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Old 31st December 2017, 10:47   #691
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

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Originally Posted by avi550m View Post
My A-Star's Michelin XM2 got punctured recently. When I took it to the tyre shop, the owner showed me small cracks in the grooves due to the car not having been driven much and been parked for a long time. The tyres and the car are around 5 1/2 years old. He rotated the tyres, but told me to change them soon.

I am dissapointed as the tyres have covered less than 10k in 5 years over mostly Bangalore city roads. I want to know is there really an urgent need to change the tyres or can I keep using them for a few more months. I never drive fast or on the highway and take the car out 3-4 times a month.

Also, if I have to change the tyres (no upsizing), what would be your recommendation. I am wondering whether to got for a sturdier (but not too hard) tyre instead of the XM2, but don't want to compromise too much for ride comfort/noise.

The Prices I got from a couple of dealers here in Yelahanka were:
1. Bridgestone B290: Rs. 3,850/-
2. Michelin XM2: Rs. 4,250/-
3. Yokohama Earth-1: Rs. 4,100/-
That is strange, as my Alto K10 is over 7 years old (Aug, '2010) and has done barely 16K km. The Michelin XM1 tyres are still going strong with very little wear.

Some times the rubber in tyres deteriorates due to UV, but other than that modern tyres should last 7 years or more.
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Old 30th March 2018, 17:39   #692
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Car has 49k kms in a period of 4.5 years. Jerkiness has reduced after the oil change. This might be a placebo effect or a behavior inherent to the box after a hard & long drive on highway/ghat sections.

Stopped using the manual kickdown (D3, D2 mode) nowadays & instead rely on the box to downshift. Under hard driving, I've observed the 2nd gear hold up to 80-83 & 3rd between 110-115.

Bottle on the left contains the drained ATF oil from the box & one on the right is the new oil.

Maruti recommends a longer duration of 1.75 lakh kms for an ATF oil change.
Attached Thumbnails
Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test-img_20180330_124935.jpg  

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Old 13th November 2018, 16:07   #693
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

One tyre on the A-Star suffered a fairly big puncture. Looked like piece of metal that had got in so much that when I tried to inflate the tyre at home, the air was just escaping at a very perceptible speed ( could feel it against my palm ). Solution was a new tyre. The old one had done just 11k :(


Wife has been using the car most of the time now. Need to get it serviced sometime. Maybe a front bumper replacement too, next month.
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Old 2nd January 2019, 23:09   #694
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My A-Star AT has done 28k in 5 years being the secondary car. I'm experiencing a slight vibration when I put the car in reverse and also while at first gear sometimes. My ASS (Mandovi Sarjapur Road) tried changing the engine mount on one side with a new one to see if it goes away but it didn't make any difference. Had anyone else faced such a problem or have a clue on the issue?
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Old 12th January 2019, 09:51   #695
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Hi there,

I own a 1.2 dzire torque converter automatic which has an issue as described in below thread.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201747

Maruti guys says this thing is hard coded in ECU. The ECU cuts off the air conditioning whenever brake pedal is released.

There is nothing that they can do about it.

I wanted to know if owners of A star torque converter AT also face this issue.
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Old 27th May 2019, 11:04   #696
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr_Bean View Post
Car has 49k kms in a period of 4.5 years. Jerkiness has reduced after the oil change. This might be a placebo effect or a behavior inherent to the box after a hard & long drive on highway/ghat sections.
.....
Maruti recommends a longer duration of 1.75 lakh kms for an ATF oil change.
Hi Mr_Bean,

I wondered if you could advise me - what spurred you on to change the transmission oil? I had bought a 2011 A Star AT back in September 2018. Except for a four-tyre change, I haven't done anything else to it. The previous owner had serviced it at a Maruti Service center prior to handing it to me and my FNG mechanic had told me the car is in mint condition.

Given that my car is 9 years old now, when should I get the transmission oil changed - is it purely Kilometer-based, in which case it would be 1.75 Lakh Kms? Should I even dare to get it serviced by my trusted FNG mechanic or only at a Maruti service?
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Old 28th May 2019, 06:04   #697
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

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Originally Posted by locusjag View Post
Hi Mr_Bean,

I wondered if you could advise me - what spurred you on to change the transmission oil? I had bought a 2011 A Star AT back in September 2018...
<snip>

Given that my car is 9 years old now, when should I get the transmission oil changed - is it purely Kilometer-based, in which case it would be 1.75 Lakh Kms? Should I even dare to get it serviced by my trusted FNG mechanic or only at a Maruti service?
I did mine at around 55K I think. Reasons are here
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post3557083 (Maruti A-Star Automatic : Ownership Review)

The details of how this was done is also described further on in that thread.

Last edited by benbsb29 : 28th May 2019 at 10:48. Reason: Fixed URL
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Old 28th May 2019, 06:55   #698
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel lover View Post
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201747

I wanted to know if owners of A star torque converter AT also face this issue.
Saw your post just now. I do not see this behaviour in the A-Star. The car is used with A/c all the time.
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Old 31st May 2019, 12:23   #699
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Quote:
Originally Posted by locusjag
Given that my car is 9 years old now, when should I get the transmission oil changed - is it purely Kilometer-based, in which case it would be 1.75 Lakh Kms?
Our A-Star is a 2010 model done about 35K kms, running the original ATF oil. When it comes to vehicle maintenance schedule, I prefer to go by the book (car user manual). Since it is highly unlikely (due to very low usage) that our car will even do a lakh kms in 15years, I might change the ATF based on the years (not kms). Not decided when to do it though - maybe a few years down the line.

Quote:
Originally Posted by locusjag
Should I even dare to get it serviced by my trusted FNG mechanic or only at a Maruti service?
If your FNG is competent, why not ? I get all our cars including the A-Star_AT serviced at my FNG run by a friend who has worked on our cars since our '85 M800 - very competent.

Incidentally I was at my FNG the other day talking to my mechanic & a friend who had brought his i10-AT for service. The i10 had the ATF changed at 80K kms (it has run 1lakh kms in 7years or so) - not sure what the Hyundai change interval is.

My mechanic said his personal opinion is to have ATF changed at 40k kms intervals. No specific data to back it up other than that it is best for the transmission. I would rather have some data than mere opinion.

BTW, his personal opinion is also to have engine oil changed at 5K kms even when the manufacturer recommends it as 10K kms. I stick to 10K kms for engine oil, as recommended by the manufacturer.

Last edited by supremeBaleno : 31st May 2019 at 12:40.
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Old 31st May 2019, 13:50   #700
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Quote:
Originally Posted by supremeBaleno View Post
Our A-Star is a 2010 model done about 35K kms, running the original ATF oil. When it comes to vehicle maintenance schedule, I prefer to go by the book (car user manual). Since it is highly unlikely (due to very low usage) that our car will even do a lakh kms in 15years, I might change the ATF based on the years (not kms). Not decided when to do it though - maybe a few years down the line.
Thanks for sharing your perspective!

We are yet to regularly begin using ours; one morning earlier this month when I took her out on my office commute, I noticed that upon pressing the accelerator, it picked up speed along with an attendant rattling noise from the transmission. The car hadn't been driven for a week at that point.

But in my evening commute to home though, the noise hadn't occurred. I've partly attributed the transmission noise to the car's sparing usage - but the other half of my mind is worried for the transmission's health. The car has barely run for 31000 Kilometers. I will not wait till the car completes 10 years. When I get the ATF changed, I'll post my updates on this thread.
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Old 31st May 2019, 14:36   #701
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Quote:
Originally Posted by locusjag View Post
Hi Mr_Bean,

Given that my car is 9 years old now, when should I get the transmission oil changed - is it purely Kilometer-based, in which case it would be 1.75 Lakh Kms? Should I even dare to get it serviced by my trusted FNG mechanic or only at a Maruti service?

My astar clocked 55k kms in 5 years, 90% of them on the highway. During one of our trips to kerala, the gear shifts got jerky and malfunction light came on. Most likely because the ATF oil was well beyond its operating temperature and failed to perform to its potential.


There has been a remarkable difference after changing the oil, no more jerkiness after extended periods of spirited driving.


Here is the color of the old and new ATF oil :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post4379381 (Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test)
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Old 30th October 2019, 21:19   #702
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

The headlights on the A-Star were not good, and our car does not have the fog-lamps either. My wife uses the car, and even with her speeds (typically 40-ish), the lights were not upto it. The fogs would have helped light up near distance, but had never got to adding fogs.

The solution ? HID projectors into the stock head-lamps ! We got the projectors and dual-beam 55W HID lamps of 4300k rating. The projectors allow flashing too, and the lamps have a fast ballast for quick switch-on. The difference has been too good.


The mastermind behind setting it up - @Varun560061. It took us about 5 hours total, though we may have finished it earlier but for the shroud/pilots. The ones we put in initially didnt work - both had different problem, and we had to open up the head-lamps again to replace these.

Some pics of the lamp & the lighting:

Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test-img20191019wa0003.jpg


The red reflection is the connector to the shroud. We can also enable it as DRL, but didnot.

Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test-img20191019wa0004.jpg


With shroud:

Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test-img20191019wa0002.jpg


Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test-img20191019wa0001.jpg

Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test-img_2455.jpg


The original pilot is now a dummy. The supply to the original pilot has been redirected to the shroud via modified pins which go into the connector coming from the switch on the steering column. The pilot lamp has been left there since taking it out would mean an opening for dust to get into the head lamp.


Some adjustment in throw is required, but at least we got the road up-front lighted up !

This mod too bears Varun's trade-mark neatness, without any cutting of stock wires, or damages to the reflectors or any part of the OE head-lamps. If at all we ever need to revert to stock - we just retrace the steps. Big shout to Varun for all the effort he put in for us !

Last edited by condor : 30th October 2019 at 21:29.
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Old 17th December 2019, 18:37   #703
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Guys, can some one please share the location of the fuse for remote locking ?

(I have the owner's manual somewhere, but not able to locate it)
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Old 11th March 2020, 12:16   #704
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

I had bought my 2011 December manufactured, pre-owned A Star AT back in September 2018. It had run ~29,000 km when I'd bought it; it has run 34,500 Km now. It was bought primarily for my wife to learn to drive, and she has succeeded. She has undertaken several solo drives in dense city traffic and has even driven on the highway for short stretches by now.

I've had to buy 4 new tyres in 2019, and in 2020 - a new battery, a new Hella horn and a 90/110 Philips headlight kit with relay for it. I got all its fluids changed in October 2019 by a FNG and they even drained a bit of automatic transmission fluid (ATF) and replaced the drained volume with newer ATF.

To graduate or not to graduate?
We've planned a Chennai-Ooty trip in 10 days time and I've been telling her that a full highway trip would be like a graduation ceremony for her. Plus, she'll get to experience the full joys of knowing how to drive on a roadtrip.

But - this is 2020. The puny A-Star is dwarfed by bigger and furious vehicles on highways. It is not a slow car, but its pickup is comparatively slow when you look at the newer cars on the road. One tends to feel a bit scared of getting run over by an impatient Ford Endeavor! And it isn't safe - it only has ABS, has no airbags and has no crumple zones.

Even if I do take our A Star for the trip, I'll need to get its brakes inspected beforehand.

Perhaps the solution is to rent an automatic Creta from Revv and go for it. Its height will help, since I'm 6'4", the wife and dad are 5'10".

To proactively change the Automatic Transmission Fluid or not?
As I'd said earlier on this page (above), i've been meaning to proactively replace the ATF fully. But my enquiries at South Chennai's Maruti service centres haven't yielded encouraging results. One guy said that the ATF never needs changing! The guy closest to home insists on flushing and changing the ATF whereas I prefer the pan drop, drain and replace method. You never know what problems the flushing might cause!

I haven't seriously checked yet with FNGs who do it. One FNG (Expert Spanners) even said that changing the ATF might ruin the gearbox.

I'm not decided on this yet.

Last edited by locusjag : 11th March 2020 at 12:21.
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Old 11th March 2020, 12:45   #705
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Quote:
Originally Posted by locusjag View Post
I had bought my 2011 December manufactured, pre-owned A Star AT back in September 2018. It had run ~29,000 km when I'd bought it; it has run 34,500 Km now. ...


...automatic transmission fluid (ATF) and replaced the drained volume with newer ATF.

To graduate or not to graduate?
We've planned a Chennai-Ooty trip in 10 days time and I've been telling



...One tends to feel a bit scared of getting run over by an impatient Ford Endeavor!

To proactively change the Automatic Transmission Fluid or not?
...
I'm not decided on this yet.

Except for putting in new higher wattage bulbs, I've done all of the above. My A-Star has run 73K KMs.


I cannot advise you on taking your A-Star to Ooty, but my experience has been nothing but fantastic. (And this was with the original CEAT tyres). The car grips and handles extremely well. I fact, it is so confidence inspiring I was able to keep up with a local government jeep-like vehicle whose driver obviously knew the roads well and was driving briskly. Also, from Bangalore, I took the Masinagudi route with the supposedly dangerous hairpin bends - I never felt out of control in any way. I did stop every now and then as a precautionary measure to let my AT cool off (though I doubt it ever overheated). Engine too never overheated. You could be uncomfortable if your AStar is loaded with people (dynamics of the car do change when loaded up with more than two people). Acceleration and handling will suffer if you have it loaded, and I'm sure the Japanese are not a tall people on the average even today.


About the ATF, I too have a couple of cans of ATF left over from the previous drain and fill and intend to do the same as you. Drain and fill - cant hurt. All the cautions on not changing the ATF is for the "flush and fill" category and for transmissions that have some sort of issues that point to build up of deposits etc. While the recommended change interval is 100,000 Miles or 160,000 KMs - I am sure it won't hurt to remove the old fluid and fill in fresh fluid.

Last edited by mvadg : 11th March 2020 at 12:47.
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