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This is frustrating at the very least. I don't understand when the manufacturer is aware of the fault in parts and even listed out the Chasis no's which implies they know for sure how many cars are affected, rather than doing an official recall, they more so go with a silent one. And then the onus is on the customer to be at the mercy of the service centres in order to get the part replaced. I mean it's bizarre at the very least.

And I have experienced it twice with Maruti, first when I need to get the rear suspension replaced and second this steering rack issue.

Same here, clutch has become hard car has just run 32k kms. Might need to be replaced soon since its a pain to drive in bumper to bumper traffic

Looks like we need to start a separate thread for the substandard quality of important wear and tear parts. The issue is this can't be proved, since the wear and tear largely depend on the driving style.

But I believe none of our other cars clutch would have given up so early.

Baleno sales crossed 9lakh mark in 66months.



Source

First major part failure after 3.5 years in my 2016 Alpha CVT. A/C cooling reduced drastically over the last few weeks and was traced to a failed Condenser. Though covered by Extended Warranty, I got replacement done by a well known specialist. All well now. Surprised at this, when my German is in its 7th year and still bone chilling.

Any specific reason as to why the car was not sent to the workshop and the amount claimed under extended warranty? This is not a part which usually fails so early so it is a bit surprising. What was the damage to your wallet?

update on Steering Column Issue:

Got the call from Service Advisor exactly after 15 days that the part has arrived and asked to get the car to the service centre in order to get it replaced.
Reached there and I asked the SA if someone can drop off the car at my residence which was within 2 km from the service centre, told pick and drop is chargeable. I used to thought that it is a complementary service, fellow bhpians can enlighten me, since I asked for it for the very first time.

Steering Column was replaced within the next 4 hours, got the call to pick the service. Total bill amount was zero, surprising thing they didn't charge me even for sanitization which I was expecting at the very least. Though I get the message from Nexa about the amount of around 51k, wherein around 48k charges were for the part and the rest for labour. Honestly speaking, I was not aware that the steering column costs that much.

Now the difference was day and night in terms of steering feedback, don't get wrong it is still not in the leagues of Ford or say Fiat but way too good than how it was before the change.
Earlier steering wheel was acting like a piece of dead meat, didn't get any better word to explain. Way too sticky and remained at that place until and unless you apply an external force. Now it is still sticky when stationary but will instantly try to get back to the normal position as soon as speedometer crosses 10kmph. Way better than before and certainly livable. Will try to share a video next time, if possible.

1. Sub par service experience at Nexa: Had got the car serviced in December and felt cooling was slightly low. Asked them to check. 'perfect' report. Overall average service. Refused to change CVT despite repeated requests, horribly crowded. Point is, I don't trust these guys. 99% likelihood of them just gas charging and giving it back.

2. I don't do pickup/drop and am extremely busy personally and professionally this month. So hassle really to get things done on non Sundays. Plus, car needs to be used for urgent trips.

3. Idea was to diagnose first at a trusted garage. If it was the compressor, I would take it to Nexa.

4. Turns out it was the Condenser, and per the proprietor, a reasonably common Baleno complaint. I am amazed why - my Baleno is a short drive- city only car with 26K in 3.5 years, no accidents etc.

5. Cost: 8k, new condenser, filter, gas recharge, labour, tax. 1 hr 45 min start to finish Sunday morning. Back to freezing at 22.

Steering column is making "Kar-KAr" noise when turning. Today it was making small noises even when it was dead straight. Car is 33k kms and 5 years old.
Not sure what could be the issue. This is a 2016 Baleno.

Is the steering wheel hard to use? It might become hard gradually and we can't realise until we drive another car.

Maruti was silently replacing steering column of Baleno where owners reported a hard steering. My friend managed to get it replaced after persisting with the service center. After replacement, the steering was a lot lighter and smoother. His is a 2016 Baleno petrol Alpha and he got the replacement done in 2019, IIRC.

I had a similar issue on my WagonR - a grinding noise while turning the wheels especially at static speed. It turned out to be a shot lower arm. Got it replaced and the steering was smooth again.

Steering is smooth to use, yes the noise comes at low speeds usually and has grown slowly.

I suggest please start with an inspection of the lower arms. Easy to identify if they are shot and rather cheap to replace too (compared to the steering box).

New gen Maruti cars show this trend of frequently loose caliper pins and damaged lower arms. On a lighter note, I call them consumables for every 3rd or 4th service.:)

Visited NEXA today, after some trial and error with Tie-rods and thoroughly inspecting other components, they feel its the rack which is causing that noise.

They will put a new rack and test it, if the noise goes away than they have found the fix, else it could be steering column in which case i am eligible for free replacement as per a Maruti Circular ( have already sent that to advisor )

Did anyone upgrade to a set of better brake pads on their car? My car is a 2 year old cvt and i find the brakes to be
below average, had got the rotors replaced under warranty because of brake shudders but an year down the line and 6k kms done, i can feel slight judders again at speeds over 90-100. The brake bite and feel also is very average to say the least, feels more pronounced in cvt versions bacause of lack of engine braking. Car is running on Michelin xm 2 so i do not think tyres are an issue here.

Car is used as a city runabout but it does see empty stretches a lot and the braking feels inadequate at speeds over 90. Had mailed AM racing and they have quoted 9K for imported Dixcel brake pads or a complete brake kit which costs over 50k and a bit too much for my usage. Unable to source good quality aftermarket brake discs so far. Might just go in for these dixcel pads with new stock rotors and see how it goes. I am happy with the car otherwise but if the braking does not improve, i might just replace the car with some thing else.

Air con cooling has also gone down drastically and there seems to be an issue some where, waiting for the lockdown to end as the 20k service is due and would report these issues to the workshop.

Mine is 1.2L petrol manual. I have completed around 41K km and it is less than 4yrs old. I too felt the brakes are not adequate. I have recently replaced the brake pads (front and rear) to fresh stock ones. Actually the original pads had a sufficient meat in them. After changing the pads, it felt good for a few thousand KMs and again, it is back to square one.

I have zero knowledge on finding a good brake pad (after market) and big discs. Unlike VWs, aftermarket parts for Suzuki are very less in my opinion and especially for Baleno. If you obtain one, please provide the details it will be helpful for a wider audience.

I asked the authorized service center for fitting Baleno RS brakes (it has rear disc brakes) but the guys are saying it is not possible. Theoretically, it should be possible. I don't know whether Baleno RS has a different (Big) front brake disc or not.