[sidwadia]

Hi Andrew,
whats the latest on the oil sump ? Was it rectified in time ? any further problems that you may have encountered due to it . I would be keen on knowing the same as i intend to purchase the magnum shortly . Any further guidence would be appreciated. thx

[Rehaan]

Given that the positioning of the sump is just a little in front of the front wheels - that must have really been an uneven speedbreaker!
Are you sure there wasnt a rock on the road??

cya
R

[andrewdsouza72]

Hi Rehan

That may be the reason as the oil sump hangs below the engine guard and approaches any irregularities before the tyres have a chance of lifting the body up. If they happened to be in line, they would go up and only a rock or a deep pothole would do the same damage.

[Kairalee]

A few weeks ago i had posted a question on another site and a member (and a Magnum Owner) there reported that the Magnum has small little wheels to protect it from underbody damages in bad roads, etc.

I was never able to verify that, but I am curious to know if anyone has actually see this feature in the magnum?

[greenhorn]

I think indicas/indigos have their power steering equipment left vulnerable to damages from bumps etc. As per their service centers, its a fairly common occurence

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by andrewdsouza72

Hi

Yesterday while driving from Hassan enroute to Bangalore, my brand new magnum went over a uneven speed breaker. The front being low scrapped lightly but after a milisecond or so, there was a large thud. Was very surprised and shocked. Got down and noticed that there was a chunk of metal gone from the oil sump. Also noticed that the negine guard does not cover the engine. It is also an inch higher than the oil sump which happens to be the lowest portion in the car.
When written to GM about this design fault, they callously ignored the letter and told me to pay for it-10000K.
The best part was on the same day there were 2 more magnums in Vijai Motors with the same issue.
Dont know what to do, this looks like a recurring problem and GM is least bothered. Had a harrowing time, used chewing gum for lack of materials to plug the hole till I reached Bangalore.
I have attached pictures of my car and the other white car which had the same problem.

The only design flaw here is the Indian roads that you drive on, or your driving technique.

Sorry to sound like an advocate of GM, but there is nothing wrong with the Optra, and it does not have a "design flaw". If you damaged the car while driving, that does not constitute a design flaw by the manufacturer. I am just amazed that you want GM to pay for this repair!

Let me put it this way: I usually drive a Jeep, and I drive it really hard, like not slowing down for speed breakers, straight through potholes, jumping curbs, off-road, etc. If I drove any car that way, the car would get damaged, and not because the car has a flawed design. But because it is a car, not an off-road vehicle.

Maybe you should trade in your Optra for an SX4 or Gypsy.

[vdiatech]

The consumer protection is not too very strong in India. Lot of corruption.

So, GM will never ever admit fault. If it was in a western country, they would have immediately issued a re-call and fixed it for the affected models. At the end of the say, they are a business and all that they care for is their profit. We have all bought GM cars and we have to live with it now !

Off the topic, reminds me of Vauxhall Vectra 2.2 petrol. It was chain driven ( yes ! Petrol and chain driven ) . There was a design flaw with one of the nozzles that spewed oil to the chain. Since it was small, the quanity of oil was not sufficient. The chain snapped after 20K miles or so.
First Vauxhall did not acknowledge this as a mfr/design flaw. later on they issued a re-call. Many got new chain, nozzle rlaced for free and some whose engine was blown because the chain snapped, got brand new engines . Now, Thats consumer protection !
Ps. I did not get a new engine. I got a replacement nozzle and chain at the dealership under the re-call.

@REDMM340, go easy on the fellow yaar he is in despair. It could be a design flaw with the sump being the lowest part of the car and not having a guard ! Most cars have a shield for the sump and the engine .Optra ought to have that !

[RedMM340]

Vdiatech,

I know that I sounded a bit harsh, but folks should take responsibility for their own actions. If you go out and buy a brand new Porsche 911 and ground it on a speedbreaker, it is not a design defect on the part of Porsche. All cars are different, and some are really low slung to give better high speed stability. This is the case with the Optra. Some cars like the Logan are designed for bad roads. So it is up to the intelligent consumer to carefully look at all aspects of a car before purchasing.

A few months back, I drove my Palio GTX through a large water filled pothole on NH1A which bent 2 alloy rims (Rs. 15,000), ripped 2 tires (Rs. 8,000), bent the rear dead axle (Rs. 15,000). Total damage 38,000. But I realize that this was my fault, not Fiat India, or the Government of Punjab.

[greenhorn]

@ vdiatech. Not that rare. even the toyota corolla is chain driven

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by andrewdsouza72

Its a 10k fatka.

Hi Andrew, it may be a good idea to simply take out the sump from underneath (the engine does not have to be removed) and brass weld it where the hole is, instead of changing the whole sump. It'll cost you peanuts in comparison, and it'll be as durable as any new sump.

The Amby in the days gone by had this issue of no engine guard and damage being caused to the sump easily. I've faced this a number of times, and the easiest way to fix the leak temporarily was to use a mix of Sunlight bar soap and sugar, which set rock hard like M-Seal - easily available anywhere on the highways unlike M-Seal (which was not available in those days at all).

[vdiatech]

Originally Posted by RedMM340

But I realize that this was my fault, not Fiat India, or the Government of Punjab.

certainly is the fault of the Govt and the Highways Dept !

again, I would like to quote a few examples from the western countries.

There have been instances where, the local govt authorities have had to pay for the replacement of suspensions because of the excess no.of speed breakers in one particular stretch of road. People living on that road, had no option but to go over them for years.

Also, when people have tripped and fallen while walking on a pavement because of a loose block of tile/stone, the locl govt's have had to accept liability and pay damages !

Govt's have been sued because of water logging due to rain on motorways, the water logging causing damage/accidents !

Lets admit, in the world where the consumer/customer is the king, we are one of the few execeptions

@SS-Travelleer , you reminded me of the remedy i used for radiator long long long ago, some where before chithoor while driving from bangalore. Hit a dog on the highway and the bumper and radiator damaged. local village shop goods helped me reach home ! I felt immensely sorry for the stray dog which was on a bend on the highway , scavenging on some dead thing on the road

[SirAlec]

I agree with the red jeeper. They do test these stuff, also detune the engine so that it can take our quality of fuel before introducing them here in India. Hence most car has that label specially tweaked for indian conditions.

[vdiatech]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

I agree with the red jeeper. They do test these stuff, also detune the engine so that it can take our quality of fuel before introducing them here in India. Hence most car has that label specially tweaked for indian conditions.

Good Morning Sir Alec,

True most of the cars launched in India are probably tuned/detuned to adapt to Indian Conditions. Visible evidence when you compare for eg, ground clearence of various cars lauched in India and elsewhere.

But I suppose, how ever there could be a narrow margin for design flaws in some cars and we cannot rule that out ! Not all the cars launched in India are a success while compared to their success in Europe/USA and elsewhere, There must be some reasons for this ! We can name a lot of cars that failed in India because of design and tuning/detuning flaws !

If the user here, missed a stone on the road that got stuck to his oil sump then he is to be blamed
If the oil sump is really too low and without a guard then the manufacturer is to be blamed
If the speed breaker was exceptionaly high, the the govt is to be blamed.

You dont need to have a high seed breaker to slow down people. The smaller synthetic ones are very effective too. You could have 2-3 of them in a row with clear warnings ahead

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by RedMM340

Vdiatech,

Some cars like the Logan are designed for bad roads.

A misplaced notion Logan has exactly same problem of low sump , A meru cab driver told me this. There was a new concrete road approx 5 inch higher at the junction to main road , he refused to get down fearing for oil sump and instead took a long u turn.

[DieselFan]

IMO this is a design flaw if what has been described is correct.Lowest point of the car other than the wheels cannot and shouldn't be oil sump. There has to be a protection in such a case with a thick sheet metal cover. This is a clear example of how GM has not redesigned some of its car to Indian conditions. It is not a coincidence that there were two other cars with same problem in GMASS when Andrew went to get his car checked/fixed. It clearly points out that there is something wrong with the design.

Too bad for folks who have bought optra. Now they would not be able to drive on most Indian roads :-).

After reading this thread I would not go in for optra at all or would suggest anyone to buy one. period.