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-   -   Suzuki Grand Vitara: 2,32,000 kms & 7 years ownership (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/41394-suzuki-grand-vitara-2-32-000-kms-7-years-ownership-8.html)

Odo is at 88k and since I had problem with battery i got the 90k service done now.

After 21 months the original battery gave up its ghost and needed a replacement. The original size is not being made in India, but available only through MSL. So i have put slightly higher rated battery which is used in Dezire diesel. It is Amaron maint. free.

Another niggle that developed after the service was a a strange noise whenever I braked hard or turned to right. It was not a squeal but more like very faint rubbing. Nothing was wrong in the wheel wells. Then I went to Ludhiana and back yesterday and the reason became clear. The a/c condensate pipe was blocked and this resulted in water collecting inside. The noise was water touching the blower and making a splash.

Culprit turned out to be a random but strategically clinging gob of mud on the outlet mouth of drainpipe! Just a flick of finger and almost a liter of water drain later things are back to normal.

That's was rather cheap to fix.:)

Meanwhile, I think the wheel alignment is off on my GV, I feel the steering tightening up and giving slight judder. All that bad roads I rip through does have an effect.

What is the odo at? Some misalignments can likely occur if you hit some serious pot at speed. Steering giving judder? Can you describe it more?

Oh My Gosh. How come you find so much time to drive your car?

It is very slight vibration. The steering wheel feels reluctant, tighter than usual. Generally GV has a very smooth steering action.

sarkar

is it just me who thinks that you are driving your GV less these days? Some almost 70k km in the frst year, and now only 88k?!?!

PS: or have I got my averages wrong? :D

You can try the paper trick.

1. Spray water on your windscreen
2. USe old newspaper and scrub the windscreen real hard..the paper will absorb the stains on the glass and will make a real difference.

Apparently even tobacco works instead of paper but i have not tried the same!

3. Clean the wiper blades edges too to remove any stuck particles that cause a disturbing line every time the wiper moves.

cheers

@Samurai - Just look and check around the hydraulic pump of steering. Should not have the reluctance to turn. Steering feel and positiveness is one +ve reason that makes driving GV a joy.

@phamilyman/akas: Yup of late have been more than usual tied up in office. But still ready to jump behind the wheel and drive off to an appointment than take alternate modes.

@headers: No that does not work. It is one irritant especially for rainy night driving. But then not many of those in this area.

Sudev,

You have changed my opinion on GV, I was reading all your posts ( last 60 minutes). Excellent review, appreciate you are sharing all your experience on GV. I was always against a Petrol power SUV, just because of the fear of lo FE. I see you are getting 9+ kmpl overall, which is great. ( I drive a Palio 1.2, and I get and overall mileage of 11 kmpl).

Just repeating a question which is already asked by someone here, how do you find time to drive so much ?

Keep posting on GV, we love to hear such reports.

Thank you.
Raneesh

I guess I was mistaken about the judder, that day I was driving in some really rough road. Today I drove 150kms on good road and there was no vibration. The steering tightness is still there.

PS: Today when I had parked the GV in Falnir Rd in Mangalore (opposite to Monto Mahal Hotel), I found another GV parked next to me, it was the same color as sudev's GV.

I had got a GPS tracking system installed in my Grand Vitara and now I can see where it is (when I am not driving it) always. And my friends can find me when I am out doing track / route surveys in remote areas.

One side benefit was demonstrated once again yesterday. I was in office and my wife and son had taken it to do some shopping. As they are not familiar with roads in Delhi they sort of lost the way while getting to CP from Gurgaon - too many similar looking round abouts and roads around the India Gate. I was able to see them on the map and tell them which turns to take and get them back on road.

Below is screen shot of their travel from home to Gurgaon I had captured earlier on in the day.

Hi Sudev,
Can you give some details regarding the system and the costs involved?

With a Blue tooth GPS receiver and a Windows mobile / Symbian Nokia combination, my friend did track me for sometime while I was driving towards Bangalore from Belgaum a few months back.

Since this would be OT here, if and when you are giving the details, do it in one of the threads dealing with GPS, please.

Thanks.

You mentioned in the first post that there's a rattle that hasn't been identified since the 5k mark? Any idea on what it is and any luck fixing it?

Last week was hectic...three day trips all of 500+ kms. The odo is at 93000 - I have been not driving as much lately.

On the first trip to and from Jallandhar had an interesting experience. I had filled up the previous day at Faridabad and after a very early morning high speed dash was able to finish my business by 1100hrs. GV has a fuel tank of 62ltrs and the average meter on the dash was showing 9.1km/lt, Now petrol is costlier by Rs4+ per liter in Punjab so as I had headed back my calculation showed that I had just enough fuel to get to Ambala, just over the Haryana state border, and save some money. So decided to continue.

On reaching Ambala I drove in to the petrol bunk to be told they only had premium fuel. No way I was buying that. So out to the next bunk about 10 kms away. This was pushing luck as @9.1kms/liter I could do 565kms and my trip-odo was at 570kms.

It had to happen and the engine quit just a bit later. I was at ~140+ and going down slope on a rail over-bridge so I let it coast to stop covering a lot of ground. Just 250 meters away from the next petrol bunk it stopped! Boy even that in heat of the day was excruciating walk. A liter of petrol in the tank and I was able to drive it to the bunk for a full tank up.

So lesson of the day - trust the Japo meters.

PS: On the trip tp Chandigarh and back yesterday a steady and sedate 80~90km/hour resulted in economy of 12.1km/ltr A change of 30% due to speed deamon and economy driving!

Boy oh Boy, Sudev, you do have some guts to coast to a halt from 140+ kmph.:Shockked:

Cheers