[ShreyasM8]

Hello Gentlemen!

My Beat D has recently got 60k Service while 58k on odo, now at 59k I found the "Service Vehicle Soon" warning light started appearing. Today I took it to Kropex since I have a Mangalore trip coming up this week and didn't want to take a chance with the warning on, As per the SA:

Fuel Filter assembly has gone kaput and will cost 4k including the labor (He also hinted that I can get it done for 2k by bribing the guys inside, not sure how it works). However I can drive the vehicle and there won't be any problem even for long drives as of now and absolutely there are no other problems.

Just want to understand, Can I trust his words? on both the statements, does the FF assy really cost as much as 4k? Can I ignore this light and run around as he adviced?

[beat runner]

Hello! Service center in HYD has offered to fix a engine/oil sump protector to my Chevrolet beat LTO 2011. Please suggest, it is really necessary ? It costs around 2000.

[ps_abhijith]

Chevy Beat Without Steering.

So my dad recently had one of his worst nightmares come true.
I am grateful to god that he or anyone else was not injured in the event.

He has been complaining that the steering of our chevy beat diesel (LS, 2011, 22k km on odo) was making some kind of whining noise when he was turning the steering. Unfortunately I could not check it out in person.

Few weeks back, he was driving in MC road, one of the good roads here. He was driving slowly and the road did not have much of traffic. Suddenly the steering stopped working. He mentioned that it felt that the steering somehow was locked. He was luckily able to wrestle the car to the roadside and stop.

He was shocked for sometime and then called me. I got in touch with the SVC and they told me to hire a towing service and get the car towed to the SVC. Told the same to my dad. So he hired a tow truck and the tow truck guy, started the car and the steering was working. But it was making a lot of noises and jerks. The car was towed to the SVC and as we guessed, the power steering motor had given away.

Our car was thankfully under extended warrant with a few weeks left and the SVC assured that the EPS motor will be changed under warranty. It costs around 36 k without labour charges. Took 3 weeks for the part to arrive and the motor was replaced and the car was returned.

My father by now has lost his confidence in the car. Though he loves the car, he is saying that he cannot trust the car anymore and is now seriously thinking of selling the car. Tried to convince him by telling that financially as well as practically it is not a good decision. Deep in my heart, I too feel that we cannot trust the car anymore. Has been giving us a lot of issues with all the critical parts.

1) The Brakes gave up (Booster replaced under warranty)
2) Suspension mounts broke (replaced under warranty)
3) Steering rack and rods damaged 2 years back (Replaced under warranty)
4) EPS motor fails and steering stops working

Should we keep the car or go for a new car?

[AYP]

Originally Posted by ps_abhijith

My father by now has lost his confidence in the car. Though he loves the car, he is saying that he cannot trust the car anymore and is now seriously thinking of selling the car. Tried to convince him by telling that financially as well as practically it is not a good decision. Deep in my heart, I too feel that we cannot trust the car anymore.

The above statements are enough for me to recommend you to go for a new car. Yes, practically(and financially) speaking you should still stick with the car for a couple more years, however if it comes at the price of peace of mind, you might want to consider going for a new car.

[shantonob]

Is it fine if i upgrade the stock headlamps on my Beat D to 100/90? Will there be issues with the extra heat of the bulbs. Previously my driving was limited to the city at night so did not feel the need but on the highways the stock feels inadequate.
Any help here on bulb choices for the upgrade will be helpful too.

[pgrcrazy]

Hello everyone, my beat (diesel) broke down while I was driving home yesterday. Before I started my journey home I scraped the car's front left end over a stone(?), I did not notice that I had parked the car right over it. I checked the underbody and a wire was hanging loose. Upon inspection i figured it was the alarm wire that had given away during the scrape. Nothing else seemed to be wrong with the car at that instant and it seemed perfectly fine.

So after an hour's worth of driving, the car wouldn't rev beyond 2k rpm, I checked the instrument cluster and the "engine check light" and "service indicator" popped up and within a few seconds the car completely stalled. I towed the vehicle to Sundaram Chevrolet, Chennai and this morning the service guy calls me up and informs me that the High Pressure Fuel Pump has failed and it costs 22K to be replaced.

My car has done 32K over the course of 5 years and it is due for its 4th service. Can somebody tell me if this expected for a car of its age or is the service guy trying to fleece me?

Also, during the Chennai floods, my car was flooded but it was fully serviced. Could the flood played any part on this?

[nuew]

I'm posting this on behalf of a friend who has some trouble with his Chevrolet Beat. Quoting his own words below.

"I have a Chevrolet Beat Diesel 2012 model (2012 December 25, so technically 2013 model). The car has run 25,400 kms. Recently the steering started to develop some weird character. Turning towards left is softer than it used to be, and turning towards right is harder. Steering is almost perfect while driving through a flat road. But once the road is curvy things are different. Driving through left curve makes steering pull towards left as if the left tyre is flat or punctured, and taking a right curve makes it difficult to turn the steering right. Steering has an overall tendency to pull towards left.

So I had wheel alignment and tyre pressure checked many times and also checked and replaced the two strut mount bushes for the suspension in the front because of the recommendation from a local workshop. They said the shock absorber and springs are in good condition so no need to worry about the suspension. They even took out the motor driving the power steering, inspected and fixed it back. But the issue still remains after all these. I then took the car to Chevrolet service centre in Mysore (Dyuti motors in Hunsur road) and they were not keen to find out the problem or suggest anything. Later, I visited another local workshop in my town and the person there suggested to get the steering rack replaced. He said couple of brand new Beats had this steering issue and it was solved when they replaced the steering rack from official service centre. I was half minded about getting the rack replaced because my car was out of warranty and the price of the rack is almost 12k. Labor charges extra.

Anyway, I visited the Mysore service centre again. They told me the problem is due to the upsized tyres. I had upgraded them before 11k kilometres to Michelin 185/60 R14. (Stock was 165/65 R14) without changing the wheels. They even swapped all four tyres with stock tyres of demo vehicle and asked me to test drive. I felt the issue was little less noticeable with narrower tyres but it still can be felt. So I insisted them to replace the steering rack and check for the problem. They had the steering rack in stock and we had an agreement that if replacing do not solve the problem, old rack should be fitted back. Like I feared, replacing the rack did not solve the problem. After paying only the labor charges, I gave up visiting Mysore service centre. Later, I visited the local workshop again and another person took test drive of the car. He confirmed the issue and upon hearing the history behind the problem, said it should be the problem with the torque converter sensor in the steering column. It’s a motherboard like sensor near the power steering motor that determines how much torque shall be sent to each directions when steering wheel is turned. He also said the sensor alone is available without the motor, or other components in the steering column.

So I called the service centre in Trissur (All the Chevrolet service centre in north Kerala are closed) to enquire the price of the torque converter sensor. The person in charge of parts-shop said sensor alone is not available and the whole column with sensor, motor and another module has to be replaced if required. Price is a whopping 35.5 k! I’m really out of ideas now.

Does anyone have an idea what could be the problem? Is the torque converter sensor available as a standalone product? Will it match with the power steering motor if replaced? I’m planning to sell the car this year so it does not make sense to spend 35K for a new part. The steering problem is not a deal breaker and the car is still driveable. Passengers are not affected by this problem unlike wheel alignment/balancing/suspension issues. Any help much appreciated. Thanks!"

Basically, we have tried almost everything that could be diagnosed/speculated by the service centers (which obviously didn't work). We are turning to Team-BHP for guidance and expert opinions regarding this issue and hopes to find an effective solution. Thanks!!

[asterix]

I towed the vehicle to Sundaram Chevrolet, Chennai and this morning the service guy calls me up and informs me that the High Pressure Fuel Pump has failed and it costs 22K to be replaced.

I had a similar fuel pump failure in my diesel beat at around 32k on the odo. Got the on road assistance to replace the pump and complained to chevrolet, who gave a 50% discount as goodwill warranty. I paid 11k for the pump. Please insist on a goodwill discount

[RJ2285]

Originally Posted by pgrcrazy

I towed the vehicle to Sundaram Chevrolet, Chennai and this morning the service guy calls me up and informs me that the High Pressure Fuel Pump has failed and it costs 22K to be replaced.

My car has done 32K over the course of 5 years and it is due for its 4th service. Can somebody tell me if this expected for a car of its age or is the service guy trying to fleece me?

I faced a similar issue 6months back with my 2012 Beat TCDi. I was on my way from Mumbai to Mangalore. On reaching UDUPI, I felt this sudden drop in power the car would just not rev past 2000rpm. Fortunately, on reaching out to the chevrolet customer support, I could locate an authorised chevrolet dealership/workshop 5kms enroute.

My car had 34K on the odo and I was informed by the service advisor that the high pressure fuel pump had failed and that the same needs to be replaced. Price 22k.

I got it replaced and after doing a lot of research, got to know that the common reason for a fuel pump failure is running the vehicle with less fuel in the tank frequently. As has been discussed here earlier, the fuel pump is parked inside the tank and is lubricated and cooked by the fuel present in the tank. Make sure to drive with atleast 1/2 fuel most of the time.

[docgb]

Hi guys,

My chevy beat diesel has done about 70000kms so far, being with me for the last 4 years and 7 months. I'm happy with the way the car has served me all these years, with only one side headlamp needed to be replaced.

For the last 3 weeks, the AC stopped working which I assumed to be due to coolant issue, but driving without AC close to 1000 kms in chennai without any issues. I wanted a 70000 kms service done for which I called a KLN motors, Ekaduthangal, Chennai driver for pick up and drop service.

To my horror, he said that the AC fan has stopped working and the vehicle needed to be towed to the service centre failing which there is a risk of engine ceasing anytime. He just smiled off when I said that I've been driving like this for the last one month with no issues. When the service supervisor was contacted, he also echoed the same.

Now what should I do ? Assuming responsibility and asking him to come and drive the vehicle come what may ? Or bear the towing cost of close to 3000 to 4000 rupees fearing engine ceasing ? Or call the local mechanic to fix the AC fan issue alone ?

My first major conundrum with beat diesel, hope this is not the first of many more possible such issues in future......

[sharoncr_17]

After 5 yrs of mental torment, finally I'm feeling relieved after selling of the 'car'. This was the worst car I ever drove in my entire life. The reasons as below:

1. Puny sluggish 3 pot motor that started showing hic-ups from 50K kms. To my knowledge, at-least 3 cars have had heir engines replaced and one bloke had it overhauled with bills amounting to more than 1L.

2. Turbo that needs replacement every 30K kms.

3. Poorly trained technicians and worse service with astronomical bills (Deedi Motors).

4. Low/No resale value.

The only merit was the kmpl figures.

Anyways this is my first and last courtship with the bow-tie. I prefer peace of mind rather than sitting atop a grenade with its fuse pulled off. It only Maruti for me.

[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by sharoncr_17

After 5 yrs of mental torment, finally I'm feeling relieved after selling of the 'car'. This was the worst car I ever drove in my entire life. The reasons as below:

1. Puny sluggish 3 pot motor that started showing hic-ups from 50K kms. To my knowledge, at-least 3 cars have had heir engines replaced and one bloke had it overhauled with bills amounting to more than 1L.

2. Turbo that needs replacement every 30K kms.

3. Poorly trained technicians and worse service with astronomical bills (Deedi Motors).

4. Low/No resale value.

The only merit was the kmpl figures.

Anyways this is my first and last courtship with the bow-tie. I prefer peace of mind rather than sitting atop a grenade with its fuse pulled off. It only Maruti for me.

Very sorry to hear your experience. However I am not too sure on points 1 and 2. I also own a beat diesel from the first lot, which has run 43 k and is in good health. Did you follow the 1 min idle rule, as it helps keeping the turbo in good shape?

[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by docgb

Hi guys,

My chevy beat diesel has done about 70000kms so far, being with me for the last 4 years and 7 months. I'm happy with the way the car has served me all these years, with only one side headlamp needed to be replaced.

For the last 3 weeks, the AC stopped working which I assumed to be due to coolant issue, but driving without AC close to 1000 kms in chennai without any issues. I wanted a 70000 kms service done for which I called a KLN motors, Ekaduthangal, Chennai driver for pick up and drop service.

To my horror, he said that the AC fan has stopped working and the vehicle needed to be towed to the service centre failing which there is a risk of engine ceasing anytime. He just smiled off when I said that I've been driving like this for the last one month with no issues. When the service supervisor was contacted, he also echoed the same.

Now what should I do ? Assuming responsibility and asking him to come and drive the vehicle come what may ? Or bear the towing cost of close to 3000 to 4000 rupees fearing engine ceasing ? Or call the local mechanic to fix the AC fan issue alone ?

My first major conundrum with beat diesel, hope this is not the first of many more possible such issues in future......

Don't take any chances. An engine rebuild will prove costly and competency of mechanics cant be granted. Chevrolet has an emergency service, call them for help.

"In the event of a breakdown or accident, Chevrolet owners can call on 1800-103-8090 (toll-free) or 0124-4388090 for free roadside assistance around the clock throughout the country (except Andaman & Nicobar)."

[sharoncr_17]

Originally Posted by PraNeel

Very sorry to hear your experience. However I am not too sure on points 1 and 2. I also own a beat diesel from the first lot, which has run 43 k and is in good health. Did you follow the 1 min idle rule, as it helps keeping the turbo in good shape?

Yeah. I always idle after starting and before turning off. All the services were as per their schedule. Never skipped even a single service and never did a partial service. Maybe my sheer bad luck.

[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by sharoncr_17

Yeah. I always idle after starting and before turning off. All the services were as per their schedule. Never skipped even a single service and never did a partial service. Maybe my sheer bad luck.

I think then the grade of oil might be a problem. In my experience till date Chevrolet dealers are not particular about oil and use engine oil meant for other cars. Chevrolet has a parternship with Total and they specifically manufacture oil for Beat Diesel with grade 5w-30 ACEA A3/B4. This is a semi synthetic oil.
Anyways I agree Chevrolet service experience is not great and the company is also not serious about it.
BTW what were the costs for engine rebuild and turbo replacement? Thanks