[Mpower]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

And how do we check ATF level? Is there a dipstick kinda thing? Didn't find that in manual, either. Want to make sure they filled the right amount. The showroom guys might have underfilled or overfilled before delivery, who knows.

Usually there is a dipstick which is also used for filling.

[pgsagar]

Thanks S'Baleno! Yes, I meant A/T Fluid by ATF. I based my concern for overfilling of A/T F by dealer on the incident of overinflating of all four tyres. As soon as I drove out of showroom, I noticed that the car was bouncing all over the road. A quick check at the filling station revealed that front wheels were over 50 psi an rear 45-47. Deflated all four to 32 psi and the bouncing disappeared. Wonder where that over-inflation occurred, at the dealership or at the factory.

Mdsaab, I have noticed the same thing you did in your City--if I hold the brake pedal down for a while it goes soft and sinks further. Is this something to do with ABS?

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Thanks S'Baleno! Yes, I meant A/T Fluid by ATF. I based my concern for overfilling of A/T F by dealer on the incident of overinflating of all four tyres. As soon as I drove out of showroom, I noticed that the car was bouncing all over the road. A quick check at the filling station revealed that front wheels were over 50 psi an rear 45-47. Deflated all four to 32 psi and the bouncing disappeared. Wonder where that over-inflation occurred, at the dealership or at the factory.

Mdsaab, I have noticed the same thing you did in your City--if I hold the brake pedal down for a while it goes soft and sinks further. Is this something to do with ABS?

This issue of the tyres being overinflated is now slowly becoming common.
Even when we picked up the ANHC the tyre pressures were not correct.
I stopped by a tyre shop and got the tyre pressure adjusted.
He was telling me, "saab, how did you end up filling in so much air?"
Obviously he though i was air headed, till i clarified that i just drove it out of the showroom. also the ornaments used to decorate the car for delivery helped my case further

Now i am beginning to think that the brake pedal sinking in is common even to non ABS cars. I kind of remember this happening in our Esteem way back in 1998 too. I shall try and drive her once again to check it out.
Yes we still have her. What else can you give a fresh driver on his first few days of the job? I made the mistake of sorts by giving the new AT driver the Golden Beauty and she got a minor scratch on the first day itself. Logged on Hooked and Booked thread.

[Utopian]

Congrats for that A*. The AT brigade is slowly growing on the forum.
Wide eyed pup- .
Happy city commuting.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

First of all you may miss the first blink and may only notice it a couple of blinks later. So it may not turn out to be accurate.

You do have a point with the missing-the-first-blink part. But it can be done. Also missing a few blinks won't really skew things much. BTW, the tankful-to-tankful method too comes with scope for errors, even when you use the same-pump-same-nozzle.

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Now i am beginning to think that the brake pedal sinking in is common even to non ABS cars. I kind of remember this happening in our Esteem way back in 1998 too.

Do you see this with the a/c off also ? Or only when a/c is on ? I have observed this when parked at a signal with foot on brake-pedal and when a/c compressor cuts off, the brake pedal sinks, accompanied by a quick rise in rpm and then rpm comes down. I believe this has to do with the load on the engine at a given point with a/c compressor on vs compressor off.

[mdsaab]

Actually i very seldom drive without the AC on.
And so yes this has been experienced with the AC on.
I shall switch the AC off and check to see if this still occurs.
I remember this clearly happening in our 1998 Esteem too. But can't remember if that was with the AC on or off.
Shall post the findings as and when.
Drive Safe!

[pgsagar]

Further update here. Checked the mileage and found it to be nearly 13 kmpl in city with aircon on fulltime. It seems to have attained consistency in FE , with figures between 12-13. Wonder if it will inch up to 15 after I breach 1500 Kms mark.

Is it me or has the pick-up increased? Does this happen? The convenience of AT has taken full effect on me now. I take out Lancer only if it's out-of-town trip or a late night run. And changing gears seems like a big chore to me now. I think one can enjoy changing gears only in Chevy brothers -- Optra Magnum D and Cruze D. But even with them, only out in open. Try that in city and you will be up the trunk of the car ahead of you.

BTW, A-Star is a 4-speed auto. Can anyone tell please if 4th gear ratio of A-Star AT is same as 5th gear ratio of A-Star MT? Generally top gears are overdrive, i.e. 1:0.9XX. If 4th gear of AT is of same ratio as 5th gear of MT then the FE of AT will be nearly same as MT.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Checked the mileage and found it to be nearly 13 kmpl in city with aircon on fulltime. It seems to have attained consistency in FE , with figures between 12-13. Wonder if it will inch up to 15 after I breach 1500 Kms mark.

For your city traffic, 13kmpl seems good for an AT. My town with lesser traffic usually sees me getting 15kmpl, but the last tank-in of 15litres resulted in only 13kmpl - almost all short runs of 1-3km trips.

Originally Posted by pgsagar

The convenience of AT has taken full effect on me now. I take out Lancer only if it's out-of-town trip or a late night run. And changing gears seems like a big chore to me now.

Yeah, the convenience is indeed amazing - I almost never take out the Swift nowadays. Speed is not a priority anymore - also NH47 being what it is (a 2-lane road with no divider), speeding is useless. But the one area I still am not comfortable with is overtaking - the fun of shifting down and the confidence it provides is missing in this small AT car.

[pgsagar]

Last Saturday, took it for 1st free service. The service guys were more keen on selling me the idea of some wax/polishing which would cost me Rs.1500. This guy ran his hand over the hood and top and said paint work is "rough and unfinished" and that it needed polishing. I didn't buy that line. Was he trying to say MUL sold me an unfinished car? These guys go to great length to sell you their products/services.

One more thing I noticed. My F-in-L's Alto LXI which he bought just a week before I bought my A-Star, has very light steering compared to mine. The service guy said Alto's steering IS light compared to A-Star. Then he went on to say how because of this light steering, Alto rattles and is not as well put together as A-Star. I am not convinced. Is it only with my A-Star or is A-Star's steering (at parking speeds) generally tighter than Alto's?

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

This guy ran his hand over the hood and top and said paint work is "rough and unfinished" and that it needed polishing.

LOL. That's a load of bull. I am getting irritated by the MASS' moving away from their line of business (servicing cars) to selling junk accessories, waxes and lipstick. They conned my Dad to have these extra carpets done on the Swift, which is not only a useless expense, but dangerous in a place like Kerala where it rains round the year - and waterlogging and resultant rusting would remain hidden ie. literally "pushed under the carpet".

Originally Posted by pgsagar

The service guy said Alto's steering IS light compared to A-Star. Is it only with my A-Star or is A-Star's steering (at parking speeds) generally tighter than Alto's?

A* has a tighter steering than Alto and from my driving of both cars, I prefer the setup in A* - the Alto setup seems like too much play to me. Infact I like the setup in A* even more than that in our Swift1.3P. Best is the Baleno's steering, but then it is HPS - so not a valid comparo to the EPS in these cars.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

LOL. That's a load of bull. I am getting irritated by the MASS' moving away from their line of business (servicing cars) to selling junk accessories, waxes and lipstick. They conned my Dad to have these extra carpets done on the Swift, which is not only a useless expense, but dangerous in a place like Kerala where it rains round the year - and waterlogging and resultant rusting would remain hidden ie. literally "pushed under the carpet".

How true! Not content with all the money they make being the dealer of numero uno car maker in India, these guys resort to peddling shoddy products to hapless, unsespecting customers. I saw a Wagon R guy buying this rough-paint story hook, line and sinker. Wanted to saunter over to him and educate, without earning the wrath of these MASS guys but an urgent call on my cell interrupted and I had to leave handing the keys over to these guys. As you have rightly said, these crappy products not only rip you, they may be detrimental to the health of the car, too.

Oh, one more thing. In evening when I went to collect the car, one MASS guy drove up to me in it, stopped the engine and was struggling with the key. What he was doing was trying to yank the key back and out the ignition while the car was in neutral. Now the built-in safety mechanism necessitates shifting into P before turning the key all the way back to pull out. This guy didn't even know this. I don't know what all else these guys did to my car when I was gone. They took it out on an 8 km test-drive when I was gone. Wonder if they tried to engage reverse while the car was moving forward. Because, on pre-delivery drive with me in passenge seat, I saw this guy's hand reaching instinctively for gear lever every time he slowd down. He wanted to "downshift". Seriously, there are still so fewer AT cars in India that most drivers need to unlearn MT and learn AT again. Their acclimatisation skills are very poor. I never once floundered in my switch over from MT to AT and I keep alternating between MT and AT cars with ease. These guys being professional drivers ought to fare much better. And next time I take my car to MASS for service, I am going to hang around and keep an eye on how the driver handles the auto-tranny. Last thing I want is a brand-new car with everything else in perfect shape but for a busted transmission.