage for them, until rather embarrassingly I admitted to them that I'd found the cause....) dirty, bobbly seats and a small scuff on the front offside bumper which incidentally was a very close miss with another Fabia head on (neither one of our faults I may add). The PX price is also fixed until my car is delivered (factory order, ambient white, leather, tints, sub and skydome) in early April. I've already looked at remap options - the celtictuning.co.uk 190bhp one seems the best (yes I have seen all the negative comments, mainly from one person, but to be fair I've also seen celtictunings replies - and searching on the net there are no other complaints). Roll on Fiat... fingers crossed I've not made a bad decision - and if I have it's too late now. I guess I'll somehow manage to put up with the steering and the plastic swathe too....

Cheers sharkrider, I must reiterate that it is by no means a bad car, I just didn't get the wow factor from the performance that I was expecting (maybe unfairly) as I'm so used to my vRS. I understand about the multijets linear power delivery - I must admit I didn't know that until you explained it. That makes sense now. As for the engine noise, it did seem loud, but then I'm so used to the sound my vRS makes I probably subconciously ignore it. It had 5k on it. Cheers for the offer of the drive, but unfortunately I'm way down in South East Kent pronounced Sowf Eest Kennt (my profiles probably wrong - or you we're looking at MikeW). If I'm ever going up North (thats anywhere above London for me) I'll let you know. Cheers again (jesus I'd be ****ed by now if I was down the pub the amount of Cheers I've been saying)

What are they like to sleep with? Might swap my girlfriend for some if they're good in the sack.

Hi I thought some people might be interested in my opinions of the Grande Punto 1.9 JTD Sporting that I test drove this morning. Please bear in mind these are my opinions and I'm sure other people (sharkrider ) have had different experiences. Firstly, seating yourself in the drivers’ seat you immediately feel along way from the front of the car. The dashboard slopes away from you for what seems like at least a mile eventually meeting with the windscreen. It's quite strange, you feel slightly detached from the car and it's completely different to the Fabia vRS which in comparison feels a lot more compact. In fact everything seems to slope away from you - for example, the controls for the mirrors and electric windows which sit on the drivers’ door arm rest; it feels akin to sitting at the top of a very steep rolling hill. My initial impressions of the interior were it's smart, feels well built and looks good, apart, (and this is a big apart) from the horrible scratchy purpley? shiny (I'm colour blind so can't explain the exact colour but believe me, even being colour blind I felt a sickness in the bottom of my stomach when looking at it) plastic swathe that runs across the whole dash. What were those odd moustachioed men thinking? It's tacky and really not necessary. Solid black would be fine. No really, if people had the option of changing that plastic I'm pretty sure no one (save a few educationally challenged locals) would have this in their car. Moving on and feeling a little nauseous I'll describe the seats. These were the standard fabric ones with odd little silver bubbles on them. They're really comfortable and although I'm not a large person, hold you very well and look good. Plus there's no light bits of fabric either (what was Skoda thinking - my seats are ruined), they're dark black and made from a tough looking but soft to the touch material. The only other observation I made was the lack of space in the rear (the 1.9 JTD only comes with a three door option). My legs are long and I'm pretty sure if I sat behind myself (which I've only ever done once before after having a weird out of body experience after taking some Ketamine) I'd struggle to get comfy. Pulling out of the garage (the sales manager let me go out on my own, he obviously doesn't know me at all) straightaway the car felt sluggish. Now I realise I drive a modified near 180bhp vRS which really pumps out the power at all revs, but this Punto felt exceptionally sluggish. However, as I looked at the lovely looking white speedo trying to ascertain if I was actually increasing in speed I noticed a little light showing 'City'. Now I didn't check but I assumed this meant 'No Power' so I turned off this optioned, and also turned off the ABS (I think it was labelled ABS) and floored it. It seemed to pick up and bearing in mind it was cold, started going. Now my second impression, after giving it some time to warm up and finding some open road, was one of mild disappointment. I know it's not modified but the punch I felt when first getting in my unmodified Fabia vRS straight after it was delivered and haring it along an open B road was one of immense joy. The feeling was great, the sound was good and the cornering solid (I'd never gone round a tight 90 at 60+ mph before) - I just loved the vRS from the moment I owned it. I also loved that strange feeling as the turbo finally decides to spin up and wheeze ever so slightly as it pushes the air through it and even though you’re not going stupidly fast it just feels and sounds nice! I must say before I go on, I didn't get this feeling or hear that sound once in the Punto, and believe me I wanted to, I was giving it every chance I could! Now - there is no pickup at early revs 0-2000 - it just crawls, then it starts to go a bit and then at about 4000 starts to mumble and at 4500 phones the dealer and starts complaining about abuse. Once the revs are up you can keep hitting the 'powerband' (that's using the word in the loosest sense) and you can keep it moving forward - just not very quickly... I took the Punto around some country lanes and found a bit of deserted road where I immediately floored it, this time rolling in 3rd and I must say the punch never came in (I waited, honestly, I waited and I waited) and the speedo, well just say it must of been ill because it was really acting lethargic. The engine also sounded very noisy compared to my vRS and much more unrefined. Who knows, maybe a remap to 170+ (if this is achievable) would make a world of difference, but for me, this standard setup was very sluggish and really not even near hot, and more like at the bottom of warm hatch territory. The cornering felt ok not much body roll (not compared to the vRS standard anyway) - but the steering was incredibly light. It's a complete opposite to the vRS. It feels like it's designed for a lady, yes a lady, and really doesn't feel, well right. At speed it stiffens slightly but it's still incredibly light - personally I don't like it. The brakes are great. They stop you really quickly and even with the ABS off on a wet road felt really good. Other than the lack of performance, I must say from the outside it looks really good. FIAT are really making leaps and bounds with their designs – I mean the new Bravo looks great, and so does the new Panda. However, this in itself, is not enough to sway me. When I got back in my vRS I knew I wasn't going to the 'red side'. Perhaps the new 180bhp Abarth will be different and change my mind (not that I could afford one) so I guess I’m sticking with my Fabia vRS and I must say, I feel happy about that! I definitely won’t be moving forums anytime soon, so I’ll look forward to reading your comments. Cheers giblet PS sharkrider – I’d like to drive a remapped one to see how much better the car would feel as I’m sure you’ll tell me it’s great. Its just I’m not going to spend what is quite a lot of money in my books to find out for myself.

Mathepac, I was thinking just the same... I'll see how the Punto drives, but really I think you could be right. The Fabia vRS is really excellent and I do love the look on drivers faces when I dissappear in a puff of soot ;0

Amd did mine to just under 180bhp 1 week after I bought it new in Feb 05, and I've never had an issue with my clutch. Saying that I never pull hard in 3rd or up with revs less than 3200. I think that's the issue for some people. Either that or I'm just lucky. I'd highly recommend Amd High-performance vehicle tuning, ECU remaps, Exhausts and Styling Mine tops out at 150mph (that was on an autobahn obviously) and thats from the clock so could be +/- 5mph.

Just been down to Fiat and booked a test drive next week. I agree - that Fablon type plastic is dodgy, and it is in the diesel version... nasty. Still - I've configured a 1.9 version with leather seats, subwoofer and tinted windows in ambient white - delivered £10,650. I think thats excellent value for money. Still - I'll decide properly after I've test driven one. Cheers giblet

Thanks for your comments. I just did some preliminary research and 55s with 18K milesage are going for around £9500. I bought the car for £10,450 from Autofinders: Skoda Fabia I'm amazed how well these cars are holding their value... As for the Fiat Punto Sporting - they must have changed a lot for you to recommend them... (I owned three back in the days and they were like sitting in a tin can). However - the prices for new are actually incredibly good value - New FIAT Grande Sporting Prices - Compare FIAT Grande Sporting Price Discounts the cheapest new being £9,849! I'm seriously going to have a look at one. Cheers giblet

^ Well I think you're getting a little paranoid?? Have you been on that super skunk again? My heavily modified Golf Mk2 Gti got written off by some turd pulling out of an on street parking place without actually checking his mirrors. The insurance assessors came and had a look at the car and actually told me how nice it looked.... and I hadn't told them a thing about any of the numerous mods I'd done to it. If you manage to lose your house I will feel very sorry for you and will eat my hat. Alternatively, use a system where you can reprogram your ECU assuming you don't destroy it in the resulting crash. Disclaimer: I would never consider such crazy law breaking activity. I may have completely made everything up I said - alternatively I may not have done. The burden sir is on you to find me guilty. Good luck.

Hi I own a black Fabia vRS - bought in February 2005 - on a 55 plate (I should of waited a month for an 06 - I know this now ). So far I've done 15000 miles and had the oil changed twice and had it fully Skoda serviced once. I have modified the engine with a custom remap to approx 180bhp (which I can easily change back to standard if advised as I have the AMD One Click programmer with the original firmware on it). No other mods apart from the Audi TT brakes and RS8 style wheels (I still have the original wheels though). The question I'd like to ask is - when is the the best time for me to sell it, bearing in mind mileage and manufacturers warranty etc and should I put it back to standard bhp and with standard wheels? So far it's given me no problems at all apart from the odd pulling to the left which I've managed to reduce now. I love the car though and I'm also considering just running it for another 5 or 6 years (when obviously it won't be worth much) as I can't see another car on the market that is as fun, economical and cheap to insure as this version of the Fabia. I was considering the new Fabia vRS in 08 but I'm not sure I actually like the look of the new Fabia.... I don't know what to do. Any thoughts? Thanks giblet

I'm interested in following this thread. My vRS - (180bhp chipped, otherwise standard setup) has exactly the same problem - pulls left (a lot)! I have had it laser aligned 4 times now and its still there. I've asked Skoda and they replied that "its designed to do this in case you fall asleep on the motorway"..... WTF - you've got to laugh. That's true corporate bull - I'd happily do without this 'feature'. There is definetly a problem here - and reading on the internet and also here from your comments it would point to either the: - tyres - bushes - other alignment settings toe in etc - or more worryingly the rear axle...? If anyone does find a solution please post it. Finally though, is it right for Skoda to produce a car that pulls left - surely this isn't acceptable for safety reasons? I'd really like my vRS to go in a straight line (occasionally)... as this is ruining my enjoyment of what is an otherwise excellent car.