[Sri Vathsa]

Just wow and congratulations on achieving this milestone! Whats surprising is the parts longevity like shock absorbers being replaced at 180,000 kms!

How do you deal with SA's replacing parts just to meet their target? Do you stay with your car during the service? I get my car serviced at Surakshaa car care in Koramangala, if you refuse their usual nonsense like AC disinfectant Spray, Replacing ac filters in every service etc they come up with sir your car parts have gone bad and they Just replace it (they replaced my front Brake pad - ciaz in 20,000 km and i had no issues whatsoever, they just show some worn out brake pad when you ask them for old pads)

[mohan41]

Congratulations on this milestone. I am happy as well owning another Ertiga VDi myself.
If you dont mind, want to ask you how is the armrest doing? Is it still holding strong? I am planning to install it on mine.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by mohan41

If you dont mind, want to ask you how is the armrest doing? Is it still holding strong? I am planning to install it on mine.

I removed this more than a year back. I hated the rattle the internal joints of this armrest was creating.

My advise to you will be to stay away from this. I am planning something else though where I may evaluate options to install the OE center console of the current Ertiga that comes with Armrest (not easy due to dimensions).

[Shwet]

I am slowly coming to realise that the Ertiga is a wonderful yet quite underrated car. Mine is a Petrol ZXI (Dec 2014) and has clocked 116000 Kilometres. The engine is butter smooth and now has gradually matured into a Rev happy monster. This is something of a characteristic in the K series engines i guess. Your Thread has been a constant source of motivation and also a great source of learning on taking care of the car. Your advice at times has been invaluable like advising me not to go for the Rogerab modification on the car.

I recently got my Timing chain replaced at 115000 kms and this decision was based on your interval of getting the timing chain replaced. I told my MASS guy to get this done and only after that did he acknowledge that this is a great step in preventive maintenance. I saw the old chain and to be honest it looked in great shape but as even the owner of the Mass grudgingly admitted that Timing chains should be replaced after 100000 plus kilometres just to be on the safer side.

My suspension though was also overhauled/replaced at 115000 kms due to shock absorbers developing some noise and also the suspension arms were worn off. I though blame this on the tough unsparing terrain of my home state Himachal where i regularly drive to from Gurgaon. Still i think 115000 kms is quite decent for the car considering my previous Alto's suspension went bad at just 66000 kms which rarely went on long trips and mainly was my daily driver in the city.

The owner of my MASS was telling me that the K series engines will easily last for more than 300000 kms and he has some customers, one being a Ciaz and another one an Ertiga owner with close to these many KMS on the ODO. This actually proves your theory on the longevity of the vehicle and the K series should also be as reliable as the 1.3 DDIS. This makes me positive on the reliability factor of the Japs in basic mechanicals and with the recent safety ratings of the Seltos , it proves that buying a sensible , practical car is a good bargain in the end.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Shwet

Many congratulations Parag! Beautifully detailed and written. The 200000 km milestone is really special.

Thank you Shwet.

Originally Posted by Shwet

Your advice at times has been invaluable like advising me not to go for the Rogerab modification on the car.

The last 2 weeks of December has seen some insane level of usage my Ertiga had experienced in the last 7 years of ownership. With around 14 guests, I made 2 Airport trips and then one to Coorg along with 2 more cars with my car ferrying 2 rows of passengers along with fully loaded boot too. I still remember that there was no single instance of underbody scrapping anywhere during these days including taking the monstrous speedbreaker before joining BIAL/KIAL expressway in front of BSF campus which is humongous in size.

I saw the old chain and to be honest it looked in great shape but as even the owner of the Mass grudgingly admitted that Timing chains should be replaced after 100000 plus kilometres just to be on the safer side.

I would agree to this. How I wish MSIL had a predefined interval mentioned for timing chain replacement for their cars.

Regarding the look and feel of the chain, trust me you can make out NOTHING when the chain is removed since it remains well lubricated all the times. The only way one can say the chain is worn is when the links have become weak and the length of the chain is increased by few mm, a result of which can be catastrophic if the chain starts to rub the timing case cover and the debris falling into the engine oil. Over a period of time one of the chain links would give up and break too!!

My suspension though was also overhauled/replaced at 115000 kms due to shock absorbers developing some noise and also the suspension arms were worn off. I though blame this on the tough unsparing terrain of my home state Himachal where i regularly drive to from Gurgaon. Still i think 115000 kms is quite decent for the car considering my previous Alto's suspension went bad at just 66000 kms which rarely went on long trips and mainly was my daily driver in the city.

My WagonR's suspension saw its first replacement coming at as less as 77,000 Km. So your Alto too faired pretty decent there.

I still remember Leoshashi referring to me that the suspension of Ertiga Diesel and Petrol are different and it could be due to this reason why you had to experience wear at 1.15K. But still, it is a good interval.

The owner of my MASS was telling me that the K series engines will easily last for more than 300000 kms and he has some customers, one being a Ciaz and another one an Ertiga owner with close to these many KMS on the ODO. This actually proves your theory on the longevity of the vehicle and the K series should also be as reliable as the 1.3 DDIS.

I have very rarely come across an MS product that is known for premature engine problems to be honest. I have an example of my own WagonR now almost clocked 2.6L Km on a sealed engine and Gearbox. The engine sounds and runs as good as any other car that would have done 40K km. DDiS is a known fact as we have seen innumerable cabs around us roaming around without issues.

This makes me positive on the reliability factor of the Japs in basic mechanicals and with the recent safety ratings of the Seltos , it proves that buying a sensible , practical car is a good bargain in the end.

Honestly, back then in 2013, the Ertiga ticked most of my requirements and came at a very affordable price. If it is today, the more conscious me would certainly add few more rows (of safety) and choose the car I would buy which will still be a balanced compromise between Safety, Build and extreme reliability. Needless to say, I will close my eyes and pick the Crysta but there is still time .

Originally Posted by DLC5005

Hi Parag sir,
2 Lakh+ in 2 cars! That too with immaculate maintainance, perfection with DIYs, keeping track of all records , penning down everything with details.
It just shows your passion, patience and perfection.

Thank you Chandan. It is indeed with great pride I can now say that my garage has 2 cars that have clocked over 2+ lacs each .

My father too owns a 2013 Eritiga, clocked 60k kms.
Usually we prefer to keep our cars for long and your thread is surely going to be one of the point of references for us.


Off topic:
Wish to see your Ertiga in person and hope we can meet up sometime, when time permits, when you travel to Belur via Hassan.
(I have moved out of Bangalore recently and staying near Hassan now)

The world is supremely small. And as I said, when it comes to Malenadu it gets even smaller and somehow somewhere we would be connected through common friends or relatives. Glad to have connected with you and immensely happy to learn that you know some of my closest of friends from around the region where I belong to! Look forward to catch up with you soon.

Originally Posted by Sri Vathsa

Whats surprising is the parts longevity like shock absorbers being replaced at 180,000 kms!

I felt the same too. I remember it was during the 120K service that I had asked the MASS to check both the Engine mounts as well as the suspension and I got a nod that all was well.

After this, I would request them to check the suspension every 20K kms until during the 180K service they showed me a leaking suspension and I asked them to replace all the 4. I think suspension for bigger vehicles do last long compared to smaller cars, components of which take a bigger impact due to smaller wheel size where the same is absorbed by the taller sidewalls and larger wheel size in bigger cars.

How do you deal with SA's replacing parts just to meet their target? Do you stay with your car during the service? I get my car serviced at Surakshaa car care in Koramangala, if you refuse their usual nonsense like AC disinfectant Spray, Replacing ac filters in every service etc they come up with sir your car parts have gone bad and they Just replace it (they replaced my front Brake pad - ciaz in 20,000 km and i had no issues whatsoever, they just show some worn out brake pad when you ask them for old pads)

I mostly stay with the car yes. This has been the case even with my WagonR. This is not because I dont trust the ASC but more because I would like to see the work being carried out myself. All the services for my WagonR till 1.65L was always done at Mandovi Motors, Yeshwantpur. So it is not that I have always visited Surakshaa. However, with Ertiga, all the services were carried out at Surakshaa only.

Regarding brake pads, it is ideally better to replace them based on visible inspection. If you are not convinced, you can always ask them to show you the thickness through a proper tool and then go ahead with the replacement.

During my own services in the past, if you refer to my previous posts on periodic services, you would see that I was posting images of the brake pads and when I replaced them first at 82,000 Km the mechanics were shell-shocked and were unable to believe. For them, the average life of pads for an Ertiga in Bangalore is anywhere between 25000-35000 Km.

[Shwet]

One more thing i forgot to mention is that my clutch is still stock at 116000 Kms. So i am quite satisfied with the original parts performance as such. I concur with your opinion that the interior is not as rugged as an old Wagon R or Alto, which was quite well put together despite having harder plastic parts. You are right about your requirements being met in 2013 with the Ertiga. The same was the case with me in 2014-15 when most of my requirements were met by the vehicle. The only reason i did not go for the diesel was the fear of the gear synchroniser issue and the fact that i got the top model for a very reasonable sum as against a diesel which would have been more expensive. Today i too would have opted for something more safer , preferably with six airbags . However i am still quite satisfied with the vehicle and would keep it for some more years as of now.

On another note, i think MSIL would have done better if it had launched the XL7 in India , that vehicle looks very practical plus comes with 200mm Ground clearance and very nice looking alloys on 195/60 R16 tyres. I don't know why Suzuki deems it fit to be launched in Indonesia and India loses out. Also the new Ertiga and XL7 scores a 4 star on Asean NCAP so i guess just like in the case of Seltos and Creta the India bound models lose out on the enhanced UHSS re-inforcements in strategic areas of the bodyshell . It's a pity and i think Maruti would do well to look into this.

[vikramv4u]

Hey Parag,

Great thread and love reading it.. fantastic inspiration!!

My Ertiga VXi just completed 8 yrs and is now at almost 75k - and reading this, it can go on n on it seems..

Just a question: Do you feel the suspensions and good as before, or do you see the bumps not riding as well with so many kms done? I just feel my vehicle seems to be showing signs of not being as smooth (maybe the bumps and the ditches have become worse ) Any thoughts?

My stock tyres lasted for 68 kms (Good Years) and I upgraded to the P4ST.

Thanks a lot and keep it going!!

Thanks

Vikram

[Shwet]

Just to answer your query on the stock suspension remaining strong at 75000kms , i think a lot depends on what roads the car has travelled on and how the vehicle has been driven? Assuming that everything is normal with no extreme abuse, i think the suspension will be holding up just fine at 75000 kms. If there is some weakening than it can also be due to certain parts being due for replacement after almost eight years.

I did not find any issues in my ownership till about 105000 kms at least, my car was driven on all sorts of roads.

[paragsachania]

Call it the 200000Km celebration drive or a drive to remember the drives so far or simply no reasons needed, I drove to Aurangabad and Mumbai and continue to enjoy the simple machine to the fullest.

[bkc]

Hi,
I needed some insight for my used diesel Ertiga. The car had clocked 88k kms and post buying, I did the sync ring replacment, clutch and general service.

The clutch engagement travel is very very low compared to my swift, i.e. the clutch gets engaged, as soon as you move, few Centimetres away from the floor. Is this, like this for Ertiga?

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Hi paragsachania,

Just now I came across the thread about the cars that have crossed 2,00,000 km mark. The moment I saw the thread title, your Wagon R and Ertiga came to my mind. And as expected, I did see your post on the thread.

Congratulations on loving, maintaining and using your cars fully. After reading your post in that thread, I have two queries:

1. You said that the clutch replacement was related to the synchro rings. Can you please elaborate on this? Why do we need to replace clutch when we replace the synchro rings?
   
2. You mentioned that you changed the timing chain. My SX4 VVT too has a timing chain and the user manual does not specify any interval for changing the timing chain. As I understand, the timing chain does not need replacement at all. Why did you need to change the timing chain?

My SX4 has completed around 1,35,000 km of happy ownership. It is on stock clutch, suspension, steering rack, wheel bearings, rotor discs, synchro rings. I only needed to replace the lower arms once (at 85k), fuel filter once (at 85k) and stabilizer bushes twice (at 30k and 85k).

All routine maintenance done on time. Besides the air filter, engine oil and oil filter, the preventive maintenance included spark plugs every 50k and the ignition coil once at 125k. The stock ignition coils have been retained as spares.

I am asking the above questions because I too want to hold on to my car for long, beyond 2,00,000 km.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by bkc

The clutch engagement travel is very very low compared to my swift, i.e. the clutch gets engaged, as soon as you move, few Centimetres away from the floor. Is this, like this for Ertiga?

Never compared this with the Swift but in general, most of the Maruti cars, especially diesels have a short travel for their clutch pedals.

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

You said that the clutch replacement was related to the synchro rings. Can you please elaborate on this? Why do we need to replace clutch when we replace the synchro rings?

The clutch replacement is a proactive measure so that:

1. A worn out clutch should further not cause gearing issues with brand new synchro rings
2. After certain Km (above 75k), the clutch would have experienced wear depending on driving pattern and style and since we are paying full labor for synchro rings replacement, it is better to get the clutch also replaced at the same time and save on labor later as clutch parts itself are not expensive (Labor costs same or little more than clutch parts)

You mentioned that you changed the timing chain. My SX4 VVT too has a timing chain and the user manual does not specify any interval for changing the timing chain. As I understand, the timing chain does not need replacement at all. Why did you need to change the timing chain?

You need to check this with the service center. Even Ertiga manual doesn't refer to the exact replacement interval for timing chain. Typically they follow a so called standard practice of listening to a peculiar noise from the engine bay hinting at a loose timing chain and then advise for replacement. However, there was no such noise in my car when I replaced mine out of fear when Odometer was around 120K. At the time when timing chain was replaced, I also got the water pump replaced too since the location of the water pump becomes easily accessible for replacement when chain is replaced and replacement of water pump too was proactive.

[paragsachania]

The 215,000 km Update : Summary

It has been quite some time since the last update on the ownership of my Ertiga but there hasn’t been anything significant except the synchronizer ring failure again (details later) which still isn't something that left me stranded on road!. Apart from this, it’s the usual drives and hence this is a summary of the ownership ever since it hit the 200,000 Km mark in Dec 2020 with important updates.

Odometer reading today:

The Odometer is closer to 217,000 Km as of today but here’s an image of the same taken on last Sunday soon after I got back home after my marathon 1800 km solo drive from Rajkot to Bangalore:



Important updates/drives in chronological order:

Apart from one periodic service and synchronizer failure, the only updates are really in terms of what the Ertiga has been doing best, without much ado – Take me on innumerable road trips even after clocking 215,000 Km. Here are some of these important updates and drives in the order that they happened over the last 11 months.

• Jan 2021 - Drive to Aurangabad | 2600 Km
• Feb 2021 - Drive to Hampi | 800 Km
• Feb 2021 - Synchronizer Ring Failure
• Feb 2021 - Tryst with Synthetic Transmission Oil for the first time
• Mar 2021 - Circuitous Drive to Coastal and North Karnataka | 1200 km
• Mar 2021 - Drive to Western Ghats | 600 km
• Jun 2021 - Another Drive to Western Ghats | 600 km
• Aug 2021 - Tyres get noisier
• Aug 2021 - Tyre rotation and alignment check
• Sep 2021 - Light Highway nudge and a bent radiator member
• Sep 2021 - Tyre replacement to Continental UC6 | 195/60/R15
• Sep 2021 - Drive to Western Ghats | 750 Km
• Set 2021 - Fixing the High Mount Stop Lamp
• Oct 2021 - Drive to Goa | 1600 Km
• Oct 2021 - Ayudha Pooja
• Oct 2021 - Oil Replacement
• Oct 2021 - First time replacement of Engine mounts
• Oct 2021 - Car Cleaning
• Nov 2021 - Drive to Gujarat

[paragsachania]

The 215,000 km Update : Part 1

Jan 2021 | Drive to Aurangabad and Thane | 2600 Km

Soon after the first Covid wave started to show signs of decrease, I had to drive to get my parents back from Aurangabad. Along with this drive, I also clubbed a drive to Thane to meet and greet my friends.

Something I don't miss each time I am in Pune/Aurangabad. Fresh sugarcane juice, the old school way:


When in Aurangabad, you don't miss Tara Pan Center and their unique yet vast menu:



A quick dash to Thane and back while at Aurangabad:

This was not on cards but knowing that it had been quite some time I had caught up with my roadie friends from Mumbai/Thane, I decided to drive to Thane while I was at Aurangabad and met my friends there and returned back next morning.

The lush green fields before Malshej:


I was recommend about this place by BHPian friend parimal_g and boy, it was one of the best Misal Paav that I relished in recent times:


Yet another ghat, done and dusted, Malshej:


I drove back from Aurangabad with my parents driving 950 km in 12+ hours. Stopped enroute for breakfast and lunch:



Feb 2021| Drive to Hampi | 800 Km

We suddenly decide on a Friday evening, book hotel and drive to Hampi on a Saturday morning.

Breakfast stop:


A stop to take a glimpse of the mighty Tungabhadra Dam:



The vast ruins of a Vijayanagar dynasty that never fails to impress:






A must stop near Sandur for some picturesque moments for your loved one!




Feb 2021| Synchronizer Ring Failure

It was during my drive to Aurangabad and Thane in January where I suspected that the synchronizer rings in my car was failing again as I noticed difficulties in slotting to 2nd gear from 3rd. However, this was rare and very less frequent that I ignored it. But it became more pronounced when I drove to Hampi and back that by the time I returned back to Bangalore, I started to face difficulties in slotting to 2nd from 1st too. It is then that I decided to visit my usual authorized workshop to get this fixed.

You can notice how wear on both the synchro rings:


While the rings were getting attended, I also checked the condition of the gearbox differential bearings for both sides. Although it was not easy to find out if they were healthy or not, since they hardly costed 500 each and that the gearbox was anyway opened for fixing the synchro rings, I asked the workshop to replace these bearings as well proactively.

Differential side bearings replaced:



As a usual practice during the synchro ring replacement, I got the clutch also replaced along with the release bearing. Here are some of the images of the clutch plate and the pressure plate that had clocked a little over 1 lac km. On earlier occasion too, the clutch was replaced only because of synchro ring issue that last occurred when the Odometer was 97,000 Km.

Condition of the clutch that was replaced:



Supposedly a new design release bearing, as I was told:


While I was always under the impression that the synchro rings replaced earlier during 97,000 km were designed differently so this issue doesn’t recur again, I was taken by surprise that I had to face it again. However, this time I was explained (again) that the part is different and that it is now used in almost all cars in Maruti. I checked the price of the ring and it was lesser than what I had paid earlier too (1170 against 1400 paid last time) along with a different part number.



Fingers crossed now that this issue doesn’t recur but even if it does, for my driving pattern, it seems like I will have to wait for another 100,000 km.

Feb 2021| Tryst with Synthetic Transmission Oil for the first time:

I had decided to try out fully synthetic transmission oil this time along with Liqui Moly Transmission Oil additive that Leoshashi had helped me procure. To be very honest, I fell in love with the way the gearbox behaved after this change as it became super slick and the noise from the transmission chamber considerably reduced that even my Dad was asking on the next drive as to what job was carried out that the car feels super silent at cruising speeds on the highway (even with the noisier tyres).

[paragsachania]

The 215,000 km Update : Part 2

Mar 2021| Circuitous Drive to Coastal and North Karnataka | 1200 km

This was certainly one of those many impromptu drives and I just loved that. Work had kept me extremely occupied that I decide to take a day off in the middle of the week, tell my dad to be ready by 0500 next morning. He asks me where are we headed to and all I tell him is “drive”.

We start next day sharp at 0500 and then drive towards the west coast of Karnataka. From there, we start climbing North towards Karwar and drive till Ankola on some of the beautiful 4 lane highways. We then turn right and start driving towards Hubli and then back to Bangalore a little beyond midnight on the same day covering 1200+ km with roads that consisted Ghats, superfast 4 and 6 lane roads and some amazing sections of coastal Karnataka. I don’t think my Dad has ever complained about such drives as he equally loves to be driven any time of the day/night and has been an awesome company for me.





Mar 2021| Drive to Western Ghats | 600 km

Few friends decided to drive on the weekend to a destination and what better than western ghats. I had penned a travelogue of this entire trip here.






Jun 2021 | Another Drive around the neighborhood

The deadly second wave had kept most of us indoor till few months when things opened up. Thanks to some rains, the neighborhood of Yelahanka was all lush green and Hesarghatta was at its usual best, less than 20 minutes from home.