[volkman10]

Have any Duster owners here faced this issue?

'Made in India' Dusters being recalled in UK. Corrosion on door sills, bonnet and other painted areas.
Dacia recalled defective cars for scrutiny and announced free repairs (under warranty).

Apparently, Dacia service centres are only removing the rust with removers and polishing the region to shine as new, but there is no concrete evidence on how the problem is being rectified. More and more Rusters are surfacing, there is no telling how many could have been affected; over 7,800 Dusters were sold in the UK since 2013 alone

http://www.rushlane.com/renault-daci...-12138072.html

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing, Volkman! Moving your post to a new thread so that it gets the visibility it deserves.

It would be shameful if Renault-Nissan don't issue a recall for the Duster-Terrano in India.

- Search through our official review and you'll see many owners complain of premature rusting.

- The picture below shows premature rusting of a critical component (steering rack). It could lead to steering failure (original post).

[Captain Slow]

I am quoting this from the Original Link

On receiving several complaints about corrosion on door sills, bonnet and other painted areas, the manufacturer reckoned it as a problem in paint shop in Chennai facility and shifted production of RHD version to Romania. They remained diplomatic and stated the reason for shifting as economics and logistics management. Meanwhile, Dacia recalled defective cars for scrutiny and announced free repairs (under warranty).

At the time only around 90 complaints were received. But over the months, the complaints rose to several hundreds and the issue has been spreading virally over forums and social media. Eventually, the affected Dusters came to be known as ‘Rusters’.

So what about the Indian Duster Owners? are we left to suffer with Rust buckets ? Indian weather conditions are much harsher than the UK.





Posting a link - Duster owner in the UK.
https://www.facebook.com/DaciaUK/pos...52101523827307

We bought a duster in July 2014 and within 3 month's and having done less than 3 thousand miles the gearbox mount snapped see picture has this happened to anyone else ?

[Reinhard]

Wow...It's lesser of a shocker for the UK customers perhaps as the Dacia Duster is an economy grade car in their country. However, such rusting on a million+ rupee car here in India should really be handled & addressed well by Renault. Premium customers are at stake here.

Also, I don't really think a polish job will rectify the problem for the longer run. Once the rust is on, it will keep eating as the surface is now open for oxidization. Only possibility is if they manage to properly seal it from the elements with some coating. I feel a replacement of the part (at least in case of the steering rack) with one made with better material (better anti-rust treatment) would be the right solution.

Thanks @Volkman10 & GTO for the news and details!
P.S. - Its more than certain that the Duster won't be the brand ambassador for the MAKE IN INDIA initiative .

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

So what about the Indian Duster Owners? are we left to suffer with Rust buckets ? Indian weather conditions are much harsher than the UK.

Is it? I thought the things would be worse in Britain given the constant humid air & frequent rains. In India at least the parts away from costs have a dryer & hotter air.

[comfortablynumb]

Member rr74 has also pointed out rusting in his brand new Duster AWD here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3592144

Cheers,
Vikram

[fine69]

I found the 3 month old article where I read this first

http://www.motorbeam.com/2014/09/car...t-wont-recall/

Unless this spreads like wildfire, I don't expect Renault India to issue a recall notice anytime soon. Its only bad publicity that might wake them up, else don't be too hopeful.

[ajmat]

I did a trawl on UK car reviews and saw these

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/owner-re...ia/duster-2012

[drmohitg]

News articles like this really make me cringe. How many more years till we are treated at par with consumers in other countries? The automotive sector in those countries would have also tried to lobby against strict rules. Then why is it that only our Governments ( successive) are shying away from bringing strict recall rules?

[Car-go-man]

This is a serious issue! I think we should not wait for Renault India to wake up on their own (God knows when they will) and instead look for all possible ways to get their attention to this as soon as possible- through direct communication or through media (including the social media).

If nothing works then Consumer court is always an option.

[rohansachar]

Reading this reminded me of another Duster incident where the entire wheel assembly had come off leading to a horrible accident:



Not trying to jump to a conclusion, but rusting could have had played an important factor.

Original thread URL:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...-rollover.html

[Steeroid]

It is not like the Rusters made in Romania are renowned for the quality either. Dacia has built some decent budget cars, but they were never known for build or paint quality. The product portfolio improved under Renault, but I doubt if you could say that quality also did.

However, while they are bargain-basement budget runabouts elsewhere, they seem to have positioned themselves at some sort of premium here in India. One could argue about our colonial-hangover infatuation for Euro-brands, but whatever the reason the vehicle is not cheap, and therefore there is all the more responsibility on Renault to deliver a quality product.

Moral of the story - a cheap (price, not perception) euro brand should equate to an ultra-cheap build. A cheap (perception, not price) Asian brand on the other hand can be extremely well built.

[itwasntme]

Just wondering whether the made-for-India Dusters have additional anti-rust/corrosion coatings or treatments that the UK Dusters don't. I would have expected loads of complaints from Duster owners from Indian coastal areas.

There are huge numbers of Dusters in Chennai and Mumbai - haven't seen it splashed across the forums yet as it should have been! Could it be the salt used on UK roads in winter? As another member has mentioned the UK probably has a wetter and more humid climate than many parts of India.

Tell me it cannot be something as simple and hilarious as the welds being weaker or more corrosion prone due to the Tamil Nadu plant's proximity to the coast!

Let us communicate to all Duster owners - told an office colleague and he dropped his meeting and pushed off to check his pride and joy - no update yet from him though!

[mayjay]

I can imagine the Renault response, followed by quick backing from SIAM. "Our cars meet all standards in India. We can offer non rusting cars and parts, but Indian customers would have to pay more. This would easily increase prices by Rs. 30-40,000."

[KrishD]

Manufacturers will only learn when potential customers stay away from the model, leading to declining sales. That's the only time they stand up and take note. This is true especially of noveau entrants to our motherland.

I somehow still feel Europeans havent really got it right, especially in India. Although strictly anecdotal, the number of European cars which I see stalled on the road with blinkers flashing, or being carried in flatbeds actually exceeds the number I have seen of even our humble Indian manufacturers.

[sgiitk]

This is an easy one. We do not salt our roads in winter.