[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by suchit23

Update: Just heard from Renault dealer that they have already asked for a replacement HU for me. Once that is in tomorrow evening, I can go in day after, they will check the mic and some other components and if they cannot fix it they will replace the HU. I think that is splendid service, if everything goes as per plan!

So I guess, you should be calling your dealer in Chennai anytime after seeing this post

Did you get your HU replaced? Any change in the sound clarity(high hope)? Please keep us updated

Originally Posted by P76

Nice Pictures Neil, think its Defence Colony? Those Leather seats would definetly make your Duster stand out from others !. Where did you get the leather upholstery done, and the cost?

Yep. It is Defence colony. Believe it or not, leather cost me Rs.32000/- including fitting charges.

Originally Posted by raul

Neil - thanks for all the wonderful feedback and regularly updating this thread. 170kph! Was it stable, did you feel you could push further, and was the wind noise overwhelming? Please tell us more.

Duster is pretty stable at 170 KPH on a straight line, even if the road has undulations. However, even mild turns have to be handled with prudence and restraint. Maybe high pick-up and high ground clearance do not not mix that well.
Wind noise is really horrible. In my first long trip, it was not noticeable.However, the final trip was really a pain. I knew I was talking louder than usual to get myself heard to my co-passengers.

Originally Posted by sathyaprakash

Hi, nice to see your photos.

My callers are getting a echo noise while calling through the BT how is yours?

Further while playing the HU with memory stick it starts from the first every time i restart the engine is it so? I never had an issue with ANHC.

Many thanks. Sometimes, I get a echo noise using BT. Never had the problem with memory stick that you mentioned.

Hope this helps. Some niggles are showing their heads. Dont know if it is serious enough to share in our forum. If it not solved, I will escalate to team-bhp.com level

[suchit23]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

Did you get your HU replaced? Any change in the sound clarity(high hope)? Please keep us updated

I did and guess what it didn't solve any problem. On the contrary the rotary knob on the new HU is flimsy. So they said they will try one more time after analysing the old faulty one. They will also try to change the mic which in my opinion will not help becos the root cause is the audio delay.

Btw your seat covers are the most flamboyant I have ever seen

[Achilless]

Neil,
Congratulations for your new beast. My next change will be most probably same. I have taken test drive for 110 top end version. And fell in love with the car, oops did i said car? Huh it is well bulit SUV. But few things which are coming to mind before setting goal right is the service and parts availability of Renault. Think they will take atleast 5-7 yrs to reach to comfortable level, thats my opinion. BUt i have made my mind 90% for this SUV. Great car and great buy. Keep us updated. Many thanks for such a wonderful narration.

[Raxx]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

So I thought I'll finish phase I of work in progress of exteriors. Here are the pictures.
Paint job was done by KHIVRAJ PEARL.
Parts painted
1)Front Bumper
2)Rear Bumper
3)All mud flaps
4) Side Foot step-complete

Hi Neil,

Hope you are enjoying your ride. My Friend will be taking the delivery of Rxl Woodland brown. He was interested in painting the Front & Back skid plates, Side foot step and Roof rails all silver (like Top end). Just for reference would like to know how much your paint job costed? So that we'll have a rough idea. Thanks in advance.

[himadrimondal]

Terrific paint job, Neil. This just looks fabulous.
Wonder how many heads you turn when you go out! With those sparkling alloys and neat paint job, you actually own a STAR.
I really can't find a solution to the BT problems you guys are facing, lucky mine is working fine. Have you tried pairing a diff phone, my blackberry works like a charm. Keep updating.

[Neil Roy]

@himadrimondal, thanks a lot. Iam glad you liked it. For a long time I thought I was the only one. And yes, it is unique and easily identifiable in a parking lot

@ Achilless, if you can get over the high price mind block, Duster is the SUV to own. It offers everything that you can ever possibly reasonably expect from a SUV and a sedan.(Best of both worlds for guys with reasonable expectations)

Originally Posted by Raxx

Hi Neil,

Hope you are enjoying your ride. My Friend will be taking the delivery of Rxl Woodland brown. He was interested in painting the Front & Back skid plates, Side foot step and Roof rails all silver (like Top end). Just for reference would like to know how much your paint job costed? So that we'll have a rough idea. Thanks in advance.

Total cost of paint job is Rs.11000/- Painting was done by Khivraj Pearl-Authorised Renault service centre. Two reasons why it costs so much

1) The bumpers and all paint applicable parts were removed from the Vehicle which was parked on the parking bay and painted separately and refitted.This is actually highly recommended as spray dust will not settle over other parts of the vehicle.
2)The paint is water based technology.It is supposed to be a relatively new concept.

If you can find good mechanics who can remove the bumpers, paint applicable parts from your house itself and go to a booth and paint using conventional 2k paints it will save you a ton of money. Downside is if they dont know their job, you will have rattles and ill fitted paint jobs which do more harm than good.

I did not go for painting roof rails because that meant removing the interior roof of the Duster. Call me old fashioned, but certain OE fittings are best left alone and interior roof is definitely one of them.

One reason why I did not mind the cost was because the OE silver skid plates itself cost Rs.10000/-. So I thought I'll do the entire job for an extra Rs.1000/- more

[Rigid Rotor]

Neil - I have a query - where are the wheel jack points located for the front and rear wheels?
I had posted the query in another thread and although there were helpful responses, those were more generic in nature and not specific to the Duster per-se.

The manual has an illustration, however, I am not able to correlate it exactly on the vehicle. Is it on the seam-weld line?

Since your Duster has the lead mileage in the Forum (plus the unfortunate tyre-burst incident you had mentioned), I'm sure you would know and could help!

Another Q - does the factory set speed warning come on, if you are maintaining speeds above 120 km/h ? (the manual claims that there is a factory-set, repeating and non-cancellable warning).

[pjegadeesh]

Originally Posted by Rigid Rotor

Another Q - does the factory set speed warning come on, if you are maintaining speeds above 120 km/h ? (the manual claims that there is a factory-set, repeating and non-cancellable warning).

I too didn't notice any warning for speeds above 120 kmph sir.

The wind noise at 140 kmph was intolerable and using mobile was very difficult at that speeds(i was not driving).

[idofsuresh]

Originally Posted by sathyaprakash

Further while playing the HU with memory stick it starts from the first every time i restart the engine is it so?

In my case, it remembers where it left off.

Originally Posted by suchit23

I did and guess what it didn't solve any problem. On the contrary the rotary knob on the new HU is flimsy. So they said they will try one more time after analysing the old faulty one. They will also try to change the mic which in my opinion will not help becos the root cause is the audio delay.

Same echo problem with my BT. I am in 2 minds. Whether to take the car to the dealer right away or give them some time to understand/solve the issue as many customers would be reporting the same problem. I was planning to change the speakers but I am afraid they will use that reason to deny HU replacement for BT

[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by Rigid Rotor

Neil - I have a query - where are the wheel jack points located for the front and rear wheels?
I had posted the query in another thread and although there were helpful responses, those were more generic in nature and not specific to the Duster per-se.

To be honest, I'm not sure.The regular spot which was indicated does not give the necessary lift. For my tyre blowout, the regular scissor jack was of no use. Luckily we were travelling as a team( a scorpio and a Duster) and I used the pneumatic jack of the scorpio. First thing I did after my trip was to buy a pneumatic lift for 2 ton capacity. Iam sure there is a proper positioning method, but I did not read the manual before hand
Another thing "IF" you have a puncture. Just loosen the bolt on top by max 8-10 turns. As this was my first vehicle with spare wheel mounted on rear outer floor, I removed the Bolt entirely and the frame fell down a little bit harder. from that day onwards, Iam getting squeaking noises in the rear. Even the authorised service personnel do not know how to arrest the sound.

Personal advice. Remove the Step-ney and roll out the tyre. Then roll back and refit for practice. It is better to get the hang of it in the comfort of your parking lot than on the highway.

Cheers

[DieselDon]

Originally Posted by pjegadeesh

The wind noise at 140 kmph was intolerable and using mobile was very difficult at that speeds(i was not driving).

I hope that is an exaggeration. 'intolerable' is quite a strong word !
If not, this is one more bullet on my 'Cons' list. I did not add one already, as I am okay with tolerable wind noise.

Thanks for writing down your honest feedback.

Cheers,

[Rigid Rotor]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

... First thing I did after my trip was to buy a pneumatic lift for 2 ton capacity. Iam sure there is a proper positioning method, but I did not read the manual before hand...
Another thing "IF" you have a puncture. Just loosen the bolt on top by max 8-10 turns. ..Personal advice. Remove the Step-ney and roll out the tyre. Then roll back and refit for practice. It is better to get the hang of it in the comfort of your parking lot than on the highway...Cheers

Thanks for the tip Neil! I have a 2 tonne hydraulic jack and intend to put it to good use. Just a point - it would perhaps be worthwhile retaining the scissor jack also and using it as a stand, after lifting with the hydraulic jack. Just as a precaution against the hydraulic jack busting a seal and dropping the vehicle down abruptly during the wheel change.

@ Diesel Don - I would strongly suggest you should firm up your opinion on the Duster's Pros and Cons only after at least a couple of test drives.

[DieselDon]

Originally Posted by Rigid Rotor

@ Diesel Don - I would strongly suggest you should firm up your opinion on the Duster's Pros and Cons only after at least a couple of test drives.

Cannot agree more. Did 3 test drives (unfortunately within the city - visited the showroom).
I am not sure if Renault is sending vehicles for test drives to customer locations yet.
If so, I know the exact roads to hit 100-100 kmph to test the wind noise. Will try my luck.

[Neil Roy]

It is raining cats and dogs in chennai for the last week or so and the Duster is really performing well on rough roads(no surprises there).Now the unpleasant part.Left side interior floor is soaking wet from rain water dripping from inside the dash board.Took the Duster to the service center and had it checked. It seems the water runoff area between the bonnet and the windshield is blocked with dirt and leaves, and hence the water is not able to drain.So all you Duster owners there, please check your vehicles especially during rainy seasons for rain water spillage. Still it makes me wonder why their design did not plan dry leaves or dirt.And I am left with a wet floor damp floor during rainy season

[Rigid Rotor]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

It is raining cats and dogs in chennai for the last week or...Now the unpleasant part.Left side interior floor is soaking wet from rain water dripping from inside the dash board.... It seems the water runoff area between the bonnet and the windshield is blocked with dirt and leaves, and hence the water is not able to drain...

That portion is called the Scuttle Panel. I am given to understand that its a standard fault-finding process for Duster under the complaint "water in the pax compartment":

- either the condenser drain pipe is blocked (which I believe happened to another BHPian earlier- was it Driventwheel?)

- or the scuttle panel drain is blocked (dry leaves and debris)

-or overloaded (such as when pressure washing and directing the water jet at the scuttle panel for too long). So we got to watch out for that too.