Suzuki SX4: 16000KM Update!!

[spkumar]

Originally Posted by arvindtayal

I had purchased SX4 VXI from Rana Motors on Sep 25 2009 and got my first free service done on Oct 10 2009, after it had run 1100 KMs.
In my case I got the CNG fitted from Rana Motors on the first day.

how much did it cost for you to install the cng kit and what about the warranty?

[im_srini]

Originally Posted by maglev

The car vibrates at Idle (With & Without A/C) around the 600-800 rpm mark i.e. when the engine is warmed up.

Originally Posted by maglev

Is the synthetic oil the reason for this or is it something else as that was the only thing different during the first free service??

Originally Posted by maglev

Gradually over 10 seconds or so the RPM comes down to 0.7-0.8K RPM. This is the point (0.7-0.8K RPM) where the car starts to Vibrate. Irrespective of the fact that the A/C is on or not, Once the engine is warmed up and the RPM settles between 0.7-0.8K RPM the car simply starts to vibrate.

Originally Posted by maglev

the RPM actually went down till 550 and remained there irrespective of the A/C (tried switching it on and off). I even revved the engine till about 2500-3000 RPM but then again it come down and settled at 550 and the car was vibrating.

Originally Posted by arvindtayal

And yes sometimes the RPM goes quite low in the range of 600 and thats where the trouble is.

Hi, the normal idle RPM is 750 to 850 RPM with the A/C off & 850 to 950 RPM with the A/C on. My guess is that these problems are after a service visit where your "friendly-neighborhood" MASS decided to include throttle-body-cleaning to your bill (~Rs.450 a pop). The usual procedure is to use a can of BG-Throttle-Body-Cleaner & spray it into the throttle-body while the engine is idling. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to empty a whole can of this "cleaner" into the idle-air-bypass-passage & IACV of your throttle-body (since the butterfly is closed).

According to the manual, the throttle-body is to be cleaned with compressed air only. The manual also mentions that the IACV be removed before using compressed air in the idle-air-bypass-passages as the IACV mechanism is delicate.

Originally Posted by arvindtayal

So looks like the only solution to this problem is to increase the default/idle condition RPM of the car. But the question is what is the correct level where it should be set.

The manual does not recommend that the idle screw on the throttle-body be used to set the idle speed since it's "factory set" - your MASS is just taking the easy way out. It's the IACV which should be controlling the idle speed. Don't they have the SX4 service manual with them ?

[maglev]

Hi folks,

Heres an update on the car:

2nd service done in the 3rd week of Jan, total cost Rs: 55/- for the replacement of a tail lamp bulb,

The service advisor said that an oil change is not required during the 2nd service, I'll use the Mobil-1, I bought for the Octavia instead.

The vibration issue has vanished, they did some re-calibration of the engine mounts.

The Engine has opened up real nice & smooth, the car is a joy to drive.

I am getting a mileage of around 8-9kmpl ~ city only, 100% A/C.

no rattles no squeaks at all.

I got a gear-lock installed at the dealer (Autocop ~ MGA) for Rs: 2190/-

On the whole I am happy with the car, I've gotten used to the dimensions and I love the torque beyond 2000 rpm.


Request to Mods: Change of title to: The SX4 - Issues, in the first 2.5 Months, Edit: Now Solved.

[maglev]

A small Update on the car:

The car has been performing perfectly without any glitches. No rattles of any kind.

I am getting around 9KMPL (100% City + 100% A/C)

The car was given the WAXPOL treatment today, which resulted in an excellent shine

Presently the car is without any HU, A new one is coming up soon.

Request to mods for change of thread title to: Suzuki SX4 5000KM Update!!


Pics attached:

[vasanthn21]

The car looks really swanky after the WAXPOL treatment.

[wing.commander]

Originally Posted by maglev

hi folks,
after lots & lots of thinking, innumerable test drives & phone calls we finally went ahead and got her home. (MARUTI SUZUKI SX4:ZXI)


The selection and convincing(parents) process:

My parents did not want another white elephant like the Octavia we have as the Skoda service centers almost never have the parts in stock and the car gets stuck for days at a stretch. you guys wont believe this but the day we went to buy the SX4 the Octavia's radiator fan stopped working and started emitting smoke. So we had to go in a cab to buy the new car as both the Octavia and the Accent both were out of service with the same problem and even Hyundai did not have the parts in stock

All these things convinced my parents that a Maruti would be the answer to all our woes.

I was a bit skeptical about the SX4's overall quality after reading the Thread on the SWIFT & SX4 rattles.

But after six test drives and taking 3 of the TD cars beyond 150kmph. I had driven more that 100km in the TD's of the SX4 alone. All of this over almost all sorts of roads, This did convince me that the SX4 was a pretty decently made car and the huge Ground Clearance is one of the biggest assets. No more do I look at speed breakers the same way.


Cars considered were the

Optra 1.6 LT:
The Most underpowered car and equipped with the most pathetic gearshift on earth.

Honda City 1.5 S (Manual):
I liked the Honda but, my dad has arthritis and the extremely low seating position was not very comfortable. An added reason being the fact that it would be costlier to maintain. Me and my dad found the car to be bit Over-Hyped as well.

Swift ZXI:
Parents did not like looks. I liked the way she handled and was entertaining to drive.

A-Star ZXI:
Very cramped in the rear but fit for purpose and came with all the safety kit ABS/AIRBAGS

Ritz ZXI:
Parents liked the car but I and my Brother did not like the Blue dashboard, reminded me of the Polo Bluemotion (felt like getting that one instead), as well as the rear looks.

SX4 ZXI:
Everyone liked it. The high seating & ground clearance especially, it had a good engine, loaded with features, and the best part it looked huge in comparison to our neighbors ANHC bought a few days ago.

Hyundai I20 ASTA (6 airbags):
The 1.2 engine didn't seem to do justice to it. Although I liked the safety kit a lot. It felt a bit underpowered though.

The reason why this particular set of cars were chosen was because of the fact that they all had ABS / Airbags. And the size or segment of the car did not matter. I being a petrol-head personally wanted the car to be fun to drive. Since the car would be used by me at all times. My parents would be using it when the Octavia goes for service / repair / etc.


The SX4 seemed like the right choice. pics attached:

suggestions comments welcome!

hey nice car.... your car looks nice but din't it create problems for you ????
I mean i had the top model with those sports bumpers and a single bang with the speed breaker made them come off and the car rattles a lot since the day i bought it.. you won't believe i sold it around 7 months later i purchased it to my cousins.... with only 2500 kms driven....

[maglev]

Originally Posted by wing.commander

hey nice car.... your car looks nice but din't it create problems for you ????
I mean i had the top model with those sports bumpers and a single bang with the speed breaker made them come off and the car rattles a lot since the day i bought it.. you won't believe i sold it around 7 months later i purchased it to my cousins.... with only 2500 kms driven....

I did not go in for the MGA Body Kit, The high ground clearance is one of the USP's of the SX4 hence I was very clear that I wanted to retain it.

My car has given me 4 problems till now namely:

1. Drive side door rattle,
(It was the dealers fault, got rectified in the first service, this one occurred due to faulty installation of the wooden door trim at the dealers end)

2. Hand Brake did not work satisfactorily initially,
(Rectified during 1st service)

3. Vibrations in the cabin after 1st service,
(this one caused a lot of trouble, but was finally diagnosed as an engine mount calibration issue)

4. The rear right tail lamp bulb for the rear light + brake lamp conked off twice,
(once for the brake lamp and the 2nd time for the light)

[maglev]

The stock OE HU of the SX4, has been successfully transplanted into my newly acquired Ritz. The SX4 now sports an all new JVC AVX-826 touchscreen HU.

Here's the link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...ml#post1782694 (SX4 gets EXAD'ED)

and a picture as well:

[wing.commander]

please post daylight pics. The red colour must be really hurting your eyes

[avigster]

Hey Maglev,

I had a SX4 that I drove for almost 3 years before I sold it off. I've very well felt The vibrations that you mentioned in your story. I am sure these vibrations are even more prominent at night times, & that you mostly feel them either on a red light or in hood to boot traffic conditions.
Answer the following for me:
1) was there a recall from maruti on this car about the clutch assembly replacement?
2) was there a recall from maruti on this car about the engine mounting replacement?

Do you feel that the car judders when you take off as & when you release the clutch on the first gear? This symptomology may or may not have to do with the vibrations that you mention, however will shed some light on the history.


BTW, 600 RPM is an issue - I am not sure about why the needle goes all the way down to 600, maruti's spec is the idling to be 700 in worst case scenario. Have you noticed that the caliberation on the throttle body mis-match happen everytime in the morning...Have you got your batterry checked? A weak battery can easily lead into memory deletion in the ECU, & also may upset Throttle Body Caliberations from time to time.

In any case, I'd strongly suggest you to replace you all 4 spark plugs with NGK iridiums, I promise that you woudlnt feel the vibrations anymore. & besides, you'd also feel a surge in the power & the quietness on the engine too. This is a SOLID workaround i gifted to my car & myself. Trust me it'd work.

[maglev]

@ Avigster



In my case it was not a recall from Maruti, instead they readjusted / caliberated / tightened some bolts maybe, of one of the engine mounts and that rectified the issue. It was done under warranty.

I haven't faced juddering or vibrations while driving. My car used to vibrate at idle after the engine would warm up, and yes the RPM was fluctuating but this happened after the first service. To rectify the erratic RPM at idle they did throttle caliberation and cleaning.

Luckily both the issues are now resolved.

I'll switch over to the NGK plugs during the 3rd service in June 2010

[maglev]

I got my third free service done from Apra Auto, Mahipal Pur, (Vasant Kunj Road). The reason I went to Apra was simple, they are just 10 minutes away. Gave the car at 2:30pm and got it back at around 7:00pm.

Jobs done were:

• Engine oil, Mobile 1 Fully Synthetic 0W-40 = Rs 4120.91
• Wind Screen washer concentrate = Rs 13
• Distilled water = Rs 10
• Oil Filter = Rs 204
  
• VAT on spares @ 12.5% = Rs 28.43
• VAT on oil @ 20.0% = Rs 824.18
  
• Total = Rs 5200.92

The car has run a bit more than 8500km till now. I am getting a mileage of 8.5kmpl (100% city + a/c). Overall I am happy with my purchase.

[maglev]

4th Service (Paid) Update:

I got the 4th paid service done from Apra Auto, Vasant Kunj (MASS) on Tuesday 17 - May - 2011.
Gave the car at 11:00am & got it back at around 6:00pm. The car has run 16,000 kilometers in 23 months of ownership. I am getting a mileage of 9.0 kmpl (100% city + a/c) with the occasional high speed highway run.


I got wheel alignment and balancing done for free, I had clearly told the service advisor not to do the same but they ended up doing it by mistake. But the advisor was polite enough to get the matter sorted out on his own, he got that amount reduced from the total bill. I didn't get the spark plugs changed as I had got that done from outside (NGK) as per Avigster's advice.
(Thanks mate!! they worked exactly as you'd mentioned )


Jobs done were:

• Mobil 1 0w40 (fully synthetic) 4.3L: 4120.82
• Oil Filter: 118.22
• Brake Pads (Front): 1500.44
• Brake Fluid 500ml: 266.67
• Coolant 2.0L: 417.78
• Grease (Front Calliper pin) x 2: 23.18
• Wind Shield washer concentrate: 13.33
• Battery Water 1.0L: 39.99
• Gear Oil 75w90 2.5L: 675.00
  
• Wheel Balancing: FREE
• Wheel Alignment: FREE
• Injector Cleaning: 400.00
• Brake pad replacement: 280.00
• Paid Service: 950.00
• Battery: 40.00
  (It just says {other – battery} in the labour charges section, I don’t know whats its for)
  
  
• Consumables Total: 7175.43
• Labour Total: 1670.00
• Vat @ 12.5% on parts: 297.46
• Vat @ 20% on oils: 959.16
• Service Tax @ 10% on labour: 167.00
• Education Cess @ 3% on Service Tax: 5.01

GRAND Total Rs.: 10,274.00


Request to Mods for change of threat title to: Suzuki SX4 16000KM update!!

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by maglev

4th Service (Paid) Update:



I got wheel alignment and balancing done for free, I had clearly told the service advisor not to do the same but they ended up doing it by mistake. But the advisor was polite enough to get the matter sorted out on his own, he got that amount reduced from the total bill. I didn't get the spark plugs changed as I had got that done from outside (NGK) as per Avigster's advice.

Any reason why you did not want to do wheel balancing and alignment from MASS? How much did the spark plug bought from outside cost you? You paid 950 towards Paid service? What exactly is that for?

[maglev]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Any reason why you did not want to do wheel balancing and alignment from MASS? How much did the spark plug bought from outside cost you? You paid 950 towards Paid service? What exactly is that for?

My car's rear right tire had recently suffered a side wall cut, I had no option but to buy one new tire at Rs.: 7500/-.
So when I had gone for the tire replacement I got the alignment and balancing done from the same dealer. This happened around the 14,500 km mark.

The NGK's cost me Rs.: 450/- for a set of 4 spark plugs + 50 bucks for installation.

The 950 paid towards service, is the amount which one pays for the washing and overall inspection + changing of fluids of the car. This is like a labour charge for replacing the regular service items like oil, coolant, brake fluid, etc