Team-BHP - Renault Duster 110 PS - Fuel Injector Issue

My 2015 110 AWD was today diagnosed with fuel injector failure for the 4th cylinder (@ 21.3K KMs). The SA just confirmed that it has been replaced under warranty (cost ~ Rs 27K). They will hold it overnight for a cold start test tomorrow morning.

My Extended Warranty, which kicked off just 10 days ago, paid for itself.

Symptoms started around 15K KMs - first sensor and ESP lights, and later the Engine light on the dashboard. But they would go away after a few mins or after a restart. At that time, I also had to replace my rear drum brake liners (always replaced in pairs) because one of them splintered (!). The lights did not appear after that liner replacement and at the 20K service I was told it could be the brakes and put on a wait and watch.

Two days ago all three icons lit up and refused to go away (~21.6K KMs). The engine rattles several notches more on start and distinct vibrations seeps through steering, gear knob and pedals. It felt like I was driving with my handbrakes pulled on.

After this happened I just drove it to the workshop 25 KMs away (somewhere I read it should be immobilized and towed). Hoping this did not cause additional damage elsewhere. The mechanic looked at the lights and immediately recognized the issue. He still took took a drive with me - so may be not that critical to immobilize.

Quote:

Originally Posted by subuiyer (Post 4204263)

My 2015 110 AWD was today diagnosed with fuel injector failure for the 4th cylinder (@ 21.3K KMs).....

An update:

The workshop replaced the faulty injector and a seal ring. They also open-checked my rear drum brakes and outside/inside washed the vehicle.

I have since driven 300KMs without any issues - Duster feels 'normal' again.

This was done under Extended Warranty I bought at the time of vehicle purchase. The service rep said being in the extended warranty period required Company inspector to do a physical inspection before approving the replacement under warranty. This extended the service time by one day - overall it was in the workshop for 3 days.

Overall, I am happy with the way they handled it and the work done - the first major repair on the my vehicle and also the first time I stepped out of the workshop without paying a dime.

Hi Subuiyer,

I am facing the same injector issue with my Duster 110 in Mumbai. Would love to know the name of the service advisor you used who handled your issue so quickly, as I have been getting jerked around for the last 7 weeks at both Pune & Mumbai dealerships.

Please send your email id or contact number to treetribe@gmail.com

Thank you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by subuiyer (Post 4209525)

An update:
...overall it was in the workshop for 3 days.

Overall, I am happy with the way they handled it and the work done - the first major repair on the my vehicle and also the first time I stepped out of the workshop without paying a dime.

Hi, I have a similar issue with my Duster 110 in Mumbai. Could you provide the name of the Service Advisor who helped you out?

hi, just wanted to provide an update.

@subuiyer, thanks for the message and email.

some history:
my car is a June 2013 Duster 110PS - RXL. Odometer is 8,600km (yes thats 8,600). around mid-may, my father set off at 5am in the Duster from Mumbai to Pune. just before the expressway, the car started shuddering and engine warning lights came on. engine response was weak. he turned the car off, waiting a few mins and restarted and everything was normal so he carried on to Pune. again in Pune he noticed same problem, so he took the car to Renault workshop in Pune. there they claimed that the car needed a software update, and went ahead and kept the car for two days and did the update. next day he again set off from Pune - Mumbai and upon getting on the eastern express freeway at chembur, again the same problem resurfaced. when we sent the car to renault mumbai (jogeshwari), they initially claimed problem with software, and wanted to do an update. after keeping the car for over a week, they confirmed problem with injector.

eventually, renault workshop in jogeshwari kept my car for 12 days, but replaced the faulty injector without a big fuss. car was just barely a month out of warranty. i was only charged for the petrol required for 150km driving test after replacement.

all in all, i'm satisfied with their service, but not so satisfied with the Duster.

So i had picked up a pre-owned duster 4x4, with just under 14,000 kms last month for my cousin, 2 year old car but low mileage and well kept. Cousin's previous car was a Swift Petrol 2006 model, which has done 1,47,000 kms, being a para glider he has taken it to all corners of this country and it never skipped a beat. Apart from brake pads, tyres and one clutch plate nothing was even replaced in this car. Anyways coming back to this particular duster, it was serviced few months back and we just did some cosmetic clean up at 3M to get it to spanking new. Being the holiday season, cousin was thrilled to do a drive to Trivandrum from Bangalore, kinda surprise the folks with the new purchase. He was indeed up for a good surprise!

Yesterday he set out in the morning from Bangalore and till about Salem there was no issue, after Karur the infamous red indicator lit up on the dash along with traction control light and beeps. He pulled over and checked manual which had instruction not to drive. Called up Renault customer care and they also insisted he doesn't drive though car was running fine. Flat bed came and car was taken to Salem dealer, fortunately they were working on X mas day. They connected the scan machine and it was confirmed injector 4 was the issue, but by then warning lights were off. They cleared the error code and went for a test drive and it ran fine for 40 kms. So my cousin decided to carry on with his journey and offered to drop the service adviser on the way to his house, and as they drove for 10-15 kms from the service, again the darn warning lights came! It was late and my cousin decided to stay over at salem in a hotel since this time the engine was rough, and take car back to dealer in the morning.

Today the car was taken in, dealer was SUPER responsive and ensured a warranty claim was raised asap. Since this is under extended warranty term, TVS is to approve and dealer ensured they made many follow ups through the day so that car could be delivered today. And it was done just few hours back! A big shout out to customer care and the Salem dealer for all their efforts to fix the car. :thumbs up

So questions remain...

- The injector that was pulled out had lot of gunk in it, which leads us to a fear what about the other 3? Would they also give trouble sooner or later?

- He bought the Duster with great expectations, to tour india for his para gliding, and plans to take it to nepal and all. Is it worth the risk?

- Service personnel themselves admit there is an issue with "continental" injectors that comes in this car and is about 1 lakh for whole set. If so why doesn't Renault proactively recall and replace all of it with the reliable one that is only 1/4 the cost?

Last but not least he sent me a whatsapp comment which read like this "Just realised... Spent more time sorting the car this year, than in the last 10 years...", yes one day he spent in 3M and with this 24 hours fiasco. Say's lot about the reliability of the national manufacturer! Vs companies like Renault :deadhorse Yes the customer service was very responsive and the dealer offered a 5 star experience to the stranded customer. But why can't Renault own up and do a recall and fix this issue for ever?! Even i feel guilty now for recommending Duster 4x4 to him, i did this since another dear friend owns one and he has done about 38,000 kms in the last 3 years without any such major issues and the car is super comfy and capable for tough terrains. Hope the manufacturer has similar conscience and owns the issue up and resolve.

PS: they did a fuel test and it was clean.

I had a similar experience with my AWD and the vehicle was taken to Salem Renault in late September 2017. Two injectors were replaced by them and their dealing was very good. I had to break the journey and stay overnight in Salem, fortunately, there is a very good hotel nearby. Got the car back after a week, as I could only pick it up the following Saturday. It was a very good experience with roadside assistance and Salem Renault.

Of course, the Duster AWD was bought with high expectations on travelling across the country, but two breakdowns later, I am not that confident about its reliability. However, the latest drive to Horsely hills, over 1700 km both ways, was just wonderful and the vehicle performed beautifully.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sutripta (Post 4332075)

Was going through this thread, when this

caught my eye. ...Renault, and its dealers know of a problem with the rear brakes of the Duster

At least in my case, don't think this had to do all with quality of brakes.

More likely the jammed shoe crumbled when I tried to force release by driving the vehicle. My car had been stagnant for 2+weeks under incessant Mumbai rains.

However, the injector issue is legendary. There is no consensus on the cause - poor fuel, poor electrical or something else. I got 1 of 4 injectors replaced and performance has been good so far (7K KMs since). Since, making sure the vehicle is never standing for more than 2-3 days and filling only from popular/busy filling stations.

Haven't faced issues with any of the other parts you mentioned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sutripta (Post 4332763)

Could you describe what happened. Or is it described in some other post on this forum?

Hey Sutripta!

Here is my drum brake saga in detail, since you ask.

So the drum issue was also around the time the injector problem started on my Duster AWD, but mechanically not related.

I wasn't using the Duster everyday back then. The rusting of drum break started with the rains. Each time this happened, the vehicle was parked in the open for 7+ days at a stretch under pouring rains that only folks living in tropics will relate to.

The first time it jammed, I tried to force it free by driving the vehicle and it worked. The second time I had to call the Roadside and the guy opened the drum and freed the wheel in 2 mins. He had advised me not to use the hand brake in the Monsoon, as long as it is on a flat surface AND ask my cleaner NOT to pour water over the drum every day. This happened a couple of more times but it would release after dragging the wheel for a few feet.

But the drum (and disc) would rust even if the vehicle stood for 24 hrs in rain, though not as bad as to cause the wheel to jam up (this is common across most vehicles, not just the Duster).

It was a month after all this when I was driving across Gujarat that it worsened. Suddenly, each time I start to roll from standstill, there would be a terrible sound of metal grinding, which I later learnt was of the crumbled shoe metal pieces tumbling inside the drum. Clearly my method of driving on to force release the jammed wheel it caused the brake shoe to weaken and eventually splinter.

Ended up having to change the drum shoes in the remote town of Veraval, but luckily the mechanic was able to source original Bosch liners. I returned to Mumbai after a week and immediately took the vehicle to Renault service center to check if they were correctly replaced.

So how is all this related to injector? During my Gujarat drive the error started to appear. It would appear, stay for a few seconds, sometimes for a few minutes and go away. At that point, I thought it was probably an issue with ESP because of all the brake issue playing in my mind. Typically the vehicle would feel breathless, under-powered and would shudder when rolling from stand still or accelerating from a speed breaker. This continued even after the brakes were fixed, but happened far too infrequently, which is why it was another 5 months later that I got the injector replaced.

Here is what I am interested to know - how is it that only some and not all injectors fail in a vehicle. If it is fuel quality or electrical, all of them must be equally susceptible. Does that point to quality control of injectors?