[sriramr9]

In the interest of maintaining the car in top shape it s also imperative to have a clean engine bay. But during a recent service visit i was told by the Service Ad visor that engine bay cleaning was not done as it was a risky affair, either dry or wet.

Upon questioning, the reply received was, cleaning the engine bay either using wet or dry method is always risky as current day engines are highly dependent on electronics with lots of exposed wiring harnesses and therefore pose a higher risk for a short circuit/fire in the event of a broken wire coming in contact with water.

Is his reply of leaving the engine bay as-is apart from consumables changes ? a valid point.

I do see lot of after market engine detailing threads, wanted to make sure are all these done bearing in mind the risks posed by my SA. Kindly clarify as my engine bay is extremely soiled now as i am apprehensive to get it done after the conversation.

[sohail99]

I clean my engine bay almost every weekend. I wouldn't recommend a pressure washer for the engine bay, but you can use brushes and degreasers to take care of tough stains and rinse it with free flowing water out of a hose!

Then after drying, dress the plastics and wires with a protectant and I usually add dielectric grease to points such as the battery terminals, earthing points etc.
Never had probs for the past 3yrs!

[sansvk]

Recently took my car to a Ford service station for a regular service. A middle aged man bought his Fiesta over a small problem. With my job card being prepared I waited outside looking at other cars parked around. That's when I noticed a commotion around the Fiesta, went around and had a look. It was a small rat tucked away underneath the back bench, it had chewed off a lot of seat material from the rear. It took about 15 minutes and 3 men to get the little one away.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by sameerg001

^^I also faced the ant attack in my car, when my nephew threw away his half eaten chocopie, beneath the front seats. I did everything possible, and only got rid of all of them after 1 month. I used to clean the carpets, seats everyday, Used to open the door in afternoon, Used laxman rekha, ended up using 4-5 of them. Applied odomos, liquid one, In the whole car. And finally, got rid of them.

I do NOT, repeat do NOT allow anyone to eat anything in my car other than mints or travel sweets or chewing gum. I stop if required to allow consumption of food like chips and other junk, which I personally hate. But will NOT allow anyone to open food packets let alone eat, in the car. For one thing it smells. For another, it attracts unwanted pestilential pests.

[Parth46]

Hi All,

Request to mods: please move this query to a more suitable thread if inappropriate for this section.
My Grand i10 is around a month old and due for it's first service and I wanted to seek the forum's guidance around the best practices to be followed during the first service. I have been extremely careful during the initial running-in period and things are going smooth.

Please share any pointers or things that need to be done during first service? From my side, i'll insist that the engine oil and oil filter be changed, even if the SA says no. I understand the first service is mostly inspection, but there might still be some important things that might need to be done.
Also, the gearbox has been very notchy since day 1, and engaging reverse is a pain ,it gives off a loud grinding noise almost 99% of the time it's used. It engages super smoothly in the morning, when the car/engine is cold, but after running for a few KMS the shifts become a bit notchy and not too smooth. I take precaution to fully depress the clutch while shifting gears but the gearbox behavior is less smooth than I would prefer. Please advise.

Thanks,
Parth

[Slush_Traveller]

I vacuum my car every Sunday morning to remove any food particles on the car floor or on the seat corners to avoid insects. I was also planning to buy a powerful blower which usually the air conditioner service man carries, to clean the engine bay and also blow clean the ac vents once in a while.

[Optimus7]

I have a 7 year old Fiesta and intend to keep it for a few more years. I always keep the exterior clean, however its the interior which is a challenge. The biggest headache is keeping the interiors smelling good, I have tried many car perfumes they are all only for a few days. Once you are used to that scent, the old car smell take over. I am thinking of changing the entire carpeting in the car, but will it be worth it?

Also, can anyone suggest me a good vacuum pump for cars. I tried the one which they sell at a low price in 'indiatimes', but it wasn't effective and didn't last long.

[virgopal]

You can try Meguiar's Deodorant Spray for car interior. No perfume at all.Works very well.
I am using it.

[chevyman]

Hello all

I have an Optra Magnum (2011 model, 1.35 lakh KM) which I maintain in good shape. Recently there has been a discussion with the service center guys that my clutch may need replacement as it has served for more than 70,000 KM.

My father and I both use this car. Whenever I take over from my father (he uses only in city for about a day) I feel the clutch doesnt behave like how it behaves with me but after driving few km it becomes normal.

My concern is does the car in general and the clutch in particular experience more wear and tear if more than one person is driving regularly?

Not to mods: I have used to search function on this forum as well as google search but couldnt locate a thread on this topic, but if there is an existing thread kindly merge.

[ILTDrive]

This is a very interesting question and something similar but a little different situation that I am in.

My neighbor has a Ritz and I have a Dzire and he asked me to use it regularly since he doesn't get the time to use his car. Now, I use both the cars alternatively and was wondering if my driving style will have an impact on both the cars as both of them are different from each other.

[Mr.mitsuvolk]

Originally Posted by chevyman

Hello all

I have an Optra Magnum (2011 model, 1.35 lakh KM) which I maintain in good shape. Recently there has been a discussion with the service center guys that my clutch may need replacement as it has served for more than 70,000 KM.

My father and I both use this car. Whenever I take over from my father (he uses only in city for about a day) I feel the clutch doesnt behave like how it behaves with me but after driving few km it becomes normal.

My concern is does the car in general and the clutch in particular experience more wear and tear if more than one person is driving regularly?

Not to mods: I have used to search function on this forum as well as google search but couldnt locate a thread on this topic, but if there is an existing thread kindly merge.

As per my knowledge the wear and tear of parts depends on 2 factors :
1- the manner In which the vehicle is being driven. There are people who ride the clutch a lot i.e. make excessive use of the clutch or half clutch to be precise.
Similarly, there also exist people who prefer to press the clutch everytime they apply brakes even if the vehicle is at a speed high enough that even after braking to the desired speed, the car stands absolutely no chance of stalling.

2- the conditions in which the vehicle is being driven. Even the best of drivers will have to use clutch relatively more in city conditions especially stop and go traffic. On the contrary the clutch of vehicles Which are more often used on highways last much longer.

Therefore, it is more about how the vehicle is being handled rather than by whom the vehicle is being handled.

In your case as you said your father drives only in City, so obviously he has to use the clutch more frequently. Wrong driving habits may also be a contributing factor in the wear and tear of the clutch.

Among the above mentioned points, you can only control/alter the first factor.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by chevyman

My father and I both use this car. Whenever I take over from my father (he uses only in city for about a day) I feel the clutch doesnt behave like how it behaves with me but after driving few km it becomes normal.

My concern is does the car in general and the clutch in particular experience more wear and tear if more than one person is driving regularly?

Yes, driving style differs person to person making the car behave a bit different. One can realize if the car is liking the way it is being driven, to put it in short the car speaks and reacts continuously.

The other thing is the ECU keeps 'learning' continuously. The "learning" is actually a process that the ECU uses to track the tolerance changes of the sensors and actuators on the engine during the period of its running.

To answer your question on whether there would be more wear and tear if the car is being used by many people when compared to a single-hand driven car, Yes!

There will be a significant abuse on the car with the number of people using the car and I am not saying the others are bad drivers but their throttle, brake usage + timing will be different than yours so comparing the driving style is a bit difficult.

Anurag.

[chevyman]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

To answer your question on whether there would be more wear and tear if the car is being used by many people when compared to a single-hand driven car, Yes!
Anurag.

I feel the car is more happy with my driving style but it would be nice if you guys can confirm if I am doing it right.

1. I press and release the clutch gradually and slowly and I try to extract as much movement (power/torque) as possible only by releasing the clutch while in first gear and second gear (when approaching a pothole etc).
2. While running I use the brake and clutch in tandem. First I dip the break and when I feel the car may start jerking I slowly dip the clutch, then release the break and slowly release the clutch.
3. Overall am not in a hurry to floor the accelerator but I try to use the torque in clutch as much as possible, then I resort to the accelerator.

As far as I have seen, my father resorts to jerky breaking without clutch. When I take over from him I dont feel the torque in clutch like how I feel when I drive (car starts moving as soon as I start releasing the clutch).

[zenren]

No offense, but I don't see a solution even if we finally conclude that there might be more wear and tear due to multiple members in the family using the same car. What choice do we have?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Mr.mitsuvolk

Therefore, it is more about how the vehicle is being handled rather than by whom the vehicle is being handled.
.

Spot on!

Originally Posted by a4anurag

The other thing is the ECU keeps 'learning' continuously. The "learning" is actually a process that the ECU uses to track the tolerance changes of the sensors and actuators on the engine during the period of its running.

Yes, but that is only part of the 'learning cycle'. Modern ECU's also adapt to a particular driving style and try and optimize performance and emissions accordingly. But it doesnt result in more or less wear and tear really.

Originally Posted by zenren

No offense, but I don't see a solution even if we finally conclude that there might be more wear and tear due to multiple members in the family using the same car. What choice do we have?

Here's the way i see it:

Each of us have a unique driving style that results in a certain amount of wear and tear per kilometer. Having two or more persons drive the same car puts more mileage on the car and therefor the wear and tear goes up.

To try and illustrate lets say driver A has a driving style that results in wear of X per kilometer. Driver B has a driving style that results in wear of Y per kilometer. Their collective wear is (X+Y) per kilometer. There is no additional multiplying factor, as some seem to suggest, for having multiple drivers. Its just the cummulitive total of wear and tear per driver.

The wear and tear is down to driving style and of course also depended on driving conditions, e.g. city versus highway driving.

Jeroen