[rajeev k]

My Alto had a problem with the headlights and I took it to an A,S,S at the Ernakulam Bypass and had the worst experience of my life.
I left the car at that centre for attending to the headlight which used to go phut due to faulty coupling between the combination switch and the wiring harness. Left the car on a sunday and took the cae back on the next Tuesday.

There started the harrowing experience of my life,

The service supervisor called me and told that the brake pads needs replacement to whicj=h I agreed being a safety aspect.

He called again told that the differential side oil seal needs replacement and is being done.

There started the problems. After taking delivery of the car and during my drive back home I noticed that the drive shaft is making noise which was not there when I left the car at the service centre.

I called the service supervisor the next day morning ; his mobile was switched off. Called the front office and got the reply that the guy would call back. It never happened. The next day I called again, mobile of service supervisor continues to be in switched off mode. Asked the front office through landline and the lady gave me the mobile number of a service "expert" who when contacted told me that the car can be driven even if the drive shaft makes noise. Not convinced asked for clarifications on how the shaft can make noise all of a sudden after service. After much persuation a mechanic was sent to my house who informed that the veicle is to be take to the SS for drive shaft inspection. Also the light defect which was attebded started giving real 'night'mares again. A guy was sent promptly to take the vehicle and the drive shad=ft was replaced also the combination switch. Expense 5.3K.

My doubt is can the drive shaft fail all of a sudden. THe work done is oil seal replacement.

The service centre personnel. customer care manager and the servioce manager are unable to give a satisfactory reply.The replace\d drive shaft was not returned when the car was brought back.

Tell me whether I have been taken fora ride?

[shipnil]

I believe so. I have owned an 800 for some time. I used to hear the sound from drive shaft. So I consulted two different MASS. One said I should replace both the shafts, other said just one . No consistency. And even after replacing one the sound continued. I have driven for more than 15,000 kms after that. The noise continues but the car is still working.
I do not agree with most of the BHPians that Maruti has great A.S.S. After this incident I don't decide based on just one opinion. And always keep aside some time to get it serviced in front of my own eyes (Your missing drive shaft).

[specialist1968]

Originally Posted by shipnil

I believe so. I have owned an 800 for some time. I used to hear the sound from drive shaft. So I consulted two different MASS. One said I should replace both the shafts, other said just one . No consistency. And even after replacing one the sound continued. I have driven for more than 15,000 kms after that. The noise continues but the car is still working.
I do not agree with most of the BHPians that Maruti has great A.S.S. After this incident I don't decide based on just one opinion. And always keep aside some time to get it serviced in front of my own eyes (Your missing drive shaft).

I have done dealer service only till date that too at every 5000 km. But had a very harrowing experience when my vehicle was stalled on the way. The MOS team identified that OIL WAS NOT CHANGED in the last service. My car had never met with an accident. While towing, they damaged the hood, headlight, bumper and the front windshield! Just imagine how i would have felt. The car's performance has never reached the past levels. I have the full service history with me. I shall scan and post the whole episode some time. It was a fit case to file a legal suit. These days I have started recording conversations with service guys also.

Hence I feel that being Maruti or being even the dealer workshop do not guarantee you anything.

However, the wide network and quick availability of spare parts give a re-assuring feeling that you can take the vehicle anywhere in the country. Other than the above one time episode, I had no problems with the car there after.

[sarmarishi]

Well guys my only advice is that NEVER leave the car at a service centre without you being present. I have been doing this for all our cars and even for service I am there at the centre. No one can cheat you that way plus they cannot touch things that you have not asked them to check. Also, I find the guys who are good at the service centre and ask them to handle the car only. For example when I take my Esteem to Bimal here, Uday and his mechanic are the only ones who can work on my car. Plus I am there all day when the car is being serviced!

Anyhow I take my car to my mechanic at Automech now who I can trust blindly as he has been working on our cars for the last 7-8 years

[Aroy]

Never leave your vehicle in a garage, until and unless you know them well. In general the MASS are nice, but you never know. In case you are forced to leave the vehicle, insist on them checking all sub systems, and if possible take photographs of the exterior and interior. Be very firm as to what is to be done and what is not to be. Just leaving your vehicle is an invitation for unscrupulous person to take you for a ride.

In good old days of Ambassadors, Fiats and Vespas it was an open secret that chances that the A.S.S. would change your parts to oblige somebody were high. I know of a case where an influential person got his old Fiat completely overhauled at the expense of some hapless customer.

That said, I rarely visit Dealer Workshops as most of them do not allow you to watch what is going on. I just find an authorised service station attached to the petrol pump and get my routine servicing done.

Any major job - brake pad or clutch change I go to my neighbourhood workshop. All minor jobs I tackle myself.

[rajeev k]

What happened was I left the car at the MASS for attending to the headlight loose connection defect and the heating up of the steering column cover housing the combination switch.The SA telephoned to me that the brake pads are worn out and needs replacement which I agreed to being a safety related aspect.

The next day he telephoned me saying that work is completed and that I can take delivery in the evening. He also then told that the differential side oil seal was leaky and that too was replaced. I did not suspect a thing.

I noticed the drive shaft sound that night on my way back home. It may be noted that for replacing the oil seal the drive shaft is to be removed at leat on one end.
The drive shaft never had any problem as I drive every day through seven km of curvy winding road which is a driver's delight where uptill that day nothing abnormal was seen or heard.

This makes me believe that really some foul play has happened at this MASS.

[longhorn]

@ Rajeev : How many kms has your car covered ? There should not be a problem with the driveshaft unless the car has clocked more than 50,000 kms. This is the bare minimum it should last, as long as there is no wear/tear of the rubber boot covering the drive shaft . A car that is well taken care of will run much more than this before a CV joint(drive shaft) replacement.

If the problem has started only after your workshop visit, it is most probably the handi work of your workshop itself. I feel you should have escalated the matter to Maruti if you don't get a proper response from this MASS. Is it EVM by any chance? Better mention the dealer too so that others will not fall into the same trap.

Edit : Insist on getting back the replaced part. Shoot a mail to Maruti, asking them there is any way to verify a drive shaft serial number with the chassis number of your vehicle (assuming that the driveshaft has not been replaced before).

[samsag12]

IMO you have been taken for a ride. MASS people are careless and just want to add sales figures of parts and labour. Though but i think i would share my experience here, recently, i took my car for the second free service. All was well until i noticed a ding under the petrol lid which must have happened when i went outside for a minute. After some time i noticed that after washing my car the service guys were inside the car enjoying the full blast of AC (needle almost at E position) I gave them special instructions not to wash or even wipe dry the car from outside( to prevent induction of swirls) but when i was at the billing counter they did the said thing(rubbed towel cloth over the dry car). All in all i feel that one's physical presence at the SS alone doesn't matters, these people will do what they want to do. I feel pity for you Rajeev. Hope no new problem arises in future.

[nowwhat?]

rajeev k,

I can't comment on the technical aspects since I am not competent enough.

But I use my Maruti 800 as my only drive and I can tell you my thoughts based on my 13 years of experience with Maruti.

1. The M800, and by extension the Alto whether one accepts or not, is the Ambassador of the current generation. Parts are available everywhere at MGP/SGP distributors & dealers and there are lots of experts trained at MASS (especially in non-K series engines) available who are not affiliated with any MASS. My mechanic who I hold in high esteem has worked in a number of MASS and prefers to work alone.
   This wasn't the story way back then when I bought my M800 but that is the case now.
2. MASS seems to have become a racket. I have a MASS nearby called Green Cars. Their reputation is the pits in Koramangala. Same goes for UM Cars in Indira Nagar. I recently went to Green Cars to get some replacement parts as I wanted to change the beading for the windows and one suspension and so on. They had NOT EVEN ONE PART available even after waiting there for over 2 hours. Finally they asked me to contact the Maruti-authorized distributor on SJP Road. However even they didn't know there was another well-known distributor, Popular Auto, in Domlur.
3. MASS generally seem to be more interested in collecting money for labour. Case in question: a boot lock on our Esteem. The boot wouldn't close and it would take multiple tries (sometimes 10 times of banging it) to get it to close. I paid Rs. 150 for labour more than six times and every time they would put some grease on it and say the problem has been fixed but it was never fixed. Finally with my trusted mechanic, I replaced it. Total cost: 90 bucks. I was shocked!

Now my mechanic has 2 M800's to take care of and I am happy not going to the MASS.

Summary of what I learned:

1. Parts are cheap, so always replace. But make sure I buy the part myself and I get the old part back. Nitpicking, No I don't think so.
2. Getting a good MASS for older Marutis these days is as difficult as searching for a needle in a haystack. And even if you find one, what do you get, exactly?
3. MASS is good for putting some grease here or doing some jugaad there so that you don't face the same problem within a week. They don't provide lasting solutions.
4. MASS has never yet pointed out a problem I didn't tell them about. If you are saying that they pointed out some problem and made the situation worse, then these guys in Ernakulam definitely take the cake. Could you give us the name of this MASS so that others could benefit?

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by longhorn

@ Rajeev : How many kms has your car covered ? There should not be a problem with the driveshaft unless the car has clocked more than 50,000 kms. This is the bare minimum it should last, as long as there is no wear/tear of the rubber boot covering the drive shaft . A car that is well taken care of will run much more than this before a CV joint(drive shaft) replacement.

If the problem has started only after your workshop visit, it is most probably the handi work of your workshop itself. I feel you should have escalated the matter to Maruti if you don't get a proper response from this MASS. Is it EVM by any chance? Better mention the dealer too so that others will not fall into the same trap.

Edit : Insist on getting back the replaced part. Shoot a mail to Maruti, asking them there is any way to verify a drive shaft serial number with the chassis number of your vehicle (assuming that the driveshaft has not been replaced before).

My car has clocked 61000kms and never had any sound from the drive shafts. The sound was first heard after the 2 1/2 day stay of the car at this popular MASS in bypass road.
I was infact shocked when I heard the sound that night and I too suspected this as the handiwork of the folks out there. The boots were intact when the MASS person came to my house and inspected it after 3 or 4 days. This guy even vouched for this to the customer care manager and the service manager.
I took up the issue with them continually and I was told that he will deduct the money from the supervisor and return to me which I did not agree because deducting from the poor guy, I feel, is not right. Is it not?

I got another jolt two days ago when I noticed that the labour charges for brakes overhauling (Rs 300) has been charged twice in the bill. This also I took up with the customer care manager immediately came out with their stock answer that this cannot happen and never will happen.

Samsag 12
IMO you have been taken for a ride. MASS people are careless and just want to add sales figures of parts and labour. Though but i think i would share my experience here, recently, i took my car for the second free service. All was well until i noticed a ding under the petrol lid which must have happened when i went outside for a minute. After some time i noticed that after washing my car the service guys were inside the car enjoying the full blast of AC (needle almost at E position) I gave them special instructions not to wash or even wipe dry the car from outside( to prevent induction of swirls) but when i was at the billing counter they did the said thing(rubbed towel cloth over the dry car). All in all i feel that one's physical presence at the SS alone doesn't matters, these people will do what they want to do. I feel pity for you Rajeev. Hope no new problem arises in future.
__________________

These targets for parts to the MASS staff fixed by the higher ups is in fact fleecing unsuspecting customers.

[roadie_swift]

Rajeev, it's really unfortunate that you have been treated shabbily by the said MASS.

However, I would like to take a slightly contrarian view here, compared to those mentioned above.

I could say - "Rarely do you see such issues with MASS" and a lot of people will jump forward with their experiences, which are real as well as unfortunate. But I would like to juxtapose this with the sheer number of Maruti cars on the roads in India. Then, in percentage terms, we get to see the real picture.

Though I understand that being a part of the unfortunate minority (however small) is no succour for you, I would still advise against clubbing all MASS's together.

I think what you need to do is, firstly, name the MASS dealer here on the forum, and then continue to followup with the MSIL authorities, as you are doing. I get a feel that MSIL will definitely respond positively, since even they can't afford to have one lousy dealer, one bad apple to spoil their entire reputation.

Here's hoping you face no more issues,

Cheers,
R_S

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by roadie_swift

Rajeev, it's really unfortunate that you have been treated shabbily by the said MASS.

I think what you need to do is, firstly, name the MASS dealer here on the forum, and then continue to followup with the MSIL authorities, as you are doing. I get a feel that MSIL will definitely respond positively, since even they can't afford to have one lousy dealer, one bad apple to spoil their entire reputation.

Here's hoping you face no more issues,

Cheers,
R_S

Thanks for your words of succor.
The name is there in my post.

[roadie_swift]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

What happened was I left the car at the MASS ..The SA telephoned to me that the brake pads are worn out ...

This makes me believe that really some foul play has happened at this MASS.

Originally Posted by rajeev k

..The sound was first heard after the 2 1/2 day stay of the car at this popular MASS in bypass road..
...when the MASS person came to my house and inspected it ...
targets for parts to the MASS staff fixed by the higher ups is in fact fleecing unsuspecting customers.

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Thanks for your words of succor.
The name is there in my post.

Oh, must be my bad, I couldn't find it anywhere in your posts..Cheers, R_S.

[rajeev k]

Quote:
Originally Posted by rajeev k
..The sound was first heard after the 2 1/2 day stay of the carat this popular MASS in bypass road..
...when the MASS person came to my house and inspected it ...
targets for parts to the MASS staff fixed by the higher ups is in fact fleecing unsuspecting customers.

Got it?

[roadie_swift]

Oh, you meant it as a noun, and I thought it was an adjective. Maybe coz you didn't capitalize the first letter. As I said, my bad.

Hope your problems go away soon, and you enjoy a long happy ride.

Cheers,
R_S