[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by driverace

So, this replacement is from Renault? we have to pay for it?
Is this one of the 'official' common problems faced?

Ace.

We have already paid through our nose for the Duster. So, no, you dont have to pay a single paisa.In fact you can give them a piece of your mind for wasting your time chasing them for no fault of yours.I usually try to escalate QC related issues to Renault directly. There is only so much a dealer can do.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

1) Check for bearing shake.
2) Balance and align existing tyres ad observe if you can feel any difference. Only when the problem is solved, go for new tyres. No point in wasting money getting new tyres if you have alignment/ bearing issues. You will end up paying more money and still your problem will not be solved.I too suspect Renault India is on a learning curve as far as Duster on road performance is concerned.They have already recommended changing the door beadings, changed brake pads to have longer life, and now analyzing tyre life to see if it is a vendor related issue or alignment issue. I think Indian road conditions combined with MRF performance is the complicating factor here. Maybe the rubber is too soft to be able to withstand our road demands. just a thought.

Add to your list the HU software upgrade for Bluetooth echo.

1) How do you check for wheel bearing shake? Is it that method where you crouch down and place your left knee at 9 o'clock position and the right knee at 3 o'clock position and then put the weight against the tire trying to rock it about the y-axis? The steering has to be locked in such a case???

2)No one is getting new tires just yet. Got the tires inspected by MRF engineers and they said that "The tires have worn out unevenly and this is due to uneven pressure exerted onto the tire contact patch. This uneven wear will lead to tire noise." They issued a signed letter with the S/L number of each tire. They did this for 3 tires which had uneven wear. Attaching just one for reference.



So the only time the alignment was done on the vehicle was at 15,411 km and the alignment report is attached in this document.

Wheel Alignment.PDF

They checked the alignment again yesterday and found that toe was out and adjusted it. They did not give it in writing but said that if the tires are made In-Out on each wheel and regular alignment is done. They will easily last 40-45 K km. Doing In-Out on an asymmetric tread pattern is questionable but then who is doing such performance oriented driving that it will matter? And before the monsoon begins (whatever little of it visits Jaipur) it will be time for new tyres.

[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by Tgo

Add to your list the HU software upgrade for Bluetooth echo.

1) How do you check for wheel bearing shake? Is it that method where you crouch down and place your left knee at 9 o'clock position and the right knee at 3 o'clock position and then put the weight against the tire trying to rock it about the y-axis? The steering has to be locked in such a case???

Yep. But not only on the Y axis alone. Try to do it on the x axis also. You will feel a click as if something is slipping. It can be seen only if the shake is very high. A shake only on the y axis(like in my case) indicates a more serious problem like knuckle or lower arm suspension. A shake on both axis indicates bearing failure.You dont have to lock the steering. Just engage hand brake, protect rear tyres from rollling upward/downward using bricks, engage neutral gear, jack up and shake the tyres.
As you rightly have identified, the issue at hand is the humming sound. Has MRF confirmed that it is only tyre noise and not any other noise?
What does MRF mean by "uneven pressure exerted onto the tire contact patch" and what does "In-Out on each wheel"?

[driverace]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

We have already paid through our nose for the Duster. So, no, you dont have to pay a single paisa.In fact you can give them a piece of your mind for wasting your time chasing them for no fault of yours.I usually try to escalate QC related issues to Renault directly. There is only so much a dealer can do.

+1 to the paying through the nose bit..

I had another thing about the wipers going bad - took it up to the CRM (West India) and got it resolved - almost! ( will post it in detail this weekend.. )

Another thing I wanted to share (if not known commonly):
Ask about (soft) updates to the Navigation system / maps.

I had confidently stated
- update to be installed on the Navigation system ( on our 2 month old car ) -
- surprisingly, they had an update!

With this update I could see much more POIs/attractions & some extra options that made life a bit easier for navigating.


Thanks,

Ace.

[MaxTorque]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

Hi Maxtorque, What is your take on getting the body work tinkered by even the authorised service centers. Wont conventional body shop works remove the Electro Deposition and Phosphate Coating when they scrape and hammer the existing paint surface to bring it to shape? I need to know whether to live with the slightly damaged bonnet which is protected or go for insurance and compromise on the OE protective coating.

Now it depends upon the extent of damages in the bonnet. Nowadays there are techniques available to remove the dents and dings without damaging the paint. If at all the ED Paint is getting damaged, there are after market paints available so that we repair that particular area. But I am not very sure whether the quality of the repainted coating will be at par with the original coating.

As the damage is on the bonnet, you may choose to get it repaired.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

As you rightly have identified, the issue at hand is the humming sound. Has MRF confirmed that it is only tyre noise and not any other noise?
What does MRF mean by "uneven pressure exerted onto the tire contact patch" and what does "In-Out on each wheel"?

MRF has very nicely just stated that the noise will be present if there is uneven wear of the tyre. I don't think nor do I expect them to be able to tell bearing noise from the tyre noise as they have to deal with so many different kinds of vehicles which have been driven so differently from each other. The noise in each case would be of a different kind. But I have a voice recording also of my dad conversing with him about this and he acknowledged the noise in very confident way and said that lots of people have come with similar problems. They have also had a joint meeting with Renault engineers from Chennai who had come down to Jaipur when such problems were reported. But they did not reach to a conclusion. He also said that tyres are not made OE unless they have gone rigorous testing on the test mules and during that time tyre manufacturers have no say and are not even present or contacted to keep the selection procedure impartial. None of the test vehicles have such a problem and nothing was reported to MRF during that time. - All this is was said by him in the audio clip I have with me.

He said that uneven wear is mainly because of toe-in or toe-out. (I doubt if he is correct as it should also depend on camber. But camber as per my knowledge must not be as vulnerable to getting out of spec as toe. What do you say?

In-Out = removing the tyre from the wheel and re-installing it with the side facing out, now inside.

[werfish]

Originally Posted by driverace

Coincidentally, I noticed the exact same thing yesterday on our 9K run Duster (85) - June 2013 model.
When I keep shift between - feet / front windshield / body+feet settings, the flow doesn't actually feel like we would expect it to.

So, this replacement is from Renault? we have to pay for it?
Is this one of the 'official' common problems faced?

They have said that it will be exchanged under warranty.
Another thing is i never get my car perfume smell in the car, i have used lots of brands. Is this due to some air leak into the cabin??

[HighwayBuddha]

Anyone has any information about when the facelifted Duster 2014 will be launched in India. Many say it is around the corner...2 months max etc.

However, my (fairly reliable) insider information from Renault says that the facelifted Duster will hit the Indian markets only in 2015. And any launch before will be targeted at the overseas markets.

And my SA says his friend who is a trainer at Renault(and would know if there is going to be any launch as they have to train the dealers and other downstream staff beforehand) says he doednt know of any such launch !

Any of you have any other insights? Urgent please - I have just paid the booking amount for the current Duster. Thanks

[HillMan]

Duster is back on the sales chart from October.
Guess the Ecosport and Terrano fever is over.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...r-2013-indian-
car-sales-figures-analysis.html

Need to see impact of W4 now.

But it is strange they are going quite strong after a year.

[vskesavan]

Returned from 10000 km service from Renault OMR, Chennai. First about the service centre. I never had a feeling of a service centre for even a minute there. It looked like a big roadside mechanic shop. So, I leave the standard of the staff to your imagination. Initially I was quoted Rs.4200/- for this second free service. This includes wheel balancing and alignment, as told by SA. I am told that the delivery would be at 3 pm, and in job card it was mentioned as 4.30pm. Well, I went at 5pm, but, the vehicle was not ready. I am a very cool person, so my patience was tested by giving delivery at 6.30pm. The bill was just Rs.2,140/-.

Oil filter-Rs.505/-
Prestigrade TS 15W40-Rs.1350/-
Windscreen washer-85/-
Consumables Rs.200/-

So, apparently, wheel balancing and alignment were not done. I am not in a position to ask why, because the SA was new and was struggling to handle another customer's grievance. Anyways, I will go to Renault Mount, where I did my 1st service, to have a check. They are much better in vehicle service as well as customer service. Both the service centres are belonging to same dealer but the service has a lot of differences.

I just wanted to know, is it mandatory to do wheel balancing and alignment at 10000km?

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by vskesavan

So, apparently, wheel balancing and alignment were not done. I am not in a position to ask why, because the SA was new and was struggling to handle another customer's grievance. Anyways, I will go to Renault Mount, where I did my 1st service, to have a check. They are much better in vehicle service as well as customer service. Both the service centres are belonging to same dealer but the service has a lot of differences.

I just wanted to know, is it mandatory to do wheel balancing and alignment at 10000km?

Do get the alignment done at every 5000 km. These service centers are in the habit of not doing it. The problem arises when they tell you that it was not required. This leads to premature wear of the tires as in my case. Scroll back a few posts and you will know. The didn't do alignment either at the 2nd or even at the 3rd service. The SA also told that he saw the alignment report (15000 km) kept in the glove box and on that basis he decided not to do alignment again. Really Pi$$ed. They are doing it for (I suspect)

1. To show lower cost of ownership as the bill will show lesser totals
2. they do not have the resources to do it and would rather deliver the car on time than to do listen to a customer howling about 2 day services instead of the 1 day all other manufacturers take.

[vskesavan]

Originally Posted by Tgo

Do get the alignment done at every 5000 km. These service centers are in the habit of not doing it. The problem arises when they tell you that it was not required. This leads to premature wear of the tires as in my case. Scroll back a few posts and you will know. The didn't do alignment either at the 2nd or even at the 3rd service. The SA also told that he saw the alignment report (15000 km) kept in the glove box and on that basis he decided not to do alignment again. Really Pi$$ed. They are doing it for (I suspect)

1. To show lower cost of ownership as the bill will show lesser totals
2. they do not have the resources to do it and would rather deliver the car on time than to do listen to a customer howling about 2 day services instead of the 1 day all other manufacturers take.

Thank you for your information.
your reasons for their not doing it.
I have no confidence in their work at Renault OMR, after seeing their way of doing things, including balancing and alignment.
Please, some one may suggest a trusted place to do balancing and alignment in Chennai.

[KPS]

I was quite surprised to learn that getting parts on time, continues to be a major problem. In my cousin's 110 PS, he is having a problem with a moody horn and a rocking front seat. Under warranty the dealer is to change the horn button and seat railings. The dealer has indicated one month for sourcing the parts.

From what I have been reading, most do not rate the servicing experience to be top notch, the delay in parts will further accentuate the dissatisfaction in the service levels.

No cheers

KPS

[BUXX]

is your cousin a bit heavy? coz even i face the same issue with the seat...

[TaureanBull]

Has anyone installed ICE on RxE 85 PS Model? I am considering buying an 85 RxE model which is outstanding VFM! As it has already been confirmed by other TBhp-ians that the stock ICE is poor and needs to changed, it makes more sense to buy the lower version.

Would be missing the ABS and passenger bags sorely as they are available in the highest model only. Alloys I may consider later on.

Any comments on the ICE installation?