3rd Gear Problem in Swift Vdi 2008

kzaveri19 · 5th March 2011, 11:09

Hello All,

This is my first 'real' thread, so please excuse if I am not posting to the right forum.

I have a 2008 Swift Vdi. It has been lightly driven, usually by a driver. Has just over 17500 kms. I have started driving this car recently since it is much easier to drive a small car in Mumbai. Have upgraded the ICE, have tints, seat covers etc.

Now, my problem is that the 3rd gear in this car takes some resistance to get into. I don't know if this is a characteristic of all Vdi's, my friend's petrol Swift has a much smoother gear change.

I am taking the car to service at Maruti Vitesse in Prabhadevi next week, will ask them to change the gear oil and take a test drive with the car.

Any ideas what could be wrong? Is it possible the tranny gear synchronizers are falling apart? The driving has been fairly good and the clutch is in pretty good condition.

Thanks
Khurram

oxyzen · 5th March 2011, 13:47

Generally diesels take more effort to slot. Try out some one else's VDi. Or a demo car.
May be a clutch problem. Ask for an adjustment if required.
Word of caution: Never touch the gearbox. It is one of the most difficult parts to service. Requires extreme precision which I doubt even the good Maruti dealers dont have.

kzaveri19 · 5th March 2011, 14:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Generally diesels take more effort to slot. Try out some one else's VDi. Or a demo car.
May be a clutch problem. Ask for an adjustment if required.
Word of caution: Never touch the gearbox. It is one of the most difficult parts to service. Requires extreme precision which I doubt even the good Maruti dealers dont have.

Sounds good. I was gonna ask them to have a look at it. But now, I will just go for the simple gear oil change clutch adjustment. I don't know anyone with a diesel Swift. Can't really compare it with my Scorpio either since that is a much different beast!

humyum · 5th March 2011, 16:10

O M G. I had the same issues and mine is a 2008 Swift VDI TOO. I had an issue with 3rd gear going with resistance and 1st gear going with resistance. Complained my daylights off all the time the car went only to be returned with a clutch bled or linkages adjusted.

My advice, try clutch bleeding + Lubricating and adjusting the linkages of the gearbox. If it works you are safe, otherwise gearbox will have to be opened and overhauled with the necessary parts. Are you under warranty ?

In my car the gearbox had to be opened and the low speed ratios + syncroniser rings of some gears were changed in the end as nothing seemed to make the gearbox smooth enough. Since yours is the same year model and from mumbai too, could be the case with yours too.

DMehta · 5th March 2011, 16:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by humyum

O M G. I had the same issues and mine is a 2008 Swift VDI TOO. I had an issue with 3rd gear going with resistance and 1st gear going with resistance. Complained my daylights off all the time the car went only to be returned with a clutch bled or linkages adjusted.

My advice, try clutch bleeding + Lubricating and adjusting the linkages of the gearbox. If it works you are safe, otherwise gearbox will have to be opened and overhauled with the necessary parts. Are you under warranty ?

In my car the gearbox had to be opened and the low speed ratios + syncroniser rings of some gears were changed in the end as nothing seemed to make the gearbox smooth enough. Since yours is the same year model and from mumbai too, could be the case with yours too.

I agree. I was facing somewhat similar issues with my swift dzire. The thing was that only sometimes shifting from any gear would be a problem. So, during the service, i showed this to the MASS guy, he told me that the clutch plate had gone kaput. Got it changed for about 7000 i guess, and it was running pretty well after that. My car was under warranty so they changed it free of cost.

joshguy · 5th March 2011, 16:21

Quote:

Generally diesels take more effort to slot.

Wrong !

KZAVERI19 - There is no problem with oil so dont need to change it.It could be the problem with the rubber bushes under the gear lever.

Even i have a 2008 swift VDI and i had gear problem twice.the gear didnt not slot into 1st and 2nd gear and reverse at all,i drove around 25 kms in 3rd and 4th gear from stand still

*** told me that the rubber bush had come out so the problem occured.

Dont worry ,it will not be a big problem

kzaveri19 · 5th March 2011, 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshguy

Wrong !

KZAVERI19 - There is no problem with oil so dont need to change it.It could be the problem with the rubber bushes under the gear lever.

Even i have a 2008 swift VDI and i had gear problem twice.the gear didnt not slot into 1st and 2nd gear and reverse at all,i drove around 25 kms in 3rd and 4th gear from stand still

*** told me that the rubber bush had come out so the problem occured.

Dont worry ,it will not be a big problem

Thanks JoshGuy. Actually, this car was being used within my company. It was some stupid manager who decided to buy an expensive (relatively) car for company use. Needless to say, I fired him (for reasons not related to car purchase), got a Nano for the office and took this car over. I am getting all fluids checked/replaced as a precautionary measure. This wasn't maintained properly and I spent a bomb getting it cleaned/detailed and decked out in accessories/ICE.

I will be getting the oil changed and the bushes checked out as well.

FYI, Just wanted to add a noted saying that the car is not under warranty.

samarth.bhatia · 5th March 2011, 23:17

Dear kzaveri19,

Although I do not own a Swift, I did face a similar problem with my M800.
If this happens only during slotting in the Third gear, there's a high probability of this being an issue with the gear bushes.
Have them changed and test the car.
Gear oil changes on a 17.x k km run Swift does not make sense. Try visually inspecting the oil in the reservoir.
Also, the clutch cable can be checked as well. Although that again should not trouble you at this stage. But, as you mentioned lack of proper maintenance of the vehicle in the past, it may be causing the problem. This would be more evident during slotting in the first gear itself.
Hope it helps.

Cheers and drive safe.
Sam

MileCruncher · 6th March 2011, 02:08

Primary reasons for gear shifting to be hard in sequence of most common to rare:

Clutch adjustment
Clutch wear and tear
Shifter bushes
Linkages
Synchroniser ring also known as the dog gear.

Transmission fluid has nothing to do with gear shifting being hard especially if its only one particular gear.

Try to follow this sequence and you should be be able to locate the primary source of the problem.

Cheers

kzaveri19 · 8th March 2011, 22:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Primary reasons for gear shifting to be hard in sequence of most common to rare:

Clutch adjustment
Clutch wear and tear
Shifter bushes
Linkages
Synchroniser ring also known as the dog gear.

Transmission fluid has nothing to do with gear shifting being hard especially if its only one particular gear.

Try to follow this sequence and you should be be able to locate the primary source of the problem.

Cheers

Milecruncher, thanks. I told my SA to check all of these. He was affirmative on it. However, I had to send my mum and the driver to pick up the car today, the gears were still not slotting in smoothly. Apparently the SA told my mum that this is how gears slot in on a small car :O .. Im gonna call the guy first thing in the morning tomm and try to get this thing sorted out ASAP.

sinhsha · 9th March 2011, 02:03

I had same problem with my 2008 Dzire ZDI and did some research on the issue.
If the resistance is while going from 2nd to 3rd then start with checking clutch bearing and pressure plate. If the resistance is from 4th to 3rd (which was mine), and if the resistance is not there when the car is standstill but engine is running then it's definitely problem of synchroniser (covered under extended warranty) .
Normally MASS will try to convince you to start with change of clutch plate and pressure plate (not covered in warranty) and then as the problem will subdue for new pressure plate you drive off to face the problem again and by that time your warranty will be expired. In my case the SA was a personal friend. I stood all the time to see the job being done. For a good mechanic with right amount of tools and parts the whole job (the technical part of it excluding paper works) takes 5 hours.

kzaveri19 · 10th March 2011, 20:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Primary reasons for gear shifting to be hard in sequence of most common to rare:
========
Try to follow this sequence and you should be be able to locate the primary source of the problem.

Cheers

The M.A.S.S told me that ALL Maruti cars of that types (Swifts, Sx4s) behave like that due to their cable assembly. Have sent an email to Maruti to verify

Jaggu · 10th March 2011, 20:51

Please get a second opinion, try driving another diesel swift if need be. I have a feeling its synchroniser, better attend to it in warranty period.

bhp_maniac · 11th March 2011, 10:18

Hi kzaveri19,

In fact am owning a 2010 June Swift VDi. I am having issue with third gear, precisely saying while up-shifting from 2nd to 3rd. The gear slots in without much issues (I think so), but I can hear 'sometimes' a huge thud from under the bonnet. I've complained a couple times to A.S.S but the reply was always that "Sir, its OK when we check". Later on I investigated the issue further and found that the issue is there only after running for a reasonable time, say above an hour or above. So when the engine is cold, in the morning there is no issue.

Not understanding whats the issue. I am still having the issue and the latest reply from A.S.S is that they will need the car with them for a couple of days for the check up. Hope to do the same some time next week.

kzaveri19 · 19th March 2011, 12:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Please get a second opinion, try driving another diesel swift if need be. I have a feeling its synchroniser, better attend to it in warranty period.

Jaggu, Thanks for the help. I did test drive a few Maruti Diesels and took it back to the workshop. This time I had received a call from them directly since I had sent an email to Maruti and they probably called Vitesse to get the problem fixed.

I took a test drive with the Workshop manager, he said that the noise is from the cable assembly and not from the gearbox. If it were from the gearbox, it would be coming from under the bonnet.

He opened the fastenings of the gear stick/lever and noticed that the grease had completely dried up and flaked out. He also showed me that the noise was from the steel tube/bar that was wound around the stick and it was clicking because of the grease being dried out.

Nevertheless, the noise has been reduced significantly. Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures due to my phone being conked out.

I would rate Maruti services much higher than Mahindra and ever Audi. !

5th March 2011, 11:09	#1
kzaveri19 Newbie Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Mumbai Posts: 23 Thanked: 2 Times	3rd Gear Problem in Swift Vdi 2008 Hello All, This is my first 'real' thread, so please excuse if I am not posting to the right forum. I have a 2008 Swift Vdi. It has been lightly driven, usually by a driver. Has just over 17500 kms. I have started driving this car recently since it is much easier to drive a small car in Mumbai. Have upgraded the ICE, have tints, seat covers etc. Now, my problem is that the 3rd gear in this car takes some resistance to get into. I don't know if this is a characteristic of all Vdi's, my friend's petrol Swift has a much smoother gear change. I am taking the car to service at Maruti Vitesse in Prabhadevi next week, will ask them to change the gear oil and take a test drive with the car. Any ideas what could be wrong? Is it possible the tranny gear synchronizers are falling apart? The driving has been fairly good and the clutch is in pretty good condition. Thanks Khurram
	() Thanks

5th March 2011, 13:47	#2
oxyzen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pune Posts: 1,051 Thanked: 395 Times	Re: 3rd Gear Problem in Swift Vdi 2008 Generally diesels take more effort to slot. Try out some one else's VDi. Or a demo car. May be a clutch problem. Ask for an adjustment if required. Word of caution: Never touch the gearbox. It is one of the most difficult parts to service. Requires extreme precision which I doubt even the good Maruti dealers dont have.
	() Thanks

5th March 2011, 16:10	#4
humyum Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 2,752 Thanked: 5,431 Times	Re: 3rd Gear Problem in Swift Vdi 2008 O M G. I had the same issues and mine is a 2008 Swift VDI TOO. I had an issue with 3rd gear going with resistance and 1st gear going with resistance. Complained my daylights off all the time the car went only to be returned with a clutch bled or linkages adjusted. My advice, try clutch bleeding + Lubricating and adjusting the linkages of the gearbox. If it works you are safe, otherwise gearbox will have to be opened and overhauled with the necessary parts. Are you under warranty ? In my car the gearbox had to be opened and the low speed ratios + syncroniser rings of some gears were changed in the end as nothing seemed to make the gearbox smooth enough. Since yours is the same year model and from mumbai too, could be the case with yours too.
	() Thanks

5th March 2011, 23:17	#8
samarth.bhatia BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Sydney Posts: 450 Thanked: 450 Times View My Garage	Re: 3rd Gear Problem in Swift Vdi 2008 Dear kzaveri19, Although I do not own a Swift, I did face a similar problem with my M800. If this happens only during slotting in the Third gear, there's a high probability of this being an issue with the gear bushes. Have them changed and test the car. Gear oil changes on a 17.x k km run Swift does not make sense. Try visually inspecting the oil in the reservoir. Also, the clutch cable can be checked as well. Although that again should not trouble you at this stage. But, as you mentioned lack of proper maintenance of the vehicle in the past, it may be causing the problem. This would be more evident during slotting in the first gear itself. Hope it helps. Cheers and drive safe. Sam
	() Thanks

6th March 2011, 02:08	#9
MileCruncher Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: MH01 Posts: 4,235 Thanked: 592 Times View My Garage	Re: 3rd Gear Problem in Swift Vdi 2008 Primary reasons for gear shifting to be hard in sequence of most common to rare: Clutch adjustment Clutch wear and tear Shifter bushes Linkages Synchroniser ring also known as the dog gear. Transmission fluid has nothing to do with gear shifting being hard especially if its only one particular gear. Try to follow this sequence and you should be be able to locate the primary source of the problem. Cheers
	() Thanks

9th March 2011, 02:03	#11
sinhsha BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Kolkata Posts: 170 Thanked: 79 Times View My Garage	Re: 3rd Gear Problem in Swift Vdi 2008 I had same problem with my 2008 Dzire ZDI and did some research on the issue. If the resistance is while going from 2nd to 3rd then start with checking clutch bearing and pressure plate. If the resistance is from 4th to 3rd (which was mine), and if the resistance is not there when the car is standstill but engine is running then it's definitely problem of synchroniser (covered under extended warranty) . Normally MASS will try to convince you to start with change of clutch plate and pressure plate (not covered in warranty) and then as the problem will subdue for new pressure plate you drive off to face the problem again and by that time your warranty will be expired. In my case the SA was a personal friend. I stood all the time to see the job being done. For a good mechanic with right amount of tools and parts the whole job (the technical part of it excluding paper works) takes 5 hours.
	() Thanks

10th March 2011, 20:51	#13
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	Re: 3rd Gear Problem in Swift Vdi 2008 Please get a second opinion, try driving another diesel swift if need be. I have a feeling its synchroniser, better attend to it in warranty period.
	() Thanks

11th March 2011, 10:18	#14
bhp_maniac BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Kochi, Kerala Posts: 504 Thanked: 255 Times View My Garage	Re: 3rd Gear Problem in Swift Vdi 2008 Hi kzaveri19, In fact am owning a 2010 June Swift VDi. I am having issue with third gear, precisely saying while up-shifting from 2nd to 3rd. The gear slots in without much issues (I think so), but I can hear 'sometimes' a huge thud from under the bonnet. I've complained a couple times to A.S.S but the reply was always that "Sir, its OK when we check". Later on I investigated the issue further and found that the issue is there only after running for a reasonable time, say above an hour or above. So when the engine is cold, in the morning there is no issue. Not understanding whats the issue. I am still having the issue and the latest reply from A.S.S is that they will need the car with them for a couple of days for the check up. Hope to do the same some time next week.
	() Thanks