Team-BHP - Please help me ! - Long Starting self in Matiz and other problems

Hi Guys
I have this serious problem going on with my Matiz.
When I start the car in the morning say after a 5-6 hours of ceasing the engine, It will start at half self in a split second.
If I run the car even for a few KMs say, 3 KMs or so (When the engine heats up), It will take a very long self to start. Or at times even 2-3 long selfs to start. I got the car checked at the authorized Matiz service station (Money making stations), the guy said that the exhaust needs to be changed as there is carbon deposited in it. When I got the car inspected by the local car repair guys - they said that everything is fine and there's no problem. But this is really bugging me, I just got the battery replaced and put in the AcDelco one. Please suggest what shud be done as I do not trust these local repair guys.

I have done 43K on the odometer and till date have't had a single problem with the car. But now they are all popping up like anything.

Also the gears are getting really hard to shift - I never got the gear oil changed till date. Everytime the service station guys said, that It is Ok but now suddenly the problem. Shud I get the gear oil changed or there is some other problem?

Could the height of the driver seat be adjusted permantly without much damage done to the car?

My car gives me a fuel efficiency of not more than 14 Km/h whereas my friends Matiz easily gives around 18-19 km/h - Could there be a problem ? I hv ruled out driving skills as I drove my friend's for some days and It gave me quite good average.

Would it be a good idea to get the bonnet cover and the front mud guard painted metallic black? My matiz is of metallic pista (green) color. I just want it to look a bit cool.

Are there any good looking rims available to replace the default one's? As the rims of Santro are a bit different and so - ?

Please help me out, I don't know much repair wallahs in Chandigarh, so I am kind of skeptical in letting them mess around with it.

Thank you very much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drifter

Give the car for a proper service, get that gear oil changed, check for clogged injectors. Maybe your car is overheating and giving starting trouble, so check coolant levels. Matiz exhausts are known to corrode sooner than usual, so get it changed.

What i think is that its bad fuel thats clogging up the fuel lines and injectors, ask them to clean the fuel tank and the injectors and check the whole fuel line for any blockages, and make sure you get a new fuel filter as well.

Drifter

Drifter, the car was recently serviced say around 2000 Kms back. The Brake Oil, Air Filters etc - usual stuff was taken care of in that service. It is then that the guy suggested to get the exhaust changed. (that was in Amritsar - Authorized service station). The coolant level is at the Max level. Is this an easy job to get the fuel injectors changed/checked? Will it take a lot of time? LIke I said 'You cannot easily trust these local service wallahs here in Chandigarh or rather anywhere if a dumbo like me doesn't know enough as to what needs to be done'. Moreover, It is very tough to explain them what is the problem as they usually believe in work arounds and would ask me to get it checked if the problem reoccurs which is however not possible due to my very tight schedule.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Ever read the story about the ice cream.
http://www.thehumorarchives.com/humor/0000730.html
Vapor lock is your problemo?

Gear problem? Gear oil change and gear bushikit checkup and change if required.

Fuel efficieny : Tuning, timing have to go to good garage

Good garage is a must. I will let you know about a good one in chd for matiz if I can get the name.

I am sorry I couldn't read the above link as it it categorized as 'Sex' by our Firewall. Could you please explain what vapor lock is? How much will changing the 'bushikit' cost? The Authorized service station is 'Saluja Motors' near Tribune Square. Saluja now deals in Ford but I went there a few days ago, and every damn car is serviced at their Daewoo/Ford/Honda/Maruti Service station.
If getting the exhaust changed is the issue, I'd rather get it done from outside as earlier the Authorized guys said, It costs Rs 1450 whereas outside It was just for mere Rs 650.

Okay here's the full story

Quote:

Vanilla ice cream == car problems??
A true story about a cars allergy to vanilla ice cream.

For the engineers among us who understand that the obvious is not always the solution, and that the facts, no matter how implausible, are still the facts ...

This is a weird but true story (with a moral) ...

A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division of General Motors:

"This is the second time I have written you, and I don't blame you for not answering me, because I kind of sounded crazy, but it is a fact that we have a tradition in our family of ice cream for dessert after dinner each night. But the kind of ice cream varies so, every night, after we've eaten, the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it. It's also a fact that I recently purchased a new Pontiac and since then my trips to the store have created a problem. You see, every time I buy vanilla ice cream, when I start back from the store my car won't start. If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I'm serious about this question, no matter how silly it sounds: 'What is there about a Pontiac that makes it not start when I get vanilla ice cream, and easy to start whenever I get any other kind?'"

The Pontiac President was understandably skeptical about the letter, but sent an engineer to check it out anyway. The latter was surprised to be greeted by a successful, obviously well educated man in a fine neighborhood. He had arranged to meet the man just after dinner time, so the two hopped into the car and drove to the ice cream store. It was vanilla ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back to the car, it wouldn't start.

The engineer returned for three more nights. The first night, the man got chocolate. The car started. The second night, he got strawberry. The car started. The third night he ordered vanilla. The car failed to start.

Now the engineer, being a logical man, refused to believe that this man's car was allergic to vanilla ice cream. He arranged, therefore, to continue his visits for as long as it took to solve the problem. And toward this end he began to take notes: he jotted down all sorts of data, time of day, type of gas used, time to drive back and forth, etc.

In a short time, he had a clue: the man took less time to buy vanilla than any other flavor. Why? The answer was in the layout of the store.

Vanilla, being the most popular flavor, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pickup. All the other flavors were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where it took considerably longer to find the flavor and get checked out.

Now the question for the engineer was why the car wouldn't start when it took less time. Once time became the problem -- not the vanilla ice cream -- the engineer quickly came up with the answer: vapor lock. It was happening every night, but the extra time taken to get the other flavors allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently to start. When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for the vapor lock to dissipate.

Moral of the story: even insane looking problems are sometimes real.

(A better moral: chocolate ice cream cures vapor lock!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Okay here's the full story

All I can say is " Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa "

Really man, Amazing story - Do you think this could be the problem with my car? Should it take 2-3 long selfs at times to get started? Anyways, I will get it checked soon. Thank you very much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Service station
Saluja automobiles, Sector 17(madhya marg opp sector 9)

Guys,
Thank you very much for your support.
"tsk1979" I didn't want to go to the authorized service station as these guys charge a lot.
Someone suggested me a repair guy in Sector 48 Car Market named "Dwarika". This guy deals in all antique and unique vehicles like Cielo, Contessa, Matiz etc. One of my friends recently got his 2nd Contessa fixed by this guy.
I went around 9:30 AM and this guy took a test ride. Earlier he told me that It is the problem with the gearshift cables which will cost me Rs 800 - Rs 900 to replace. However, he said let's check and see what all we could do.
He removed the gear cables and cleaned them thorughly with petrol. Regarding the long self problem, he cleaned the sparks and filters and other things but said that I might need to get the fuel injectors cleaned/changed in the near future, if the problem persists.

The gears have definitely become a bit softer and the car doesn't take that long a self to start. And guess what? After spending around 2-3 hours on my car - I had a little problem with the door light and wipers etc. The elctrician charged me Rs 50 and the service guy also charged Rs 50 only and was also annoyed at the electrician charging me Rs 50 for a small task. Cheers ! I was expecting him to ask for something around 400-500 bucks but to my surprise, only 50 bucks.

I will get the car serviced soon.

Thank you very much all of you.

Regards
zzzehar