[jkdas]

One I spoke to now :
At 22K , new head.
At 40,000 timing belt/chain broke
Later wont go above 100; gets stuck there. Needs to switch off the car and back on.
New ECU now.

ECU change etc was done after 3 engineers came and tested the car for 3 days at their expense (they drove alot,for about 2500-3000rs worth diesel).

Will add more info after I talk to the rest.

[Altocumulus]

This was something I mentioned in the Swift Review thread quite sometime back however no one really agreed. Quite a few, new Maruti diesel engines are being required to open up very early in the life,even as early as 6 months.

The MASS I visit, has 4-5 engines opened up every time I visit. One of the SA's specifically asked me offline not to go for the diesel variants as of yet. It seems these engines are 'delicate' and cant withstand constant high revving. Maybe these are a result of some changes incorporated by Maruti in these engines. Quite a few engines supposedly got damaged while getting a pollution check done since it requires high revving.

The last time I visited, I witnessed, senior technicians from Gurgaon flown down to check the engine issues of a less than year old Dzire of a High Court Judge. The engine was opened up in minutes and they took snaps of the bent/damaged pistons and the engine. The judge apparently had complained to Maruti HO directly for them to take this seriously.

[rahulsharma2008]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Multijets or MJDs,Quadrajet of Tata,all run on timing chains not belts.

Thanks Akshay. The point is they usually dont require a change and are engineered to last the life of an engine.

[DRIV3R]

As for the the Fiats, 90HP or not, they use same 5W40 semi synthetic oil for the engine.

Differences between the 75 and 90 are many, like turbocharger, ECU, fuel pump, fuel filter, injectors, etc.

[J.B]

Hey guys,
I just heard from my cousin that his 2 years old sx4 with ddis engine had an engine problem and it took a month for the A.S.S to fix it. He said the problem was with the crank shaft. Dont know the exact details though.

All the work was covered under warranty.

[hkanitkar]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

You could be right. Fellow bhpian hkanitkar's brand new SX4 engine had to be opened up because something broke inside. I am not sure of the details of work that was carried out but it did visit the workshop within a few weeks of delivery.

Here goes !
I had taken delivery of my SX4 Zdi in the last week of September 2011. It ran absolutely fine till one fine day in December.
I was entering a small over-bridge near Deccan, and suddenly, heard something breaking in the car, and it just went dead. I could distinguish the 'khatt' noise to something that came from inside the engine bay, so steered it to one side in rolling, and got out to check what had happened. Opened the bonnet, and frankly speaking I couldnt see or imagine what could go wrong for a 2 month old, 4k KMs run car. Go back inside and cranked her up. Nothing. Cranked her up again. Zilch.

To cut long story short, I called up Maruti helpline, got them to register my complaint. Also, I luckily knew someone working at Sai Service ( the oldest Maruti Dealers in Pune, and of allegedly notorious repute ), and called him as well just because their workshop and showroom was hardly 2 KMs away from the spot ). Sai Service sent me a towing truck in 20 Mins flat, and took it to their workshop.

After a preliminary examination which revealed broken camshaft, the car was opened up to further reveal a snapped Timing Chain. I was aghast. Firstly, just 4000KMs run car. Secondly, the kind of problem that had occurred - it just shook my confidence in all things maruti !

Although I was told by the Workshop Manager at Sai Service that all the affected parts ( Timing chain, Camshafts, All Valves, Gaskets etc. etc. ) will be replaced under warranty, and free of cost, I was contemplating pushing for a car replacement. But after giving it a thought for a full week, I gave up on the idea and was genuinely assured by the Workshop Manager that no such problem would occur again ( especially, after the repairs ). And if at all it did, He himself would endorse my claim for a replacement.

Today, the car has completed close to 50K KMs - without any troubles what so ever. I have been very regular with servicing and still get them done at Sai Service.

Heck, I even bought another SX4 Zdi 6 months after this happened with the first car !

[gemithomas]

Any updates on this. One of my friend is buying an ertiga D. Has Maruti sorted out the issue. Do the recalls and the engine oil specification change have anything to do with this.

[arnabchak]

Dear JK

The post somehow seems incomplete with specific details about the problems.

Both SX4 and Ertiga use the 1.3 DDIS national engine sourced from Fiat and shared with other popular offerings Swift, Ritz, Dzire and the Manza/Vista.

Had there been inherent flaws even in the turbo charges ones, these would have come to notice long ago.

SX4 has been around for over 5 years and Ertiga has been selling in hordes since its launch.

What you say could be specific to a certain manufacturing batch and ideally should not be generalised as a statement for all 90 BHP DDIS.

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by Altocumulus

The MASS I visit, has 4-5 engines opened up every time I visit. One of the SA's specifically asked me offline not to go for the diesel variants as of yet. It seems these engines are 'delicate' and cant withstand constant high revving.

Somewhat

This could well be a problem related to your area, IMHO. Don't ask me why/how please...

I hate MSIL and ALL of their cars except the Gypsy, but I have to say this: I know umpteen number of Swift DDIS' and ALL of them are going superstrong. One of these has clocked 140,000 kms (end-January). The MJD is certainly no crybaby, unless one is planning to use it in a tipper or backhoe, that is. Next time, kindly ask the SA to explain how can a diesel engine be delicate, when compared to a petrol IC engine?

[Desmodromic]

Have an Ertiga ZDI, less than a year old, 23000kms. Was driving on the highway and was overtaking another vehicle and shifting into 5th gear at about 110kmph. All of a sudden started to loose revs and the car lost the turbo boost. So I downshifted to 4th gear to try and get the revs up and subsequently the boost. But same result, the revs were dropping and there was no turbo boost and my car was decelerating. So I switched off the a/c to see what happens and a few seconds later my turbo came back on and my car started accelerating. I subsequently switched the a/c back on and again the turbo switched off and the car was decelerating. So I switched the a/c off once and for-all and drove it back home. Please let me know if any of you guys have faced this issue or if you have any idea what could have caused it. I'm planning to take it to Maruti ASS in the coming week.

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by jkdas

There are issues with DDIS's 90 bhp ones which come in SX4 and Ertiga?
I have been hearing this and lately a friends SX4's engine had to be opened up! I also have a friend whose BIL works with a dealer here and he too was advised to stay away from these.

...Will add more info after I talk to the rest.

The engine could be a lemon.

I have been using an SX4 VDi for the past 3 years, have clocked close to 70k km.
Regular servicing, 10k km or 6 months which-ever is earlier.

The ONLY engine oil used so far is Mobil1 and the fuel - 'normal' Diesel.

I remember my colleague whose Toyota Innova Service Manager advising him to avoid 'branded' Diesels, since the additives used clog the injectors.
I follow the same advice, why pay extra money and buy trouble?

My driving is mixed, city and highway.
On the highways, I maintain engine speed between 2000 and 3000 rpm, occasionally reaching 3500 rpm.

Touch wood, my engine has been buttery smooth compared to other SX4 (or any other Fiat) diesels.
This is in spite of using the rather large 205/60 R 16 tyres of the ZDi!

One thing I make sure is to never strain the engine - if torque drops, drop the gears by one cog, shift to first as frequently as required in the city.

[shiraz]

Originally Posted by hkanitkar

Here goes !
I had taken delivery of my SX4 Zdi in the last week of September 2011. It ran absolutely fine till one fine day in December.
I was entering a small over-bridge near Deccan, and suddenly, heard something breaking in the car, and it just went dead. I could distinguish the 'khatt' noise to something that came from inside the engine bay, so steered it to one side in rolling, and got out to check what had happened. Opened the bonnet, and frankly speaking I couldnt see or imagine what could go wrong for a 2 month old, 4k KMs run car. Go back inside and cranked her up. Nothing. Cranked her up again. Zilch.

After a preliminary examination which revealed broken camshaft, the car was opened up to further reveal a snapped Timing Chain. I was aghast. Firstly, just 4000KMs run car. Secondly, the kind of problem that had occurred - it just shook my confidence in all things maruti !

Although I was told by the Workshop Manager at Sai Service that all the affected parts ( Timing chain, Camshafts, All Valves, Gaskets etc. etc. ) will be replaced under warranty, and free of cost, I was contemplating pushing for a car replacement. But after giving it a thought for a full week, I gave up on the idea and was genuinely assured by the Workshop Manager that no such problem would occur again ( especially, after the repairs ). And if at all it did, He himself would endorse my claim for a replacement.

Today, the car has completed close to 50K KMs - without any troubles what so ever. I have been very regular with servicing and still get them done at Sai Service.

Heck, I even bought another SX4 Zdi 6 months after this happened with the first car !

Hi,

A friend of mine is currently facing the same issue, but with slightly different circumstances. The car is an April 2011 SX4 VDi, with 110,000km on the odo. The car broke down without any warning in the evening on Gurgaon F'bad road and refused to start. Upon taking it to Apra Gurgaon, they said that the timing chain, cam and oil pump would have to be replaced. The SA was Kishen Yadav, and I made sure I also let senior manager Yogendra know.

We are facing the following challenges:

1. Cost: Estimated Rs.35,000 for all three. This is a significant cost for a 4-yr old car
2. Repair duration: the car has already spent 4 days in the workshop, out of which they took 1 day to diagnose it. Apra are unable to provide any ETA on the parts as they don't stock these. Neither do they know whether the next shipment from Maruti will get them

Would definitely like some perspective on the above, but the larger question is whether Maruti should be responsible for this kind of catastrophic failure which could lead to much more serious problems, e.g., loss of vehicular control, passenger safety in remote areas, etc. I'd like to know if anyone has written to Maruti about this earlier and got them to provide repairs/ replacements free of charge.

The standard excuse Apra gave is that this is a sealed part so no one can find out the condition before it breaks. So naturally I asked if there was a replacement schedule. It is a basic tenet of engineering to replace a part before the end of its design life. But there is no replacement schedule either. This is ambiguous at best and shockingly callous at worst on the part of Maruti.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[hkanitkar]

Hey Shiraz, too bad for your friend !

IIRC, there is a replacement schedule of 100000 Kms for the timing chain, but not too sure about it.

To update status of my car : it has run close to 80k Kms by now without any issues with the engine. But to be on the safer side, I am thinking of replacing it with another vehicle very soon ( since SX4 has been dis-continued very recently, and our car is close to 4 years old )

[shiraz]

Thanks, hkanitkar. I'll check more resources to confirm the replacement schedule for the timing chain.

Good to hear that your car is going strong. I myself have a 7-year old SX4 ZXi with close to 100k on the clock. The engine is fine, but a recent clutch replacement, engine mounts, and some shock absorber replacements point to increasing maintenance costs.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by hkanitkar

To update status of my car : it has run close to 80k Kms by now without any issues with the engine. But to be on the safer side, I am thinking of replacing it with another vehicle very soon ( since SX4 has been dis-continued very recently, and our car is close to 4 years old )

Any specific reasons to change the car?

Any issues related to the car or is it in worry for spares since the SX4 is discontinued?

Originally Posted by shiraz

Good to hear that your car is going strong. I myself have a 7-year old SX4 ZXi with close to 100k on the clock. The engine is fine, but a recent clutch replacement, engine mounts, and some shock absorber replacements point to increasing maintenance costs.

Are the said parts (Clutch, engine mounts and suspension components) mentioned by you would be replaced for the first time since purchase ot have they been replaced earlier also?