[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by RaghuChn

...With due respect, I would like to point at the written documentation on the owners manual. I have provided the link in my post above - please advise if that was to be disbelieved?..

Not sure which point are you talking about. I did take a look at the manual and I see they have mentioned the speed limit as 25 kmph / 15 mph (right at the top band of the speed which is mentioned in the Google search.

Please also consider the relative velocity of your vehicle when another one bangs you from behind or from the opposite side - the combined velocities can very well be above the 25 kmph limit which is required to trigger the airbag deployment.

Also, as I said, please read Mr. R.C. Bhargava's atrocious comment on this thread about safety in cars.

Originally Posted by RaghuChn

...I checked that before finalizing my choice and if it had provided any inkling of being useful within our city traffic conditions, I would have opted to go for the (O).....

I see they have shown multiple instances which can trigger the airbags. Am sure a lot of them attribute to mistakes by other drivers on the road, which can't be ignored; however a safe driver you are. You might have looked at the 'best case scenario' (which we all love to do) instead of the 'worst case scenario'.

Originally Posted by RaghuChn

...The second deal breaker was the wait time - though it is not a question of having another car to fill in, it is more about how soon I wanted an automatic one......

Well, this is called strategy! Maruti displays all the safety options on paper, but never produces enough cars as per the demand there by forcing the customers to choose the variant (without safety pack) which they mass produce. Time for you to introspect whether any safety conscious manufacturer would do this!

Originally Posted by RaghuChn

...While I can't do much now (unfortunately) on the Waggy, I certainly will keep the fellow BHPians' advise in my mind when I change cars (will be in the market by mid 2017, for the other car)...

We'll be happy if we can ignite a spark in 1 or 2 customers on the safety front and empower them to choose the safety pack rather than saving some bucks.

[jetsetgo08]

Offtopic:

Just struck me, what would a dealer do in case a group of customers(say about 10) ask for variants with optional safety pack. Can the dealer budge to their needs and convince maruti to produce them? Or would the customers be fended off by quoting irrational waiting periods?

If the motive can be achieved together, then its time for people to pool and coerce manufacturers to produce vehicles with safety kits.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by jetsetgo08

...Just struck me, what would a dealer do in case a group of customers(say about 10) ask for variants with optional safety pack. Can the dealer budge to their needs and convince maruti to produce them? Or would the customers be fended off by quoting irrational waiting periods?...

There need not be a group. A single customer can hold ground and book the optional variant. Once that's done, connect with regional office and ask why these models are produced in low numbers. Regular follow up / complaints will ensure they (try to) prioritize these variants atleast for this customer. More customers follow, they may listen to the improved demand; honestly that's a tough job ahead knowing what the most of the Indian customers prefer.

The key here is every customer putting their foot down for the safety pack variant and not budging for other variants.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by jetsetgo08

Just struck me, what would a dealer do in case a group of customers(say about 10) ask for variants with optional safety pack. Can the dealer budge to their needs and convince maruti to produce them? Or would the customers be fended off by quoting irrational waiting periods?
.

Problem here is not with the manufacturer but the dealers. Thats what my experience clearly indicated. No one is interested in selling a safety variant to you unless you tell them to book at gunpoint. Else until you sign the papers they will be chanting all sorts of verses convincing why you should just go for the mid variant or at the most the top end variant, such as in my case.

Also, if a dealer decides to maintain a good inventory of 'O' cars, there is nothing stopping the manufacturer from dishing these out of the factory. Since dealers rarely maintain anything other than the V versions in the inventory, the O versions are always made to order. Even if you consider an immediate dispatch of the car, there will be a wait of three weeks at least. Put in all the overheads like processing, finance if any, payment etc, it will become five weeks. Instead, the dealers maintain a good inventory of V variants, promise super quick deliveries, and herd customers to settle for these variants. Its your choice whether to be a herded sheep or a raging bull that is difficult to be tamed

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

There need not be a group. A single customer can hold ground and book the optional variant. Once that's done, connect with regional office and ask why these models are produced in low numbers. Regular follow up / complaints will ensure they (try to) prioritize these variants atleast for this customer.

The key here is every customer putting their foot down for the safety pack variant and not budging for other variants.

Exactly. Safety variants are not de-prioritized in any way. Thats not how an assembly line works. All variants and colours are produced simultaneously on the same line itself. It is just an inventory management and scheduling issue. One significant way a manufacturer like Maruti can help in better road safety is to either make the safety features standard, or if they follow this 'Optional' policy they should push such cars down dealers' throats. That will automatically encourage them to sell more of such cars and educate customers about safety compared to what they are currently doing.

[vivekshukla]

I see the debate on usefulness of airbags in city driving conditions debate often takes the turn to dealers and sales advisors pushing their inventory. Often times, we as customer get lured of an immediate delivery or a cash discount and opt for lower variant with safety features.

My colleague waited for his Wagon R VXi (O) for nearly a month patiently and it helped him in real world too. His wife was taking out the car from basement parking and to avoid some obstacle rammed the car head on to the wall in front. The speed may not be more than 20 or 30 kmph. But the impact was such that Airbags got deployed and it saved his wife from a potential head injury. Please look at the photo and decide yourself whether having an airbag is useful or not.

[jetsetgo08]

I think its better if we continue the discussion in the following thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...hlight=airbags

[RaghuChn]

Thanks a bunch all, specially swiftnfurious, for your insights. I had been thinking on a different paradigm. Though all my other cars were / are equipped with Airbags & ABS (except a 2007 M-800), to be very honest, they were not bought for these, but were bought for other features which were available only in the top-spec which came with ABS & Airbags as well.
Now on, I will include the safety spec as a part of my initial listing of what I want in my cars - the message is loud clear :

Airbags / ABS are not what you need everyday, but when you do need them - it might well be the difference between living to see another healthy day and not live to repeat the mistake of missing out on these features !!


The positive note from this thread though, is that there are millions out there in India who think typical (like me) and even if a small % of them get to read my arguments & all your responses, I think we are in for some impact towards a change in trend !

Proud to be a part of this group !

Regards,
Raghavan

[Ramon]

I took delivery of a Wagon R Vxi AMT Option Variant around 3 weeks back. Vehicle has run 100km only.

I am facing two issues (don't know if they can be called issues)

1. A humming sound (very similar to the electric fuel pump priming when ignition is switched on) is heard each time the drivers door is unlocked and opened. Note that it's heard immediately on opening the door and before the key is put in the ignition slot. Couldn't trace the origin. It's the first time I am hearing such a soung from any car.

2. The front end gives slight thuds just like a suspension with bushes which are on the way out would thud.

Any pointers on the issue?

For the thud sound I am planning to get it checked up during the first service next week.

I am clueless on the humming sound.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Ramon

1. A humming sound.

It is normal buddy. We have been experiencing this sound in our Alto K10 AMT.

It could be the security system arming itself everyone the drivers door is opened.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Ramon

1. A humming sound (very similar to the electric fuel pump priming when ignition is switched on) is heard each time the drivers door is unlocked and opened. Note that it's heard immediately on opening the door and before the key is put in the ignition slot. Couldn't trace the origin. It's the first time I am hearing such a soung from any car.
.

Nothing to worry about. Its the transmission pump which pressurises the hydraulics required to operate the transmission. It will happen only when you open the door after a few minutes of stopping the car or when you enter the car after a brief stop. This pump runs once in every few applications of the clutch and can be heard even when you are parking the car or moving in a silent area with no noise.

[Ramon]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

It is normal buddy. We have been experiencing this sound in our Alto K10 AMT.

It could be the security system arming itself everyone the drivers door is opened.

Originally Posted by audioholic

Nothing to worry about. Its the transmission pump which pressurises the hydraulics required to operate the transmission. It will happen only when you open the door after a few minutes of stopping the car or when you enter the car after a brief stop. This pump runs once in every few applications of the clutch and can be heard even when you are parking the car or moving in a silent area with no noise.

I think it must be the transmission hydraulics of the AMT as audioholic says as the sound is absent in both the Ertiga and the A Star, both of which have the OEM security system but are manual transmission.

That leaves me with the thud sound to be taken care of.