[amit_purohit20]

Originally Posted by @Chaand

Does anyone have an idea if a sump guard can be fixed to a Vista's underbelly?
Any idea of the costs and how long it takes? Better to do it at a TASC or a local mechanic should be fine?

Get it fixed by a local competent mechanic. Especially those who have already done this job. TASC will not even know what a sump guard is!
They are not into modifications right.

[smrtdvl]

My Vista needs a coolant change and the SA advices me to flush it before going for the new coolant. The car has run 25000kms and is 2.5yrs old. This is the first time am going in for a coolant change. Pls advice whether flushing is a must?

Not sure if this is the right section to post. Mods pls delete or merge it accordingly.

[amit_purohit20]

Originally Posted by smrtdvl

My Vista needs a coolant change and the SA advices me to flush it before going for the new coolant. The car has run 25000kms and is 2.5yrs old. This is the first time am going in for a coolant change. Pls advice whether flushing is a

I changed it after 4 years and 17k kms and didnt do a flush. And you wont believe that the coolant was as good as new. So its ur call whether you require a flush. I wouldnt have done it at an early 2.5 years.

[cs.giri]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Folks need some help in finding the root cause.

Details:
Day before yesterday I started from my residence in the morning without any issues and the car cranked up immediately. My office is around 24 Kms. After running the car for about 20 Kms there was a long traffic jam with nothing moving. So i turned off the ignition. After 5 minutes the car in front of me moved a bit so i tried starting my car. But car would not start....

... The battery is 5 year old and i have done 76K Kms. No major battery draining components present in the car other than normal music system and auto cop.

My questions:
- Later in the evening again i did not face problem in starting the car eventhough it was parked for 6-7 hours. So what caused it to suddenly break down in the morning when i had shut it only for 5 mins in the traffic jam after driving it for half an hour.
- Today morning as well no issues in starting the car.

Hi - I had a similar issue: car would not crank start after driving for around half hour in city. If i let the car rest for 30-60 mins, i was able to start it again without problems. There were no problems with cold start at the end/beginning of the day.

It turned out that my battery was overheating and hence was unable to start the engine. I took it to a trusted battery dealer and he said that its not an uncommon problem. He also said that he could potentially "fix" the problem, but there was no guarantee that it will not reappear again. Hence, ended up changing the battery. My battery was close to four years old at that time.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

[foby.sebastian]

What is the oil change interval for vista QJD ?

[smrtdvl]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

What is the oil change interval for vista QJD ?

As per the manual it is every 10000kms. I stick to the company manual on this part even though few ppl say if its mineral oil then change it every 5000kms and if its synthetic then 10000kms would be fine.

[foby.sebastian]

Originally Posted by smrtdvl

As per the manual it is every 10000kms. I stick to the company manual on this part even though few ppl say if its mineral oil then change it every 5000kms and if its synthetic then 10000kms would be fine.

That is what i am worried about , the TASS executive told that its okay to change the mineral oil in 10000km interval.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

That is what i am worried about , the TASS executive told that its okay to change the mineral oil in 10000km interval.

Sebastian: I very much doubt that any mineral oil will retain all its qualities at 10K kms. In fact, if I was using synthetics, then also, I would think twice delaying it any longer than 8K-8.5Kms.
It's best and safe to change mineral oils every 5K kms, if you want a healthy engine for long. Junk the SA.

Regards,
Saket

[smrtdvl]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

That is what i am worried about , the TASS executive told that its okay to change the mineral oil in 10000km interval.

+1 to that man cos I was adviced the same by the SA at T.A.S.S last week when I went for my engine oil, brake fluid and coolant change. This is the first time am running on mineral oil. But even a friend of mine who happens to be a CRM at M.A.S.S says it is ok to stay with mineral oil for 10k kms and if in case it is synthetic we can extend upto 15k kms.

[msaudf]

Originally Posted by smrtdvl

+1 to that man cos I was adviced the same by the SA at T.A.S.S last week when I went for my engine oil, brake fluid and coolant change. This is the first time am running on mineral oil. But even a friend of mine who happens to be a CRM at M.A.S.S says it is ok to stay with mineral oil for 10k kms and if in case it is synthetic we can extend upto 15k kms.

The QJD is the same 1.3 MJD right?

In that case Fiat recommends the use of synthetic oil and periodic change every 10000kms. so if you choose to use mineral oil its best to change oil every 5000kms.

Please be extra careful with modern diesel engines as a delay in the periodic oil service will cause blocks by sludge build-up in the small channels inside the engine (head, timing chain etc) where oil is supposed to be circulated which will cause serious engine damage.

The reason Fiat recommends synthetic oil is because of its superior sludge cleaning efficiency compared to mineral and extra protection at high rpms.

If you are a sedate driver who drives at most below 120kmph and are willing to change oil every 5000kms mineral oil is the best choice.

[foby.sebastian]

Most of the SA in TASS recommends some chemical flushing of the engine before pouring the new oil , is that only recommended for mineral oil users because of the higher amount of sludge when compared to synth. Oil ?

[saket77]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

Most of the SA in TASS recommends some chemical flushing of the engine before pouring the new oil , is that only recommended for mineral oil users because of the higher amount of sludge when compared to synth. Oil ?

That is an old money making trick of ASCs. If you have had oil changes at prescribed mileages and time, and everything inside of your engine is working fine, there is no need for any flush. Even if there is some sludge build up, I doubt that any flushing will clear it. In fact, the drained old oil contains that sludge. That is why it is recommended to drain the old engine oil after giving your car at least half an hour spin, so that the oil is hot & thin and hence flow better through all clearances.

[Arun.K]

My Vista's AC cooling was going down for the past couple of days. There was also a hissing for a short duration when AC is turned on and off. TASC guys checked and found the AC gas is low. They quoted Rs. 1400/- approx for recharging. A local exclusive AC workshop quoted Rs. 700/- and finally settled for Rs. 600/-. When I asked about the likely reason for the drop in the level, the AC mechanic told either it will be a normal drop due to usage or a faint case of mild leak in evaporator/cooling coil. So took a risk and went ahead. After recharging, AC cooling was back to normal. Hissing too got stopped.

My doubt is, does AC refrigerant level drop over a period of time? My Vista is 4+ years old, 41200 kms and runs on with 100% AC. Few days back, just before the AC problem started, a small quantity of mild greasy kind of watery liquid ran out from the AC outlet. TASC guys checked and informed it was just water mixed with disinfectant which got accumulated due to blocked outlet. They flushed out the extra water and said everything is ok. Is that some kind of leakage from the AC system, which might be the root cause of low cooling? If so, does that require an immediate attention? Moreover, recently I’m feeling a mild irritation in my eyes sometime after switching on the AC. Does a faulty AC or gas level drop cause eye irritation?

[Anz1979]

@arun

If you have any sort of eye irritation, head ache, while using the car AC, please check it out. Probability is a mild leak. I had this issue in my wife's 2004 model zen.

Smell the air from AC. It would have a different smell, but not so strong. Get it fixed.

In our case leak was from a pipe running through the dash.

[foby.sebastian]

Mine is a 2011 vista terra qjd nearing 50000 kms mark.

Is that a good option to change to loacl service center or to continue with TASS ?

what all things needed to be checked for 50000 kms service ?