Dart completed 1 year last week. And it clocked 31,700 kms in that period. It is 75% driver driven with me clocking the balance 25%.
Faults
It's been a fairly peaceful ownership experience, despite the heavy usage. A couple of issues to report.
- The
AC problem mentioned in my previous post. The blower motor was not replaced ultimately. It was serviced for Rs. 230. The problem went away and then resurfaced 10k kms later just the day before it went for the 30K service. However it was automatically working on the day of the service and the problem could not be replicated. Looks like history will repeat itself and I will need to make a couple of more trips to raise stink and get it replaced under warranty. Lets see.
- The left rear
door handle doesn't work at times. The door opens from inside normally. But tugging/pulling/cursing the pull handle from outside has no effect. The handle doesn't get stuck. It has normal play. But the door does not open. This too, like the AC blower, has a mind of it's own and sorts itself out from time to time !
- A
horn coupler wire got detached. Must have happened during some low level water wading (monsoons). Cost me Rs. 290 to replace the coupler.
- Am not totally sure of this, but it seems there's a bit more
'whine' from the engine of late. Something like transmission whine but coming from up ahead. Will observe further .. but meanwhile any ideas/pointers that would help ?
That's about it ! Everything else works like clockwork. Touch wood !
Service
Got the 30K service done. Routine paid service plus changed engine oil and related filters and air filter. Total damages Rs. 4760.
Total maintenance expenses for 1 year , 31.7K kms =
Rs. 10,753 = 34p/km. The figure should be lesser considering 30K service has just been done and it's good to go for another 10K kms.
Breakup of expenses ..
1st service 590
2nd Service 2064
3rd Service 2819
AC Blower 230
Horn coupler 290
4th Service 4760
Renewed insurance through the dealer / Future Generali for Rs. 11K
The MRF ZV2K tyres are holding up well and should run for another 10k kms / 4 months surely. The brakes, clutch, suspension also seem fine. No apparent issues there.
There are some small dings/dents/scratches. Nothing major and hence I've not attended to them yet.
Fuel Efficiency
The average over the whole year is currently at
17.04kmpl. This is with approximately
40% AC. From 100% in peak summer to negligible usage in cooler months. As reported earlier, the best remains 21.3 kmpl and the worst 13.2kmpl.
It is serving the purpose it was bought for, to the T. Fingers are however crossed as the ageing process will now gradually start. Lets see how gracefully it ages.
The Baleno and Civic are feeling let down. They have clocked 2500 and 1500kms respectively, since Dart joined the garage (1yr)