[R_R]

Hi Ricky:
Never had to use 4LL. Had to use 4HL once, though not on the Shimla-Kufri road. Coming back from Jodhpur, on the one of the SH's, the half-lane road was blocked by a truck. There was also construction going on, and the construction crew quickly punched out a mud diversion. I was the first to go through; it looked risky, so, for the first time ever, I turned the knob to 4HL. The GV ploughed through with no problem. Maybe it could have gone through without 4HL (since it is on full-time 4x4) but I wasn't sure. I remember reading that when in doubt, you must put on 4HL or 4LL before you start going through the bad patch, rather than wait until you are bogged down. So I decided not to risk it. Anyway, it felt great.
Throughout these trips (though, again, I wasn't tackling any great obstacles or going really off-road), it felt good to have the 4x4 available, in case there was trouble. And the reliability was another source of comfort, especially when we were in unfamiliar rural areas.
This brings me to another issue: I hear that the Tata's have great roadside assistance programme; does Maruti also have some such? And how good is TVS roadside assistance?

And just a couple of photos, on the road back from Jodhpur on NH-65 and sundry SHs:
1. Narrow one-lane section of NH-65 (this was actually one of the better sections because there was some tarmac left, and it was relatively smooth)

2. Peacocks, but note the road condition

3 & 4: Water-logged Fatehpur

R_R

[R_R]

I have not updated this thread in quite a while! I was out of town for a good part of last year and work and laziness did the rest. But here goes . . .
I originally bought the GV for trips outside town and was planning to continue using my Indica for the office. But I had to give my Indica to someone else and this meant that I had to either buy a new office vehicle (not practical on two grounds: financial and lack of parking-space) or use the GV. Using the GV for the office is a bit expensive but I judged it to be the cheaper alternative compared to buying another car (though honestly, can’t say I didn’t enjoy the choice!!).
The GV has been terrific. It has crossed 40,000 kms (actually now stands at 42, 784). I have had absolutely no problems with it so far, with the exception of occasional rattling sounds that I can’t seem to isolate. I think it comes from the dashboard, but not sure. Also the brakes squeak and that is irritating but no real effect on the braking. And that’s it; not one other thing. This vehicle gives so much confidence that I always choose it when I have to go out to dinner and I still look forward to driving to places like Leh and Gangotri and other great roads in the Himalayas. I am promising myself I will do at least one of this next year.
It has been a bit more expensive than I thought though, especially with the constantly rising petrol costs. Total costs has been Rs. 244819 of which fuel cost has been Rs. 133244 (I may have missed one or two fuel bills, esp. since I was out of town for half of 2011, so this is not exact). Repairs?? A/C blower needed to be cleaned twice (about Rs. 1600) and I hit the front fender against the parking lot pillar (cost me Rs. 4800) but nothing else. Other expenses have been somewhat heavier than expected: Insurance (19686+15267+11617)= Rs. 46570, which is almost a quarter of the total cost. I also changed three tyres, which cost me Rs. 7800 for one and Rs. 21700 for two others later (so total of Rs. 29500), all Yokohama Geolander HTs. I did not want to try ATs because I was not changing all tyres and also because I wanted a softer ride. So to sum up:
Total KMs: 22314 (since I bought it)
Total Cost: 244819 kms (cost per km: Rs. 10.97)
Fuel: Rs. 133244 (cost per km: Rs. 5.97)
Regular Servicing: Rs. 23882
Repairs: Rs. 6407
Tyres: Rs. 29500
Insurance: Rs. 46570 (three years)
Misc. : Rs. 5216
I have noticed that with careful driving, I am able to get above 11 kmpl in the city now. I must note though that I have some advantages. I don’t have to drive in thick traffic very much, partly because I live in Gurgaon and work in South Delhi, which means I get to drive on some reasonably long stretches at a steady speed. Also, I almost always manage to avoid the worst of the office rush hour by going either before 8:30 am or after 10:00 am and by returning by about 3:00 pm. Also, I don’t drive very fast. Over the last month, inspired by a Fifth Gear episode, I have been driving with an eye on the mileage meter and consciously trying to avoid high acceleration and braking, using the A/C carefully (I never drive with the windows open, so I do need to keep the A/C on but doing it more frugally now), and doing other things like coasting on neutral if I see a red light ahead etc. Of course, this is also not the peak summer, and I am not sure I will be able to get such mileage in the summer. Over the last two years, I noticed I was getting between 9 and 9.5 kmpl in the summer and slightly over 10 kmpl in the winters. So this is a definite improvement. And of course, considering the cost of fuel, I need to eke out every drop!
I have not done any long drives outside town, except a day-trip to Mathura/Vrindavan. Started for Mathura-Vrindavan with 11.3 on mileage meter, which climbed to a high of 11.8 but eventually reached 11.5 by the time we returned that night. The traffic in Faridabad on the way back probably explains it, but I was still surprised that the difference between the in-town and highway mileage was relatively low. I had the AC almost constantly on because there were five people inside the car, and also had the AC on while stopped for about ten minutes at a hotel at lunch. I was also driving faster, more or less around 80 kms/hr while on the highway and traffic inside Mathura/Vrindavan was at a crawl. Other than the ride, the trip was a bit of a wash because most of the temples were closed in the afternoon and we weren’t planning to stay overnite to visit them.
Anyway, sorry about the really long post; I will try and post more of my experiences with the GV more often so I don’t have to write one huge post like this anymore!

[Ricky_63]

Wow RR that is some detailed report !! You seem to have kept tabs on every thing ! Nice to see that you are enjoying the GV :-)


Cheers

[patil]

Hi R R,
Great to know that you are getting 11 kmpl in city driving conditions. I am getting 7.8 in city and about 10 in mixed conditions in my GV 2007 2.0. Can you please give me suggestions on improving the mileage of my car. It has run about 70k kms and is a company maintained vehicle. Do I need to get any particular job done on my car to get better mileage. Please suggest and keep updating the thread as there are very few GV owners on the forum and we need regular updates considering the ever increasing petrol prices. Thanks.

[R_R]

Hi Ricky,

Thanks, but as I noted I might have missed a few details. Also, I was wondering whether others generally include insurance and tyres etc. when calculating overall vehicle cost. I have included all of these, so its slightly high.

Hi Patil,

I don't do anything special. I use regular petrol. I just drive carefully. But I noted some advantages I have: I mostly don't drive during rush hour (though it can't entirely be avoided, of course!). My office drive has only a couple of stretches of heavy traffic, so I am able to maintain steady speed like in a highway. Also I am not a leadfoot: I find driving fast in Indian condition quite dangerous, but I have become even more careful in driving over the last two months. I maintain a steady speed, 55-60 kms/hr, on fifth gear, slightly below 2000 rpms. Try not to accelerate hard or brake hard, don't get irritated by idiots on the road (difficult of course, but it can make you drive erratically), anticipate traffic a bit etc, just the usual routine for economy driving. We've also had reasonable weather in Delhi, so I try to economize on A/C too. Come winter, I plan to switch off the engine at long traffic lights which I still can't do because it is still too hot for that. I think driving at a steady speed is probably the most important. See if these work for you.

All the best!!

R_R

[R_R]

@patil:

Just realized that there has been a discussion on coasting on neutral and the general consensus appears to be that it is neither fuel-saving nor even safe. So disregard my earlier advise about coasting. I don't plan to do it in future either.

See the discussion here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ve-fuel-9.html

[patil]

Originally Posted by R_R

@patil:

Just realized that there has been a discussion on coasting on neutral and the general consensus appears to be that it is neither fuel-saving nor even safe. So disregard my earlier advise about coasting. I don't plan to do it in future either.

See the discussion here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ve-fuel-9.html

My personal experience coasting on the Grand Vitara actually helps you achieve better fuel economy. On the roads I drive on a regular basis I coast before a speed braker, traffic signal, while following a vehicle, so on and so forth I can see the instant average display displaying better figures. So I dont agree that coasting in neutral does not help. Thanks for all your responses and let me check my car for spark plug, throttle body and other issues concerning mileage.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by patil

My personal experience coasting on the Grand Vitara actually helps you achieve better fuel economy. On the roads I drive on a regular basis I coast before a speed braker, traffic signal, while following a vehicle, so on and so forth I can see the instant average display displaying better figures. So I dont agree that coasting in neutral does not help. Thanks for all your responses and let me check my car for spark plug, throttle body and other issues concerning mileage.

Coasting will obviously show better or next to nil on instant fuel consumption as your engine is basically idling...take it as a rule of motoring - IT IS A BAD BAD IDEA & more so a dangerous one

[R_R]

Did a minor repair on the GV today. There has been some persistent rattling sound coming from the left side; I wasn't sure if it was the left front tyre or the left rear. As I was planning to go to Shimla for a week, thought I should check it out. Turned out that the left front disc brake pad was loose; had it taken out and checked and cleaned and tightened. Initially I was told the brake pads needed to be changed but when they took it out, it was fine. The work took a half-hour and Rs. 600 + tax. Now it seems fine; the rattling is gone. Intend to come back and do a full service; almost a year since the last one. I have run only about 6000 kms. But still think its better I do a full service at least once a year.
R_R

[R_R]

I have a pretty serious gear oil leak on my GV. Apparently a seal is leaking but they can't seem to get the seal. Its been ordered but two weeks and I am still waiting, topping up the oil every couple of days because I need to keep driving the car. The leak is from somewhere straight below the driver seat and I am told it is on the 'overdrive case' but a google search didn't turn up anything useful. I am not too good on the mechanicals but the manual does not mention any overdrive case. Does anyone know? Be glad to get any information from all the experts here.

R_R

[sudev]

First time I am hearing this.

[R_R]

Thank you Sudevji. I am told now that the seal has arrived and I'll post what the bill finally says. Does the location of the leak give any clues at all? I had said previously that it was below the driver's seat, but it is a little bit more to the center, I think. But thanks, appreciate it . . .

R_R

[R_R]

Here are some pictures of the offending part (below). Is this the front differential case? In any case, the seal that the workshop managed to get (after two weeks of waiting) was apparently the wrong size, despite the fact that they had sent to Maruti a copy of my RC book so that there would be no mistaking the model and other details. They have now found and put another seal that seems to work, though they don't think it is the correct one. But it has, as of now at least, stopped the leak. They have ordered the seal again. Would there be a problem using another seal, as long as it keeps the oil in or are there other functions that the seal performs? Appreciate any reply.

R_R

[R_R]

Posting on my own thread after five years! (Have been posting on and off in other threads, though). A milestone: My GV has just crossed 100,000 kilometers. It's a bit over ten years old, and I've had it for eight (bought it second-hand). The car has been a pure joy. I have taken it on many rides through the hills, and did two long, difficult drives: one through Lahaul-Spiti Valley loop (Gurgaon-Kasauli-Narkanda-Tabo-Kaza-Losar-Chandar Taal Lake-Manali-Gurgaon) in the summer of 2014, and another one to Leh last year (Gurgaon-Jammu-Sonamarg-Kargil-Leh-Jispa-Chandigarh-Gurgaon, with side trips to Khardung La and Pangong lake, though we took a taxi to the latter than drive ourselves). I am hoping to keep the car for another 2-3 years at least, before considering any change, given how much more expensive a replacement that is as good as the GV will be, and how much joy this car gives me. No major troubles with the car, though I did do a clutch replacement in between.

[R_R]

A few pictures from our 2014 trip to Kaza, Losar and return via Manali, taking in Kunzum La Pass and Rohtang Pass on the way.