[Sheel]

@MF - Sorry to hear, but driving a brand new Car cautiously just because it has poor brakes is simply not done.

If I was in your place, would have either sought a solution (not from MUL, but with after market parts) or sold off.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

So, we are back on square one.

Hi Kiran,

As Tune Up Plus is also an authorized ASC for Maruti, have you consulted Abhijit Lonkar about this? If yes, what is his take on this issue?

Cheers,
Vikram

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Hi Kiran,

As Tune Up Plus is also an authorized ASC for Maruti, have you consulted Abhijit Lonkar about this? If yes, what is his take on this issue?

Cheers,
Vikram

Tune up Plus is no longer an authorized ASC for Maruti. I haven't yet consulted him on this issue. But I will be doing that when I get a chance to.

[1self]

Kiran, I suggest you get another brake booster assembly fitted to your vehicle. Get MUL to do this under warranty/ goodwill. If this still doesn't work, then go for after-market brake pads/ disks etc.

[diesel_power]

Hi Moralfibre, I've got the delivery of my Swift VDi a month back. The car has clocked around 1100 kms (most of it on highway run). Got the car serviced last week. Till date I have not faced any issues with the brakes (no urgent braking situation yet), they are working fine (a little bit weak, but that's fine for now). I had talked to the service adviser about this on first service, the reason he told me was, "the diesel engine is heavy and thus requires a bit more of breaking as compared to the petrol one" .

[RadiantKarma]

Surprising to hear about such seriously inadequate braking performance from Maruti stable, even though GTO's review had tipped us off about it.

Swift must have sold in European market with all the goodies ABS, EBD, boost, assist and what you have. This braking inadequacy in lower trims may be an oversight while stripping the car of some of these goodies. Sure, it's a serious oversight especially for a hatch with great engine and superb dynamics.

Swift is too important a product for Maruti and it needs to ensure that it does not lose its brand value over this as the market segment is now replete with choices for the buyer.

I think Maruti will soon set it right, maybe with 'Servo ratio improvement' that Viju mentioned or whatever it takes. Will it also do it for all the cars already delivered? I hope it does.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by RadiantKarma

Surprising to hear about such seriously inadequate braking performance from Maruti stable, even though GTO's review had tipped us off about it.

Swift must have sold in European market with all the goodies ABS, EBD, boost, assist and what you have. This braking inadequacy in lower trims may be an oversight while stripping the car of some of these goodies. Sure, it's a serious oversight especially for a hatch with great engine and superb dynamics.

Swift is too important a product for Maruti and it needs to ensure that it does not lose its brand value over this as the market segment is now replete with choices for the buyer.

I think Maruti will soon set it right, maybe with 'Servo ratio improvement' that Viju mentioned or whatever it takes. Will it also do it for all the cars already delivered? I hope it does.

If you read his ownership thread, Maruti has tried contacting him through FRI. Lets wait and watch how the issue is resolved.

Since its confirmed Maruti management is going through this thread- requesting to provide brake assist on all variants. Compromising on something as basic as brakes is not something we expect from india's largest carmaker, and swift customers deserve a lot better because they are sticking to maruti despite a long waiting period.

[diesel_power]

Hi Viju, Thanks a lot for clarifying all the stuff here.

You have mentioned that the "improvement in servo ratio" is carried over to the new swift. This all looks to be perfect on paper. But its not working in the practical world, the car just does not have enough brake power.

We all would like to know, if there is any other method to use brake in this car?

I am asking this just for help, as you are in the R&D department of Maruti, could you please help us..??

[JustCause]

I found the older G13B & K12 swift's brake to be the best in class. Though my Alto has a better stopping distance due to the less weight upfront, the old Swift's brakes are confidence inspiring & feel better than Alto's brakes.

Test drove the new LXi (Former TD was on ZXi) & believe me, it felt like the good old days of the M800 drum brakes. Driving in crowded areas is sure to cause fatigue & hard braking will result in heart-in-mouth moments more often than not.

MSIL better do something about this, soon.

[dinar]

My experience with the Brakes on the new VDi, is something similar to Kiran's.
Even at low speeds of 50-60 in traffic, one can not judge the distance whee the car will stop after the brakes are pressed, which usually a person get used to a even in with a new car after around 1000 km of driving. And I have been driving for more than 20 years, Both diesel [indica, commander 750, 207di,etc] as well as petrol [esteem, zen,premier padmini,Ambassador, and many more] cars. So this not what people here are saying that diesels have different braking characteristic compared to petrols.Even my Jeep use to stop at a judge distance on unassisted drum brakes.
The New swift is scary to drive with this braking issue, The fade is more evident on long distance drives on Highways with sustained High speeds and braking.
Brakes on car give a feel [force needed to be applied to stop ] where the car will stop after the brakes are pressed with certain force [every car does this] even with drum brakes, But the new swift [VDi in my case] does not give that feel after the brakes are applied.
I hope there's a solution to this issue soon.

[diesel_power]

Originally Posted by dinar

Brakes on car give a feel [force needed to be applied to stop ] where the car will stop after the brakes are pressed with certain force [every car does this] even with drum brakes, But the new swift [VDi in my case] does not give that feel after the brakes are applied.
I hope there's a solution to this issue soon.

This is exactly what is happening with me as well. Its really scary when the braking distance is misjudged. I also have the New Swift VDi.

I hope Maruti takes up this issue seriously.

[moralfibre]

I would like to take a minute and thank everyone on this thread who've shared their experiences to justify my observation. Thanks dinar and diesel_power for sharing your personal experiences on this thread.

I believe Maruti is still working at a solution and hasn't called me up yet. I shall update everyone with details as soon as I have any.

Since I have shifted my focus mostly on brakes while driving, I noticed that there is just about enough bite when the discs are cold. After about 3-4 kms of driving in traffic they fade away. Not going over 80kmph during non-peak hours and over 40kmph during traffic times. Hope we have a fix ASAP. We are waiting!

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

I believe Maruti is still working at a solution and hasn't called me up yet. I shall update everyone with details as soon as I have any.

Solution in this case would be a bigger or better brake booster right?

[dinar]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Solution in this case would be a bigger or better brake booster right?

I don't think that's the only solutions, I am thinking the fad is temperature driven, the byte of the brake reduces as the temperature increases, Same was the case with the Ford Escort ZETEC in India, the materials may be the aslo be an issue. [cost cutting].

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by dinar

I don't think that's the only solutions, I am thinking the fad is temperature driven, the byte of the brake reduces as the temperature increases, Same was the case with the Ford Escort ZETEC in India, the materials may be the aslo be an issue. [cost cutting].

Yes, brake fade is usually temparature driven and the higher temparature is caused when the braking system is over-stressed! It could be a case where the New Swift's braking system is using a conservative specification from the lower models of MSIL's portfolio (e.g. Alto/WagonR).