[IshaanIan]

How much is your average fuel economy? If it is really high, then expect that it would have dropped in the service center just being driven inside the service center itself at low yet aggressive slow speeds, moving in and out of bays, going to get washed, into the parking etc. If the ODO hasn't changed and the manager is willing to show you CCTV footage, then there's no need to suspect anything much. Obviously the car's engine will be on quite a lot at the service center, and it does consume fuel in that period of time. More importantly, running at idle the average fuel economy would drastically have reduced resulting in the DTE figures also drastically reducing since average fuel economy is a factor in calculating DTE on your trip computer.

[Dr.Naren]

DTE is not at all a right thing to judge for fuel theft. I own Baleno and S-Cross. DTE reduces drastically if the car is kept idling. I have observed that DTE reduces after I give the car for service. Reasons are car is idling, driven in service centre premises, battery reset etc. Personally I feel bad for Maruti dealer here. Team BHP has lot of viewers and many would be misguided here .

What was the position of fuel gauge needle before and after service?

OP has mentioned only about DTE and the most important factor : fuel gauge reading is not mentioned. According to OP there is 120 KM drop, even if his average FE is 20 KMPL.. That is 6 litres theft? Wouldn't the fuel gauge needle reading be lower now?

[VKumar]

I have seen DTE falling from 540 kms to 300 within half an hour of in city drive with a heavy foot after having covered a long light footed stretch on the highway.

So, DTE falling from 280 to 160 kms, IMO, is not a big deal if the car was driven hard, and idling for long duration like say in jams or even during test drives. What actually matters is the amount in the fuel tank.

Additionally the workshop service manager didn't know the right way I suppose, he should have taken the car to a highway. Reset the trip, drive light-footed for 5 kms, take the key out, put it back, reset the trip again and maybe the DTE would have touched even 300 (continuous driving is also a method but that takes a long time and long distance for DTE to correct itself), but yes, if the same DTE starts showing 300; then will the OP pay the service guys money for petrol as they probably filled the fuel?

IMO, if he is willing to show the CCTV footage, and going by he nature of DTE and the service center guys, I would go ahead and give the service center manager my vote in this situation.

[gururajrv]

Please let us know if you always refuel up to brim? Meaning do you always run the car on full tank petrol? If yes, then try refueling it again. If you’ve maintained the average history of the car for each refuel, you’ll be able to ascertain if there’s noticeable average drop that should show up from the last refill which should give you an idea.

Because, it’s difficult to go by the DTE reading to raise suspicion as it’s just an approximate figure that helps the driver to plan his drive accordingly and not mere accurate data. We will not be able to prove the dealer wrong without substantial evidence my friend. Because my car has DTE as well but once it gave me a shocker when the DTE displayed the range was 100kms when I started the car and within span of 10 mins drive, it stooped down to 45-50kms range which almost gave me a heart attack. There was certainly no manipulation either externally or internally. I believe it is something to do with the sensors and the positioning of the vehicle of how these computers in the car interprets the data.

Since the service manager has shown confidence in presenting the video evidence, I suggest you take a look at it closely mate. Perhaps, if they’ve indeed extracted the fuel using any means, it should be evident in the footage that should help you further take up the case.

[Durango Dude]

Making allegations based on DTE and Fuel Efficiency based on MID readings will not hold water as they constantly change, what does the Fuel Gauge say? Have you got that marked: if there's a marked drop in that say from 1/2 a tank to less than 1/4 of a tank then your allegations may be right. Don't loose sleep over this and enjoy your drive.

[ninjatalli]

We seem to be unnecessarily doubting everything these days

DTE is nowhere a correct indicator of the fuel left in your car. It's just an approx indicator, that takes the fuel in your car as one of the parameters; but the recent driving conditions make a much impact.

Move on, there are much bigger things to be focussed on wrt to your car than what the DTE indicator says.

[H_Dogg72]

There seems to be a concept of being a cry baby all the time. God, grow up, man.
Agree with all the responses above me.
Hell, me cars efficiency shows 2.0/km L after being at VW. That's because it's kept on all the bloody time idling for some reason or another.
We get moderator notes for adding one liners, but c'mon this is a bad thread.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Personally I feel bad for Maruti dealer here. Team BHP has lot of viewers and many would be misguided here .

Agree - While i usually don't take the dealers side, I feel in this instance we ought to give them the benefit of the doubt here. Apart from the DTE number, which is unreliable, and the lack of the before photos, which I would more likely blame on incompetence than malice, Coming to the conclusion that fuel theft has occurred is conjecture, and attempting to name and shame the dealer at this point may be counter productive. If we call wolf too many times, I am worried the credibility of others who raise issues on team bhp, and team bhp itself may be adversely affected.

Regarding the point on lack of photos, if they are able to show you cctv footage of the car for the entire duration it is there (and i believe they should have the footage) should be enough proof from their side.

[centaur]

I always ensure to keep bare minimum fuel which giving my vehicles for service(2/4 wheelers). This was a mantra I got long time back while in college. if the fuel meter shows a good amount of fuel then they "are tempted" to siphon off some for whatever purposes but when you are pretty much in reserve, they generally dont take much because there is not much to take anyway. I am not sure how true this is but so far (touch wood) I never had such a problem

[carbookie]

I was waiting for my fuel top in car to be done so that I can calculate the average of my car, before I post a update.

My excel sheet shows me a drastic drop in FE during this time. This is my final confirmation that fuel was burnt/stolen/removed during service. How exactly it vanished from my car tank is a mystery that needs to be solved.

Some answers to people who had questions:
1. Why not watch CCTV footage: The CCTV footage can confirm that car never left service station. I have no suspicion that car left service station. CCTV will not cover fuel tank lid or other ways to steal fuel. So it was useless in my case.

2. Which dealer: I intentionally never mentioned dealer's name. I would have named him, If I had some definitive proof.

3. Why am I being cry baby: Are you kidding me? I talked to their workshop and managers for 2 hours. Their service manager visited my house and we drove in my car for 6 Km so that I could show him that DTE doesn't change like how he was explaining to me. I did this, not for the 400/- of petrol that went missing. It is matter of principle for me. If I suspect theft of even 1 rupee, I will raise it.