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Old 24th August 2008, 00:11   #1
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Sx4 Woes!!!!

hi to all
though i have not posted much i am a regular visitor (an addict )to this site.i choosed my car based on this forum members experiance-an sx4-zxi,done 7500 kms.

Problem no 1) the car suddenly heated up during a drive in the rain.the service personnel found out that the radiator fan had a broken wing which had come into contact with radiator and damaging it.result-the coolant drained off.the radiator with the broken fan was replaced promptly undre warranty.when i asked why it happened they said some stone would have hit the fan and adviced me to drive carefully.

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.

Last edited by Technocrat : 26th August 2008 at 14:44. Reason: Formatted for better readability
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Old 24th August 2008, 00:58   #2
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i have a sx4 too but its trouble free till to date. you better check your car from another service centre.
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Old 24th August 2008, 08:03   #3
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amit
thanks.there are 2 service stations in my place.the service people are eager to help but cant understand tne problem.
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Old 26th August 2008, 00:24   #4
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seems to be a peculiar problem, I haven't faced this issue. I know that we will get irritated with these kind of issues with the new car.
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Old 26th August 2008, 09:40   #5
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Does the needle go all the way to H ?
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Old 26th August 2008, 11:31   #6
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It seems that the radiator fan is only coming on when the AC starts working hence the problem. Try driving with the AC off and the needle should again soar high. Switch on the AC when the needle is close to the halfway mark. If that's the case most probably it's the radiator fan not switching on at the right time.
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Old 26th August 2008, 14:37   #7
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The probability of a stone hitting the fan of a moving car is miniscule; in fact, I have yet to hear a similar story. WRT the second problem, remember that overheating will severely damage your engine. You obviously have a problem with the activation (lack of) of your radiator cooling fan. The service station techs seem to be incompetent idiots for insisting that this is normal behaviour. I suggest you take your car to the other service station. Also, write to Maruti. You will be surprised by their prompt response.
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Old 26th August 2008, 15:05   #8
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PLA Or ABT??? who is saying that its not a problem ?
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Old 26th August 2008, 15:29   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by svsantosh View Post
PLA Or ABT??? who is saying that its not a problem ?
yeah, who said this. which dealer has such intelligent 'men'!

let me know the dealer and will see if I can find anyone out there to help.
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Old 26th August 2008, 22:42   #10
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thanks guys for the input
the car is in the pla service station for the past 3 days.the service guys are very eager to help.after 2 days they recognised that there is indeed a problem.they have exchanged many parts from the demo sx4 and found that the problem is not in the sensor or the radiotor.probably it is in the head casket.they have asked permission from the territory service manager to open the head.though they assure me that it is under warranty i am little worried.i gather that all the problems started because of the radiator damage .guys please tell me if my engine is in trouble.how can we check and ensure that the engine is not damaged.if damaged will they replace it under warranty.the service people are telling that the new m16 engine will dissipate heat soon and nothing would have happened to the engine

jav-it goes all the way up stays there for a min or two and comes down

happy wheels-its pla

gto- thats what worries me.

anupamsinha-the radiotor was replaced under warranty just 1000kms before. the raditor with the fan is working fine

Last edited by Zappo : 26th August 2008 at 23:14. Reason: Do not make back to back posts. Use the Multiquote to respond to multiple people at one go.
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Old 27th August 2008, 11:14   #11
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Hi,

like other ppl mentioned on the forum, the problem was your fan not coming on without the a/c being turned on.

The result of which has led your engine to overheat and the head gasket to blow. Please make sure that the head is opened in front of you and check for any spillover of the coolant to your bore or piston. Many a times the bore is damaged because of the liquid (the liquid makes marks on the sleeve).

All the new engines are designed to dissipate heat, but understand that the liquid cooled engine is called a liquid cooled one because of a reason! The reason being that it needs a liquid to cool it, or else the engine would have been called a air cooled one!
If the engine was so good that it would dissipate heat without the help of the coolant why did the head gasket blow?

As the engine is under warranty they should replace if it is damaged and if the bore is damaged claim for a brand new bore or else the maruti guys might just rebore it and put it back.

Blowing of the head gasket is definitiely a issue but not a real big one.

cheers,
Shrey

Last edited by ssjr0498 : 27th August 2008 at 11:16.
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Old 27th August 2008, 16:13   #12
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ssjr0498-thanks. will try to be there when they open it up.they said they would check the engine status with tech-2 machine .what is it?
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Old 28th August 2008, 11:18   #13
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tech-2 machine is in lay man terminology a tool which they plug it onto the car's ecu and read the various parameters from the sensors present in the various parts of the car.

http://departments.weber.edu/automotive/Tech-2%20User's%20Guide.pdf

Hope this helps.

cheers
shrey
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Old 28th August 2008, 11:48   #14
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drbabuanand, I see many loop holes in your service station's argument

One, I agree a problem with head gasket could cause over-heating. But if there is a problem, that would be persistent, meaning temp won't come down after some time.

Many a time, a simple problem is more difficult to diagnose. So I have a simple theory that explains the problem.

I am taking your word for engine heating up when a/c is off. If you have the car with you, please do this test.

Step 1-Drive your car with a/c off and see whether temp is climbing? If so, stop your car, open the hood and check whether radiator fan is running. I guess it won't be.
Step 2- Switch on a/c. Check radiator fan is now working. It should, as you had mentioned temp comes to normal with a/c being on.

If this test has results as we predict, there is only one conclusion. Somebody messed up electrical connection to Radiator fan and a/c condenser fan. I mean they are now interchanged.

Conspiracy theory, huh?
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Old 28th August 2008, 13:55   #15
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white knight-thanks.
the car is in the work shop.the car runs a km or 2 with a/c.then the temp needle goes up and a/c compressor cuts off.after a minute the temp needle comes down and a/c works.
i hear the head wiil be opened in a day or two.they have been adviced by the engineer to do a compression test.i will be there when they do it.guys what is the cost of this head gasket.
as GTO suggested i wrote a complaint letter to the maruti and things have picked pace after that.i have immanse faith in maruti.thats why i went for an swift ldi even at the peak of sx4's problem. i will keep all of u updated
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