[BhaskarG]

Here is a picture of Brezza's gear knob. The material has become soft after being exposed to only two summers (didn't see much sun last year). Now it almost feels like Natraj or Apsara eraser in texture and consistency. I get this constant itch to dig my fingernails into it.

[Biker Ram]

I own a 8 year old Ritz that's done over 70k kms. Same problem with gear knob and AC vents. Funny thing is they never have the AC vents in stock when the car goes for servicing. This time I called them and said I'll leave the car for servicing only if they get the spares. And it worked.

As for rattles there is plenty from the rear half of the car, mainly from the hatch and bootspace area. I'm partly to blame because I have taken many potholes at high speeds. I felt that is safer than sudden braking and getting rear ended, or sudden lane changes and putting someone else at risk.

While I agree with the general consensus that Maruti cars are rattle cages, ironically two of the most rattling machines I have ever travelled in was an Innova and a Fortuner. One a taxi and one privately owned. I'd also like to point out that there are plenty examples of something or the other being wrong with many other manufacturers, and usually the forum goes bashing them in the respective threads. Within the context of such threads it may sound like each manufacturer is doing a pretty bad job. But such incidents accumulated over a period of time(usually many years) is what becomes a general opinion about a brand.

[AZT]

Car prices have reached a point where manufacturers don't have much flexibility to increase margins, especially with sub 4m SUVs now competing with premium hatchbacks.

If they can't raise prices they have to cut corners somewhere. It's a miracle how Nissan and Renault offer CVT sub 4m SUVs at the price they can.

[Jash2709]

I drive a 2016 Brezza Zdi+, four years down and about 80k on the odo and my gear knob "leather" has literally withered and the car squeaks and rattles from all places; suspension has started to ask for attention; ORVMs act funny at times; keyless go button on front doors don't work any longer; and a few other niggles here and there.
But when you put the above aside, the car gives you another level of peace of mind. You just can't ever get stranded anywhere with a Maruti Suzuki, couple of KMs in any direction and you'll find a service station and a spares shop. The sheet metal on the car is good enough. The car is built to be driven for thousands and thousands of Kms. Though cheap plastics and window switches that you can see in the cheapest models available makes the deal sour at times but the assurance that there would, in most cases, be no major mechanical breakdowns is ultimate peace of mind. In my opinion Maruti Suzuki cars make the best beater cars ever but the point in spending your buck for the top model is always going to weigh on your mind.

[pugram]

Gear knob disintegration - I had this problem with my 2 cars:

1. Logan DLE- Replaced with an aluminum knob from Recaro. OE option was to replace the gear shaft as a set.

2. Scross1.6 Zeta - Gear knob has started crumbling. Half a day in hot sun is enough to create further cracks. Order placed but getting 1.3 variant gear knob only. Need to check for aftermarket options.

Coincidentally both are European spec cars ( Read as cooler climes there) and don't like hot sun of Chennai.

My first car Peugeot 309 GLD's dash used to crack here and there if placed in hot sun for a few hours.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by pugram

Scross1.6 Zeta - Gear knob has started crumbling. Half a day in hot sun is enough to create further cracks. Order placed but getting 1.3 variant gear knob only. Need to check for aftermarket options.

OE gear knob for S-Cross 1.6 is imported. Availability is very low and the price is more than 5k. Many owners in our whatsapp group have got gear knob of Ciaz 1.5 DDIS at 1/10th price . All you need to do is change the shift pattern cover from old knob to new one.

[bosem123]

The above posts kinda reiterate what I had thought about Maruti cars all along. Maruti's core competency is hatchbacks and will remain that way, no matter how much the market grows. At least when we buy a hatchback, we are already expecting certain compromises on quality, so it doesn't hit that hard. For premium products above hatchbacks, it is better to look at other brands. Let's face it, qualty has gone down across all brands over the years, except for companies like Tata Motors. And new ones such as Renault and Nissan.

[ZenMaster]

Is this because of increased localisation? Maybe the older cars had more components arriving from Japan or Suzuki's international vendors and not MSILs local vendors.

Also, the customers didn't ask for quality, they asked for FE, and boy did they deliver one way or the other.

[TJ02]

I have a 2015 Ciaz and 2017 Baleno both have had their own share of niggles and rattling noises.

Some of the common noises are seat, dashboard drawer, suspension noise etc. My Ciaz has even gone to the factory for getting seat noise repaired and they acknowledged its a problem with their vendor, the vendor did change some part but the noise was back after few months. I have learned to live with it and other ratting sounds.

If you want quality and less rattling noises you need to pay a premium and go for brands like VW/Skoda/Jeep etc. The products are made of good quality and even in 10 year old cars you wont find rattling noises. Maruti I believe will never focus on quality as they know average Indian customer buys their car for resale and mileage. Mind you it is not cheap service anymore for Baleno I paid recently Rs. 7000/- after discount. I wonder how long Maruti will keep fooling Indian customers.

[CountryDriver]

The cracked and worn out gear knob issue was present in my pre-owned S-cross which I bought recently. Replaced it along with the general service the next day itself. Didn't know it was a common issue for most Nexa cars. Luckily the gear knob for the 1.3 version wasn't that costly and was readily available too.

[HooghlyBoy]

Interior rattles are well known in Maruti Suzuki cars and most of them have learnt to live with it and funnily known as "free" accessory

Ok, this thread is not about the rattles..I am really disappointed with the poor quality interior parts in their premium Nexa cars like Baleno and S-Cross. I own both of them and have faced couple of issues.

3. Cracks on gear knob

Attachment 2129691

I had posted a thread 5 years back saying Maruti is being strict about quality of parts and asking suppliers to meet the standards. It doesn't look like they were serious about it

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...r-quality.html (Maruti Suzuki cracks down on suppliers over quality)

It's an open secret that Maruti Cars have rattles. My 2007 built Zen Estilo's Gear Knob gave away in 4-5 yrs but 2010 built SX4 is still in showroom condition with some minor issues with the Outdoor Temperature Sensor. Generally Maruti plastics are of poor quality which can't tolerate the Indian Summers..��
I remember driving my Friend's 7 yr. old Fiat Punto which had zero rattles. Perhaps the Original SX4 was good as it was Fiat designed and not the shoddy job of Suzuki's Car designers who make weird designs.

[pavi]

Originally Posted by amitayu

We had a Ritz

Ritz is a very well made Maruti car. My FIL has one, and it feels heavy and well built. My brother owned a Swift with the same 1.2 K series engine, Swift felt tinny in comparison to the Ritz. A ride through bad roads shows the ruggedness of Ritz over a Swift. The 1.2 K series engine in the Ritz feels anemic just because of the very same reason, it is well built and heavy. Swift is the sole reason for all the praises the 1.2 K series engine is receiving. Keep it in a well built hatchback, it bogs down.

I do remember, my brother's well looked after 65,000 kms run Maruti Swift, had gear lever cracks at around 45,000 kms. The shift pattern cover had lost all the markings. The chrome surround on side air vents was broken. The key less entry button on the right side went kaput. Surprisingly, the car had very little rattles, may be because he baby his car. To install dashcam, I had pulled out the A pillar plastic trim once and was pleasantly surprised to see the lack of thickness and cheap quality locks. Once removed, it never remained flush fitted. I have lost count of A pillar removals I have done in my Honda City and it always locked in place perfectly. The gear knob cracks are present even in my FIL's Ritz, and shift pattern cover has no markings now. So it looks like 'legacy' being carried over to next generation.

[NiInJa]

My Chevvy Beat had a chipping gear knob issues as well, but that said, the leather wrapped steering wheel quality of Maruti Suzuki is too bad.

There have been times when I had to drive with dirty/oily hands and its effect showed on the wheels immediately, it has started discoloring in just two years ! Compare that to the Fiat's, it had matured really well into shiny black surface. But I guess most people know already what they are getting into when they get a Maruti, dont they ? (I knew )

[webadi27]

Hello fellow Bhp-ians
While I agree to the points raised in previous posts, I would also like to present the flip-side to the argument.

Indeed, MSIL overall quality doesn't quite match its Japanese competitors, leave alone the Germans, but I also found them to be easily maintainable, given the correct discipline.

We have had quite a few cars in our family and of the current set, I regularly drive my Ciaz Alpha (2017 March) version. It is the our beater car and is reaching 50K soon on the ODO, despite it being inactive for over 7 months during the lockdown last year.

All I did was follow the prescribed maintenance schedule and have it detailed every 6-months as prescribed by various threads here.

Posting a few pictures of the interiors, to give an idea that it doesn't take much to maintain a Maruti.

[PrasannaDhana]

Except for the gear lever knob cracks i have had none of the other quality issues in my past car - 5.5 year old 1.33 lakh km run ciaz.

Leather steering wheel cover did get discolored a bit, but that is reasonable given the amount of usage. Ciaz was indeed very good quality wise. The ac vents, cabin plastics, rear window shades etc remained good as new.