[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Swiftoholic

I am curious to find out how useful are Throttle Body cleaning, Fuel Injector cleaning and if they really are essential why are they not covered under the Service labour charges. Will my car engine or any other major part die a premature death if I dont get these done regularly? If they ARE necessary, how often should these be done?

Let me put it this way. 2 Altos, 2 WagonRs, 1 Estillo and an SX4 are in my immediate family. All of them have been going to the FNG post warranty. And none of them have had these - Throttle Body cleaning/Injector cleaning done yet. They have about 4lakh+ kms among them and are in perfect health. If anything, the injector cleaning might be necessary in diesels.

One thing we should do is *stick* to the manual. Don't ever let the SA put anything on the job card if its not recommended in the manual.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by harryms

...
i hope we can fight against this injustice with sharing of knowledge.
I also request moderators to start a special threads to share about the all authorized service station issues and rate the authorized service stations according to the feedback from users. This will help users to find reliable service stations and also reliable SA....

You can find quite a few dealership/service station reviews in the Reviews > Indian car dealerships section.
Apart from that, the directory section also has a few reliable FNGs mentioned -city wise.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Gansan

That is what I am worried about, the battery giving up the ghost at a most inconvenient time / place.

@Bluevolt

I always write "No additives, No engine flush" in capital letters on the job card! That is a big waste. I always carry my own engine oil, though I let them change the other fluids, oil filter etc.

Nowadays their MGO is a standard 10W30 which they use for all cars, though it is meant only for the K series engines, so be careful. Older cars need 20W40.

I would suggest you take your car's battery to a dedicated battery dealer, and have him check each cell for specific gravity, which is the best way to measure your battery's charge-holding capacity. Usually takes half a day or so to test a complete charge/discharge cycle, but you'll have peace of mind.

Also, it's best to replace the battery around the end of its recommended age (4-5 years for most batteries). Some batteries may last longer if used/maintained properly, but they tend to give up suddenly (my car's OEM battery suddenly gave up one fine morning after 6 years of hassle-free usage. Fortunately happened at home, not on the open road). A battery is too critical a component to be taken a chance with, and a few thousand rupees every 4-5 years is fair price for the peace of mind you get in return.

[infotech58]

What does Oils and filters consist of given there is a separate line item for synthetic engine oil?

Originally Posted by Swiftoholic

Gathered my senses and asked for a breakup. Here it goes:

Clutch overhaul: 6000+1000 (the extra 1000 in case of a damaged flywheel)
Oils and filters: 2500
Synthetic engine oil: 3600
Service labour: 1400

[Swiftoholic]

Originally Posted by infotech58

What does Oils and filters consist of given there is a separate line item for synthetic engine oil?

Gear oil
Brake oil
Coolant
Air filter
Cabin air filter
Oil filter

[interc00led]

Maruti is still cheap to maintain but on the condition that you get the regular preventive maintenance outside at a local garage.
You can do engine oil change, transmission oil change,air filter, fuel filter change by yourself or by a trusted mechanic for less than R.300/-(labor) and use your preferred brand of oils.
Brake cleaning and caliper cleaning is a very easy job and will cost less than 150/- when done outside or max 15 mins if you do it yourself.

Few works which either require a car lift or OBD diagnostic tool to read codes, visit service center and get the work under "running repairs" this way you will save a lot of money.
For ex: Clutch replacement, timing chain replacement, check engine light etc..

Engine flush,engine decarbonisation, throttle body cleaning,brake line flush,brake cleaning,fuel additives, engine oil additives, teflon coating, engine bay waxing lamination , interior treatment etc.. are all gimmicks and most probably you will be billed for it without doing anything .

Throttle body cleaning as done by SVC is merely spraying some carb cleaner after removing the air intake hose. A bottle of carb cleaner(400ml) costs ~Rs.230/-. Carburetors in the previous gen cars used to take a lot of effort- time to clean and adjust it.

For engine bay waxing/lamination(?) all they use is a all purpose protectant on the plastic engine cover. I have seen them use Wurth all purpose polish on tyres,dash,trims and engine cover.
Waxpol's protectall costs only Rs.75/- and can be used on plastics,leather,paint and dashboard.

For all other works, go to the respective workshops.
You have A/C technicians,electricians, denter/painter, washing and cleaning - all of them do a much better job than svc that too at a fraction of the cost.

[wanderluster]

Originally Posted by Swiftoholic

Are the labor rates cheaper there or do they simply not offer services like Throttle Body Cleaning and Fuel Injector cleaning during a normal service or both?

The labour rates are much cheaper and they don't try to swindle you with unnecessary stuff.

Pasco convinced me to have my Swift's engine bay laminated saying it was a must to protect the engine - i regret it as 3 1/2 years later it looks ugly with it peeling off.

[nik0502]

Hi Swiftoholic,

Pasco Gurgaon is known for high bills and as far as my experience is concerned the quality of work is also below satisfactory level. I got AC repaired for my Esteem back in 2009 from them, they replaced the compressor, the pipes for AC system, refrigerant bottle. Total cost of work done was 19K and the AC used to stop every 2nd day. Even after numerous visits to them the problem was not rectified and i gave up and bought another car as the car was anyways very old. I still have that car with me and the AC still does not work.

[AutoIndian]

As most of your have already mentioned, I too rarely went to authorized service centre once my car was out of standard & then extended warranty. If ever I did, I made it sure that all the work was carried out in front of my eyes

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

They have about 4lakh+ kms among them and are in perfect health. If anything, the injector cleaning might be necessary in diesels.

Great going there. I have completed 129K kms in the last 9+ years in my old generation Indica V2, but have never ever touched the injectors, nor the fuel pump. I agree servicing the injectors from preventive maintenance perspective is good, but then why fix anything that is not broken.

One thing we should do is *stick* to the manual. Don't ever let the SA put anything on the job card if its not recommended in the manual.

Absolutely

Originally Posted by nik0502

I got AC repaired for my Esteem back in 2009 from them, they replaced the compressor, the pipes for AC system, refrigerant bottle. Total cost of work done was 19K and the AC used to stop every 2nd day. Even after numerous visits to them the problem was not rectified and i gave up and bought another car as the car was anyways very old. I still have that car with me and the AC still does not work.

For any AC work always visit the AC specialists. I got my car's AC servicing done from a specialist. Total cost involved was Rs 2500/- & it included:

R134a gas refilling 600.00
Leak testing, vacuuming etc 600.00
Evaporator coil cleaning & servicing 1,300.00

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Swiftoholic

Clutch overhaul: 6000+1000 (the extra 1000 in case of a damaged flywheel)
Oils and filters: 2500
Synthetic engine oil: 3600
Service labour: 1400
Engine flushing: 600
Throttle body cleaning: 800
Fuel injector cleaning: 500
Engine lamination: 800
Dry cleaning: 1100
Brake (bleeding, calliper pin greasing and brake pad replacement): about 2100
Taxes: About 2000

That is exorbitant pricing. 7K for clutch? Oils & filters 2500? Which oil, esp when you write synthetic engine oil for 3600 next?
My MASS rates are completely different. They charge around 380 for throttle cleaning. What is engine lamination? Engine flushing itself looks like a scam. The brake job should not cost more than 600-700 excluding the brake pads but including the oil, greasing & bleeding process.

This service center looks like ripping the customers.

[Vikas Arora]

Originally Posted by Swiftoholic

Engine flushing: 600
Throttle body cleaning: 800
Fuel injector cleaning: 500
Engine lamination: 800
Dry cleaning: 1100
Brake (bleeding, calliper pin greasing and brake pad replacement): about 2100

Most of these items are just a rip-off. You can get better job done outside with half the amount that these authorized dealers charge. I usually take out the service manual and ask SA to show me these items either in maintenance schedule or any advisory from the company. Most of the times they don't push further

[aerohit]

Originally Posted by aerohit

I have no words

I also noticed spark plugs were not in the list? should'nt it be?

[nik0502]

Originally Posted by saket77

What is engine lamination?

This service center looks like ripping the customers.

MASS creates a kind of plastic coating on engine. Just like there is a coat on body panels in tafalon coating the same way they spray on engine and creates a coating on it. Engine starts shining after that and very easy to clean. But does not serve any purpose apart from this.

nIk

[saket77]

Originally Posted by nik0502

MASS creates a kind of plastic coating on engine. Just like there is a coat on body panels in tafalon coating the same way they spray on engine and creates a coating on it. Engine starts shining after that and very easy to clean. But does not serve any purpose apart from this.

nIk

Is that coat not affected by engine heat?

[nik0502]

Originally Posted by saket77

Is that coat not affected by engine heat?

Hi saket77,

It remains unaffected by engine heat, One of my friends has it on his alto and its been almost 2 years but the coating is still there and the engine starts shining if you just spray air on it.

nIk

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by wanderluster

Pasco is a rip off. I cut down my service costs by 1/2 -2/3 by going to Qutab Motors in Sushant Lok and i was much happier (more attention was given to the car). The folks at Pasco make optional things sound mandatory - that's how they up sell (to meet internal targets). A couple of times when i gave my cars for servicing there, they did things i did not ask them too and i had them take it off the bill.

I agree. Last time I took my car to Motorcraft in Noida as Psco/Apra/Rohan in Gurgaon are plain useless and expenssive.