[tsk1979]

Today the car ecosystem in India has grown by a huge margin, and customer is king. Lots of manufacturers are offering 100,000kms standard warranties, while some offer 50,000kms.
Many cars are home developed, while some are adapted from their international versions. One of the major changes those cars undergo is in suspension department. We still have lot of bad potholed roads, hence the same suspension may not do in many cases.
That said, even though we are getting 100,000kms in standard warranty, there is a major exclusion.
For example, in Tata vehicles, suspension warranty is just 35000kms.
Maruti is more generous, offering 60,000kms in the SX-4.

Since modern engines are mostly reliable, and mechanically, something going wrong within 100,000kms is rare(except for a few bad apples), most of the non scheduled maintenance expense which an owner would incur would be on the suspension front.

So what has been your experience with your cars suspension. Has it been able to take the bad roads with aplomb, or have you incurred expensive repairs because the suspension warranty got over.

I will put my experience with Indica and Safari here
INDICA - 30,000kms suspension warranty in 2002 model. The suspension lasted till 70,000kms (Shock absorbers). Bushes etc., lasted around 40,000kms, inspite of serious bad road driving.
SAFARI - Bushes lasted 30,000kms, not covered under 35000kms warranty. At close to 70,000kms shock absorbers are fine, but every 20-25000kms either bushes or tie rods need to be changed. Overall, poor performance for a SUV. In a sedan doing tough terrains, it would have been acceptable. Same story with most other owners doing the rough road, the suspension, esp rubber bushes not built to last. Many owners choose not to get it fixed, due to high labor charges


So pen down you experiences with your vehicle suspension, and how much warranty did the mfr offer, and what all was covered.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

SAFARI - Bushes lasted 30,000kms, not covered under 35000kms warranty.

The "Suspension" section on the TML Customer Care Extended Warranty website [Tata Motors Customer Care :: Home] does list bushes under "What is covered". I assume that if it's covered under extended warranty, it should be covered under standard warranty too. Any idea why it wasn't applicable in your case? Is it because your vehicle is a 4x4?

Cheers,
Vikram

[MileCruncher]

My Bolero had its rear leaf springs making sound at about 25K Kms and they were changed under warranty along with shock absorbers (retro fitment). The front IFS at about 35K had started making noises and that also was rectified through greasing under warranty.

To be honest, I expected M&M suspensions to be able to endure abuses but somehow my experience doesn't indicate that. Lets see how it performs in the Getaway.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

The "Suspension" section on the TML Customer Care Extended Warranty website [Tata Motors Customer Care :: Home] does list bushes under "What is covered". I assume that if it's covered under extended warranty, it should be covered under standard warranty too. Any idea why it wasn't applicable in your case? Is it because your vehicle is a 4x4?

Cheers,
Vikram

Warranty in case of suspension is dependent quite a bit on your negotiation powers with the TASS. Bushes are rubber, hence they try to pass it as wear and tear.

[Sahil]

My front suspension of the BMW was changed a year back for free under the BSI package.

Does Skoda offer warranty on Superb's suspension ?

[StarrySky]

If I am not mistaken, Fiat also offers 35K km warranty on the suspension, even if one has opted for 50-month, 150K km extended warranty.

[Ragul]

On a slightly different note but not OT - if I change form stock suspension to another (CFLs) will the warranty on any other mechanicals be void(Blame the suspension mod)?

--Ragul

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

At close to 70,000kms shock absorbers are fine, but every 20-25000kms either bushes or tie rods need to be changed.

Most manufacturers (specially Indian) incorporate bush with an afterthought, which actually must be engineered. The primary reason for failure is the non-compatible "compliance" of rubber / polymeric bushes.

@Tsk are you referring to the Sway bar bushes and the Tie rod ends? If tie rods are being changed, then there is something seriously wrong.

Spike

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Most manufacturers (specially Indian) incorporate bush with an afterthought, which actually must be engineered. The primary reason for failure is the non-compatible "compliance" of rubber / polymeric bushes.

@Tsk are you referring to the Sway bar bushes and the Tie rod ends? If tie rods are being changed, then there is something seriously wrong.

Spike

Tie rods need to be changed every 35K kms or so. My first change was at 15K though, but it was covered under warranty
As for bushes, I am talking about the front and rear suspension bushes. The rear suspension bushes last 30K max, though the front suspension(sway bar etc.,) last 50K

Again, I do a lot of trail driving, which continuously stresses the suspension.

[rrsteer]

@Tsk very relevant thread.

I recently went for tyre change in my Safari. And since the odo had clocked 82K, I thought it was a fair idea to get the suspension checked as well.
The feedback from TASS was that all is good and nothing much to be attended to.
So net- net, my SUV is @ 82K and no suspension part has been touched so far. I must add here that mine is a 2wd and 95% of kms were logged on highways but on full load 90% of times (ie 5 adults and the back loaded with stuff).

[Ameeth]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

My Bolero had its rear leaf springs making sound at about 25K Kms and they were changed under warranty along with shock absorbers (retro fitment). The front IFS at about 35K had started making noises and that also was rectified through greasing under warranty.

To be honest, I expected M&M suspensions to be able to endure abuses but somehow my experience doesn't indicate that. Lets see how it performs in the Getaway.

Suspension of Mahindra Bolero IFS was never its strong point ever since it was launched. And it still isn't. Give it some tough ride on a bad road and it gives up.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by Ameeth

Suspension of Mahindra Bolero IFS was never its strong point ever since it was launched. And it still isn't. Give it some tough ride on a bad road and it gives up.

Sir, I had the Bolero VLX which derives its front IFS from the Scorpio and doesn't have the standard IFS available in the other Bolero's. But yes IFS are more prone to failure compared to solid axle.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Tie rods need to be changed every 35K kms or so. My first change was at 15K though, but it was covered under warranty
As for bushes, I am talking about the front and rear suspension bushes. The rear suspension bushes last 30K max, though the front suspension(sway bar etc.,) last 50K

Again, I do a lot of trail driving, which continuously stresses the suspension.

On my Safari the tie rod & tie rod bushes were replaced at 50k kms. Front & rear suspension bushes were replaced at 62k kms. This is with considerable offroad driving and offroad kind of use on the road.
I believe, the Safari suspension is very robust and quite cheap to fix too.

[rkbharat]

One of my SX4's rear suspension leaked during last Ladakh trip, probably due to the hit it took on one of the minor accident

It was changed under warranty, I think car was past 2 years and out of main warranty. But still in extended warranty.

Though SA at MASS told me that Shockers have independent warranty of 60K km, though not written in warranty card

[blorebuddy]

Swift VDi - bushes and rod lasted till 59K+ and warranty is valid till 60K(extended warranty) - got it changed under warrnaty