Team-BHP - Low mileage, less pickup and judder while reversing, what can be the issue here?

Hi All,
For last few months I've been experiencing very low mileage from my baleno. I used to get 10-11kmpl(intermittent AC) in city and 14-15kmpl in the highway before. But nowadays I'm getting 9-9.5 kmpl in City and 10.5-12.35 kmpl on highway.
Also sometimes I'm having the feeling that the pickup is also not like it used to be as before(this may be psychological as I don't feel it always). But with the AC there is a certain drop, it's not like initial days when I've not noticed much difference when I used to switch on the AC.
Another issue is while reversing the car shudders lot and almost feel like the car is gonna stop. Once I rev it up a lil' bit it becomes fine. And also if there is a uphill reverse I've to do then it requires quite a bit revving. This issue was there before also but now it's becoming more evident.
What can be the issue ? Worn-out clutch plate? The car has run only 35k till date. I want to take her for checkup and I think Suraksha would be a good option down south bangalore, right ? Is there any other place as better option for the checkup ?
Waiting for help.
Regards,
Kaushik

Clutch plate seems to be the only cilprit that comes to my mind. Get it checked.

Even though 35k is very less running for the clutch plate to worn out, but it can happen to some cars. Are you the only person who drives the car? If there are more than 1 people driving, this issue can arise early.

Actually you don't really need a worn out clutch plate to cause judder. If the clutch plate is worn out you will often get slip and rpm will increase without increasing speed.
For judder you need just a flat spot, which can happen due to even one extensive clutch burning incident(for example on an incline in full load with half clutch). sometimes due to the nature of the terrain you cannot avoid this "burn".

Hi Kaushik,

The symptoms that you have indicated in the thread are the exact same issues that I noticed in my Accent also, got the car checked at Hyundai Service and was informed that the Clutch Plate had hardened as well as the Pressure Plate, hence went ahead and replaced the entire set which costed me around 7K and now no more Judders.

As for the engine Pickup / Performance issue , mine should be resolved by this weekend as the Engine is undergoing an Overhaul.

PS: While trying to troubleshoot the Judder issue I also tried changing the Air Filter as well as the Spark Plugs ( They were meant to be replaced anyways ) but didnt help.

Cheers,

Peter:)

Will get the clutch plate checked. About this flat spot due to burning, this might have happened during the drives to hills? And actually even during my last trip I had to take the car in reverse in an incline and there was burning smell coming as I had to rev hard to pull the car out on a steep incline. But the thing is that this issue of juddering is coming only in reverse gear and never in other gears.
Also it's a 2nd hand car so dunno how the previous owner has driven it.
Will definitely check the filter. the plugs were changed at 20k so I think I still have around 5k more for the plugs, right ? Yeah, need to get them cleaned though.

have you washed the engine lately? Check injectors cleaning, ignition timing. If you happen to get water in the engine (say after an engine wash with water pressure) this problem happens. 35k is very low mileage for clutch problems to happen, unless there has been rampant abuse of the clutch

Quote:

Originally Posted by filcord (Post 987270)

Nope, haven't pressure washed the car recently. So that won't be the issue. Problem is that the juddering issue occurs only while reversing otherwise no such issue at all. And well I'm not such a bad driver to fry the clutch so soon :) but not sure how the previous owner drove the car. And this reversing-judder problem was there when I bought the car but a lesser extent.
I checked the air-filter today and it was very dirty, so that may be a reason for the low mileage. Normally what's the lifetime of a air-filter? 20k isn't it?

I may be finicky, but I change the air-filter myself every 15000 km (cost Rs 315/-). I do not trust the guys at the MASS to clean it as it should, and it beats spending 3500/- on a K & N filter.

The judder should be the clutch I guess.

Yeah, the air filter is very very dirty, I checked it yesterday and cleaned a lil' bit also but time for a change. And the car is going for service for sure ;-). BTW I'm using mobil1(synthetic), so do i need change the engine oil ? It's around 16k after the oil change.
And normally what is the lifetime for spark plugs? 20k km or 40k km ?

kaushik like everyone mentioned to me it looks like the clutch is the culprit and also you did mention that there is some sorta buring smell too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaushik_s (Post 988722)

Replace that air filter and replace the spark plugs also. A few symptoms of bad plugs include running rough, lack of power and sluggishness, poor fuel economy(maybe) and sometimes the exhaust smells strongly of fuel.

The last time I got myself NGK's which have been running quite good and now the odo reads another 15k since the change.

Its recommended that you change the oil . I stick to changing it once every 6k or so for the kind of driving I do.

Ok guys, help me out,
Last service was done at 19k on odo and following things were changed,
1.Air Filter
2.Engine Oil (Mobil1 synthetic)
3. Spark Plugs [NGK-regular ones]
4. TB cleaning
5. Brake Bleeding
6.other small things..

Now that the car has ran for 15k more (with an intermittent service after 26k in odo but nothing was changed in this service) and due for a service. I'll need to keep a checklist of following things specifically. Please add anything else that I need to take care of,
1. Air Filter change [any good of going for K&N or Green? ]
2. Spark plugs- Will get them changed.[and Riju, yes I did few times felt the exhaust smells like unburnt fuel]
3. Using synthetic oil and supposed to run well for 40k. Do I need to change? Will check the oil anyway.
4. Tappet clearance
And the last but not the least - Check the Clutch - but for this I'll need to keep the car with the mechanic for two days, right?
And is it required to do a Throttle Body cleaning?

Regards,
Kaushik