[condor]

theMAG : .. the GPS speedo told me that the Swift speedo has an error. I'll log this in detail over the long drive.

Any updates on this ?

Benny - exact question that I wanted to ask.

[anekho]

Man, your swift looks awesome in black! I've seen very few in black but it sure does stand out and make them more unique! Nice choice of rims too - I feel they look a lot nicer and classier than the multi-spoke kind.

Cheers!

[kutlee]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

Having said that there is nothing south of 6 lakhs that give more bang for the buck than the Swift. At least in the petrol category.

Vikram, i think now one can get a used swift for an engine swap and still be under 6 laks.
Nice car MAG. didn't like the alloys though. I'm yet to visit SaiColorium for my car's job. how's your new satnav working?

[BheemBoy]

You Swift looks great except for the number plate. Not sure how you no one noticed the number plate so far.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Did you wash it before taking the pic? The shine is just amazing!

Thanks. It was washed 2 days before the pic was taken - when I was still in Bangalore.

Originally Posted by condor

Any updates on this ?

Nothing yet. Remember- I dont use the car much for daily city commute and the only opportunity I can test it out on is on a highway drive. Want to jam up this weekend and test it out together alongwith a photo shoot ?!

Originally Posted by anekho

Man, your swift looks awesome in black! I've seen very few in black but it sure does stand out and make them more unique! Nice choice of rims too - I feel they look a lot nicer and classier than the multi-spoke kind.

Cheers!

Thanks.

Originally Posted by kutlee

how's your new satnav working?

Flawlessly/ like clockwork/ well-oiled and stuff like that there !

Originally Posted by BheemBoy

You Swift looks great except for the number plate. Not sure how you no one noticed the number plate so far.

What's wrong with the number plate ?

[gpa]

Bling!

I've always been in awe of theMAG's car!

Cheers,
gpa

[theMAG]

It was time for the 50000 kms service (46882 kms); with the last service having been done at 37000 kms, courtesy Vasu. Since then, the Swift had been through our 2009 year-end vacation drive of 1100 kms to coastal Karnataka, involving some pretty rough roads.

I therefore, due to my shameful paucity of time these days, was living with the following over the past few months:

1. Rattlings galore from the rear door pads
2. Heat shield was irritatingly resonating in every gear at low rpms
3. A joint of the exhaust system clanking at 1st gear starts under load.
4. The car had comparatively lost its taut feeling
5. And a new problem from the recent past - engine knocking under load - when climbing flyovers or when cruising past 50 kmph.

Time was in especially short supply and I had to cancel driving all the way to Banaswadi for Vasu's garage, and decided I will chance it with Mandovi service at JP Nagar, closer to my house.

On Friday, picked up Mobil 1 from JC Road and left the car at Mandovi by 1230 pm, not before I'd prepared a list for them, reproduced verbatim here:

--------------------

PROBLEMS:

1. Engine knocking - change fuel filter, check spark plugs/cables (thanks Psycho/Jaggu)
2. Heat shield resonating. Exhaust manifold junction rattling.
3. Steering column sound when going over some potholes.
4. Weak handbrake
5. All indicator/parking light bulbs to be replaced (back, side, front)
6. Fan/AC belt to be replaced
7. AC gas to be recharged
8. All 4-doors setting
9. Remove all door pads, replace all clips, repack cladding, tighten all window mounts and put back.
10. Tappet clearance adjustment


SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Do NOT change air filter. It is K&N
2. Use Mobil 1 synthetic engine oil - supplied by me. Do NOT use regular engine oil
3. Do NOT touch internal car bluetooth controls/mike. Insulate these if washing inside car.
4. Do NOT check air pressure. Tyres on nitrogen.
5. Do NOT check wheel alignment.
6. NO STICKERS.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Regular service

-------------------------

My initial apprehension at leaving at a new service station (for me) gradually turned to relief - starting with the ultra professional interaction the service advisor had with me, to the attention-to-detail shown by test-driving the car and validating against my checklist/additional observations to the technical understanding demonstrated.

I supervised the engine oil change and left.

Went today evening by 4 to pickup the call after the SA informed it was ready.

I'll tell you what- I dont recollect being this gleeful about my car's condition after service since the earlier RNS days; but that was also when the car was younger by 25000 kms.

The car feels T-I-G-H-T like never before. No rattling, no resonating, no vibrating- NOTHING that shouldnt be there in the first place. Engine knocking gone, doors shut with a definitive thud unlike before - I could go on. In short, the car feels reborn.

Total bill = Rs 3692, of which Rs 2410 are just for the replacement parts I'd asked for/needed. Thats VFM if I ever saw it.

Suffice to say, I am grateful to Mandovi for re-igniting my love affair with my Swift. I gave them full marks in the feedback form; I even offered the SA a tip, but he flatly refused !

[Jaggu]

Mag's glad that she is performing as she should, but next time dont ignore things like engine knock but am quite sure it was a adulterated fuel this time around, still not worth pushing the case.

[Tassem]

Really interesting thread! I love it whenever I see a black car that's been maintained painstakingly. Any updates over the last one year?

[theMAG]

Cant ignore this love triangle while I've been updating my Royal Enfield's LTO review!

Quite some updates since the last one, she's crossed the 60K kms mark:

1. She's been through 2 more service cycles at Mandovi. I have tappet ajdustments done for every service, and a decarb during the last one. Really makes a difference - even the Mandovi SA was surprised at the turn-around in performance.

2. Went on a highway run after some time, last September, to Coorg. The heavens decided to remain open throughout that drive - probably the heaviest rains I have driven continuously in. The car ran beautifully, and returned an overall average of around 17.5 kmpl with 100% AC and bad roads inside Coorg.

However, my remote locking developed moisture damage temporarily as a result. The next morning, the car refused to unlock from the remote. Called ajmat to ask for an article I had put up years ago on manual override of the ignition cutoff: which didnt work now(forgot why). Eventually, the problem solved itself a day later when the weather dried out. It seems that Autocop units are moisture-averse beyond a level.

3. On a vacation drive for 2011 year-end, drove to Talakadu. Car ran like clockwork. Next evening, while I had to head out for a short drive, I had the first major failure on the car. I was aghast that upon cranking, the car sounded like it had lost some cylinders suddenly and barely refused to move. Called up Psycho - who suspected coil pack failure. Maruti on-road service confirmed the same and towed it to Mysore the next morning.

This is from where I have had a bitter-sweet experience. Friendly Motors - the A.S.S in Mysore that Maruti had despatched their service from, replaced the dead coil pack and changed all spark plugs and got the car back in its feet. However, on the way back, I noticed that the car was now jerking.

The jerking became so bad over the next few days that I had to leave it at Mandovi. I asked them to check the part number of the coil pack that Friendly Motors had replaced - from the bill. Mandovi got back saying that it was not a direct Swift coil pack - but one meant for the Alto 1.1. I would not be as furious as I am now, if they had expressed any shortcomings at the time of replacing this.

I am contemplating my next course of action for Friendly Motors, Mysore.

Mandovi, in the meanwhile, reduced the jerking to a great extent - however it still remained. Finally, I had them place an order for replacing both the Swift's coil packs: that should arrive today.

Over a casual conversation with Vikram_D, learned that his Swift's coil packs too had packed (pun) at the same interval: ~ 60000 kms.

Question then to Maruti - is this a classic Japanese design philosophy at work? Parts designed for exactly 5 years lifespan?

I am confident of getting this original love affair of mine back on its feet today when the coil packs are replaced. She's a true survivor and I cannot foresee selling her, period!

[Fordmanchau]

Mag, sorry for the noob question , but what's tappet adjustment? I reckon you have a petrol swift. Is this thing common for all petrol engines ?

Originally Posted by theMAG

I had looked at the Ikon 1.2,

Sorry, can't help nitpicking here. Just started reading your thread from the start and I own the Ikon 1.3 Flair

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Mag, sorry for the noob question , but what's tappet adjustment? I reckon you have a petrol swift. Is this thing common for all petrol engines ?

A fairly easy to understand article here on tappet clearance: Reasons and effects of tappet or valve clearances - more-power.info. I couldnt have put it simpler myself!

Yes, mine is a petrol Swift.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Sorry, can't help nitpicking here. Just started reading your thread from the start and I own the Ikon 1.3 Flair

I am a big fan of Euro-derived Fords - they have fantastic build quality/driver oriented. Seeing as how we had an Ikon 1.6 in the family at the time, the 1.2 would have been a huge compromise, although I may have been willing to do it if those rumors about its end werent there at the time.

In the meanwhile, here's a panning shot on the NICE expressway:

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by theMAG

In the meanwhile, here's a panning shot on the NICE expressway:

Attachment 882422

Beautiful Pic! Between, I read that you have a K&N filter. How often do you service / replace this? And if you service this, what's the method you usually follow? Heard from someone that the K&N Filters are for a life time or so - Is that correct?

If a K&N replacement filter is used in Diesel swift, will it follow the same service / replacement frequency like the petrol filter ?

[theMAG]

Yes, most aftermarket performance filters are rechargeable/permanent.

I clean/recharge my filter twice/year with the K&N cleaning kit.

The frequency of cleaning will depend on how dusty your daily driving environment is really.

[theMAG]

The jerking problem finally seems to be solved after Mandovi replaced both coil packs + wiring. Collected the car today morning and the run to office was like the easy drive of yore (the car had become quite undrivable with its jerking earlier). Hope the solution holds on the way back as well!