BHPian emperor recently shared this with other enthusiasts: The Kodiaq has now clocked close to 1,85,000 km in 7 years, and a recent Jaipur-Mumbai-Jaipur run brought a few interesting observations worth documenting. This might get long, so if you are interesting in the latest status please scroll down to the end.From Jaipur to Mumbai and Back:We chose the MP route with a halt at Ujjain. Roughly two hours into the drive, cruising steadily around 120 km/h with occasional bursts to 130-135, the car suddenly flashed a red “Coolant Level – Check” warning. This was puzzling, considering the vehicle had been serviced just two months prior and had barely run 2,000 km since. The coolant temperature itself was absolutely stable at the textbook 90C, but what caught my attention was the oil temperature, which was hovering at 120C. Now, I don’t usually monitor oil temperatures religiously, but in the past, whenever I had glanced at it, the reading never exceeded ~100-102C. This sudden jump to 120C was something I hadn’t seen before. Despite that, the engine continued to perform flawlessly throughout – no loss of power, no knocking, nothing out of the ordinary in terms of drivability. Out of caution, we pulled over, let the car cool, and popped open the bonnet. The coolant level appeared normal. After a quick call with my SA, he suggested topping up with some RO water just in case. Barely 200 ml went in. Regarding the oil temperature, he reassured me that it is fine until ~130C. We resumed the journey. This time, however, we chose to drive more sedately around 90 km/h and interestingly, the coolant warning kept reappearing every two hours or so. Each time, turning off the ignition cleared it, and we carried on. We checked the coolant level by opening the bottle a couple of times, and it was almost full. Midway, another hurdle struck – a puncture on the rear right tyre. Since the rear left was also nearing the end of its life, we decided to replace both tyres and then head towards Indore the next day for a proper check at the service centre. The following morning, we left Ujjain around 10:30 AM and within city traffic noticed the oil temperature climb to 130C – the highest I’ve ever seen in this car. Once back on the highway, cruising speeds helped it settle back down gradually to ~120C. We dropped the car at the Indore service centre around noon. The technicians spent nearly 4-5 hours inspecting it but could not conclusively diagnose the issue. Their best guess was a faulty EGR valve, which they suggested replacing as the “next step.” I wasn’t convinced, as it felt more like speculative troubleshooting rather than a clear diagnosis. Leaving the car behind in Indore was not an option, so we decided to continue our journey towards Mumbai. Interestingly, after Indore, the coolant warning that had been appearing every two hours completely disappeared for the rest of the trip. We still carried two bottles of coolant purchased from the service centre as a precaution. However, once we left Indore, a new problem cropped up. Vibrations began to surface under acceleration-particularly noticeable between 80-90 km/h-but would vanish the moment I held a steady cruising speed. By the time we rolled into Mumbai, these vibrations had reduced to being almost negligible. While checking under the bonnet multiple times, one thing became clear: the radiator fan never kicked in. At the Mumbai service centre, which was overwhelmed due to the weekend rush, they mentioned that they would not be able to carry out a detailed inspection that day. After some persuasion, they agreed to have a look at it. They ran and OBD scan and the result confirmed my suspicion-the cooling fan was indeed non-functional. Unfortunately, they quoted a lead time of two weeks for the replacement part, which was impractical for us. So we decided to carry on with our trip and observe. Not sure why the SA at Indore did not notice this. We were in Bombay for weekend, and drove the car about 200 kms. Even during rains, the temps remain around 115 degrees. We started our return leg to Jaipur on a Monday morning. The oil temperatures consistently hovered around 120C, occasionally peaking at 125C. Despite this, the return leg to Jaipur was uneventful. We covered the distance in about 26 hours with only a short overnight halt at Udaipur, and the car performed impeccably. Somewhere on the way back from Mumbai, I decided to experiment a bit-using a stick to see if the radiator fan was physically jammed. After some effort, the fan did start spinning, though not reliably. It would work intermittently-sometimes engaging, sometimes not-which led me to assume it was only kicking in when the ECU demanded it. Once back in Jaipur, I took the car to the authorised service centre where it has been regularly serviced since day one. The OBD log again confirmed intermittent fan malfunction. Their test drive also showed the fan coming to life sporadically. The workshop, however, found no other faults. The only feedback they could offer was that oil temperatures up to 130C are considered acceptable by Skoda, so they weren’t overly concerned. Regarding the vibration issue, their verdict was that both front drive shafts (axles) needed replacement at a quoted cost of nearly 1 lakh each. I asked if repairs were possible, but they insisted it wasn’t in line with company policy. Instead, they suggested I explore an outside workshop if I wanted a more economical solution. We’ve long relied on a trusted independent garage in Jaipur-Prem Auto Engineering-who’ve handled suspension and brake-related jobs for us at a fraction of Skoda’s prices. So, I took the car there. Their assessment was refreshingly straightforward: the axles could indeed be repaired for around 28,000 plus labour, as opposed to the 2 lakh replacement quoted by Skoda. On closer inspection of the heating issue, they diagnosed a faulty water body. The coolant was circulating into the engine but not returning effectively, causing temperature inconsistencies. We went ahead and had both jobs done. The results were immediately noticeable. The vibrations disappeared completely. We also replaced an engine mount while at it, which eliminated even the subtle shudder that was earlier felt at idle, especially when shifting between Drive and Neutral. The car now feels taut and refined again-cabin smoothness is back to factory levels. As for the oil temperatures, however, the pattern has remained unchanged even after the water body replacement. Driven sedately at ~90 km/h, oil temps stay in the 110-115C band. Push harder at 120 km/h and they climb to ~120C. When absolutely thrashed, fully flooring the car for extended periods, I’ve seen it touch 135C. But under real-world usage, it never crosses 120C. Coolant temperature always remains steady at 90 degrees. At this point, I’m still uncertain whether oil temperatures consistently hovering in the 115-120C range are within tolerance or a sign of something deeper. That said, the car has already been driven close to 6,000 km since these issues first surfaced, with no discernible impact on performance, drivability, or overall reliability. One strange observation cropped up just last night: the air intake temperature, as reported by the JioThings app via JioMotive, was showing ~60C while the ambient outside temperature was only around 30C. In all the time I’ve monitored this parameter, intake temps have never crossed 40C before. I’ll be keeping a closer eye on this going forward to see if there’s any consistent pattern. Since we’re anyway visiting our trusted FNG later this week for a front windshield replacement, I plan to discuss this anomaly with them as well.Current status after repairsIn conclusion, at 1.85 lakh km the Kodiaq remains mechanically solid and continues to be an absolute delight to drive. The engine feels as strong as ever, with no significant drop in performance or refinement, and the recent repairs have taken care of vibrations and roughness that had begun to creep in. Other than the usual rattles that are inevitable at this mileage (especially given the state of our highways), there are no pressing issues to report. Despite the scares along the way, the car has proven itself to be a dependable long-distance companion, still capable of munching miles with ease and inspiring confidence behind the wheel. The only lingering concern is the consistently higher oil temperatures-hovering in the 115-120C range and rising further under hard driving. If any fellow BHPians have insights, experiences, or suggestions regarding this, I’d be glad to hear them. Also, if there’s anything you’d like me to add to make this post more useful, please do let me know. Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
