New Superb Owner - Few Questions for owners

[chrisrad]

Hi All,

 

So I finally bought a new Superb Elegance 125Tdi (170) DSG, however what you classify as new elsewhere is not the case in Australia. The car was actually built in May 2012 and only complianced in Australia in April 2014, so it has sat around for nearly 2 years. Nonetheless this is not unique to my model as many Skoda dealers had the same stock they have been trying to sell with heavy discounts for the last few months, especially with the MY15 recently going on sale.

 

I bought the car as a dealer demo, it had 2500 klm on the clock when I purchased it. I was a bit hesitant because everything I had heard about the DSG gearboxes, VW had a pretty rough time here after the whole scandal became widely reported in the media with sales falling quite significantly for a few months.

 

However everything I have read seemed to indicate despite using the same parts, a Skoda was somehow better built with less reliability problems, also that the 6 speed DSG was far less problematic than the 7 Speed. Hence I went with the Diesel 6spd. 

 

So I have had the car for one week now, and need some advice from regular drivers. To give some background I've come from a Nissan Maxima 3.5l V6 with a CVT auto...

 

Are there any tips on how to ensure smooth operation of the automatic? Takeoff seems to be ok, except on slight inclines, where it seems to come out of gear and when I have to take off it clunks into first gear. I've tried slowly accelerating or pushing harder and it does not seem to like this one particular take off, I think my car has the hill hold as last night when I was in an underground carpark and I was stopped on the upward ramp it did not roll and the car moved forward smoothly.

 

Secondly any tips on decelerating? I'm just not used to the car changing back gears and the engine doing the braking, hence I'm tending to break too hard with the brakes as I'm used to a CVT auto.

 

Thirdly, my drivers door is making all sorts of creaking noises and clicking sounds when I'm driving, is this normal or should I be taking it back for warranty? I've also noticed at high speed it seems to do a slight flutter in the rubber seals when I go over bumps or imperfections on the road. Could the door be loose, or slightly out of alignment? To be honest, it's not that loud, but if I turn the radio off my ear is constantly there listening trying to work out what it is. 

 

Last question for now, is it normal for the SD card reader to have a fit on occasion and just refuse to work? It's happened twice, however once I switched the car off and back on it was reading it fine.

 

Many thanks for your opinions!

 

Chris

Edited 26 September, 2014 by chrisrad

[Superb170]

Hi Chris, well done on the new purchase!  I take it that is the pre FL model you have then?  Seems a bit odd alright but obviously a different market there.  I can't comment on the specific workings of the DSG as mine is a manual although I would say that the vast majority of DSG owners have no issues with the DSG box and you will usually only hear the worst stories!  The DSG will 'learn' your driving mode after a while and adjust itself accordingly.

 

On the door rattle, I'm not shocked with that if the car has been sitting for a long period, in a particularly warm climate too.  The seals will probably be very dry and you could use some lube on them which often sorts the problem. What you have described is common enough (well I've had it on nearly every Skoda I've owned) and the door strap or latch may need some adjusting (I'd take it back if under warranty) and/or try greasing them yourself as well.  Products such as white lithium grease has been recommended on here before  and I've used it myself - seems to sort the problem although you will have to reapply every so often.

[Sparkly]

Spray some grease into the lock mechanism of the drivers door and see if that solves it.  It's a fairly widely reported annoyance on here and it was the fix for mine.

 

If the rubbers are creaking too, try getting a GummiPflegge stick to treat them, this should remove any creak.

 

DSG is excellent as auto's go and it sounds like teething problems getting used to the system, in my last car I had dsg and the first months learning to pull away from standstill uphill and parking etc was entertaining, but you soon settle into life with it.

[numskull]

Spray some grease into the lock mechanism of the drivers door and see if that solves it.  It's a fairly widely reported annoyance on here and it was the fix for mine.

 

If the rubbers are creaking too, try getting a GummiPflegge stick to treat them, this should remove any creak.

 

 

Yup, Sparkly is bang-on... both of these solved the same problems you describe on my car, Chris. Going over sleeping Policemen and roadhumps was awful - it was squeeking and rattling worse than my old Mirafiori which, naturally, was an in-built feature! I used the GummiPflegge on all the rubber door seals and 3 in 1 white silicon spray grease on the lock mech on all the door mechs and silence!

[chrisrad]

Thanks for the responses so far, I'm glad at least the door issue seems easily fixed. I just couldn't believe such a new car would have these problems.

 

It is a pre-facelifted model, I found it hard to justify the extra $8000 for 18inch wheels, auto-tailgate and KESSY that are standard here in the facelifted model. From what I have read here, the 17 inch wheels ride much better than the 18's, so I'm glad that's what I have.

 

Another question, how accurate is the fuel consumption meter in the maxi-dot display? 

[psycholist]

It varies from car to car, but mine is about 7% optimistic. The only way to check is to do brim to brim measurements on your own car but 1000 km on a full tank of diesel is possible. One reason I didn't get the DSG (Apart from cost) is because my car spends probably half its time in 6th cruising and the lower top gear and extra weight of the DSG would hit my economy noticeably. I drove a DSG Octavia last year and it was flawless though, it's a great gearbox, the only way to do it better is to have the option of controlling the clutch manually for low speed maneuvers.

[The Zee]

Hi,

 

My superb also has a 6 speed DSG the car having now covered around 15k.

 

If its been standing for a while maybe the gearbox oil is a bit gungy - but I am no technician. I found that if I engage drive and hit the gas straight away I get a slight clunk. There seems to be a bit of a time lag here. I solved this by selecting drive and waiting a couple of seconds for it to catch up - no more clunking.

 

As for the downshifting, you get used to it. It also saves brakes when slowing down (if not an emergency stop). After a while you adjust and take no notice of it.

 

I don't have hill hold, and the DSG does not have the same "creep" as conventional boxes. If on a incline I use left foot braking. If there is one particualar place where this happens - avoid that place - the car is trying to tell you something. LOL

[andyP11]

Thanks for the responses so far, I'm glad at least the door issue seems easily fixed. I just couldn't believe such a new car would have these problems.

 

It is a pre-facelifted model, I found it hard to justify the extra $8000 for 18inch wheels, auto-tailgate and KESSY that are standard here in the facelifted model. From what I have read here, the 17 inch wheels ride much better than the 18's, so I'm glad that's what I have.

 

Another question, how accurate is the fuel consumption meter in the maxi-dot display? 

I find my maxi dot to be around 5% out on fuel consumption. I have monitored ny car from fill to fill on the last three tanks and it is returning around 43mpg combined  as against the maxi dot 45. This is for a DSG so quite happy with that figure.

[jonathan.tong]

There was a separate thread on here somewhere that suggested best ways for hill-starts with DSG. Basically use the hand-brake because the foot-brake also effectively disengages the clutch. Unfortunately I don't have much opportunity to practice that in Cambridge since we don't have hills here.....

[Mph25]

Once you get used to it, using the handbrake for hill-starts comes as naturally as it does in a manual car.  It's only when learning to drive you wait for the clutch to bite before letting off the brake.  Once you know your car you just take the brake off as you drive away - and it just works.

[Superb170]

Maxidot is out by about 5 to 10% on mine an that can even vary sometimes. Brim to brim is the best way of finding out as suggested by psycholist

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[silver1011]

Any pictures of the Superb down-under!?

[chrisrad]

Thanks for the answers, I knew it would everyone here would help!! How do I attach photos here?

[Chan110]

Welcome Chris

Always useful to hear from fellow Skoda owners from other continents :-)

I used to have a 2010 Superb 170 DSG.

Braking was fine - but maybe u just need to get used to it as u came from a CVT.

As for hill start and acceration -

It took me a while to get use to it too!

The hill start was like an auto hand brake - had to give it a little more welly in order to disengage the hill control and move the car.

The acceration didn't really get use to it as the if u want to accerate quickly then the front wheels tend to spin.

Wind noise - mine was fine on motorways (except for tyre noise)

But when there is heavy wind and u can hear the whistling thru the door seals!

Maxidot- I not looked into this.

But most members say its not that accurate (like most cars).

Best to fill up and empty a few times and calculate the mileage manually.

So are all cars downunder TWO years old when 1st purchased?

Also - any pics?

[Chan110]

Thanks for the answers, I knew it would everyone here would help!! How do I attach photos here?

Attached pics by 1st uploading to www.photo bucket.com and pasting the IMG link directly here.

I think u can also directly upload from your PC onto here too...

Using MORE OPTIONS then ATTACH FILE - I think!

[Superb170]

Chris, As a matter of interest what kind of warranty did you get seen as the car is technically two years old?

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[chrisrad]

Chris, As a matter of interest what kind of warranty did you get seen as the car is technically two years old?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Car was registered in May this year, that's when the 5 year warranty began.

 

 

Welcome Chris

Always useful to hear from fellow Skoda owners from other continents :-)

I used to have a 2010 Superb 170 DSG.

Braking was fine - but maybe u just need to get used to it as u came from a CVT.

As for hill start and acceration -

It took me a while to get use to it too!

The hill start was like an auto hand brake - had to give it a little more welly in order to disengage the hill control and move the car.

The acceration didn't really get use to it as the if u want to accerate quickly then the front wheels tend to spin.

Wind noise - mine was fine on motorways (except for tyre noise)

But when there is heavy wind and u can hear the whistling thru the door seals!

Maxidot- I not looked into this.

But most members say its not that accurate (like most cars).

Best to fill up and empty a few times and calculate the mileage manually.

So are all cars downunder TWO years old when 1st purchased?

Also - any pics?

 

There are still 2012 MY13 for sale as new. I think our compliance system holds matter up quite a bit, I know it's unusual for a new car to sit around for so long, but it seems mine is not the only one.

 

I have hopefully attached the pics. The wheels are not quite the ones I wanted, I was after the original Trifid alloys, however these are growing on me. The cost to get the Trifid ones from spare parts was astronomical!

 

I tried the handbrake start today on the before mentioned slight hill and it worked, I'll also tried doing the left foot on brake this evening that seemed to work as well, however not as well as the handbrake start.

[Chan110]

Love the look of the rear cluster lights :-)

U brake with left foot?!!!

[chrisrad]

Love the look of the rear cluster lights :-)

U brake with left foot?!!!

 

Just for the slight hill I mentioned, I thought I would try it vs. hand brake start.

[numskull]

I find my maxi dot to be around 5% out on fuel consumption. I have monitored ny car from fill to fill on the last three tanks and it is returning around 43mpg combined  as against the maxi dot 45. This is for a DSG so quite happy with that figure.

 

Mine's actually better than that. On three tankful's too and the Maxidot says 49.6 and the fill-up 49.8!

[numskull]

Chris, As a matter of interest what kind of warranty did you get seen as the car is technically two years old?

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In the UK, warranties run from date of first registration. Until then, they don't have an owner. I know of cars that have sat in the UK for anything between 6 and 18 months before being allocated and registered. Sounds like its the same in Oz...

[Chan110]

Just for the slight hill I mentioned, I thought I would try it vs. hand brake start.

Interesting

Mine always held by the hill control however slight the incline is...

Did u take the car back to dealer to inspect the wind noise and incline hold?

[Sprightlybob]

Car was registered in May this year, that's when the 5 year warranty began.

 

 

 

There are still 2012 MY13 for sale as new. I think our compliance system holds matter up quite a bit, I know it's unusual for a new car to sit around for so long, but it seems mine is not the only one.

 

I have hopefully attached the pics. The wheels are not quite the ones I wanted, I was after the original Trifid alloys, however these are growing on me. The cost to get the Trifid ones from spare parts was astronomical!

 

I tried the handbrake start today on the before mentioned slight hill and it worked, I'll also tried doing the left foot on brake this evening that seemed to work as well, however not as well as the handbrake start.

Not sure you can blame the compliance system. My Superb was manufactured in September in Czech Republic and was delivered to me on November 19 (same year)!!

[LS108]

> Are there any tips on how to ensure smooth operation of the automatic? 

 

Tip No1: timely change of box oil and filter;

Tip No2: when (if) towing the car - keep it according to instructions in the manual

Tip No3: when stopping incline - hold the car with the brakes, not with accelerator (otherwise you will eventually burn the clutches - both of them )

 

> I think my car has the hill hold as last night when I was in an underground carpark and I was stopped on the upward ramp it did not roll and the car moved forward smoothly.

 

Depends how steep ramp was. Diesel engine has enough torque to move the car on idle even on inclines. My car does not have hill hold, but is does not move back on majority of (Eastern European) inclines

 

>Secondly any tips on decelerating?

 

In normal situations gearbox is downshifting when revs reaching its set minimum. In hard braking gearbox downshifting differently - sometimes down 2 gears - in order to do engine braking. If you want you can downshift yourself in manual mode. Or if you are going down big hill - put to S mode, then downshifts will happen earlier than in D. 

 

> Thirdly, my drivers door is making all sorts of creaking noises and clicking sounds when I'm driving, is this normal or should I be taking it back for warranty?

 

This was reported by some of forum members, try to search for it - if I remember ok - even some tips was provided how to solve it. 

Edited 29 September, 2014 by LS108

[chrisrad]

Interesting

Mine always held by the hill control however slight the incline is...

Did u take the car back to dealer to inspect the wind noise and incline hold?

 

It seems to work everywhere else, bar this one slight hill near my house. I haven't had a chance to take the car back yet. I have applied the white lithium grease and that has made a difference. The seals still seem to flutter a bit when driving, but I haven't had a chance to apply the recommended GummiPflegge

 

 

Not sure you can blame the compliance system. My Superb was manufactured in September in Czech Republic and was delivered to me on November 19 (same year)!!

 

I think the earlier builds had less wait than the more recent ones, a quick glance on carsales still shows quite a few 2012 new builds for sale. Nice to see another aussie here with a Superb.