[champ27]

Originally Posted by anand253

I have the same model (Aug 2012) and have gone through the same issues as you a couple of months back.

Thanks Mate!. This definitely helps. I will go for a complete clutch assembly overhaul. Other diesel verna owners also confirmed the same in the verna thread. Looks like a common occurrence in diesel vernas.

[kashyapz8055]

This query is regarding my Oct 2015 Baleno Petrol which has run 20k km.

The clutch pedal was hard, so I took the car to MASS, SA diagnosed it to be a problem with clutch cable and he changed the same. Yet the problem is not resolved. Now he is telling that Release bearing might have gone bad and it requires complete clutch overhaul.

My querry is, there is absolutely no pick-up/mileage drop. The car is not at all driven in busy traffic. Does it require a clutch replacement or is there any other solution for this ?

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by kashyapz8055

My querry is, there is absolutely no pick-up/mileage drop. The car is not at all driven in busy traffic. Does it require a clutch replacement or is there any other solution for this ?

You can open and replace the defective part, but since it is a major job people prefer to replace the whole kit including plates and pressure plate. Since there is no slip my suggestion is to use the car as it is for now.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by kashyapz8055

The clutch pedal was hard, so I took the car to MASS, SA diagnosed it to be a problem with clutch cable and he changed the same. Yet the problem is not resolved. Now he is telling that Release bearing might have gone bad and it requires complete clutch overhaul.

?

If the cable replacement hasn't solved the problem, then the release bearing has most likely gone bad.

Adding to what Jaggu has mentioned above, replacing the bearing alone can be done, but it requires extensive labour. Compared to a complete clutch replacement, the labour charges might cost the same amount.

Since the car is fairly new and not run much, if you are sure that the clutch has not been abused at all, you can evaluate the costs and go for only replacing the release bearing.

Alternative is to replace the whole assembly as you will pay almost the same labour, so compare the part prices here.

Lastly if it's manageable, drive the car as it is.


Life of the original clutch in normal conditions is easily upwards of 60k kms. Please check how the release bearing could have gone bad so soon. See if it can be replaced under warranty citing premature failure.

[kashyapz8055]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Life of the original clutch in normal conditions is easily upwards of 60k kms. Please check how thw release bearing could have gone bad so soon. See if it can be replaced under warranty citi g premature failure.

SA spoke to his manager about replacing the part under warranty, sadly my car is out of warranty period as I had not bought Extended warranty

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by kashyapz8055

SA spoke to his manager about replacing the part under warranty, sadly my car is out of warranty period as I had not bought Extended warranty

Try negotiating. This is definitely premature wear. Check if this is a defect in other similar cars manufactured around the same time.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by kashyapz8055

The clutch pedal was hard, so I took the car to MASS, SA diagnosed it to be a problem with clutch cable and he changed the same. Yet the problem is not resolved. Now he is telling that Release bearing might have gone bad and it requires complete clutch overhaul.

A bad release bearing usually gives audible symptoms. Since there is no slip in your case, I suspect the hard clutch to be the pressure plate. Also, since yours is a cable clutch, running around with a very hard-to-press pressure plate isn't advisable.

The clutch is a wear and tear part, agreed, but, that should be the friction plate. If this is indeed a pressure plate issue, you can push for warranty and might get honoured.

[sharktale]

Want to get confirmation from team members whether I was actually fleeced by my FNG Garage :

My '14 Grand i10 Petrol Magna just completed 4.5 years, 21K Kms.

The clutch had become quite hard in the past year and the following problems were observed :

1. Clutch made krr-krr sounds while depressing.
2. Fuel consumption shot by over 20-25%
3. Matching the revs to speed had become a flawed. Sometime's i'd actually have to look into the Tacho.
4. Pickup had dropped and a bit of heavy grunt was felt even with a singke occupant.

Though, the above sounds like a recipe for clutch replacement, isn't 21K and 4.5 years too premature for clutch replacement , even after taking into mind the car was being driven by 2-3 people only in the busy streets of Kolkata.

The garage people had tried servicing the clutch cable, but it made the no significant difference.
The overall costs I think were 3-3.5k, as the only pressure plate combo was changed, and the bearing was fine.

Am a noob in the technical matters atm, and cannot decide whether I was fleeced or not.

[arun_112]

Most of the Maruti Authorised dealers will very easily ask you to replace the parts, especially the clutch because they save a lot on spare part as well as they earn a lot on labour. Also the old part is heavy and they get good return on sale of the old clutch from kabaariwala.

I am having Alto from the year 2004 and it has run 60,000 Kms. I have never gone for any regular service from MASS. I always got the minor repairs done from Maruti when ever there was need. On my every visit to the Maruti dealer, for last 10 years, I was always advised to replace the clutch, but I never listened to them and for the last 10 years I am using the car without any problem with the same clutch without replacement.

The more you allow the authorised dealers to fiddle with your car the more your rounds to their service centre will increase.

I have only and regularly changed coolant, spark plugs, engine oil, and break oil and I never faced any issued. But I know the moment if I go to Maruti service today also, they will ask me to replace lot of things.

My sincere suggestion is to get the car checked first by local one or two garagewalas and then visit the authorised centre. This way you will have background of what is really required. If you fully become dependent on Maruti dealer, very soon all the parts of your car would be replaced.

If you are having uneven tuning....change the spark plug and see. If there is loss of power go for cleaning of throttle and injectors. These improve the situation a lot. If then also you find engine issues then go for further investigation. Cars are rugged and are meant to give good life, and are not meant to replace parts very frequently.

Clutch replacement is a big racket. Please be careful. Sometimes only clutch bearings or spring replacement is required and you end up replacing the complete clutch unit.

Whenever work is being done on your car, insist to see it personally and in front of your eyes. If the dealer does not allow you to be near your car, it means they are doing fishy job. Take away your car from such place and give it elsewhere.

Dealers like careless people who sent their cars to them with driver or those who leave their cars and go away and also those who ask their cars to be picked from their home and dropped back. Such people are nicely fleeced by dealers because the owners do not have any control or awareness of what is really required in car or actually done by dealer.

So, don't get fooled so easily.

[kashyapz8055]

Originally Posted by kashyapz8055

This query is regarding my Oct 2015 Baleno Petrol which has run 20k km.

Update

I had sent a mail to Maruti regarding this issue and they agreed to repair under goodwill with 50% part cost and FOC on Labour. The entire clutch set, Release bearing and Flywheel was replaced before a month and the total cost was 2787

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by sharktale

My '14 Grand i10 Petrol Magna just completed 4.5 years, 21K Kms.

The clutch had become quite hard in the past year and the following problems were observed :

1. Clutch made krr-krr sounds while depressing.
2. Fuel consumption shot by over 20-25%
3. Matching the revs to speed had become a flawed. Sometime's i'd actually have to look into the Tacho.
4. Pickup had dropped and a bit of heavy grunt was felt even with a singke occupant.

Practically, it is the driving technique that has a greater impact on the clutch life than the milege or age of the vehicle.

I have seen a colleague managing to fry the clutch in his two month old Swift.

When driving in bumper to bumper traffic, with liberal clutch slipping, and with more than one person driving the car, it is not entirely surprising to see the clutch has given up.

Also the best way to find out if you were fleeced is to see how the car is functioning now. Have all the above issues disappeared? Then obviously it was a much needed repair.

[Swapnil4585]

I changed the entire clutch system of my Altis earlier this year. The Original lasted for 1L kilometres. Thereafter I put one, Exidy Corporation's clutch plates, whose clutch plates are used on Toyota, Honda, Ford, etc.

Now I am finding it very difficult to get the car moving from a complete stop. The car shudders and moves very slowly from a standstill and there is a lot of pedal play too. My car is driven 95% on highways. Even when driven in city, stop / go situations are very rare. However, I am unable to move quickly when completely stopped, which causes embarrassment in traffic. There is no problem in top end, fuel economy , etc.

Should I open the gear box and fit the plates again or should I do something else?

[ashis89]

I drive a '11 WagonR 1.0 which has run ~77k kms and is still on the original clutch. Since the last two weeks, clutch has started feeling spongy and no feel. I see the following changes:

1. Clutch feels softer/lighter than earlier.

2. Clutch release after a gearshift, mostly the lower gears 1-2, gives a jerky launch once in a while.

3. In stop-go traffic, when I press the clutch completely, the RPMs stay for 1-2 secs before falling to idle RPM levels. I observed this a few times.

4. The clutch bite point has reduced/gone down and the last <50% of the travel, actuates the clutch. It was definitely much higher earlier.

Apart of this, I haven't felt any noticeable slippage and car runs fine in all conditions. Is the above observations any indication of clutch dying soon? I have some travel plans and would like to get it changed proactively if necessary.

Thanks,
Ashis

[redcruiser]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Apart of this, I haven't felt any noticeable slippage and car runs fine in all conditions. Is the above observations any indication of clutch dying soon? I have some travel plans and would like to get it changed proactively if necessary.

Thanks,
Ashis

If you can idle the car in second gear then definitely the clutch is worn out.

[arindambasu13]

What is the likely issue if there is a distinct squeaking noise whenever the clutch is pressed down (but clearly before the operative portion of the press down starts). Basically, its the "blank" bit of the clutch travel (about a couple of inches of travel when the clutch pedal is first pressed), right before the pedal gets into operation and before the clutch bites/ actuates. Hopefully I am able to convey the correct question.

There is otherwise no issues with the gear change, the clutch operation or softness / ease of use of the clutch. There is also zero noise or roughness in the actual "operative travel" of the clutch. This is on a new manual petrol car travelled less than 1000 kms. Am I correct in assuming that all that is required is probably greasing/lubrication of the clutch?