[petrolhead_hari]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Its necessary in Gujarat. Its required (not sure if the rule was abolished) on RHS headlight to reduce glare for oncoming traffic. I had to shell out Rs. 500/-, again in A'bad. Better have it.

There were some news about this yellow sticker requirement being abolished, but still its better to have one in your car in Gujarat rather than face any future hassle due to lack of it.

As far as I know, there is no such rule here in Kerala. Is it applicable only in Gujarat?

Originally Posted by vishy76

Thanks a lot Hari. Glad to know that I could inspire you to join the forum!

Originally Posted by vishy76

All the Kwid RXT variants manufactured post January or February 2017 have these as standard. The only difference is that the 1.0 get these in gun metal grey or a silver depending upon the body colour you have chosen and the 800cc variants have the normal black ones.

That's a good thing They should have done this at the time of launch itself IMO. Are ORVMs in the new kwids internally adjustable?

Originally Posted by vishy76

BTW, do introduce yourself on shifting gears section.

Sure thing! Will do it once I am free.

Regards,
Harikrishnan

[vishy76]

2K service update

This isn't really a fully blown service. It's a very minor checkup which didn't take more than 2-3 hours and the car was back.

Following were the issues reoported:

- A nasty thud from the front right while going over sharp potholes

- Misaligned front bumper

That was it. Both were very minor issues which weren't exactly very serious, but it's always good to give the car for a checkup.

The appointment was booked on Thursday, but the driver who was to pick the car up fell ill and thus the service was done today. The car was picked up at around 1 in the noon and was back with me by 4.30. Very prompt.

As for the issues to be sorted, the front bumper issue could not be solved as it would take time to remove the cladding and dismantle the bumper to align it back. Only if the idiots on the assembly line realised this!

The suspension was checked thoroughly but nothing was found. The car was also polished up and looks better than the day it came home. There was a lot of dust near the centre console and in the instrument cluster, but they have done a good job of cleaning it.

The bill came to Rs.100 only because my residence is out of municipal limits.

A copy of the bill. The special tech operation is actually a software update for the maps in the infotainment:


Polished the wheel's and wheel caps as well. Look squeaky clean now:


Some grease marks on an otherwise well finished body:


The polish was also used on the fog lamps. I will let this one off though:


All in all I am happy with the A.S.S of Renault. But, the dealer has sprung up a surprise for me..

The Surprise

As we all know, the Kwid was bought when GST was about to be implemented and my dad had excepted the repercussions of the same. He didn't care whether the car would get cheaper or costlier and bought a 2016 manufactured car.

Renault though gave me a pleasant surprise by refunding customers who had paid pre-GST prices for their cars and I accepted a refund as well..

However, I was in for a shock when I came to know that my car wasn't applicable for this discount as it was a 2016 year model. BUT, the dealer promised to give me accessories worth that amount.

It's been more than a month, and the accessories are not there yet. The dealer is just fooling around and fooling me as well..

My dad has decided to take him to task now. So let's see what happens...

Originally Posted by petrolhead_hari

1. As far as I know, there is no such rule here in Kerala. Is it applicable only in Gujarat?



2. That's a good thing They should have done this at the time of launch itself IMO. Are ORVMs in the new kwids internally adjustable?


Regards,
Harikrishnan

1. It's a crappy rule IMHO. I find no difference when some idiot uses high beams on the other side of the road. It's better to fine people who use high beams instead and raise awareness

2. Nope they are not internally adjustable. Yet another miss by Renault. A car which has sat nav but no internally adjustable ORVMs.

[vishy76]

AMT issue

I have been facing a few minor gremlins with the AMT on the Kwid now. Will sit them here:

• A slight judder while lifting off. Occurs only around 10% of the times. Also, it seems that the AMT is slipping the clutch more than it needs to while lifting off from 1st gear. Will have this checked.
  
• The major issue. The AMT sometimes refuses to get into Drive or reverse. This has only been witnessed once by me, but my mom says that it occurs a number of times. The MID indicates that the car is in reverse or drive, but it just doesn't engage gears! The engine revs pointlessly. I think this is a problem with the AMT module actuators or the gear selector switch.
  

Just hope that this does not end up like the Maruti AMT issue. I never really liked Jugaadu AMTs, and hope that I haven't really done the wrong thing by going for one.

Apart from this, my mom did complain that the revs went up once while reversing without any throttle input.
I will also ask them to change the throttle position sensor and corresponding parts, thanks to Dr.Naren for his useful thread.

Am going to send the car in for servicing latest by next week, and will get these issues sorted out. The other minor issues include:

- A few squeaks and rattles from the cabin, especially the rear window glass or parcel tray

- The front right suspension makes an unpleasant thud when going over potholes. There is also some sort of a squeak when you load the rear suspension up. Will get these checked

- The headlamps are a mud water puddle! I can't even claim warranty, because Renault doesn't seem to have made any changes to the design. Don't want to end up facing the same issue with a brand new headlamp cluster. Will think of it when Renault actually implements a design change

- Irregular idling is a recurring issue

Next update will be when the car goes in for the 10K km service. Current Odo reading stands at around 8.9K km.

Until then,
Ciao

[mooza]

Hi Vishy76, any further updates on the AMT issue ? Curious to know the outcome.

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by mooza

Hi Vishy76, any further updates on the AMT issue ? Curious to know the outcome.

Yes. Sorry for not updating the thread. Have been extremely busy off late. A major update is due and will do that today itself.

Regarding the AMT issue, it worsened with time. At first, the issue of the AMT not shifting would only occur once in say 20 or 30 times. But the frequency kept on increasing and at one point, the gearbox just refused to shift into reverse or drive out of neutral. The car had to be restarted and the Electronic error light came on.

It was sent to the workshop the next day for the 10K km service and for sorting the issue out. Unfortunately, the S.A said it will take 3-4 days to diagnose the issue.

Got a call 4 days later claiming that the clutch box was jamming and had gone kaput. A replacement part had been ordered from chennai. It took another week to arrive, taking the total downtime to 10 days.

All in all, I am fairly contented with the service experience, but very disappointed with the AMT. I will be documenting the service costs and other niggles (if any) in the next post.

[ranjeet_sam]

Hi Vishy76,

Has the AMT issue(Gear not engaging) been resolved? We have a 2018 Aug KWID AMT and have been facing the same problem that you mentioned. The car returned from the First Service 2 weeks ago and I was told that they made a software update and adjusted the clutch. I have not used the car much since the first service. Yesterday I drove the car for around 100kms(on the highway) and did not face any issue. However today morning when my wife tried to start the car, it refused to start. After about 20 minutes, the car started but refused to engage into forward or reverse. I called the Service center who sent their technician over and he confirmed that it is some electronic issue(There is a warning light on the dashboard). At the time of writing this, I am waiting for the them to tow the car to the service station.

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by ranjeet_sam

Hi Vishy76,

Has the AMT issue(Gear not engaging) been resolved? We have a 2018 Aug KWID AMT and have been facing the same problem that you mentioned. The car returned from the First Service 2 weeks ago and I was told that they made a software update and adjusted the clutch. I have not used the car much since the first service. Yesterday I drove the car for around 100kms(on the highway) and did not face any issue. However today morning when my wife tried to start the car, it refused to start. After about 20 minutes, the car started but refused to engage into forward or reverse. I called the Service center who sent their technician over and he confirmed that it is some electronic issue(There is a warning light on the dashboard). At the time of writing this, I am waiting for the them to tow the car to the service station.

Really SORRY for responding late. This thread didnt show up in my user CP at all . Also partly my fault since I should be checking it regularly.

How I wish I could say this , but the AMT still wont stop throwing tantrums. Let me just give you a few niggles I am facing:

- Reverse year engages with a "thunk" accompanied by a jerk which is very noticeable even for someone like my mom who isnt too much into cars. This happens only 1 out of 10 times but is very annoying

- The more serious issue is that downshifts are not at all smooth now. There is a very noticeable lull and a jerk while downshifting and again, this happens randomly

- The last one is the most worrying. I had mentioned in the previous posts that the AMT is a bit too liberal when it comes to slipping the clutch. Well, its just gotten worse. That mild "grinding" which was almost unnoticeable when lifting off in 1st has now taken the form of a more severe judder. This might be pointing to worn out clutch packs (I sincerely hope not though)

Another point that proves this theory is that on steep slopes where the front wheels dont remain in contact with the ground completely, there is a lot of wheelspin. The wheels spin pointlessly for atleast 3-4 seconds before the clutch engages completely and the car lunges forward (again a dangerous scenario)

Do not hesitate from asking any further questions. The more us owners know, the better.

[mooza]

Originally Posted by ranjeet_sam

...However today morning when my wife tried to start the car, it refused to start. ... At the time of writing this, I am waiting for the them to tow the car to the service station.

Hi Ranjeet any update on the repairs? Hope the issues are resolved.

[shivathedude]

Do you still have the car or did you sell it?

[ranjeet_sam]

Originally Posted by mooza

Hi Ranjeet any update on the repairs? Hope the issues are resolved.

Mooza, I am really sorry for the late late reply, I completely forgot about this post. They kept the car in the Service station for about 2 days and said that the clutch was adjusted and the software was updated(once more).

Its been quite a while now, in the mean time, the Car AC compressor was replaced under warranty as it stopped cooling. The second service was completed a couple of months ago. The problem of the car not engaging into gear has not propped up ever since, however the gear shifts are terribly jerky and there is substantial juddering when moving from standstill. The Car is owned by my father in law and he is using it as a stop gap arrangement till he can replace it with a better car. The car has clocked about 12000kms till date.

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by ranjeet_sam

Mooza, I am really sorry for the late late reply, I completely forgot about this post. They kept the car in the Service station for about 2 days and said that the clutch was adjusted and the software was updated(once more).

Its been quite a while now, in the mean time, the Car AC compressor was replaced under warranty as it stopped cooling. The second service was completed a couple of months ago. The problem of the car not engaging into gear has not propped up ever since, however the gear shifts are terribly jerky and there is substantial juddering when moving from standstill. The Car is owned by my father in law and he is using it as a stop gap arrangement till he can replace it with a better car. The car has clocked about 12000kms till date.

I am facing the exact same issues too.

Here are the symptoms:

- Juddering when moving from a standstill

- Jerks when slotting from N to R and also while downshifting

- Car sometimes refuses to take cranks although I think I don't wait enough for the AMT to initialise

[ranjeet_sam]

Originally Posted by vishy76

I am facing the exact same issues too.

Hi Vishy,

Same Pinch . I dont think Renault has a solution to these problems and its best to accept the faults with the car and move on.

[vishy76]

4 years, 40K km update

Been very long since I have been seen lurking around on this thread (or any Renault Kwid thread for that matter). Partly because the Jetta has kept me occupied all throughout for the past 2 years as mentioned in the ownership review and partly because of professional commitments.

No update on TeamBHP usually means no issues or anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, this doesn’t hold true for any of my cars. Every time I have been away from the forum for a long period of time, I have come back with a rather lengthy update and an equally long bill at the service centre accompanying it. The Kwid’s story is bizarre. It hasn’t been a very uneventful ownership experience at all. A lot has happened in the past 3 years and some of it might have even slipped out of my mind, so apologies in advance. I will try and list down all part replacements and incidents in detail to the best of my abilities.

The first issue with the Kwid has already been discussed in the post on this very thread. Quoting myself:

Yes. Sorry for not updating the thread. Have been extremely busy off late. A major update is due and will do that today itself.

Regarding the AMT issue, it worsened with time. At first, the issue of the AMT not shifting would only occur once in say 20 or 30 times. But the frequency kept on increasing and at one point, the gearbox just refused to shift into reverse or drive out of neutral. The car had to be restarted and the Electronic error light came on.

It was sent to the workshop the next day for the 10K km service and for sorting the issue out. Unfortunately, the S.A said it will take 3-4 days to diagnose the issue.

Got a call 4 days later claiming that the clutch box was jamming and had gone kaput. A replacement part had been ordered from chennai. It took another week to arrive, taking the total downtime to 10 days.

All in all, I am fairly contented with the service experience, but very disappointed with the AMT. I will be documenting the service costs and other niggles (if any) in the next post.

Here’s a pic of the actuator (replaced F.O.C under warranty) itself for reference. The first service was also carried out at the same time. Ended up costing about 5.3K:



The jerking issues from the AMT persisted though. My car has been to two distinct ASCs and an FNG, but all three have failed to sort the issue out. The car randomly jerks while downshifting from 2nd to 1st, engages drive and reverse late sometimes and slips the clutch excessively in first gear leading wheelspin many a times and oft. I have no other choice but to live with this issue, since the next step demands replacing the clutch pressure plate, friction plate and release bearing.

The second incident with the car happened due to my mom’s fault. She was backing out of a tight parking spot when the front right-hand side of the Kwid grazed the bumper of another car. The front right cladding cracked near the indicator lens. It was replaced for a princely sum of Rs. 490:





I was hoping this incident was the last untoward one, but my joy and hope were both short-lived. A troop of monkeys decided to use the Kwid’s roof as a trampoline. The damage was extensive. The roof has caved in at certain places like a tin foil. I haven’t gotten it fixed just yet though I will have to, now that rust has started to form due to paint cracks and chipping. My dad also ended up reversing into a pole, leaving another nasty dent on the boot lid and deforming the bumper around 2019. Have been given a quote of 12-13K for fixing both by Renault:




Battery Failure

Coming back to the technical tidbits, there’s plenty to write about. Around mid-2018, the car decided to spring up another issue. My mom was out shopping. After getting into the car and trying to start it, the Kwid refused to turn over. The electronic fault light came on. My mom had to resort to calling a towing service and getting the car towed off to Renault Gopinathji. It was disconcerting to learn that a faulty battery had caused this issue.

I wanted to give the RSA guy a piece of my mind for not checking the battery voltage and directly towing the car. Fortunately, Renault did cover the towing charges though I had to pay for the godforsaken battery. It was an Exide. My pocket was lighter by 4K or thereabouts. I later learnt this was a common issue in numerous 2017-2018 MFG Kwids.


Fuel canister replacement

The second service carried out shortly after was also eventful. I had again complained of recurring jerks while downshifting by the AMT, and they concluded that the petrol in the tank was contaminated. They drained the entire tank, replaced a part called the bleed canister (1.2K) and gave the car back. Though the petrol returned to me did seem to be contaminated with kerosene, I never observed any change in performance after this job was carried out. Here's a link to the part itself:
https://boodmo.com/catalog/3364-fuel...-renault-kwid/

The third service was carried out at an FNG. Total cost came to about 5.5K. They did a fairly good job of it. The car also seemed to be settling in and the frequency of niggles had died down.

Faulty accelerator pedal assembly

Around late 2020 however, another issue, this time a known one. The electronic fault light came on and the Kwid wouldn’t respond to A-pedal inputs sometimes. I instantly knew this was the faulty accelerator pedal assembly issue seen on numerous Kwids. Got it fixed for Rs. 800.



4th Service and part replacements

Finally, I gave the car for its 40K km or 4th year service in April, 2021. I had three complains to be addressed:
- The brake fault light randomly pops up although the brakes are functioning normally and so is the handbrake
- The brake fluid hasn’t been changed and the same should be done
- The AMT’s jerky behavior has increased

I got a call back giving me an initial quote of around 7K. However, on further inspection, it was revealed the front brake pads were completely worn, enough to scar the rotors. The quote went up to 13K. The S.A advised me to buy the Renault Easy Care program Ensure, which is basically P.R speak for an AMC. The AMC covers a lot (As indicated in the scanned copy) apart from costing a meagre 13K for 3 services. The final math worked out like this:

Easy Care AMC: 13.4K (valid for 2 more services apart from the current one)
Brake pads and Rotor replacement + Labour : 5K

I opted for the AMC and paid up for the brake overhaul (not covered by Easy Care). My wallet was lighter by 18.4K in total by the end of this saga. Here’s a list of parts replaced.

The air filter. The FNG didn’t bother changing this at the previous service, which clearly shows. The OE supplier to Renault is MAHLE. Cost is Rs. 190:



Wiper Washer fluid:


The brake pads with the associated shims and bolts. Set me back about 1.7K:


The minimum and maximum thickness on the pads. Its surprising how extensive the wear is for a 40K km done A-segment hatchback:




The scarred rotors. Look closely and you will see a very sharp lip on the external periphery of both rotors. They had enough thickness to be skimmed, but the dealership replaced them straight off:




Coolant. Good to see Renault uses Long life coolant even on a budget offering. One bottle costs 260 bucks and holds 1L. The 1.0L takes 3 of these:






The alternator belt. Both the alternator and compressor are driven by separate belts in the Kwid. This belt costs 215 bucks:




The compressor belt. Comes in at 260 bucks:




That would be it. Although there was a noticeable difference in overall refinement and NVH, the AMT wouldn’t change its ways. It remains an extremely unpredictable gearbox when it comes to shifting gears and just isn’t something I would recommend any prospective Kwid owner to even consider.

The financial burden of building a new home has put car buying plans on the backburner for now. The Kwid was to be replaced earlier than the Jetta considering how fast it was ageing, and the fact that it didn’t really feel worth keeping with odd niggles popping up every 4-5 months. An Ignis AMT is the closest upgrade I see as of today. The Jazz, Kiger and Magnite CVTs are way out of my budget and the Polo TSI AT is also out of reach. The only logical thing to do at this point is to retain the Kwid. Hopefully, the car plays along and doesn’t throw up more tantrums.

On that (hopeful) note, it’s time to end this update. Thanks for reading through and stay safe. Until next time

Ananth

[jithin23]

Hey Vishy76, that's a comprehensive review of a car which usually does not get much attention. Great work I'm maintain the Mid though What I'm surprised about is that most of the wear and tear items, especially coolant and brake discs are replaced so early in the ownership period as well as a few part failures. The maintenance cost is almost equal to maintaining a 1.5L diesel .Was the car driven very roughly or changed hands too often. I'm curious to know because I was looking for a small AT car to run about in town and I was thinking of me if as well.

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by jithin23

Hey Vishy76, that's a comprehensive review of a car which usually does not get much attention. Great work I'm maintain the Mid though What I'm surprised about is that most of the wear and tear items, especially coolant and brake discs are replaced so early in the ownership period as well as a few part failures. The maintenance cost is almost equal to maintaining a 1.5L diesel .Was the car driven very roughly or changed hands too often. I'm curious to know because I was looking for a small AT car to run about in town and I was thinking of me if as well.

I completely agree. Things that shouldn't fail have failed on the car which is quite disappointing considering there isn't much to go wrong in the first place. Thankfully, the most expensive fix was done free of cost under warranty (AMT Actuator).

Coming to driving style, I will admit the wearing out of the brake pads and discs is partly due to the way the car is driven. Chiefly driven in traffic with late braking. Secondly, the brake pedal feel might also be a contributor. The pedal feels very wooden and spongey for the first inch of travel, post which the brakes bite suddenly. Someone who isn't used to this might end up wearing the pads out very early.

The Kwid AMT now easily crosses the 5L mark, even touching 6 in certain cities. I would wholeheartedly suggest a pre owned Micra CVT or atleast an Ignis AMT. The Ignis might also be an AMT, but at least the rest of the car will turn out to be reliable. My first choice will undoubtedly be a Micra CVT only though. I don't find any sense in paying 5-6L for an A-segment hatch in today's age (even if I consider the current Kwid has all the issues I listed sorted out)