[anupam00]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Hey, congrats on the 15000kms.

I have a few questions here:
1) Does the MJD come with semi synthetic or fully synthetic oil? If one has to move to fully synthetic, whats the procedure? and if I am not wrong, fully synthetic oil lasts for 2 intervals, that is 15k kms right? If we move to synthetic, would there be any warranty issues?

2) Why did you opt to flush the engine? Any benefits?
3) Coolant flush, is it necessary so early?

Cheers and happy driving!

Please find my 2 cents.
1) Does the MJD come with semi synthetic or fully synthetic oil? If one has to move to fully synthetic, whats the procedure? and if I am not wrong,
You can move to fully Synthetic oil- but ensure that the oil is filled from service centre - as in case of Extended warranty- the third party check all the record of the car - incase they find any service not done in authorised service centre or recommended changes are not done- they may not approve the claim.

2) Why did you opt to flush the engine? Any benefits?- engine flush is recommended by service centre - one may go or may decide to leave- the benifit is there but one needs to ensure that this process is followed regulary -if one has not gone for flush till 70 k kms - then as per the info i have please don't go for it- carbon are removed in flush,

3) Coolant flush, is it necessary so early?- not necessary it helps to keep the radiator clean- I opted for coolant flush in my mjd @50 k,

Thanks & Regards
Anupam

[h14]

Thanks funkykar.

Initially the Palio MJD came with regular mineral oil and therefore the service intervals were for 7500kms, but now, the service center gives us two options for engine oil,
1. Selena (Semi-Synthetic)
2. Mobil1 (Fully Synthetic)

They asked me which I would like to have. I opted for Selena as I was not interested in fully synthetic. Going forward, I'm planning to service every 1 year or 10-15,000 kms.

Both Linea and Punto use Selena semi-synthetic with service interval of 15000kms. I've seen people using Mobil1 fully synthetic for 30,000kms.

I did the coolant flush just because the coolant was very old, remember mine is a 2008 model purchased in 2010. I did change the coolant myself on buying the car at home, but that did not flush out properly and that is the reason I got it done this time.

Originally Posted by anupam00

one may go or may decide to leave- the benifit is there but one needs to ensure that this process is followed regulary -

@Anupam, this is the first time I went in for the engine flush. Have not done in for any of our cars. Can you explain what you meant by following the process regularly?

[anupam00]

Well in case you get that done regularly after certain number kms good, in case the car has not got engine flush till a longer duration say 1.5 k etc & then the car goes for the same - their is a certain risk - I would personally not suggest-I went for engine flush in my zen after 2.5 lac kms & the result carbon's were removed from piston due to the flush liquid quality & the engine needed to be bored. Therefore if you have opted for it in the intial period good then follow it regularly for best results.

[h14]

Did a tank full today and I've achieved the best ever mileage figures for city driving so far.

Total kilometres - 683
Fuel consumed - 38 litres
FE - 17.9 kmpl.

These figures are the best ever that I have achieved for city driving with 100% AC. :-)

The MJD just gets better with age!

[funkykar]

@H14: So upgrading to semi or fully synthetic and prolonging/skipping a service wouldnt cause any harm to the warranty right? Also, would A.S.S accept if I give them the oil instead of them filling from their stock?

[h14]

Originally Posted by funkykar

@H14: So upgrading to semi or fully synthetic and prolonging/skipping a service wouldnt cause any harm to the warranty right? Also, would A.S.S accept if I give them the oil instead of them filling from their stock?

Upgrading to semi or fully synthetic and skipping oil and oil filter change is the way to go. Since the service interval for Palio is 7500kms, take it to the service center for every 7500 and skip oil changes in-between till your free service is over. After that, take it to service as per your oil.

I'm using semi and since my free services are over, I'm planning to service it every 15,000 or 1year.

Also, I believe that the A.S.S. will not accept us in providing the oil.

[h14]

My Palio has now crossed 20k. Fuel efficiency has been a very consistent 17kmpl in city with 100% AC. No highway runs done since the Valparai trip :-(

The next service is due only after another 3k to 5k kms (My friendly mech in A.S.S suggested that I change oil after 10k and less than 12k kms).

Got the alignment and balancing done and also got the tires rotated yesterday at Raja Tires, Chennai. A very good experience with them. I reached their place at about 9pm and they were preparing to close down for the day, but were more than happy to do the job for me.

I was charged Rs.350 for alignment and Rs.800 for balancing all 4 wheels (alloys). These are the standard rates in all places in Chennai, but I was very happy with the service rendered by them.

[h14]

An unexpected issue:

Two weeks back, I was surprised to find out that my Palio was leaking diesel. The leak was very prominent and was from the back of the car, ie., right from the diesel tank.

It was a Saturday and at that time, I was near Royapettah and was wondering on whether I had to take it to TAFE or VST. I then called up bhp'ian rameshnanda and he suggested me to get to Tafe and meet Tensingh. I went there and by that time the leak had become almost nil, which was confusing.

Tafe was so crowded at that time and there was hardly any space for both the customer as well as the car. In-spite of the mad rush and a confused atmosphere, my car was taken in for inspection and after few minutes, I was told that they were not able to spot the leak and asked me to fill at-least half tank and check if the leak happened again.

They suspected the tank joint and said might have to replace the tank if the leak persisted.

I said many thanks and headed straight back to Ignite and briefed the details to Raghav. The car was put up on the lift. The leak seemed to have come from the top of the tank and I was also shown couple of minor damages on the bottom of the tank. (Seemed to be due to scrapping, but not sure how it happened. I do not remember scrapping the rear of the car.)

Since it was a Saturday evening, I was told to leave the car on Monday morning for them to remove the tank and check for the issue.

Since there was some backlogs with Ignite on Monday, I was asked to leave it on Tuesday. So, on Tuesday, I left the car at Ignite on my way to office. Got a call in the afternoon that the major leak was due to a cracked 'o' ring where the float was mounted and the same was fixed, but still there were minor leaks from the bottom of the tank in two spots that I had mentioned above.

Raghav suggested in replacing the tank rather than repairing it. I decided to take a decision based on the cost of the new tank.

Inquired the same with Kava through bhp'ian Makesh and was quoted 2.5k for the tank plus packing and shipping which totaled to 2.9k. So I decided to go for the new tank and asked him to ship it.

It took about 4-5 days for the tank to arrive. In the meanwhile, I was driving around with the faulty tank by filling just about 4 liters of diesel and not more due to the leak.

The tank arrived and I got it fixed from Ignite last Tuesday. The car has been fine since then. I have also done a trip to Bangalore last week and all seems to be fine except for a little squeak that seems to be coming over bad roads. Need to get that checked.

Once again saved by Kava, else I might have had to shell out a hefty sum at the A.S.S. or maybe end up driving with a repaired tank and wondering on whether it will hold up well or not!

[rameshnanda]

Anandh, good to know that the diesel leak issue finally got resolved. Also, good to know that kava have all sorts of spares available with them readily. I got rear light assembly for my Linea with them. I got it in flat 3 days where the TASC's were unable to get me this even after 10 days.

But, I am surprised to get to know that the tank leaks due to the scrapping.

[h14]

Ramesh, it was not only a streak but there were two sharp points in that area through which fuel was leaking. But even I'm surprised that this resulted in a leak.

You are correct about kava, the tank being a huge item resulted in long time for shipping. Smaller items will be shipped by him in express speed!

[h14]

Service Update:

My Palio is almost 2 yrs now (June 2010) and has clocked 23,900 kms. Got the oil and oil filter replaced on Saturday, March 3. Since its over 1.5 yrs, the car is out of warranty and hence I have decided to get the car serviced out of the T.A.S.S. (Forfeiting the extended)

So this time, I got the service done at Ignite. Changed the oil and oil filter only. As I had said in my ownership thread of the linea, the KN stock replacement filter is now in the Palio. Have now driven 900 kms with the KN, though there isn't any drastic improvement, I can feel some change and I should also confess that I'm enjoying its grunt now.

Back to the service details, Ignite did not have the Selena, Raghav suggested me to go for Shell Helix Ultra, which is fully synthetic and costs about 1k per litre, but I preferred to stick to semi-synthetic and chose to go in for the Shell Helix HX7 which costs Rs.350/- per litre.

Going forward, I have decided to stick to semi-synthetic and change oil and oil filter every 10k kms and the Diesel filter every 20k kms.

The car has been brilliant as ever and feels even more smooth and silent after the oil change. Not sure if the silence is due to HX7 or maybe if the engine is getting better of age.

Oil Filter 450
Shell Helix HX7 - 1155 (3.5 litre can, have the balance oil with me)

Some Extensive detailing and SunFilm's finally done

I have always been pushing against getting sunfilms done as I'm not used to it, but Chennai's heat had enough on me and I finally took the decision today.

It was 3M Car Car in Chennai where I was for the entire day on Sunday March 4. Went in there by 11 am and by the time work was complete it was about 6 pm.

My interiors were really soiled over the 2 yrs and hence did the interior premium treatment and I thought that it was time to get the swirls and scratches off my ride and so got the exterior restore advanced done too.

I wanted a very transparent film and hence chose the SP50.

3M Sun Film SP50 - 2.4k
Interior & exterior premium - 4.8k

The car is gleaming now from bonnet to boot and I'd say that it looks better than what it was in June 2010 while taking delivery. The dedication and quality of workmanship @ 3M is something out of the ordinary.

The only disappointment in them is that both Linea and Palio are stacked under medium car segment. Car Spa has Palio in Small car category!

Some Pictures:











More pictures in daylight and pics of the sun film coming up tomorrow.

[h14]

A recent pic

[Ice]

She is GORGEOUS! I will pull you over the next time I'm in Chennai to get a closer look, be warned

[h14]

You're most welcome Ice. Do PM me when you come over.

[h14]

Two years with the Palio

It's 2yrs now since I got the Palio and the odo now has 30k on it. The car has been as perfect as one would want it to be and I'm enjoying every minute of my drive.

The only issue that I have had in these two years is the clutch slave cylinder failure and was replaced in warranty. Since then, there has been no looking back. I'm still running on the stock brake pads. Had a close look at the pads in the last service at 22k and they looked good for at-least another 15k.

Next service is due at 32k and will have to take a look at them at that time. The Michelin's too have performed remarkably well, they look good for another 15k. I guess it's gonna be a record of sorts.

Experienced the first puncture last Sunday while starting for the Yelagiri trip. It was a small nail and I never knew when it had happened and I saw the RL wheel loosing air while starting to Yelagiri. So took out the portable mini compressor from the boot and bought it to life. This was the first time I had used it in at-least 3 yrs and it did its job.

So started off and again filled up air at a fuel station and started off the journey. It has been loosing air very gradually and I'm yet to get it attended. Will fix it tomorrow. Have been filling air every alternate day.

Some pictures:




They look too good for 30k don't they?

Some pics shot during the Yelagiri trip: