Swift Diesel ! Maruti Wonder Or Blunder ! Read on!

[humyum]

I have a 2008 December Swift Diesel ! Rosey Eyed of gettin the car of my dreams ! A White Swift !

Upgdaded Tyres and alloys ! JBL speakers, Pioneer 5050 !

Finally we are good to go ! But NO ! She wont stay outta the service station !

Till First Service Everything is perfect ! I am still in love !

Then Suspension noise from the front ! Diagonised with a grease lost in the struts ! Struts are regreased and put back in ! This happened at around 4 and half thousand kilometers ! Spectra Motors Ghatkopar sort this out as its a sales and service and i cant get this done at Ravi Automobiles which is only a Maruti Authroised service station and does not entertain warranty Claims!

Ok Minor problem, Happens ! Leave it at that

Then the second service is done as everything seems perfect with the car except for the hard gearshifting which i thought was the gearbox needing a run in ! How dumb of me ! I tried my relatives 500 km run Dzire and compared to mine which has run 12000 km the gearbox is smooth ! Gearshifting is butter !

Moving on !

Now i complain to spectra again about the clutch juddering and hard gearshifting before my trip to Goa at 6000 km

They bleed the clutch and juddering stops and so is the hard shifting rectified !

Meanwhile at 7 thousand km the clutch pedal becomes hard, I complain to Spectra about a noise which is comming whenever i release the clutch! It was a metallic noise like 'tak tak tak tak' which they rebuff saying 'Sir when the transmission is engaged with the engine there will be some noise'!

Funny, I have around A Lakh km of driving experience in numerous cars, all petrols though but never heard this noise !

I let this pass as its not loud and its not effecting anything!

But then surprise of all suprise, The clutch pedal is getting harder as the days pass, Show this to spectra again and again i am told ' Sir its normal, its a diesel Car, Clutch is hard only'

My leg aches, ACHES to point of not getting sleep at nights due to constant hard clutch pedal !

This time i thought i ll give this car somewhere else instead of this incompetant Spectra !

Try Sai Service Andheri ! Service is done and again i complained of hard gear shifts and Clutch being hard and the noise coming when i released the clutch!

All of which is passed with a smile saying ' Normal hai sab sir' !

Next day I get some more leg aches and i decide i ve had ENOUGH !

Complain to maruti and get a call from Sai Service to bring the car for inspection!

They say they ll replace the pressure plate under warranty!

I say fine ! Give them the car !

Then i get a call saying the clutch has worn and would have lasted only another 8 to 10 thousand km more so they replaced this too as a good will gesture !

He was like ' Sir clutch pe pair rakh ke gaddi chalana band kar do'

I was like ' I never drive with the foot on the clutch nor do i drive in heavy traffic and my 800s clutch lasted me more than 60 thousand km'!

He was like 'nope its worn and its due to foot on the clutch'

I was like 'ok whatever'! They replaced it. Now its all cool !

Take delivery of the car ! Check out the job sheet when i have to get the gate pass

Spring of the pressure plate had broken and was making the metallic pinging noise whenever the clutch was released all this while !

Now there is no more noise ! Clutch is butter smooth ! BUT BUT there was never a clutch judder on my old clutch and this one JUDDERS ! Gear Shifting has become ultra smooth though !

Consult Jaggu Da and he says wait for sometime for the clutch to set in

I wait wait wait wait wait and the car has run 3 thousand km after the clutch job and still the judder is the same ! Infact it even slipped twice when i left it on a slope ! The engine was running,clutch was released with no forward moment ! STRANGE ! I immediately pressed the clutch pedal so as to not burn out the clutch ! This happened once more !

I went to Sai Andheri Again and showed that guy the judder ! 'UDAY PATIL' was the service advisor and he is a mechanic also !

His exact words ' Sir, Accelerator dabaye bina clutch chodenge toh gaddi judder maregi hi na, Nothing is wrong !Its perfect !

Explained to him that in traffic ' it judders more' and he was just not ready to listen !

Now i am frustrated with this car ! I decide to show it to someone else and as maruti guy told me when i complained on the toll free number that u have to take it to the same place you got the last service from ! I Decide to head to Sai Service Lower Parel !

Tell them the entire tale and they first they want to wash their hands off by saying that 'Take it to them, they ll sort it out !

I put my foot down and tell them do the needful as i am not jobless to run around in a Brand new swift for these problems !

He says fine and then they replace the flywheel which they had not replaced when they change the clutch and pressure plates at Sai Service Andheri . I also tell them of a noise coming from the suspension like something is loose when i am taking a turn and it hits uneven surfaces

He replaces the balancing rod and the flywheel !

Take delivery and the judder is gone !

The Lower Parel Guy told me that the Release bearings were not replaced when the ANdheri guys replaced the clutch and pressure plate and some hub shaft had to be polished as the bearing and the shaft had uneven wear !Flywheel seemed unevenly worn out/unbalanced too ! So they replace the release bearing along with the flywheel ! Clutch is as light as a Petrol car and even lighter than before ! I am happy ! The vibration feelin which occoursed at 1500 to 2000 rpm is gone too ! This was blamed on an unbalanced flywheel ! I am happy !

Next day Morning start the car , and the judder is multiplied by 3 of what it was before the flywheel change

Use it for 200 kilometers in the city and 200 km trip to lonavla !

The Suspension loosening feeling has increased and notice that the judder reduces a bit after driving around for sometime ! BUT ITS STILL THERE

Drive my friends 60 thousand km run swift diesel, His clutch pedal is harder to mine of course but it takes off minus any murmur or ruckus ! His suspension too feels much more composed than mine !

I am sick and tired of this car ! My problems are always not acknowledged ! I have to run around to get things sorted ! Even when they make a mistake onces they have the courage to ask me to take an appoinment whenever i want to come the next time ! WHAT appoinment !
They dont do it properly the first time and still expect me to keep the car with them for days everytimeso that they take their own sweet time to solve it !

WHY WAS THE FLYWHEEL NOT REPLACED WITH THE CLUTCH AND PRESSURE PLATE THE FIRST TIME ? WHY WAS THE RELEASE BEARINGS NOT REPLACED !

WHY DO MY GEARS KEEP GETTING HARD TIME AND AGAIN!

Maruti if you are listening! Your product is pathetic and so is your after sales and believe you me ! I should go to ganga and take a bath for recommending this car to gazzilions of people !
I ve spoiled their money and their nights sleep!

I want this car rectified or begone !!

The fun of owning a brand new car has been lost because of the constant service station trips, constant problems and incompetant service station people !

[pradster]

Sad to hear your ordeal with Maruti A.S.S.
I hope they are reading this thread and know what insipid service is being dished out by their service centers.

And we call FIAT bad..sheesh!

[humyum]

Originally Posted by pradster

Sad to hear your ordeal with Maruti A.S.S.
I hope they are reading this thread and know what insipid service is being dished out by their service centers.

And we call FIAT bad..sheesh!

I hope so too ! For the sake of maruti that is ! I dont mind going to the highest extent for this ! I AM TIRED OF THIS CAR !


One more thing i forgot to mention!

After the clutch and pressure plate change at Sai service andheri 120 used to come at around 3150 rpm and after the flywheel change at Sai Service Andheri 120 comes at less than 3000 rpm !

And whoever said marutis after sales was cheap needs to review again !

650 bucks for alignment ! That too a 2 wheel alignment . IE the front !

Alignment balancing ke saath around 1700 Rs hoga Sir ! LOOT ! this is what i was told at Sai Service Andheri

[DieselFan]

woah Humyum - Looks like you have got a lemon. It is just 6 months and you have had some horrid time with your car. Please describe the whole thing in a mail to Maruti regional service manager (You can figure out through Maruti call center) and then get a competent Maruti service engineer to look at your problem. Have a long test drive to simulate all your problems and ask for his commitment on resolving this problem.

[wanderlustindia]

@humyum, sorry to hear your tale of woes.
It does appear that the car sold to you was a lemon in the first place. The suspension going bad after the first service just does not sound right!

Now, what are the options? Approach the consumer forum, shout it loud with Maruti higher-ups and demand an apology/explanation. Maybe some of the experts here can recommend something to get rid of the misery.

[phamilyman]

This seems to be a clear lemon.

120 has always come up just under 3000 RPM in my car.

Speak to ankit jhamb - he has some email IDs in maruti that really work. Let's get this sorted out. Time you got a full clutch overhaul of every single item.

Part replacement just doesn't work I guess.

[hellraizer]

humyum, my car seems to have the same pblm. I have posted this on another long running thread

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post1345919 (Swift VDi ownership: A Running report)

However, I do not have any noise or jerk. Just a very heavy clutch and loads of knee pain. When I have consulted Mondovi, they say its just normal and that a diesel clutch is obligated to be hard. I mean, if the clutch feels like this in a TD, I am sure many would resent buying this car. I too will try mailing Maruti and will update on the same post.

[aaggoswami]

Considering the number of times car has been worked around plus the parts replaced which normally will not need replacement ( like flywheel ), I think you are sold a lemon. Escalate the matter with Maruti, they are generally very quick to rectify problems.

Swift Diesel, from what I have seen crosses 60k kms mark with ease without any of the problems that you have faced.
But one thing is for sure, the clutch in diesel cars is always harder than petrol cars. For me the best clutch is of M800. Its quite simple with some " feel ".

[humyum]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

This seems to be a clear lemon.

120 has always come up just under 3000 RPM in my car.

Speak to ankit jhamb - he has some email IDs in maruti that really work. Let's get this sorted out. Time you got a full clutch overhaul of every single item.

Part replacement just doesn't work I guess.

Ankit, E-mail ids do please! I ve already mailed maruti from their website!

Originally Posted by hellraizer

humyum, my car seems to have the same pblm. I have posted this on another long running thread

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post1345919 (Swift VDi ownership: A Running report)

However, I do not have any noise or jerk. Just a very heavy clutch and loads of knee pain. When I have consulted Mondovi, they say its just normal and that a diesel clutch is obligated to be hard. I mean, if the clutch feels like this in a TD, I am sure many would resent buying this car. I too will try mailing Maruti and will update on the same post.

Replied on that thread! check it out ! Thats the only solution!

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Considering the number of times car has been worked around plus the parts replaced which normally will not need replacement ( like flywheel ), I think you are sold a lemon. Escalate the matter with Maruti, they are generally very quick to rectify problems.

Swift Diesel, from what I have seen crosses 60k kms mark with ease without any of the problems that you have faced.
But one thing is for sure, the clutch in diesel cars is always harder than petrol cars. For me the best clutch is of M800. Its quite simple with some " feel ".

Yes Sadely! I ve almost decided that hell with warranty only service station. I am givin the car to Ravi Automobiles which is near my house and a maruti authrosied service station. These guys are Gods when it comes to cars, just that i could not go to them as they donot entertain warranty claims but i am ready to pay and get this sorted !

Hell with Sai Service, Hell with Maruti !! I am pissed ! I will make Ravi guys call maruti and explain what was wrong in the car and what all the dealers messed up!

[manish7]

Escalate it t higher authorities and make sure they take it seriously.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by manish7

Escalate it t higher authorities and make sure they take it seriously.

I have sent a mail to maruti yesterday afternoon, No reply!

The gearshifts are hard and they were not hard before they changed the flywheel, they were butter smooth then !

THe clutch judders even when the vehicle is in motion and in first gear and i release the clutch ! IMAGINE ! only by the end of the travel of the clutch does the juddering stop in first gear!

Its got a mind of its own! Yesterday it mellowed down a bit, today morning its back in full force!

What is constant is that the gearshifts are hard, U need to push the gears in and the joy of this short throw gearbox is gone !

[Jaggu]

Did you email customer service or managed to get regional service guys email id? Give it another day or two, otherwise pick up the phone and call the customer service again.

I dont know about lemon factor but i do think that the service rendered to you by A>S>S is below par ie the actual technical quality of work. When we spoke first after your clutch plate replacement, i was under the impression that it would go away in couple of 100 kms, esp since you also would be adapting to a smooth clutch from the previously hard feel.

But after you called yesterday, i feel that the A>S>S has taken an easier route while replacing the clutch plates, ie they have not cleared out other factors like clutch release bearings, shafts etc which might be damaged or even the cause of initial problems.

Your best bet now is to get MUL technical person involved.

[2theMax]

Off Topic .. I had the same problem with my new IKON TDCI. The clutch was damn hard and the gear did not slot properly you had to make an considerable effort to slot them in . 2nd gear was the most difficult of them. Checked with the dealer in chennai. Standard response 'That's normal because diesel's are heavier' I had to live with knee pains telling myself it's a diesel !

Decide to take it to coimbatore for my 1st free service. did a test drive with the service advisor and the guy accepted the clutch was hard and he would have to release some pressure or air (Not sure what he meant ???) which would make a difference.

It did make a difference, the clutch is ultra soft and the gears are slotting perfectly.requires minimum clutch effort and Iam loving it now.

I have driven VDI for comparing my IKON's Clutch pressure and was convinced VDI's clutch was much smoother and softer than my IKON prior to fixing it.

Would suggest you to put your foot down and demand a thorough check by MUL and not by the dealers.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by 2theMax

did a test drive with the service advisor and the guy accepted the clutch was hard and he would have to release some pressure or air (Not sure what he meant ???) which would make a difference.

It did make a difference, the clutch is ultra soft and the gears are slotting perfectly.requires minimum clutch effort and Iam loving it now.

This is what we also thought when he initially posted, bleed the air from the hydrolic circuit. But that was not the case with this Vdi.

[vijaythacker]

well its of the bad *** part and also the car you got, best bet as gto said is to get MSL technicals directly getting involved, get in touch with top personell and ask them to go through your car with their technical staff and not of your dealers staff.