[icemanz]

Nice review Ported. The rattling issue is a big cry of all Swift owners. Guessing why maruti is not doing anything about it. Am sure they do get feedbacks/complaints from the service centers, owners.

guess they are just ignoring to get away with swift in some time and get SX4 onroad.

[d_himan]

Own a Mint Frappe VXi with 4950 Km on the Odo. The problems are very similar. A screeching sound occassionally (suspect a faulty tensioner belt), gears aren't slotting smoothly like they used to, and a slight rattling noise from the front left and the rear right doors (buy a loud system to drown 'em out!). Hopefully, would be addressed in the second servicing at 5000 Km.

The OEM tyres are PATHETIC, and hard cornering is becoming an embarassment - the lack of grip is scary and the tyres screech like baby mice. Further, ABT Maruti, my showroom, tells me that the 3 yr warranty would be cancelled if I change my tyres (can someone please advice?!. With a not-so-smooth gearbox, I dont want to take a warranty risk!)

Good fuel efficiency though - 14+ city with A/C mostly on. Touched an indicated 175 kmph on the Chennai-Pondicherry ECR. Fourth gear - 5600 RPM. Fifth gear is not recommended for building up speed on the highway - use it only for cruising. Steering feel post 160 Kmph is horrid.

Hope this helps out potential buyers.

[ported_head]

So, my Zoukie is now a year old, and sort of due for her 3rd Free Service. Though I haven't racked up enough miles, almost torrential rain abuse this time around, meant I was more than eager to send Zoukie in for a service. A little history of my car. She is driven almost everyday, but for short distances, mostly by my father who likes to drive slow and with the AC on.

Today seemed like a good sunny day to take Zoukie for her service. I have lost all faith in Spectra Motors at Kandivli (East), more on that later. I like the fact that Vitesse, Prabhadevi takes in vehicles as early as 08.00 AM. So dropping the car on the way to college and picking it up on the way back works wonders for me.

Waiting time was minimal, small TD and 10 mins of discussion later, I was good to go. Was informed by 13.30 PM that my car was ready to be picked up.

Issues with the car:

• Small quantities of oil leaking from the valve cover
• Rattling from doors and windows
• Clutch
• Overhead interior lights working intermittently

Solutions:

• Small quantities of oil leaking from the valve cover - Leak was from the gasket that seats beneath the valve cover. I see a lot of red silicon sealant now. Since my drive home, no oil has leaked yet.
  
• Rattling from doors and windows - They have done something, rattling has gone down considerably. Most likely to creep back in a month, as always. MSIL needs to come up with a permanent tweak.
  
• Clutch - They don't see an issue. I do. It's a pressure plate problem. Uneven heat treatment, bad QC at parts supplier and MSIL. Ceekay clutches are known to have this problem. Friend had same issue on Baleno. Now that they have 1,50,000 Swifts on the road, I don't think they care. No solution.
  
• Overhead interior lights working intermittently - The interior lights would come on whenever I would go over a bump. It was a problem with the ignition key console. Replaced under warranty with all locks on the car. New keys given. Problem solved.

Car feels much better now. Car presented well. Better natured Service Advisors, unlike frustrated ones at Spectra. To understand why I have reaffirmed my hatred in Spectra Motors. My horn recently went kaput. During rains, impossible to drive without horn. My father insisted I get it done only at an approved workshop. Since Spectra is closest, reluctantly I went there anyway. They have massive workload, always. I was unattended to for the first 20 minutes. Made a few noises, SA comes up and takes a look at my problem. He aks me if car still under warranty, and says I will not get any washing for free. I told him I don't care, just get the horn working. I was asked to wait, while the job would take 10 minutes to fix outside. I reconfirmed whether it would actually take 10 mins, or I could come back in the evening. He assured I would be out of here in no time. I reached towards the end of the job, saw him redoing the connectors at the horn assembly end, so I thought something went loose somewhere. Now the horror part, next one hour was spent in attempting to prepare my bill. When I asked for an explanation, I was told, that it is normal procedure and that I should expect to wait. It was futile to argue with them. I asked only for the bill, since I wasn't expecting to pay anything. To my shock I was billed for 56 bucks for some wire harness, apparently chewed by rats. Oh well, few more heated arguments later, I gave into their lameness. Paid and left for good. No Spectra ever again.

On the contrary, Vitesse service more reliable and predictable. They have more time for you, and less con jobs. I do not mind travelling an extra 25 kms every once in a while.

The following are details of the service bill:

Engine Oil and Filter: ~ Rs. 700
Brake fluid: ~Rs. 300
Coolant: ~ Rs. 60
Wheel Balancing: ~ Rs. 380 (with labour and weights)
PUC certificate: Rs. 100
TB cleaning : Free

Under warranty:
Changed Lock Set: ~Rs. 1650
Both Wiper blades: ~Rs. 400 (list price)

Till later then.

[ported_head]

Oh and I forgot to add. To all those who were thinking till now, that service and repair records are not part of a central database accessible by all authorised workshops (including myself) , think again. The job card opened by Vitesse for my 3rd service, included details of my last two visits to Spectra Motors, once for a kaput horn and once for some general monsoon issues.

[ported_head]

Ok, so the oil leak resurfaced. Saw a good 50 ml or saw of oil collected on the gearbox casing. Spent some time trying to locate the leak, seemed to originate from somewhere near the cam sensor assembly.Took some time out to drop off the car at Vitesse, Prabhadevi on my way to college. All formalities taken care of, they said it was the O-Ring near the cam sensor assembly. I was told that if it was such, I would have to pay for the O-Ring. Told the SA that we will deal with it when it's fixed. Told them to do a thorough cleaning job all around, including engine bay and underbody, and vacuuming. Alongwith the usual dash of squeaks and rattles fix. Fender lining was cut through, when bumper scraped on a mega breaker. Needed to be replaced. Was promised car at around 4.30 PM.

Got a call at 12.30 PM, saying car was ready. Ultra quick. I said, I will only pick up by 5 PM. Could not make it till 6.15 PM. Fortunately, the place stays open till 7 PM or so. Was taken to see the car. Explanation given for oil leak, O-ring for cam sensor replaced. Car washed well. Fender lining replaced, old part in the boot. It was getting dark, fast. Looked around, and in the engine bay. All was well. SA walks into reception area, I follow him giving the car one last look. I always do. Just then my eye caught something. Front right fender not looking right. Turned back, and to my horror saw a big dent on the fender arch. Looked back, marks on the rear door as well. All fresh. Seems like scraped with another vehicle or something. I go and tell him vehicle is damaged. He confirms if it is fresh, thinks for a couple of minutes. Checks the job card, where they make note of existing dents and scratches. Says, will give in writing that denting and painting work will be carried out FOC. Go inside, get bill generated, while he gets written confirmation for fender job.

Bill seems a little expensive. Go through the details. Charged for O-Ring replacement, part and labour. Argument with SA begins. Amount is not huge, Rs.250 for labour and Rs.72 for O-ring. On protest, they decide to remove labour charges straight away. Way too easily, quite generous I must say. But an oil leak is a warranty issue. SA says, rubber parts no covered. Ask him to show proof. We read the service manual, says rubber parts not covered, "except oil seals." Now SA doesn't want to believe that O-ring is an oil seal. After an argument I am winning, we go speak to the Asst Works Manager. Short convo later, covered under warranty.

In the end, bill looked as follows:

Fender lining : Rs. 278
Fender lining clip: Rs. 20
Labour to replace lining: Rs. 90
Wash: Rs. 350

Moral of the story: You must read your service manual for warranty limitations thoroughly. And always take one last look at the car. And your argument will only be any good if you point it out before you leave the workshop.

While Vitesse very easily agreed to fixing the damage, I didn't even have to raise my voice. It's still a dent because they were irresponsible and I don't appreciate it.

[Vid6639]

Is the o-ring near teh cam sensor assembly the rubber seal over which teh cam-cover mounted?

I had a similar problem with my Alto seeing drops of oil on top of the cam cover. It cost me Rs.69 to replace but the place I got it done was a MASS so not authorized to change under warranty.

[ported_head]

Just updating records of a mid-life service, I forgot to earlier.

Date: 13/05/2008.
Mileage: 14528 kms.

Regular oil change and vehicle wash after 5000 kms. Vitesse seemed to have switched loyalty to Castrol after my last fill was Servo. Nothing fancy. Though spent 15 minutes arguing with a persistent SA trying to clean my TB for 350 bucks. Too bad, I will have to go through all over again at next service.

Details:

Oil drain plug gasket: Rs. 3.49
Oil filter: Rs. 66.09
Screen wash concentrate: Rs. 11.84
Engine oil: Rs. 596.09
PUC certificate: Rs. 125
Labour for oil/filter change: Rs. 150
Wash: Rs. 350

Total: Rs. 1302.51 plus 12.5% VAT plus 12.5% ST plus 3% Edu cess ( phew!)

Grand Total: Rs. 1464

Next 20000 kms biggie coming up.

[ported_head]

Wow, six months passed by in no time. Rains also meant, Zoukie ran around a lot lesser. However, some wading through water did take place. Thought it was best to get certain lubes changed, and dropped it off 8.30 AM at Vitesse. I love the convenience of this early morning service hours. I have no clue if there are other workshops that offer the same.

Bill:

Parts:
Air filter: Rs. 168.89
Coolant: Rs. 313.34
Brake fluid: Rs. 266.67
Screen wash concentrate: Rs. 11.84
Gear oil: 770.75
Weights: Rs. 133.32
Brake bulbs: Rs. 58
Total: Rs. 1722.81

Labour:
Paid service: Rs. 700
Wheel balancing: Rs. 255
Brake bleeding: Rs. 291
Radiator flushing: Rs. 255
Wheel alignment: Rs. 641
Brake bulb replacement: Rs. 30
Total: 2172

Grand total: Rs. 4379 (inclusive of tax-wax)

No oil change this time around, since my last change hasn't even seen 2000 kms yet.

Now, I really don't understand what the paid service labour is for when they charge me for radiator flushing and brake bleeding. I can understand charge for consumables, but labour? I tried to argue, but gave up after talking to what seemed like drones.

Wheel alignment seems grossly expensive. My father would not let me have it done outside. Brake fluid is really expensive. Though they seemed to have switched from DOT 3 (what originally came with the vehicle at purchase) to DOT4. However, DOT 4 brake fluid from a reputable company costs half as much, outside, in the retail market at MRP. Oh well, ignorance is bliss.

To give them credit, vehicle was really well cleaned, ultra spic. And they are very courteous also. And I had to say no just once for TB cleaning.

[mikephil007]

I am planning on buying a swift vxi soon. Frankly, would you recommend the car? or will it be better if I look at something else?

[ported_head]

Originally Posted by mikephil007

I am planning on buying a swift vxi soon. Frankly, would you recommend the car? or will it be better if I look at something else?

Im not sure about how it measures up to your other essential parameters for car purchase, but ownership wise it's quite reasonable. I do go a little overboard with the ownership costs even though it sees low mileage throughout the year.

A lot of the stuff I have spent on, can be spread over a longer period. Also, labour at MASS' is a little expensive. For eg: Wheel alignment outside at a reputed tyre shop can be almost 200-300 rupees cheaper. Swift parts are quite reasonable too.

However, plastic parts leave a lot to be desired. Quality is definitely not upto mark on a 5 lakh rupee car. Also driving around in the city leaves a little to be desired due to powertrain characteristics. It would do you good to give a good look at the U-VA also. GM has some great maintenance packages also.

[arsenik]

ported, wat is the FE of ur Zoukie so far?? (overall estimate)

[zoom_vroom]

Originally Posted by ported_head

PUC certificate: Rs. 125
Wash: Rs. 350

Hello ported_head
Why were you charged seperately for Washing? Doesn't it come as a part of Service costs?
Also the PUC certificate is costly. Once can get it done at petrol pumps for less than 50 bucks.

[ported_head]

Originally Posted by arsenik

ported, wat is the FE of ur Zoukie so far?? (overall estimate)

I estimate it to be around 13 KMPL in the city. Haven't really done a thorough FE test since day one. The car usually sees in city runs, on an average 50% AC usage. On a couple of Mumbai-Pune trips I undertook, I estimated the average to be a good 17-18 KMPL. This included some spirited driving on the fabulous Lavasa ghats also. Of course, at best these are only guesstimates. Will get down to doing a tank to tank FE run, one of these days.

Originally Posted by zoom_vroom

Hello ported_head
Why were you charged seperately for Washing? Doesn't it come as a part of Service costs?
Also the PUC certificate is costly. Once can get it done at petrol pumps for less than 50 bucks.

That is because it wasn't a scheduled service. They include it in the 700 bucks charged for paid service. PUC at the road side vans costs Rs. 80 I get it done at Vitesse if the due date coincides with my service time. It is expensive, I agree. More so for convenience.

[ported_head]

So I used the forced holiday to calculate overall FE of the car since ownership. I made it a habit to record every fuel purchase made since car ownership began. I knew some day it would help me save the world.

So at current odo reading, the FE comes to: 12.876 KMPL. Reasonably close to my guesstimate of 13 KMPL. This includes almost every possible type of use, real world fuel efficiency test.

[arsenik]

13kmpl is pretty good!! i've heard of figures as low as 9!! :O
hmmm.. i just hope i buy the swift (lxi) instead of the u-va or i10... would be no less than thrilled...
oh btw, have u upgraded the tyres yet??