[Nimalan]

20K PMS/2nd year service from a Chennai Nexa for my Swift:



PMS Labour charges have been increased now! Last year there was no difference in labour charges of NEXA dealership service and ARENA dealership service. Looking at the steep price increase, I am wondering whether it is still the case! If anyone has done your 20k PMS/2nd year service of swift petrol, from any of the Tier1 cities Arena dealership service recently, request you to post your bill for this clarification.

Earlier, info on PMS labour charges and its Job details can be got through Maruti Care App. But Maruti took a regressive step and now it is not showing. Well, so much for transparency!

PMS Labour charge includes servicing both front disc and rear drum brakes. But caliper grease will be charged extra under parts. Confirmed this from Maruti's TSM.

Quoting TSM on diagnostic charge - ''Diagnosis charges are not included in PMS. They will be checking vehicle with SDT tool for any trouble codes. It is not mandatory but a general check up for checking electrical''. So, if there are any warning lights showing when your vehicle is under warranty, I advice you to go separately and get it rectified under warranty and don't club it with PMS to avoid this charge.

Brake fluid replacement in PMS includes brake bleeding. Say No to Oil Drain Plug replacement unless necessary and replace just the Gasket.

[commonman]

Honestly, I don't want to make it look like a rant.My Dzire VXi 2018 model was not running much due to lock down. Still , the 20 K / 2 years service was up.
In these Covid times , the service bill had definitely threw me a surprise. The MASC was hell bent on making the bill to Rs 10 K. The quality of the service was also not up to the mark. Kindly go through the invoice and specially see the marked points. Please Note, these were not asked by me. The vehicle was picked up and dropped back.

[Grease_Monkey]

Originally Posted by commonman

Honestly, I don't want to make it look like a rant.My Dzire VXi 2018 model was not running much due to lock down. Still , the 20 K / 2 years service was up.
In these Covid times , the service bill had definitely threw me a surprise. The MASC was hell bent on making the bill to Rs 10 K. The quality of the service was also not up to the mark. Kindly go through the invoice and specially see the marked points. Please Note, these were not asked by me. The vehicle was picked up and dropped back.

It seems Maruti dealers are trying to make up for lost business. I gave my 2017 AltoK10 for 3rd year service today, here is the estimate they sent:

Castrol 5w30 engine oil - 2100 (wrong grade, it should be 0w20 as per manual)
A/C disinfectant - 600
Throttle body cleaning + injector cleaning - 460
Suspension greasing (front/rear) - 850
Cleaning - 350
Sanitisation charges - 499
Consumables - 200
Pickup and drop - 300
Service cost - 2000

Total was 7400 + taxes!

Never imagined servicing Alto would be so expensive! I told him to remove all this unnecessary stuff.

I wonder why should we pay for things like suspension greasing, brake cleaning, injector cleaning, etc when we are paying 2000 for service? What does that service labour cost include? Changing oil and cleaning filter?

Maruti has started fleecing its customers now except when under MCP. I went for MCP first paid service, which costed around 7k and covered all costs except consumables for 2 years. Have gone for MCP again for 3 years for 10.8k to protect against these trade practices, though not sure I'll keep the car for this duration. My next car won't be a Maruti for sure unless they mend themselves

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by Grease_Monkey

Suspension greasing (front/rear) - 850

There is nothing like suspension greasing for this car.

The only greasing I know is UJ cross greasing for SUVs / MUVs and some suspension joints in older gen. cars.

Also, all service centers are out to set targets for their Advisors and so it is in their blood to upsell; can't say how much of the billed jobs were actually done.

[Grease_Monkey]

Originally Posted by vigsom

There is nothing like suspension greasing for this car.

The only greasing I know is UJ cross greasing for SUVs.

Also, all service centers are out to set targets for their Advisors and so it is in their blood to upsell; can't say how much of the billed jobs were actually done.

Exactly, service advisor says it is for greasing strut bearings. I have told him I won't pay for this and the sound from the strut while turning steering should be fixed.

They will start inventing new charges, just to complete their targets it seems.

[DIY410]

Originally Posted by Grease_Monkey

Castrol 5w30 engine oil - 2100 (wrong grade, it should be 0w20 as per manual).

Oil 0w20 is for colder states, here in country like India where the majority of states record high temperature they put something like 5w40 or even 10w40. The factory service manuals have the info, which I am sure Maruti service is following.

[//M]

Originally Posted by Grease_Monkey

It seems Maruti dealers are trying to make up for lost business. I gave my 2017 AltoK10 for 3rd year service today, here is the estimate they sent:

Castrol 5w30 engine oil - 2100 (wrong grade, it should be 0w20 as per manual)
A/C disinfectant - 600
Throttle body cleaning + injector cleaning - 460
Suspension greasing (front/rear) - 850
Cleaning - 350
Sanitisation charges - 499
Consumables - 200
Pickup and drop - 300
Service cost - 2000

Total was 7400 + taxes!

Damn this is atrocious. I got the 4th year servicing done on our Grand i10 during this lockdown from Dee Em Hyundai Gurgaon. Pick and drop was free of cost. Total service cost was INR 4700, which included all oils and filters (including AC filter as well) and sanitisation.

7400 + taxes for the 3rd year service is similar to what I paid recently for the 10th year annual service on my Vento at a FNG.

[Grease_Monkey]

Originally Posted by //M

Damn this is atrocious. I got the 4th year servicing done on our Grand i10 during this lockdown from Dee Em Hyundai Gurgaon. Pick and drop was free of cost. Total service cost was INR 4700, which included all oils and filters (including AC filter as well) and sanitisation.

7400 + taxes for the 3rd year service is similar to what I paid recently for the 10th year annual service on my Vento at a FNG.

Yup, it feels like I have a Volkswagen in my garage without the driving dynamics associated

The only plus point is parts are dirt cheap, for example, each fuel injector is around 1,100.

Even the service quality has done a nose dive as per my experience, last service car was returned with greasy fingerprint stains all over the car. I had to clean it myself to prevent them scratching the paint with their dirty cloth.

The last body repair was shoddily done, where another Alto reversed into my car while standing at toll booth and the front bumper caved in along with the horizontal cross beam at literally walking speed since the K10 has no buffer in front of the beam and even a 2 kmph bump will push the front end inside, while the bumper cover has not even a crack or anything major to show for it. Anyways, so these geniuses notched the top support beam on which the hood latches on with hammer and chisel forming a V, so that the hood can close instead of pulling the beam back. I am fighting these guys over this still, not wanting to go to workshop due to COVID

[Yakuza]

Originally Posted by Grease_Monkey

Castrol 5w30 engine oil - 2100 (wrong grade, it should be 0w20 as per manual)

I have noticed this with few service centers. They fill 5w30 when the engine actually needs 0w20. It's all based on what they stock, some stock 5w30 and some 0w20.

Originally Posted by DIY410

Oil 0w20 is for colder states, here in country like India where the majority of states record high temperature they put something like 5w40 or even 10w40. The factory service manuals have the info, which I am sure Maruti service is following.

Not really. When the engine comes from factory with 0w20, it is because the engine has been built with those clearances and tolerances to run that particular grade of oil. Using 5w40 or 10w40 or 5w30 will be sub optimal. If the manual says 0w20, always go by that and do not trust the service center if they say otherwise.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Yakuza

I have noticed this with few service centers. They fill 5w30 when the engine actually needs 0w20. It's all based on what they stock, some stock 5w30 and some 0w20.

Not really. When the engine comes from factory with 0w20, it is because the engine has been built with those clearances and tolerances to run that particular grade of oil. Using 5w40 or 10w40 or 5w30 will be sub optimal. If the manual says 0w20, always go by that and do not trust the service center if they say otherwise.

I always had to specifically tell service centers to use 5w30 (regular not synthetic) for my Baleno RS otherwise service centers use 0w20 that is used across most Maruti cars for fuel efficiency purposes. Service centers make a lot of margin on oil as they buy in bulk and it is in their interests to use the more popular. That and oil grade differences across models are not very well known.

Originally Posted by Grease_Monkey

Castrol 5w30 engine oil - 2100 (wrong grade, it should be 0w20 as per manual)
A/C disinfectant - 600
Throttle body cleaning + injector cleaning - 460
Suspension greasing (front/rear) - 850
Cleaning - 350
Sanitisation charges - 499
Consumables - 200
Pickup and drop - 300
Service cost - 2000

To keep services costs standard following the below practices has helped me both in ownership of Maruti and VW cars.

1. Follow the service manual for advice on service items for each interval. This is especially well detailed in Suzuki and Hyundai manuals. They clearly specify what need to be changed and what needs to be cleaned etc.
2. Reject value added service items unless there is a specific need.
3. Combine multiple replacements for the same labour. Suspension work is such an area.
4. Ask questions. If there is an item you don't understand, clarify why they need to do it and what is the benefit.

At least two items; A/C Disinfectant and Throttle body + injector cleaning are Value Added Services. The service techs are given incentives to sell these services. Others are things like detailing, underbody coating etc.

I do not see a brake cleaning which is usually done and is around the same cost. Usually when brakes are cleaned the front calipers are greased. Charges for brake service is usually 750 for the front axle and 500 for the rear. As some members already mentioned not sure what greasing they refer too.

Regular oil irrespective of grade is much cheaper than 2100. Did they use synthetic?

Generally follow the maintenance prescribed in the manual. If anything more is asked for, query them of it's need and if you are not convinced put it off till you have done some research and return for it.

Paid service cost has always been there and is like a base cost for all general checkup etc. It used to include the washing cost previously but not sure whether there have been any changes in this.

Some things actually save money if done together. For instance if you have suspension work done try combining replacement of bushes, shocks etc together as all these jobs entail removing the same parts. So you can get all these done in the same labour cost.

My RS is at 60k in almost 3 years and almost all services have been within 4000 rupees. I insist that they go by the manual. Nothing more, nothing less.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Grease_Monkey]

Originally Posted by shibujp

I always had to specifically tell service centers to use 5w30 (regular not synthetic) for my Baleno RS otherwise service centers use 0w20 that is used across most Maruti cars for fuel efficiency purposes. Service centers make a lot of margin on oil as they buy in bulk and it is in their interests to use the more popular. That and oil grade differences across models are not very well known.
Drive on,
Shibu.

Any reason for using 5w30 instead of 0w20? The oil they used is Castrol semi - synthetic MGO oil. One thing I realised is after switching to this grade is the engine has become rougher, and acceleration has come down by a bit. For synthetic, he was quoting 3200/- for Mobil 1. The price for Castrol is also high IMHO. For the BS6 K10 models, they have switched to 0w16 now.

I told them to remove all extra charges except service and oil plus consumables for the service. Final came down to 5000 plus change

[Yakuza]

Originally Posted by Grease_Monkey

Any reason for using 5w30 instead of 0w20?

Recommended oil for Baleno RS is 5w30 unlike the normal 1.2 that needs 0w20.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Grease_Monkey

Any reason for using 5w30 instead of 0w20? The oil they used is Castrol semi - synthetic MGO oil. One thing I realised is after switching to this grade is the engine has become rougher, and acceleration has come down by a bit. For synthetic, he was quoting 3200/- for Mobil 1. The price for Castrol is also high IMHO. For the BS6 K10 models, they have switched to 0w16 now.

I told them to remove all extra charges except service and oil plus consumables for the service. Final came down to 5000 plus change

That's the recommended oil grade for the Baleno RS. The 0w20 is thinner than 5w30. As mentioned by @Yakuza the new Maruti engines have improvements to the engine block, cylinders etc that allow them to use this grade. For previous engines stick to the manual.

Good to hear you have been able to reduce the charges. No need to pay anything that is not necessary. Actually they are supposed to give you an estimate and are penalised if it is above that.

Drive on,
Shibu

[Anindya_Anni]

Originally Posted by shibujp

I do not see a brake cleaning which is usually done and is around the same cost. Usually when brakes are cleaned the front calipers are greased. Charges for brake service is usually 750 for the front axle and 500 for the rear.

Hello sir,

Are brake cleaning and checking charges included in pms labour charges ? My ignis 30k service is going to be due next week.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Anindya_Anni

Hello sir,

Are brake cleaning and checking charges included in pms labour charges ? My ignis 30k service is going to be due next week.

Yes there are.

Refer here.