[t3ofil4us]

CVT repair with SEHMBI- a true nightmare

Owning a Sedan with a CVT is a godsend in Mumbai's Traffic but when things break down and you have to rely on Non-standard/ non-dealership solutions, it can become an absolute nightmare. To top it if your Car is out of production or a CBU, the costs of repair quoted by the dealership are exorbitant.

Narrating the incident with my close acquaintance which transpired recently as he had to rely on SEHMBI instead of the Suzuki dealership for a CVT repair of his Suzuki Kizashi. The car was immaculately maintained despite it being one of the last vehicles to be sold.

Recently, after a long trip to Goa, at low speeds, there was some noise which we observed despite wheel alignment and balancing.


Suzuki Workshop Navi Mumbai

Suspecting something serious to be at fault, as the steering column was recently replaced, the Car was handed over to the Suzuki Dealership in Navi Mumbai to scan and confirm. Our worst fears came true as it was an issue diagnosed to be CVT related.

The dealership decided to throw their hands up in the air and straight away suggested a CVT replacement costing 4.5 Lakhs

We also checked with Local mechanics who specialized in high end cars also recommended a complete CVT replacement which seemed like overkill for a small issue.

Searching for alternative on Team-bhp as well as on the Internet, we found out that SEHMBI specializes in CVT repairs but being based in Malad, the vehicle was to be driven all the way across from Navi Mumbai to Malad. Unfortunately there were no user experience reviews on Team-bhp to go by and the Google Reviews are not the gold standard.

We were informed that the CVT would be checked after the vehicle reaches them and costs would be communicated post inspection. Initially, the contact person recommended a valet driver service which was exorbitant and unwilling to budge on the cost quote. After much discussion, one driver from SEHMBI came over and took the vehicle to the workshop.

Now this where slowly things started going down a slippery slope.

Initial Investigation

Without disclosing what will be done upfront after vehicle inspection, Rs 90000 as discounted price was communicated and when reasoned what will be changed, the owner argued that we will only open CVT after you agree on the cost. Having no other choice, we agreed to get the work done.

After confirmation over mail they started work and went on for 3 whole weeks post which a bill was sent without sharing the parts which were changed.

The owner communicated that this will also entail a 6 month warranty for the service.

We made upfront payment as required by the workshop and additional payment to the valet driver who drove it from Malad to Navi Mumbai.

The valet from the service Centre had a really tough time finding the location despite being quite prominent and exact location being shared on whatsapp. We located him after multiple calls back and forth.


Post Delivery Hassles

On initial inspection, the car came back in shambles, was unwashed reeked of fish along with multiple damaged parts.

On the test drive, the CVT seemed uncharacteristically laggy, multiple lights were blinking/on in the information cluster with the service engine prompt and the AC was not cooling which was weird as the vehicle was pristine condition when dispatched for repair.

On checking with Harjeet (the owner of the workshop), he said some lag is to be expected and after driving some 600 odd kms, it should go away. Regarding the other issues, he was insolent and claimed these issues should be taken up with the valet driver from SEHMBI who never answered any calls post delivery.

For me, it was surprising that the owner doesn’t share what parts are changed (like parts which were taken out ), so no honesty or transparency like Maruti (they shared replaced parts), so we don’t even know if he changed anything or just filled transmission fluid.

Hearing these unsubstantiated claims, we decided to get a second opinion from the Dealership and that's where Pandora's box seemingly opened about what went on at the SEHMBI workshop.

Further Diagnosis at Suzuki Workshop in Navi Mumbai

The dealership identified that when the CVT was opened and serviced at SEHMBI, the AC fuse was disconnected and directly connected to the Battery. This was the root cause of the AC not working.

In Addition to this, the O2 sensor was connected the wrong way which led to the sensor puffing up and failing which in turn led to a lag in the CVT shifts and ruining driving experience.

The dealership quoted a bill of Rs. 25000 for these repairs along with replacing a damaged LH engine Mount and complete upholstery cleaning to remove the Fishy Stink from the car.

Post replacement of all these parts, the car is now silky smooth and back to its pristine condition

Further Interactions with Harjeet

When confronted over a call, Mr. Harjeet initially declined to pay to the amount incurred for repairing the vehicle, claiming his mechanics do not touch anything else apart from the parts which need to be repaired. We confronted him with the images and the bill and informed him that we will be posting reviews about the poor quality of service and rude behaviour, he reluctantly agreed to foot the additional Rs 25000/-, but still has not paid it till date.

The Workshop owner, then confessed that when the vehicle was being driven to the petrol pump, it stalled and the mechanic tried to start it by bypassing the AC fuse whereas the O2 sensor being incorrectly fitted was the actual reason for the vehicle failing to start.

Conclusion

If you have a CVT vehicle and have no other choice, I recommend using parts from scrap or eBay and then getting it replaced rather than sending it to SEHMBI as travelling to Malad daily and standing for inspection is out of question. There are no explanations over calls, Replaced parts are not returned, no clear justification on the cost, and their poorly trained mechanics can ruin your valued and worshipped car.

I definitely recommend sticking to the dealership as much as possible if you own a CBU and use genuine spares only unless you have no other choice.

[Aditya]

Very bad experience indeed. It's such shoddy work that hurts a car owner more than spending some extra money.

Most dealerships go for replacing parts rather than repairing. In the long run, even I prefer replacements rather than repaired parts.

Coming back to SEHMBI, their behaviour was thoroughly unprofessional. Disconnecting the fuse, fitting the sensor wrongly and damaging an engine mount and giving the car back stinking - even a roadside mechanic would do a better job.

Hope your friend gets his Rs. 25,000 back soon.

[AKSarkar1]

Thank you for sharing this experience with us, one would generally think that owning Suzukis give you peace of mind even when things go wrong but the CBU perspective lent an interesting insight.

IMHO sometimes you need to just take the punch in the gut and keep moving and by this I mean selling the car and moving on makes more sense. Especially with CBU cars that have been out of production for many years. There is a reason why people still send their cars to official service centers regardless of the crazy quotes and that is due to the accountability and professional which one simply can't expect out of outside garages.

[Aviator_guy]

Sorry to hear about such a bad experience. I guess when we buy a high end niche (for Suzuki) CBU, specially the one which is discontinued, every precaution should be taken to maintain it as official as possible. It may mean shelling out high bucks (relatively speaking, but compared to the cost of the car, it may be reasonable) vs trusting an unknown garage. Sometimes the risk of paying high price for maintenance has to be taken for peace of mind as evident in this case.

[TB16]

I too own a Kizashi but the manual transmission version. The CVT is well known to be the weakest part of this car. Once that is replaced, the car is somewhat bullet proof. Now since that has been taken care off, i think your acquaintance can drive the car relatively stress free.
The only issue I'm facing since last 1 year is a heavy clutch. But since my car is running on CNG so I'm not complaining much. Rest everything has been great since last 10 years of owning this beast.

[DarKizashi]

Hello, the Kizashi CVT is known to fail at around 75,000kms but pre-emptive maintenance can help increase its life. In order to do so the CVT pan has to be dropped and a couple of ball bearings have to be changed.

You should look on to "kizashiclub.com" forum on google, detailed information is available on how to fix the CVT, and about everything else on this car. Your friend might as well find a competent mechanic and get the car back to tip-top condition.

I myself own a Kizashi MT and it's a great car to drive, but these issues start popping up mainly due to the age of these cars. Hope your friend has his problems sorted out soon!

[t3ofil4us]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Very bad experience indeed. It's such shoddy work that hurts a car owner more than spending some extra money.

Coming back to SEHMBI, their behaviour was thoroughly unprofessional. Disconnecting the fuse, fitting the sensor wrongly and damaging an engine mount and giving the car back stinking - even a roadside mechanic would do a better job.

Hope your friend gets his Rs. 25,000 back soon.

What hurt a lot was that they are self proclaimed experts in automatic transmission repair and they failed to take ownership for their faults.

I own an ameo and I usually get it serviced from my FNG, who is a whole world apart when it comes to the quality of work.

My friend just wanted to make sure his horrible experience was made known because the car is absolute delight when it's fine.

[SN88]

When it comes to touching the engine, gear, AC and the ecm, I strongly advise only going to the ASC or a FNG which is only through a very strong reference. Trials and error in using a garage merely by word of mouth will result in such horrendous experiences.

Hope your friend gets his due of the 25k!

[maheshm619]

Originally Posted by t3ofil4us

In Addition to this, the O2 sensor was connected the wrong way which led to the sensor puffing up

How did the manage to fail this ?. Doesn't the connector come with fool-proof design / snap lock ?.

[t3ofil4us]

Originally Posted by maheshm619

How did the manage to fail this ?. Doesn't the connector come with fool-proof design / snap lock ?.

Attachment 2307387

That's what surprised me too initially, but it seems there are 2 sensors, one at the airflow inlet and one at the outlet. Exchanging their positions while reassembling the CVT seems to have caused this as per the Suzuki workshop.

[t3ofil4us]

Originally Posted by SN88

When it comes to touching the engine, gear, AC and the ecm, I strongly advise only going to the ASC or a FNG which is only through a very strong reference. Trials and error in using a garage merely by word of mouth will result in such horrendous experiences.

Hope your friend gets his due of the 25k!

True! I stick to a FNG in vashi for my Ameo and he is quite reliable. Unfortunately it was beyond his expertise to handle the CVT and reviews did not help in this case.

Also, I wanted to share an update, My friend finally got the 25K deposited in his account.

Mods: Unable to edit/merge with my previous reply