[vnabhi]

Very great attention to detail, @SupremeBaleno! I too am finicky of maintaining such maintenance details. The cost per year does go up in most cars after 7 to 8 years, as it did in my WagonR. The Baleno does look very easy on the pocket.

However, one item I've never compromised on are the tyres. I always change them once the cross 45000 kms (even earlier if the tyres are grippier). I wonder how you stretched your stock tyres to 80+ K kms.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I wonder how you stretched your stock tyres to 80+ K kms.

It was not intentional - in none of our cars, tyres have lasted more than 50k kms. In this case, it just happened due to various factors :

1) Quality of the tyres : As with any products, inherent quality of the product is a major factor when it comes to durability. On our Swift-ZXi, we have had the JK Vectra tyres tearing apart (literally) at just 20K kms. I would call this a one-off if it were with just one tyre. But no, all 5 JKs were a sorry mess even before 30K kms. See link for details.

I doubt Bridgestones (esp the OE ones) would be a favourite of the tyre-afficiandos on the forum, but for the normal person, it is a big value due to being durable and trouble free, as it has been in my case. Not only did the tread last 80K kms / 10 years, but I had a mere 3 punctures across all 5 tyres over this period.

2) Tyre care : For me, a tyre is a tyre is a tyre. As simple as that. If my car has fitted to it 4 tyres with adequate air inside, I am happy - I don't care much about brand / performance / profile etc. But I do care about maintaining the correct air pressure (all our cars have a portable compressor in them, with which I check/topup air atleast on a monthly basis). I also am finicky about rotating the tyres every 5000kms, which I do myself - a 1-hour activity that is a good way to burn some calories. Am sure these 2 factors also played a role in the longevity of the tyres.

3) Driving style : While I do like to revv the car once in a while and drive at the max permissible speed subject to the traffic/road parameters, my driving style does not involve any late braking or last minute panic braking or screeching and stuff. This obviously reflects in the tyre-wear (or lack of it actually). My disc brake-pads are still the OE ones, which is an added testimony to my driving style.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

....and another sound coming from the driveshaft (? more on it in another post),

Since the last couple months, I have been noticing this faint sound coming from the front :
- comes only when the steering is turned fully to one side
- very faint (a friend I asked to check this, could not hear it).

Drive-shaft issue ? I hope not, but is a possibility. Need to get this checked.

Originally Posted by prashant_dv

OT are you in CTS by any chance since i read in many places about such references?

Nope, but my office is in the same neighborhood - hence the references.

BTW, after doing duty for 10years / 80K kms, the tubes of the OE Bridgestones are now in re-use as a flotation-aid for my son & his friends during their river outings at Kerala.

[supremeBaleno]

Yesterday morning I noticed some fluid accumulation under the the front of the car. First thought was that it is the a/c condensation from previous day's run. But given the currently prevailing hot weather in Chennai, it should have evaporated overnight. The distinct green color made it clear that it is coolant. And given the quantity on the floor, it is clear that the radiator must be empty - confirmed once I popped the bonnet and opened the radiator cap.

The previous day, I had returned as usual from work around 8PM or so and parked the car - don't remember seeing the temp gauge shoot up during the drive. So looks like the coolant leaked out after that. On my way back from work, I had dropped in at a garage for my car-pool partner to pick up his Getz after service. While there I had asked them to hook up the OBD scanner to look up the error code for the CEL that has been on for some years now. While the code was being read (it showed O2 Sensor as the culprit), the mechanic was checking some wires / connections in the engine-bay. Not sure if a hose or something came loose at that time ?

Any idea on what could have caused this sudden leakage of coolant ? The dripping is from near the front-right tyre area. Today I poured some water into the radiator and could see drops falling on the ground from same spot. Need to get this fixed next week.

[supremeBaleno]

The error code readout from the OBD scan tool.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Any idea on what could have caused this sudden leakage of coolant ? The dripping is from near the front-right tyre area. Today I poured some water into the radiator and could see drops falling on the ground from same spot. Need to get this fixed next week.

Filled up the radiator with water today and drove to the mechanic to have this checked. They looked under the car and all around the engine bay, but not a single drop of water leak could be seen. All the hoses seem to be in place and no leak at all. Sort of like when you go to the doctor for some illness, but all is well when he examines you.

Drove on from there to work and during the day checked under the bonnet couple times for any leak. But nothing at all. Not sure what the problem is and how to debug it.

[Samar117]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

. Not sure what the problem is and how to debug it.

Just a shot in the dark, not sure it might be the solution though, the hosepipe in my Fiat would only start leaking once the engine was well heated, and not otherwise. I guess once the engine was quite hot, the pressure inside the heated coolant system would increase and cause coolant to ooze out from the crevices. It wouldn't leak if the engine wasn't heated enough. Maybe you could try doing a bit of a drive in bumper to bumper traffic and see if the issue re-occurs.

[supremeBaleno]

@Samar117, you might be having a point about the leak happening only when the engine is hot & system pressurised. Though, the 7-km drive today from the mechanic's to office in peak rush-hour traffic with long idling waits, B2B traffic etc did not result in any leak. Maybe it needs to be stressed more - will drive around few more days & see how this unfolds.

[supremeBaleno]

No leak from the radiator after that and if not for the green-liquid I saw on the floor and the radiator that took in a litre of water, I could've been dreaming. But then the car is used only 3 times a week, for 20km daily, which might not be enough to stress the cooling system hoses etc. Tomorrow would be doing a 60-80km drive through the city and if any hoses are kaput, it should show up.

BTW, today the odometer hit the 80,000 km mark, with the car at 10years and 4 months old. No big deal for many folks here who would run up this mileage in couple of years or three.
But in our case, this has been the fastest 80K on any of the cars we have owned. Was able to capture the moment.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

today the odometer hit the 80,000 km mark, with the car at 10years and 4 months old.

I recently purchased a used Baleno and before buying read your complete review. It is so much useful and given me much confidence to buy this car. Thanks

[supremeBaleno]

Mr.Boss, am glad that my review was of help in your purchase !!!
Though the review is very sparse at just 1 ppy (page per year), with no major action other than the once-a-year scheduled service - except the breakdown in the 6th year due to a drive-shaft issue.

Which year is your Baleno Lxi and how many kms-done when you bought it ? And what price ? Any thread where you have posted about it ?

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Which year is your Baleno Lxi and how many kms-done when you bought it ? And what price ? Any thread where you have posted about it ?

2005 Baleno LXi
Silver Color
Single Owner
82k on odo (Genuine, I confirmed with the service records)
Costed me 1.55L

New thread will be started after a couple of weeks.

[supremeBaleno]

^^^Wow, that almost reads like my car - the same year / trim / ownership & similar mileage, with the only difference being the color. Congrats on the car. Will look out for your ownership thread - curious to know how a similar sample of the same vintage has fared in 10 years of use.

BTW, did some 65kms today, with quite a lot of it in stop-go traffic and in the hot weather. But no green-puddle under the car. And double-checked by opening the radiator - coolant till the brim. Have no explanation for the coolant leak seen a month ago.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The engine malfunction light (EML) is on even after engine is started, though no issues with car stalling or bad idling etc. A search of the forum reveals that this could be most probably the O2 sensor gone kaput. Need to have this looked into.

Finally the CEL is gone after 4 years and 5 months (had come on in Mar2011). And as the forum rightly predicted, it was a faulty O2 sensor that was the culprit.

The Baleno's sensor costs 6K odd, but after reading on the "Cheaper options for Baleno spares" thread, opted for an Alto's sensor. My mechanic was finally able to source a 4-wire O2 sensor (Alto's I guess, and probably shared by other Suzuki cars too) - got it fitted today and the CEL is finally gone. Cost Rs2700 including fitting.

Replacing the O2 sensor is not really a big deal & can be a simple DIY. Just that unscrewing the old sensor is cumbersome, given the lack of space to manoeuvre the spanner.

While the CEL being on was not a big bother for me other than the aesthetic part, what made me get this done was the drop in FE during the last 2 years. Having moved closer to work and
my drive being on the wide OMR in top gear mostly, the FE should have increased ideally. But when the reverse happened, I first tried different gas-stations on OMR without much success.
That's when I decided to have the O2 sensor replaced after reading about the role it plays on the fuel-air ratio fed to the engine.

[supremeBaleno]

Guess 10 years for cars is like age 50 for humans. Some creak here, a joint issue there. Since last few days have been noticing a problem - the a/c does not seem to work when the car is idling (during say a few minutes of waiting), but absolutely no issues with cooling when the car is on the move.

Had stopped at a shop to pick up something, leaving the motor running (for a/c) since folks were in the car. When I returned in a few minutes, the interiors felt warm / muggy. After I drove off, the a/c is back to its usual cooling.

Any pointers on what could be the problem ?