Life of an engine under Indian driving conditions

CrAzY dRiVeR · 1st January 2007, 09:02

Arent we forgetting out good old M800s???

There are owners still living happily with the first series of M800s, that too without any major work on the engine...

streetlife · 1st January 2007, 13:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by mithun

I've also heard that Fiat engines(both petrol & diesel) are as good as Honda/Toyota. If that is not the case, we'll never ever see the geriatric Fiats even today !!!

Most of the priemier cars have thier engines redone.. coming to todays fiats my Palio 1.2 is coming close to 75000k and i feel its more lively now..

but i saw a Palios engine being rebuilt at a workshop, its odo showing some 86300k.. when i enquired the mechanic told that was consuming too much oil and emiting smoke.. made me think what could have possiblly happened as engine being opened at just 86000k.

can anyone tell me whats the approx. life of a Fiat 1.2 engine...

Spark · 1st January 2007, 21:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by iraghava

It would be difficult to guess a figure just by looking at the engine, an expert could give you a ball-park figure by driving her but it would be an estimation. A well-driven & properly serviced engine can fool even the best of experts since it's life is enhanced by the proper care taken of it. A poorly maintained engine can also go wrong with very low mileage on the clock.

Again depends on the usage & driving conditions. My OHC clutch has done 124k & is still going strong whereas some people have experienced failure even at 40k. Depending on usage the replacement time varies vastly.

Thanks for the reply Raghav!!
Actually i bought an 2000 OHC last year which showed 40K on the odo,but now i guess the odo was manipulated.... so i am just wondering how much had it originally run?? It was a company car.Now that it has logget to 60K the clutch has started to fade a little but still workable.Just guessing the engine health!! How much of good working life one can expect.?? Any guesses??
Regards
Spark.

iraghava · 2nd January 2007, 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spark

Now that it has logget to 60K the clutch has started to fade a little but still workable.Just guessing the engine health!! How much of good working life one can expect.?? Any guesses??

Honda engines are generally very reliable. In the OHC here are a few examples known to me personally:

OHC 1.3 - 175k still running fine.
OHC 1.5 - 155k still running fine.
OHC VTEC - 125k still running great (belongs to me!)

So given proper & regular sericing you have nothing to fear till 150-200k atleast. Of course there can be instances of freak failures due to poor maintainance but generally the engines are pretty tough.

esteem_lover · 2nd January 2007, 13:13

@spark...normally clutch will wear out at approximately 70-80K, i am not sure about honda, iraghava could help you there. you can visit any of the Honda service centres and ask for the history of your car. they will let you know exactly when this car was serviced & at what kms.

Vipul.Sharma · 2nd January 2007, 15:29

It doesn't matter if the car is running fine, the thing is; is the car's fuel average same and consistent, what about the sound of engine....etc...the car may be clocking 100k's of kms but point to ponder is ..... Whether ur cars engine is in healthy shape........

I think the estimated (from company) life of normal car engine is 100K kms, some cars do have their engine life around 500K kms like Mercs....Company recommends overhauling of engine after that.......

tsk1979 · 2nd January 2007, 15:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vipul.Sharma

I think the estimated (from company) life of normal car engine is 100K kms, some cars do have their engine life around 500K kms like Mercs....Company recommends overhauling of engine after that.......

Why only 100K. There is no reason that a well maintained engine should work perfectly fine for more than 100K. Even badly maintained indicabs do 150K before requiring an overhaul due to engine eating oil.
An engine which has had its oil changes regularly and is serviced regularly will be in optimum running condition even beyond 100K. Badly maintained engines can go bad aroiund 80-90K

sbasak · 2nd January 2007, 15:43

I have seen many Toytota Avensis taxis in UK with odometer reading over 400,000 miles - in fact one had it 440,000 miles! [that's an amazing over 700,000 km]. These cabbies say that these cars are expected to run till 500,000 miles without a serious problem!

Honda, Toyota, Mazda - 200,000 km is just nothing to them!!!

Vipul.Sharma · 2nd January 2007, 16:36

What u r saying is ok....but cannot be accepted as a general fact..........what company says is for mass and for general

tsk1979 · 2nd January 2007, 18:07

Can you cite your sources? Which company says their engines will last only 100K kms? Any documents released by companies? Please back your arguments with facts

Max · 2nd January 2007, 19:32

my OHC which i sold 2 years back done 50k and engine was running like brand new. No problems at all. I know the current owner and engine still runs very smooth without any maintenance. I think now it has covered 60k (current owner do not run his car much).

CaliforniaKnight · 3rd January 2007, 09:25

The Toyota Camry (taxis) running in the UAE have all clocked 500000 km and every single car runs trouble free, starts up in the first crank, is smooth and no vibrations and also picks up decent speed.You know how they handle these cars there..I gues theres a lot witht he fuel in the cars as well especially the octane content and unadulterated fuel available there.
Any Ideas what shall be expected from the little ESTEEM???

vishnugs · 3rd January 2007, 12:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by streetlife

Most of the priemier cars have thier engines redone.. coming to todays fiats my Palio 1.2 is coming close to 75000k and i feel its more lively now..

but i saw a Palios engine being rebuilt at a workshop, its odo showing some 86300k.. when i enquired the mechanic told that was consuming too much oil and emiting smoke.. made me think what could have possiblly happened as engine being opened at just 86000k.

can anyone tell me whats the approx. life of a Fiat 1.2 engine...

I use a Fiat Siena 1.7 TD and I have clocked 110000 so far, the diesel engine is still smooth and as good as it was when it had done 20k Kms. I still get 11-12Km/l. My FASP says the engine will run 2.5 lakh KM in Indian conditions. So my guess is Fiat petrol engine should do even more than that.

Equus · 3rd January 2007, 12:54

A coolcab Indica on the Mumbai-Pune had clocked 270K and going strong!

mega5918 · 3rd January 2007, 13:09

What I've heard is 200,000 Kms is what you can expect on an average from a Honda or a Toyota for Indian conditions; so on an average if some one drives his/her car for 20,000 Kms per year then it's around 10 years

It's like buying an opportunity to get another car 10 years down. Off course depends on how the engine is maintained, like oil change every 5000 Kms, Oil and Fuel filter change, cleaning the piston rings every 50,000 Kms etc…

1st January 2007, 09:02	#46
CrAzY dRiVeR Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore / TVM Posts: 17,310 Thanked: 74,361 Times View My Garage	Arent we forgetting out good old M800s??? There are owners still living happily with the first series of M800s, that too without any major work on the engine...
	() Thanks

2nd January 2007, 13:13	#50
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 507 Times View My Garage	@spark...normally clutch will wear out at approximately 70-80K, i am not sure about honda, iraghava could help you there. you can visit any of the Honda service centres and ask for the history of your car. they will let you know exactly when this car was serviced & at what kms.
	() Thanks

2nd January 2007, 15:29	#51
Vipul.Sharma Newbie Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 23 Thanked: Once	It doesn't matter if the car is running fine, the thing is; is the car's fuel average same and consistent, what about the sound of engine....etc...the car may be clocking 100k's of kms but point to ponder is ..... Whether ur cars engine is in healthy shape........ I think the estimated (from company) life of normal car engine is 100K kms, some cars do have their engine life around 500K kms like Mercs....Company recommends overhauling of engine after that.......
	() Thanks

2nd January 2007, 15:43	#53
sbasak BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: CCU-LTN Posts: 608 Thanked: 14 Times	I have seen many Toytota Avensis taxis in UK with odometer reading over 400,000 miles - in fact one had it 440,000 miles! [that's an amazing over 700,000 km]. These cabbies say that these cars are expected to run till 500,000 miles without a serious problem! Honda, Toyota, Mazda - 200,000 km is just nothing to them!!!
	() Thanks

2nd January 2007, 16:36	#54
Vipul.Sharma Newbie Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 23 Thanked: Once	What u r saying is ok....but cannot be accepted as a general fact..........what company says is for mass and for general
	() Thanks

2nd January 2007, 18:07	#55
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,725 Thanked: 23,050 Times View My Garage	Can you cite your sources? Which company says their engines will last only 100K kms? Any documents released by companies? Please back your arguments with facts
	() Thanks

2nd January 2007, 19:32	#56
Max BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Thane Posts: 538 Thanked: 98 Times View My Garage	my OHC which i sold 2 years back done 50k and engine was running like brand new. No problems at all. I know the current owner and engine still runs very smooth without any maintenance. I think now it has covered 60k (current owner do not run his car much).
	() Thanks

3rd January 2007, 09:25	#57
CaliforniaKnight BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: IND + DXB Posts: 980 Thanked: 141 Times View My Garage	The Toyota Camry (taxis) running in the UAE have all clocked 500000 km and every single car runs trouble free, starts up in the first crank, is smooth and no vibrations and also picks up decent speed.You know how they handle these cars there..I gues theres a lot witht he fuel in the cars as well especially the octane content and unadulterated fuel available there. Any Ideas what shall be expected from the little ESTEEM???
	() Thanks

3rd January 2007, 12:54	#59
Equus Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,123 Thanked: 424 Times	A coolcab Indica on the Mumbai-Pune had clocked 270K and going strong!
	() Thanks

3rd January 2007, 13:09	#60
mega5918 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 95 Thanked: 5 Times	What I've heard is 200,000 Kms is what you can expect on an average from a Honda or a Toyota for Indian conditions; so on an average if some one drives his/her car for 20,000 Kms per year then it's around 10 years It's like buying an opportunity to get another car 10 years down. Off course depends on how the engine is maintained, like oil change every 5000 Kms, Oil and Fuel filter change, cleaning the piston rings every 50,000 Kms etc…
	() Thanks