[ivor]

Originally Posted by Selective

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1027382

Ah! Finally some independent verification. Incidentally, it's interesting that the article talks about boot adjustments--I think they put in a new boot carpet, besides new components like the screw to hold the tyre in. But I don't see any reduction in boot space

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Is maruti replacing it with a wider tyre + alloy combo or wider tyre + steel wheel combo?

Wider tyre (same as the 4 the ZXi runs on) + alloy. It's the same alloy + tyre that the ZXi has on the 4 wheels.

[islero]

They made a serious mistake, and they fixed it up properly. Goodwill does not have anything to do with endangering the lives of customers by supplying a lighter tread.

[sumitkalindi]

Originally Posted by islero

They made a serious mistake, and they fixed it up properly. Goodwill does not have anything to do with endangering the lives of customers by supplying a lighter tread.

Well I have experience with imported cars, seems they come with spare rubber not even tire. If you had experience like it you may understand what I am talking about.

So this IS a international practice after all.

But a recall by Maruti of this, speaks volumes of the company, incidentally this may be the first recall by any company in the whole world on these grounds.

[normally_crazy]

If the spare tyre with light tread is not dangerous , why recall when apparently no one even knew that the 5th tyre had lighter tread ? Its mentioned in the manual but the since no one read the manual no one noticed !

To me this recall seems more of a Panic move by MUL. To stop this news from spreading far and wide . If it spreads people might go and cancel their bookings . The ALLOY seems to be the sugar coating !

Swift owners - Do the ZXi and VXi and LXi versions come with the same rubber say for example MRF or Bridgestone ? or does the ZXi have Bridgestones while the LXi has MRF's ?? Just asking out of curiosity.

[Technocrat]

This news is indeed true because when I told this to my friend who has Swift ZXi in Baroda, he called up his dealer & the dealer confirmed this stating that he would be sending letter to all the owners regarding the same & that he would be getting his letter soon

[mohit]

Swift owners - Do the ZXi and VXi and LXi versions come with the same rubber say for example MRF or Bridgestone ? or does the ZXi have Bridgestones while the LXi has MRF's ?? Just asking out of curiosity.

I believe all ride on JK tubeless. The ZXi obviously has wider tyres

[Rtech]

What is this talk of "light tread"? I've never heard of this term ever. If Maruti provides a brand new spare tyre, one which has passed the quality checks at the tyre factory as well as (hopefully) maruti, where does the question of a tyre with less (than legal) tread come into the question?

[shuvc]

If I recall correctly , it's the JK Tornado on the LXi & VXi, and JK Vectra on ZXi

[ivor]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

If the spare tyre with light tread is not dangerous , why recall when apparently no one even knew that the 5th tyre had lighter tread ? Its mentioned in the manual but the since no one read the manual no one noticed !

To me this recall seems more of a Panic move by MUL. To stop this news from spreading far and wide . If it spreads people might go and cancel their bookings . The ALLOY seems to be the sugar coating !

Swift owners - Do the ZXi and VXi and LXi versions come with the same rubber say for example MRF or Bridgestone ? or does the ZXi have Bridgestones while the LXi has MRF's ?? Just asking out of curiosity.

Any Swift ZXi owner who has seen the spare tyre closely would know that his spare tyre is different. Firstly, it was steel rimmed, secondly, the ratings are clearly different.

Hmmm....wouldn't agree with that 'panic move' theory. This spare tyre on ZXi being thinner and being a steel tyre has been well known for a while and has been documented on Team-BHP too. I think Maruti just decided to play safe before some accidents happened and then rumours started....incidentally, they aren't creating a song-and-dance about this--doing it quietly and without any panic.

All the tyres on Swifts are JK-made tubeless tyres. Here are the details:

LXi : 165/80 R 14 steel wheels
VXi : 165/80 R 14 steel wheels with cap
ZXi : 185/70 R 14 alloys

Originally Posted by Rtech

What is this talk of "light tread"? I've never heard of this term ever. If Maruti provides a brand new spare tyre, one which has passed the quality checks at the tyre factory as well as (hopefully) maruti, where does the question of a tyre with less (than legal) tread come into the question?

Just a slightly thinner tyre with a higher wall, that's it. Nothing illegal or legal about it--is an internationally accepted practice, but Maruti got flak for it in India from car lovers. As a buyer, I don't think it was fair on Maruti's part to provided the cheaper/thinner spare tyre, internationally-accepted practice nothwithstanding.

[Rtech]

As a buyer, I don't think it was fair on Maruti's part to provided the cheaper/thinner spare tyre, internationally-accepted practice nothwithstanding.

Maruti has done nothing wrong by providing the thinner tyre on a steel rim to its customers. The Swift is afterall a small inexpensive hatchback, made to a price.

Incidently, almost every large luxury car or sports car in the world runs either a donut (space saver which looks like a rickshaw tyre!) or no spare at all and just provide you with a puncture sealant.

Lets not jump to false conclusions here and accuse Maruti of recalling the spare wheel because it was unsafe. Instead, lets give them credit that they are taking a proactive step by providing an alloy wheel and wider tyre to their customers in order to keep them happy.

[extreme_torque]

Wider tyre is OK but with alloy.... thats a good news coz spare tyre almost always comes with steel rims.

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by ivor

Any Swift ZXi owner who has seen the spare tyre closely would know that his spare tyre is different. Firstly, it was steel rimmed, secondly, the ratings are clearly different.

Ivor,

I am assuming this - you went to the service centre and saw the display regarding the recall only then did you check out your spare wheel closely , right ?

Originally Posted by ivor

Hmmm....wouldn't agree with that 'panic move' theory. This spare tyre on ZXi being thinner and being a steel tyre has been well known for a while and has been documented on Team-BHP too. I think Maruti just decided to play safe before some accidents happened and then rumours started....incidentally, they aren't creating a song-and-dance about this--doing it quietly and without any panic.

exactly - doing it quietly without a song and dance means they dont want everybody to know. This creates a doubt in my mind. And yes even my Ford Ikon has a steel rim on the spare , nothing new.

Originally Posted by ivor

All the tyres on Swifts are JK-made tubeless tyres. Here are the details:

LXi : 165/80 R 14 steel wheels
VXi : 165/80 R 14 steel wheels with cap
ZXi : 185/70 R 14 alloys



Just a slightly thinner tyre with a higher wall, that's it. Nothing illegal or legal about it--is an internationally accepted practice, but Maruti got flak for it in India from car lovers. As a buyer, I don't think it was fair on Maruti's part to provided the cheaper/thinner spare tyre, internationally-accepted practice nothwithstanding.

Yes its a panic move - if they started replacements after getting flak. They obviously dint want to loose customers , no one would. The alloy is just the ICING as I said.

[ivor]

Originally Posted by Rtech

Maruti has done nothing wrong by providing the thinner tyre on a steel rim to its customers. The Swift is afterall a small inexpensive hatchback, made to a price.

Incidently, almost every large luxury car or sports car in the world runs either a donut (space saver which looks like a rickshaw tyre!) or no spare at all and just provide you with a puncture sealant.

Instead, lets give them credit that they are taking a proactive step by providing an alloy wheel and wider tyre to their customers in order to keep them happy.

I'm not saying Maruti sinned by giving me a steel spare wheel. Hey, I bought the Swift despite knowing that!

And yes, you're absolutely right--Maruti deserves credit for this proactive move.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Wider tyre is OK but with alloy.... thats a good news coz spare tyre almost always comes with steel rims.

Incidentally, RTech and extreme_torque, the Getz version with alloys comes with an alloy in the boot as a spare wheel.

I believe the Palio version with alloys comes with a steel wheel as spare, but am not completely sure about this.

[ivor]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Ivor,

I am assuming this - you went to the service centre and saw the display regarding the recall only then did you check out your spare wheel closely , right ?

Yes its a panic move - if they started replacements after getting flak. They obviously dint want to loose customers , no one would. The alloy is just the ICICNG as I said.

No, I knew about this well before I bought the car. It has been documented on Team-BHP before, even pictorially. I knew the tyre was thinner and it wasn't an alloy.

When I was considering the Swift, I checked with the dealer regarding this and got his views and after purchase read the manual and saw what Maruti had to say officially about this.

Hmmm...I don't think it's a panic move. I think it's a smart move, anticipating that rumours could start, and hence squelching the source of the issue before anything could start. Frankly, I don't think it would have made a serious difference and I think Maruti would have gotten away with just giving alloys on new ZXis only (the Swift is doing so well, this wouldn't have made any significant dent), but I think Maruti has done a commendable job by replacing all ZXi tyres for free.

[sendu79]

Certainly ...speaks volumes about the customer focus of a company... Thats why Maruti rules the car market in India