[bhp_maniac]

Originally Posted by drbabuanand

hi guys
i am back with a bang(rather the problem is back with a bang).
having driven the sx4 for the next 25,000 kms with out any problems,now i have multitude of problems.
1)on a high way drive to chennai with 3 passangers and full luggage,the a/c water began to seep inside and flooded the left half of my car.my jbl speakers on that side(both front and rear) went kaput,and now they are lying down in service centre.i took the car to authorised service centre.the problem was diagnosed as dust in the a/c.the a/c was removed and cleaned,the carpet was dried and i was charged close to rs 5000 for this work. the service engineer said that this is a routine problem when you clock 30000 kms.my vehicle was serviced every 5000 kms in an authorized service centre all along and why nobody bothered to clean the a/c, is strange?
2) the car was ok for the next couple of days when i noticed the dreaded heating problem .when i cross 100km/h speed the a/c stops working and the temp needle goes all the way up to red line.i stopped the vehicle and checked the coolant level and the radiator fans.both were fine. took the car to the same service centre.the problem now is the same head gasket which has to be replaced plus the head has to be resurfaced. the people dont know why it has again recurred.
my question to fellow sx4 owners,do any of you face this problem?the service engineer says that this is the 3rd car with this problem
i have taken an extended warranty which will cover this damage.(i thank F50 for the excellent article on extende warranty)
this warrnty is due to expire on feb2011.so i have planned to sell of this car and go for vento.how much will this car fetch in second hand market?(3yrs,33000kms,single owner,doctor driven,excellent condn except the engine)

expecting valuble inputs!

Its weird that the issue re-surfaced. Better you get it fixed and go for a new car. I seriously doubt regarding the radiator fan not working when it is expected to do so, or else the coolant pump may be the issue.

[drbabuanand]

guys,i have lost my patience with this car!
i took this car for a chennai drive and the engine over heating again occured.i had crossed almost 100kms ,and i was left stranded with my 5 months old kid in the scorching sun.i saw even nanos zipping the highway with ease,and i decided that i am not going to lie down and take this any more. i have decided to approach the consumer forum with all the details.i request if any one have approached the consumer forum, what is the procedure.i know it is going to be a long overhaul and i am prepared for that

i have sent the following email to maruti and i am waiting for their reply,your valuble inputs are welcome

To
The General Manager,
Maruti Suzuki Limited,
Trichy.

Dear Sir,
Sub: Continuous Engine Problems in my Car SX4. - Regarding.
Ref: Your Service Records.
With reference to the above subject, I would like to inform the following issues to your esteemed office for coming out with an amicable solution.
1. I have Purchased My Car SX-4, from PL.A. Motors, in 11.02.2008 (11 th February 2008), because of my affinity towards Maruti Motors, for quite some time. However, My Car has underwent continuous problems for the past 3 years, which has forced me to again write a letter to your office, since I am slowly losing my patience in this regard.
2. My Car, has developed Engine overheat problem at 7,500 km, which has been detected as Damaged Radiator and Fan and replaced under Warranty. I have been assured by PL.A. Motors, no such problem will occur in the future. I have been given to understand at that time, this has happened for the first time, because the parts has been changed within a short period of purchased time.
3. After 10 days of time, the same heating problem occurred and detected as Engine Gasket issue which is again changed under warranty. By the time, I have also met Mr Selvakumar, TSM of your firm, who has also assured me that there won’t be any such problems in future.i asked for an engine change which was laughed at and stubbornly refused.
4. Same problem, reoccurred on 20.11.10 at the Milage of 32,000 km ( same Engine overheating ) Gasket changed & Engine Head was resurfaced within the extended warranty period. But the Engine is not changed even after request from my side.the car was with pla motors for 20 days and was thoroughly(?) studied.after waiting for a long period I shot an email to you(dated 11/09/2010),after which the repair was speeded up and the car was repaired hurriedly.the service personnel mr.nagaraj promised me that all is well(including the head and the ring etc., etc.,
5..Finally on 15.04.11, the same problem occurred when I was travelling with my 6 month old kid for attending important family function in Chennai Highway, the same Engine Heating problem occurred and literally I have been standing on the high road for about 2 hours with my small kid, without knowing how to proceed further.
6. Now the extended warranty period is also completed and I have been asked to change parts at my cost, by PL.A. Motors, which is not only a surprise but also a shock for me,.the car is now with the same authorised service centre and i belive a new TSM is studying my car?
My question to you are
1) The basic function of an engine is not to get heated up,which this car was not able to do so
2) All the problems started because of the defective manufacture of the radiator fan and radiator which was replaced under warranty.
3) What happened to the promise made by the TSM mr.selvakumar that all was well
4) Did the maruti and their authorised service centre were merely postponing the inevitable engine change till the extended warranty expired.
5) This sick vehicle has been in and out of your authorised service station 17 times in 3 yrs,roughly once in two months,and the problem has not been sorted out which shows your inefficient service
6) Not to mention,this vehicle was serviced every 5000kms at your authorised service centre,never even touched 120kms/h in odometer,has clocked only 37000 kms in 3 yrs i.,e roughly 33 kms /day,and was driven only by me.
7) the car was not treated roughly which can be ascertained by the state of the factory fitted tyres
At this juncture, I suggest your office, to handover a New Vehicle and also pay all the cost of service along with interest, which I have given to PL.A. Motors for the past 3 years. I need an immediate and amicable reply, and the non-compliance will be faced with serious legal issues for your office which please note.

Regards,
Dr C.BABU ANAND

right now i have only the service record right from the day one of my free service to till this day
suggestions ,criticisms are all welcome

[tanwaramit]

this is a serious issue with the car, I would ask you to send an email to people in the head office too.

The team there can take some action. I hope Maruti doesn't do a Skoda.

[rkbharat]

This is pretty serious problem. Even I am also unhappy with my SX4 due to problem resurfacing very frequently. but the good part is that MASS is pretty supportive and work/resolve the problem immediately. Recently they changed the Fuel Pump and that solved the serious problem of car choking

[shankar.balan]

Doc

Slap those monkeys with a Consumer Court Case. File it against the dealership and clearly make Maruti Udyog party to it too.

Also publicize the problem as best you can but only stick to the facts - dont make any allegations - because that can be construed as slander.

If you put a case into consumer court you will see how quick they will come to look after you.

Sometimes these auto companies just grow too big for their boots and stop valuing their consumers who are their lifeblood.

Too many consumers have the habit of keeping quiet and meekly submitting to the nonsense doled out by the manufacturers. End of the day lets realize they arent doing us any favours - they are being paid for what they give.

[scorpian]

Dear Friends,
This is my input regarding various issues with SX4 and i hope my posts do sent offend anybody.

Being in maruti A.s.s for last few years i have noticed a lot of issues with sx4,mainly issues that seem really very serious in regards to the kind of money a customer pays for a car like sx4.

1)Premature tyre wear.....most frequent complaint at a.s.s inspite of regular alignment and balancing.
2)A few cars were seen with a serious issue of airbags opening by themselves with absolutely no impact whatsoever, in fact one airbag was deployed in a parked car,the said car was checked my maruti engineer who confirmed there was no damage to the car whatsoever and it seemed like a fault with the system,now imagine if this had to happen when the customer was driving the car am sure he wud be startled,the said car was lying in the workshop for over a month and sadly the car was repaired by telling the customer that maruti ha repaired it free as a goodwill gesture.
3)At the denting section this car is referred to as "khokla gaadi"..denters opine that it has one of the worst metal used.
4)sx4 has one of the most horrible resale values.
5)premature steering rack failure as low as 30k kms,a noisy steering which has no solution other then replacement of entire steering rack.

again this post is not to offend any sx4 owners.

[drbabuanand]

tanwaramit- how do i contact the head office
rkbharat,shankar.balan- thanks for the support,

dont make any allegations-will keep that in mind

scorpian-that is an eye opener,i thought i was the one with a lemon but sorry to see so many lemons.i stopped selling this car previously after seeing the resale value,its horrific .

ever since this car entered the premises the service guys have been experimenting with this car and were never able to diagnose the problems.most of the time they treated the symptoms without curing the disease.they changed the gasket twice. on both these occasions the gasket blew because of heat or vice versa -no body knows.
.i read some where that the head should be resurfaced when ever the gasket is changed
but they resrfaced the engine head only last time.apart from the engine overheating i faced a lot of other issues with this car which needs a seperate thread.
i talked with the new TSM yesterday,he said he will get back to me this evening but has not.
the maruti promptly sent a rerply to the above letter stating that they regret for what has happened and will try to solve the problem(probably a computer generated reply)

[download2live]

Man it seems that the fabled A.S.S of any company for that matter is a hollow claim after all. First read about skoda woes then Hyundai i20 woes and now big daddy of all Maruti. From now on I am not going to recommend ANY brand on basis of A.S.S. Its just takes a single inept dealership to upset the apple cart.

Dear Doc, one question. Did you take your car to PLA motors only? Never tried any other service station? If the answer yes then there is a little fault on your side too. Buying a car is one part of the job. Finding a right dealership competent enough to handle it another which sadly we ignore.

[drbabuanand]

download2live
unfortunately there are only two authorised service centres at trichy,the other one is ABT which i tried for another issue and found it to be no different.both these service centres are not geared for a major engine problem. the pla guys used the test drive sx4 as a guinea pig .they switch parts of that car to my car and see if the problem solves.

[drbabuanand]

guys i faxed the following letter to the head office ,maruti udyog ,new delhi


To
MARUTI UDYOG LIMITED,
HEAD OFFICE,
DELHI.
Dear Sir,
Sub: Continuous complaints about My Car SX4-TN-45 AK-6556-Regarding.
Ref: Your Service particulars for the past 3 years.
With reference to the above subject, I have already informed your office, the details about the continuous complaints, with my Car for the past 3 years. In this regard, I have received a reply from your end, stating that the problem will be looked after and solved at the earliest.
However, I have lost my confidence with the Car and your authorized service centre PL.A. Motors, Dheeran Nagar, Dindigul Main Road, Trichy. The Car underwent services with your authorized service centre 17 times, in the past 3 years & My Car has clocked only 37,000 km’s in 3 years time. The Car was in fine condition up to 7,500 km’s, when the issue started.
1. The Engine developed overheating problem and taken to PL.A. Service centre was found to have defective Radiator Fan, which has damaged the Radiator resulting in coolant leakage and overheating. We understand from your authorized service centre that, it has been a Manufacturing defect and it has to be replaced under warranty, which has been done so at that time. I have also enquired about the Engine condition, has been assured will not be occur in future.
NOTE: ACCORDING TO MY UNDERSTANDING YOUR SERVICE CENTRE MUST HAVE REPLACED THE ENGINE AT THE 1 ST TIME OF THE ISSUE OR AT LEAST, SHOULD HAVE OPENED THE HEAD AND INSPECTED THE GASKET WHICH WAS NOT DONE. THE CAR WAS HURRIEDLY SERVICED AND GIVEN BACK TO ME WITHOUT DOING THE PROPER ENGINE CHECK UP.

2. However, the overheating problem occurred within 10 days time and this time the Head of the Engine was opened and the Gasket was replaced under warranty. At the time, I have also happened to meet your TSM Mr. Selvakumar, who has also assured that this problem will not happen again and the condition of the Engine was perfect. When I opted for an Engine replacement, it has been stoutly refused based on his assumptions.
Note- was the head gasket also another manufacturing defect?
3. The Engine overheating problem again recurred on November 2010, and my vehicle was under the extended warranty period which was due to expire on February 2011. The Car was taken to the same service centre and was there for the next 20 days. Again the culprit was said to be the Gasket and was replaced. Again, when I asked about the Engine, the service personnel flatly refused, stating that the Engine condition was good. I was also assured that the problem will never occur again.
NOTE: WHEN THE CAR WAS LYING FOR 20 DAYS IN THE SAID TIME, IT WAS NOT REPAIRED FOR THE FIRST 15 DAYS, AND WHEN I GAVE AN EMAIL TO YOUR CUSTOMER CARE(CRM:0019000003341 DATED 16/11/2010) THE PACE PICKED UP AND WAS REPAIRED WITHIN THE NEXT 2 DAYS.
4. The Engine overheating problem again occurred on 15.04.2011, when I was travelling with my 6 month young kid in the highway & I stood under the scorching Sun, without knowing how to proceed further. The car is lying at the same service centre and this time the service personnel want’s me to replace the Engine Head, at my cost which is to the tune of 50,000/-
NOTE: THRU THIS I UNDERSTAND CLEARLY THAT MARUTI SUZUKI AND IT’s AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTRE PL.A. MOTORS WERE MERELY POSTPONING THE INEVITABLE ENGINE CHANGE, TILL MY CAR’s WARRANTY EXPIRE’s.
Because of the said issues with my car, I have been travelling, for attending my work, using various mode of transport at my cost, thru which I have really lost my peace of Mind. The car is now lying at the same service centre and the service personnel have not bothered to inform me of the progress.\
At this Juncture I demand a Brand New Car SX4, and also the cost of charges with interest as per your service register for my car for the past 3 years at the earliest.i also demand an apology form your side for putting me through this hardship.
The non-compliance from your end, will force me to take Legal action as per the procedures thru Consumer Forum, which please note.

Regards,


Dr C. Babu Anand, M.D.,( Gen)

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by drbabuanand

Problem no 2) the a/c of the carsuddenly cuts off and temperature needle goes to H.after 2 min the a/c compressor starts working and the temp needle comes down.this happens every 2 to 3 kms of riding.the service personnel are clueless to the problem.infact they say that it is not at all a problem .

the car has visited the service station more than 5 times.

"where have all the men gone(to repair their sx4)" is becoming true in my case.

friends,please help.

This is a peculiar electrical problem. What aftermarket electrical accessories have you put?

Anyways do get the entire electrical system checked by a qualified electrician (try electricians outside MS also).

Such type of a problem is dangerous for the engine and this problem is a typical problem where the temp. goes above normal when AC is off and below normal when AC is ON.

[drbabuanand]

Originally Posted by Mustang.101

This is a peculiar electrical problem. What aftermarket electrical accessories have you put?

Anyways do get the entire electrical system checked by a qualified electrician (try electricians outside MS also).

Such type of a problem is dangerous for the engine and this problem is a typical problem where the temp. goes above normal when AC is off and below normal when AC is ON.

thanks for the reply
only alteration was the replacement of the stock speakers with jbl speaker with tweeter done after the problem started.the speakers went kaput when a/c water seeped under the front seats.
i will keep your suggestions in mind.

[drbabuanand]

update--
the car has been in the workshop for more than a week . the pla motor service are tight lipped.they have not contacted me but they are planning to replace the engine head and the rings.i dont know if this will solve my problems.meanwhile i met my lawyer and will send a legal notice to the authorised service centre and maruti in a day or two.

my questions to gurus are

1) is the head and rings a very important part ?
2) what other part would have been damaged by the heat?
please reply.

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by drbabuanand

1) is the head and rings a very important part ?
2) what other part would have been damaged by the heat?
please reply.

Yes the condition of head, pistons and rings are all of prime importance.
Every single part in the engine could be damaged by over heating.
First they need to find out the reason for this overheating. I believe this is the second time, that they are opening up the head.

AC shuts off automatically when the engine temp rises. Are you sure that the radiator fan works as supposed to? All this started off with that stone hitting the radiator (which in itself is a distant possibility)? Get the car checked from an independent competent garage.

[drbabuanand]

Originally Posted by jeeva

Yes the condition of head, pistons and rings are all of prime importance.
Every single part in the engine could be damaged by over heating.
First they need to find out the reason for this overheating. I believe this is the second time, that they are opening up the head.

AC shuts off automatically when the engine temp rises. Are you sure that the radiator fan works as supposed to? All this started off with that stone hitting the radiator (which in itself is a distant possibility)? Get the car checked from an independent competent garage.

this is the third time the head is being opened.
yes ,it all started with a stone as per their opinion which i dont belive.
their over heating theory is blown out gasket which they changed it twice.