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Old 28th November 2014, 14:59   #166
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Got my Green RXZ delivered yesterday. Got the 50k discount and not a penny more. Thanks very much for the wonderful review here which made the decision making easier!
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Old 28th November 2014, 20:56   #167
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Renault Duster RXZ AWD - "The Grey Goose"

On a pleasant November evening, I was handed over my 'Grey Goose' - Duster RXD AWD. Pics in the end.

Now on to a brief note about zeroing in on this car, purchase formalities, delivery and preliminary usage report. What you are about to read here is just my journey of experience with my feelings and thoughts. This is not to hurt anyone' sentiments, beliefs and practices.

At the outset, I need to thank this group - an absolutely honest bunch of opinion givers and always ready to help when someone is looking for answers. I think we should now proudly claim this group as THE DEFINITIVE CAR SELF HELP GROUP.

It has been more than a year that I was looking for a car change from my Getz which is about 7 years old at the time of this swap. Getz is a great small car with excellent road manners and have been a pet for my family without any hiccup during the long or short journeys. As all good things come to an end with the change around us that compel us to take the next step, it is a multitude of options that I had to wade through to arrive at what I really wanted.

I have been through a journey of evaluating Jetta, Innova, XUV, Rexton, Linea T-jet, Honda City , Duster 2WD and the mind kind of fixated on Rexton initially. The desire of always wanting a high rise platform moved me closer to Rexton, but then the dealership never arranged for a test drive in time and with that the interest waned on the car. At another point in time, it was innova that ruled the mind and the test drive happened and went to the point of negotiations and stopped.

After a period of lull in exploring options, there came this review about AWD being a better all round product output than the 2WD avatar. The 2WD was tested earlier and not convinced about the hard clutch and suspension as reported in test drives. In addition the cost appeared a notch higher than what it offered as features. But the ride in this car is great as many shared.

I have a friend who has this excellent ability to analyze thread bare, the features and performance of a car. A lot of times it usually be a great discussion over a coffee that really start to bring out a car's advantages or its lack of, ends in a sort of 'cut to the bone' manner. I think I must confess the outcome of such long analysis can really delay the process of booking a car as one is looking for 'THE JEWEL' of a car. In my long long wait to come to a decision, it is certain there is no car which is all perfect and every car has its share of issues . Here we go, some philosophy for the soul. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

Now, this new car review of the Duster AWD appears in team-bhp , which spurs my mind again to run to the nearest dealer and test drive. As I complete the test drive, basically a short one, I am getting more convinced about the car and some bells start to ring in my mind that this is the car to own. AWD addresses the key short comings of 2WD, near SUV like and at the same time car-like to drive, satisfies the needs from ICE compared to Getz and finally an AWESOME ride quality experience equally confirmed by my family co-passengers in the front and back seat. Now more closer to the decision, I once again do a TD which the dealership happily obliges. Now the SE who accompanies me, gives more good points - such as esp, abs, ability to crawl in slow moving traffic without the need of gear changes (due to short throws), hill start assist and this further reinforces my thinking to go with this car.

On a Sunday, I go to the dealership and book it with advance for a silver color. Now my older one who has an excellent read of colors, presses me to change my mind to the grey. There were no models available for ready reference, but the android helped to browse the images in the net. To me (us), the grey appeared very cool in Duster, has this ability to be stealth and not announcing its arrival. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images...es/biggrin.gif

After adjusting the shortfalls with loan from SBI ( who are great in some of the terms like no pre-closure penalties) and with selling the Getz (went for a pittance) , we managed to complete all the pre-delivery formalities.

PDI for Duster could not be completed, with a dealer who has his stockyard almost outside Bangalore, but got the VIN and once again this site helped decode it easily for me and for the SE in that branch.

The date of delivery approached and we were eager to get the car as early as possible. But thanks to murphy's law, the dealer never got the car in time for an early delivery. Finally when the car was ready to be delivered late in the evening, there were only one or two people in the dealership office who were eager to complete the handover formalities to leave. The explanation of features were good and covered all the important areas such as warranty, service, ICE etc. The only grouse is that the dealer could have planned it better or anticipated the challenges better.

After the delivery of my 'grey goose' and the first thought after riding few meters is that the car and me were so connected and I did not make much mistakes. With very little diesel (hardly 2L left) we went to the nearest bunk and filled to the brim. With family in toe, suddenly the hunger started to rear its head and headed to a great dinner with the new car as the first drive.

The next day took my car to the nearest temple for pooja and off to a ride again in the heaviest traffic times of Bangalore. Felt uncomfortable with the ABS breaks for the initial few times - I never got a real good feedback when ever I pressed the break like Getz and felt the car is moving in spite of pressing the break pedal. But the car did behave greatly on the road with stability and smooth acceleration.

Now completed 280 kms and trying to stay in the limits below 2.5K RPM but very difficult to control the senses when a free stretch appears in front of the eyes.

From this short ride experience, the car has a great ride quality, no fear of pot holes anymore, offers good view of the road (could be better), nice navigational features (very precise and voice assisted) which retires the google maps while driving, a very precise steering experience, gear and clutch levers are smooth, short throws enhance the ride and keeps you relaxed during heavy traffic, good seating comfort including the rear which IMO, offers better thigh support than a lot of cars and hence the reduced space (but not cramped).

The car is giving about 10.5 KMs with full AC on and other MID displays are helpful especially the temp, KMs to empty etc. The space in the rear is going to be a boon for my family going forward as they love packing to the brim and eagerly looking forward to my long drives with this car.

More to come...
Nanri, meendum santhipom (thanks, until we meet again)
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Old 29th November 2014, 00:56   #168
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Congratulations! Sethu.Murali, Swift. AWD Duster is a a wonderful buy. Even though I feel its a little bit costlier for the features it offers, it makes good for all it offers except the brakes. I too found the brakes were inadequate for such a wonderful SUV. I could feel the brakes were less progressive.. it was less responsive as you press the pedals..the bite feels greater as you push the pedals harder. I believe this may be because of the rear drums. Wish it were discs.
The car is good enough for me to book a white RXZ AWD. I have asked for delivery in the middle of next week.
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Old 30th November 2014, 17:52   #169
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

I just got delivery of my brand new RXZ AWD on 18th Nov after deliberating for almost 2 years on which car to buy. It's a good car and i wanted to post a detailed thread on how my buying decision unfolded but in the last few days i have come across a few niggles which i wanted people to be aware of sooner rather than later -

So, here it goes -

1. Attaching a picture of the heavily rusted knuckle and the driveshaft. I'm following it up with Renault asking them why a brand new car should be this way.

2. Upon turning the Airflow direction control knob swiftly, there is a loud noise coming from inside the dashboard. I tried this on the Test Drive Vehicle and it's the same behavior. Juts reflects poorly on the quality.

3. Steering wheel - upon turning the steering a strange noise is coming as if it is rubbing against a surface. This is inside the cabin. On the outside, while turning the steering you can hear a loud squeaking noise coming from the engine bay as if some gas is leaking from a pump or something. I checked in the Test Drive vehicle and it's not there.

4. Picture attached - Exposed hot pipe under the glove compartment. My friend, who is a tall person burnt his foot while stretching his legs.

5. In 4WD lock mode, if i turn the steering completely and move the car in 1st gear from rest slowly sometimes i can feel that there is some knocking noise coming from the rear side and the car does not move very smoothly and sometimes it feels as if the engine is going to lose power and stall. This issue is not there in Auto or 2WD mode.

6. When turning the steering wheel all the way in the locked position at rest, I can hear the engine note change to being gruff ! Not sure why that should happen.

7. Bluetooth quality - When i call, the other person cannot hear me clearly via bluetooth. Constant echo and noise. The conversation is impossible.
This issue was pointed out during test drives but I was told that it's a reception issue but it's actually not. Not sure if others are having similar issues.

If some of my esteemed members could please throw some light on some of my points from their past experience, it would be great. It's quite disappointing to be presented with this quality of car after spending close to 16 lacs

After complaining to Renault india customer care, I contacted the service manager at Mysore Road service station and am taking my car there in the next couple of days. Will post back any further updates when I have them.
Attached Thumbnails
Renault Duster AWD : Official Review-dusterrust1.jpg  

Renault Duster AWD : Official Review-dusterrust2.jpg  

Renault Duster AWD : Official Review-exposed-hot-pipe.jpg  

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Old 1st December 2014, 13:15   #170
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Yesterday i had taken my Duster to Bandipur & gopalswamy hills. Generally very much impressed with the vehicle
People who have driven up he Gopalswamy hill are aware of bad and narrow roads and steep incline on that route. Add heavy sunday traffic to that and it involved a lot of getting off the road and stopping in steep climbs midway to let oncoming traffic. The duster passed the test in flying colors
not even once did i have to slip the clutch or use hand brake.
previously i had taken my swift Vdi, Palio S10 and a relatives ford ikon 1.3 petrol to the same place.In all these vehicles, i had to use the handbrake a lot and rev the engine with slipping the clutch if stopped in middle(especially with my swift)

Alo regarding the ECO mode, I found that with
ECO switch on- low end response is better,but turbo boost appeared muted,
but with
ECO mode off, turbo lag raises its head(not even 10% as bad as swift!!!), but turbo surge is well appreciated

Has anyone else noticed it?
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Old 2nd December 2014, 10:31   #171
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Hey guys, took a test drive of the Duster AWD RXZ on sunday and am completely sold! Booking amazon green RXZ today! Only 50K discount available - nothing else!!
Though the RXL AWD has almost 80K discount.. The sales staff told me thats because its a slow seller compared to the RXZ. I also drove the 85ps RXL+ but clearly the AWD RXZ wins hands down!

Thanks to team-bhp for helping me here!!!
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Old 2nd December 2014, 10:59   #172
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rr74 View Post
On the outside, while turning the steering you can hear a loud squeakin5. In 4WD lock mode, if i turn the steering completely and move the car in 1st gear from rest slowly sometimes i can feel that there is some knocking noise coming from the rear side and the car does not move very smoothly and sometimes it feels as if the engine is going to lose power and stall. This issue is not there in Auto or 2WD mode.
Hi, Please read the manual carefully refrain from using 4WD Lock except in slippery conditions. Duster and other soft roaders are not true all wheel drive vehicles. They are predominantly Front wheel drive where rear wheels gets traction only when front wheel slips. When you engage 4wd lock your vehicle is same as any part time 4x4 vehicle such as Thar, Scorpio or safari 4x4 that cannot be driven in 4x4 on tarmac or non slippery conditions.

Only true full time 4x4 vehicles such as landrover defender, range rover, land cruiser, Prado, fortuner, pajero and pajero sport etc drive all 4 wheels permanently and can be driven on tarmac with 4x4 engaged.

Duster has no centre differential and more you drive on solid surfaces in 4 Low will damage your transmission and differentials.
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Old 2nd December 2014, 16:16   #173
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by Equus View Post
Only 50K discount available - nothing else!!
These days there is an additional discount of 5k (apart from 50k) for every alternate weekend bookings. 5k discount could either be cash or accessories as
decided by Renault for that particular weekend. This info I got from Hosur Road dealership last Sunday.
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Old 2nd December 2014, 17:52   #174
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by 4x4addict View Post
Duster has no centre differential and more you drive on solid surfaces in 4 Low will damage your transmission and differentials.
Thank you 4x4addict for the valuable information. I'm hearing what you are saying and this article (http://www.cars.com/go/advice/vpedia...tial_popup.jsp) is saying exactly what you are advising. I will read about this more to completely digest the theory behind it.
Regardless of that, i still feel that even with a rear differential, in 4WD lock mode, moving at less than 10 Km per hour in a turn why should the machine behave the way it is behaving i.e feeling like losing power, occasionally (reproduced only 2-3 times) some noise coming from the rear as if some metal part banged against something (maybe the gears slipping against each other) etc. felt like something broke in the rear.
Not sure if it's regular rear differential behavior or a sub-standard implementation by the manufacturer.
If you have any other pointers, please feel free to pass along the information. I'll post back if i have any other findings.
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Old 2nd December 2014, 21:57   #175
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by rr74 View Post
Regardless of that, i still feel that even with a rear differential, in 4WD lock mode, moving at less than 10 Km per hour in a turn why should the machine behave the way it is behaving i.e feeling like losing power, occasionally (reproduced only 2-3 times) some noise coming from the rear as if some metal part banged against something (maybe the gears slipping against each other) etc. felt like something broke in the rear.
Not sure if it's regular rear differential behavior or a sub-standard implementation by the manufacturer.
4Lock will affect the drive line at any speed. The damage is more at higher speeds, but even at 10 Kmph, you are forcing the clutch pack to slip and that is the noise you are hearing.

The Duster uses the same Haldex AWD system that comes in the Nissan, Audi, VW range of softroaders.
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Old 2nd December 2014, 23:59   #176
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by 4x4addict View Post
4Lock will affect the drive line at any speed. The damage is more at higher speeds, but even at 10 Kmph, you are forcing the clutch pack to slip and that is the noise you are hearing.
Thanks. I read up on part time AWD and full time AWD and understand why duster should not be driven in 4WD lock mode on dry pavements and bends. I read the manual as well and it says that it shouldn't be run on dry pavements. I'm just hoping that there isn't any damage done due to that noise, I've just been testing stuff in all modes at very low speeds.

It's however disheartening that mechanics at Renault service stations are unable to identify or explain this when i took the vehicle to them. They were blaming the ESP button for this behavior! Maybe they are new to this technology themselves and are learning, it's scary though !
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Old 3rd December 2014, 21:17   #177
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Found a news item related to Chennai Production . Looks like Rusting issue mentioned in this thread is a global observation. Would suggest the affected Bhpians to take up the case with Renault seriously.

http://www.carscoops.com/2014/12/wid...-makes-uk.html
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Old 4th December 2014, 11:48   #178
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New Renault Duster AWD : Potential Transmission problems

New Renault Duster AWD : Potential Transmission problems

I want to alert fellow TBHPians about a potential problem in the Trasmission of the new Renault Duster AWD based on my ownership experience. I bought a Duster AWD RXL model on 19th November 2014 from their Authorised Dealer M/s. Sprint Cars, MG Road, Gurgaon. On 22nd December while driving from Delhi to Gurgaon, I noticed that the car is making a mechanical grinding underbody noise (only on 6th gear) while the speedometer is crossing from 60 Kmph - 70 Kmph (somewhere between these 2 counters). The noise goes away on its own once 70 kmph is crossed and the car coasts without any problem. No such grinding noise is found when the car is shedding speed from 70 kmph to 60 kmph on the 6th gear. Please note that this noise comes in both the 2WD and Auto Mode on the "Idrive" (in any case if you are in 4WD mode the car will resort to Auto mode after 60 kmph).

While one way to look at it is I shouldn't engage the 6th gear so early but I think given the short gearing of this new AWD version which has an advantage of killing the turbo lag but disadvantage of higher rpms onset early enough to cause a slightly higher NVH (though nothing uncomfortable), as long as the engine is not knocking, there should be no problems remaining in the 6th gear at lower speeds (acknowledge it will take a longer while to build speeds on the 6th gear but them sometimes I feel lazy to downshift when there is no urgent need to built speed and the engine is not knocking). Please note this problem is occuring only on the 6th gear and between 60 kmph to 70 kmph. There is no other problem with the car and it has served my purpose for buying it (tough, no nonsence, no frills car with good ride quality and one of the cheapest AWD car. I own a few top end luxury sedans so asthetics, plush interiors, powerful engines or sleek gearboxes weren't my requirements at all out of this car. I wanted a tough one for the Gurgaon roads, thats it).

I went to meet the showroom Manager of Sprint Cars on 23rd Nov to report this problem and he said that they will get the car picked up next day (Monday) to get it checked at their ASS. On 24th Nov, the car was duly picked up and returned to me in the evening stating that the problem has been sorted out. On test drive, I immediately found that the problem persists and the ASS has done nothing about the problem and was shameless to return the car to me stating the problem is resolved. Sprint Cars then picked up the car the next day i.e 25th Nov again and since then the car is lying in their ASS till date (4th Dec 2014). Upon follow ups, I have received this non sense mail on 2nd December 2014 from them which I am reproducing below:

Quote
This is with reference to your vehicle Vin no XXXXXXXXXXXXX regarding your concern under body noise. Now vehicle inspected by our workshop, & after inspection found transmission assy noisy, now order has been placed for the same. Today the part has been dispatched. Further details we will share with you after receiving the part. We are trying to deliver your vehicle as soon as possible
Unquote

(I have deliberately masked the vehicle VIN number and the name of the sender of this mail from Renault Gurgaon for understandable reasons)

Over phone they have advised that some part in the Transmission needs to be changed and they have ordered this from their Chennai Plant. Despite prodding them, I haven't been advised which part of the transmission is getting replaced and why (or maybe its the entire Transmission they are replacing ???)

I wanted to bring this to the attention of forum members with an objective of alerting any new potential buyers/ existing owners of Renault Duster AWD to check during their test drive/ normal drive, if their vehicles also have the same problem. Typically in a test drive one wouldn't perhaps try to drive in 6th gear to built speed from 60 Kmph to 70 kmph, hence please try this out to see if you get any ,mechanical grinding noise from the underbody, if so then this is definitely a transmission related generic issue with this car and Renault should Recall. If however no one else is encountering this problem, then its just my bad luck with my specific unit and this can always happen with any machine, its understandable.

I would also like to draw attention of potential Renault Buyers on what could be a possible customer service experience from Renault given my situation and I sincerely hope the Renault Guys read this forum. I have asked Sprint Cars Gurgaon to change my car and give me a new one (even offering to buy the RxZ version at a higher cost to incentivise them even though I dont need any of the extras that RxZ offers) but that conversation hasnt gone anywehere till date.

I have also told Sprint Cars, Gurgaon showroom manager to keep Renault informed that I am going to report this matter in Team BHP forum and so according to me Renault has been given all chance to rectify this issue but they havent done anything till date and my car is lying in their ASS for the last 11 days with no visible timelines to get it back and whether I will get it with the problem rectified.

Moderators this is my first posting in the Forum so apologies if I am posting this in the wrong thread
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Old 5th December 2014, 12:00   #179
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Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review

Completed my first service in within a month of Ownership with 2700 KMS on the ODO. "0" bill , all fluids topped up and car cleaned like there's been no tomorrow. Never seen any A** doing such a good job in cleaning a car. Gave it in Renault Whitefield and the SA was very cheerful and refreshing experience overall compared to TASS.
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Old 5th December 2014, 17:14   #180
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Re: New Renault Duster AWD : Potential Transmission problems

Quote:
Originally Posted by DIBISENA2 View Post
On 22nd December while driving from Delhi to Gurgaon, I noticed that the car is making a mechanical grinding underbody noise (only on 6th gear) while the speedometer is crossing from 60 Kmph - 70 Kmph (somewhere between these 2 counters).
You're shifting up too early, thereby lugging the engine. You yourself state that this sound goes away once the speedometer climbs.

I think the Duster AWD has shorter gearing only for the initial lot of ratios. Going by Rehaan's cruising rpm figures (and comparing to my Duster 2WD report), there doesn't seem to be much of a difference with the 6th gear ratio.

Honestly, you should be engaging 6th at 80 - 100 kph. Not only is 60 too early, but it also means that you'll have to excessively use the gearbox within the city.
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