[KPR]

There is nothing called great car. It is the owner who make their car great. Excellent attention to detail Leoshashi ji. I can only enjoy reading through your posts. I'm sure many members and guest readers would've bought or booked XL6 after your thread. MS should reward you for that.

[Cooltronics]

Gentleman, you can now safely call your self Dr. Shashi - Car Pathologist
What medicos see through microscope and mortals like us never see, you get to see in your normal vision

Kudos to your effort brother ! This is just another level of car care !

[turbowhistle]

Wow, felt like I was watching a youtube video from US/Europe. Everything was done painstakingly correct! Kudos to you.

I generally keep my cars clean and scratch-free but this is next level care.

[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

A rare event of Maruti pulling out a Toyota: Got a frantic call from a brother that he has beached the Innova.

Since I carry all emergency supplies in my boot Link to emergency kit (My first car: 2020 Maruti Suzuki XL6 Alpha MT Review), it came handy today. Pulled out the tow strap from the emergency kit and connected both the cars.

Awesome to see the little brother pulling out the elder brother. We once towed our Punto (after it broke down) with my uncle's M800 , the little M800 pulled the Punto without any issue. BTW, what all do you have in the emergency kit (over & above what the MGP kit comes with)?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

BTW, what all do you have in the emergency kit (over & above what the MGP kit comes with)?

Well this is my kit(hidden under the boot floor) when I am in city/do close highway tours:

L to R:

1. Extra tow strap, Part Number: 990J0m999X0-030 or 990J0m999W0-260

2. Emergency kit comprising of tow strap, jumper cable and tyre repair kit.

3. MGA Inflator

4. MGA Jump Starter

5. Couple of Umbrellas

6. Documents holder

7. MGA Car cover-Tyvek

On long drives, specially when I'm alone, I replace the car cover with a bag full of tools and emergency supplies like M Seal, JB Weld etc. BHPian Tacho changed his 800 steering wheel using my kit, which is documented here along with pics: Link (My first car: 2020 Maruti Suzuki XL6 Alpha MT Review)

************************************************** ***********


In some other news, the XL6 got another small yet significant feature from Ciaz/Baleno: Grab Handle with Coat hook. It was entirely plug and play.

Before:

After:

Thanks to the recent DIYs including roof liner like Auto Dimming IRVM etc, the liner had become a bit dirty. Took it to 3M Ranchi, they cleaned the entire liner, even the areas which weren't dirty and were kind enough to vacuum the interiors too for no extra cost.

Also crossed this interesting figure on the odometer:

Signing off with a recent click of the XL:

[Leoshashi]

Update on Glaco Windshield coating: Had applied this last week but got time to test it properly today. This is the same coating I had on my 800, hence not making duplicate post. Hydrophobicity beyond 60kmph is very good and water droplets literally flow up without any use of wiper. Have a look:

https://youtu.be/NyPoOXNIMM8

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by vebmetal

I asked my car service garage about the axle issue, and their response was:



I can understand them having a 'replace only if needed' policy, but how is it possible that Maruti hasn't informed their dealers about this issue? (This particular service garage is a major one in Delhi).

Some people are also getting their axles replaced:

Source: FB Ertiga Page

[Leoshashi]

A quick dash to Jamshedpur and back: Had to leave early in the morning and couldn't sleep properly the previous night, so decided to take it easy and instead try Cruise control too. In my ownership period, there haven't been many instances where I could enjoy a peaceful cruising with Cruise control engaged. This was the moment. Reset the FE and trip meters before the trip so that it gives a clear picture.

For the first 70 odd kilometers when the roads were smooth 4 lane surface without much traffic, I was cruising between 90-100kmph, with AC on and temperature set to 24 degrees; the efficiency readout was upwards of 21kmpl! Before entering Jamshedpur, traffic and road conditions deteriorated and the final readout was 19.4kmpl. This was the efficiency over 159 km which I believe is still great.

The beautiful roads:

Efficiency for the first 77 km

Final readout at the end of the onward journey:

Also, visited the famous Sun Temple which was long pending from my wishlist and the surroundings were amazing.

And before I forget, the day started with a quick meet with BHPian BlowHornOk, who was in the city to get his Aspire serviced. It was a pleasure meeting you, Sir.

Regards,
Shashi

[Blow Horn Ok]

It was great to meet you and discuss cars even at 7 am in the morning . As usual, the xl was looking as special as it could be. The day night auto irvm execution has been done with so much perfection that it will leave maruti engineers grudging. Also, the dent repair, paint and polishing on the hatch door has been done in a manner that even experts will not be able to tell the difference.

I was there to drop someone at the airport and club service during the visit. Finally decided to skip the service and come sometime later as it was not worth waiting 3 hours for the centre to be opened. I have heard good things about the tupudana service centre of Ford and will visit next week to try them out. The lush greenery of Jharkhand in monsoon is something to experience and the photographs have turned out as special as the car.

[Leoshashi]

The XL turns 1: Getting the likes and dislikes out of the way first.

Likes:

1. Engine and Gearbox: The best 1.5 NA if you ask me, the pep, efficiency, ease of driving and refinement is simply unmatched. Gearbox is as slick as any Japanese unit. There were some vibes and notchiness when the car was new, now everything has fallen into place.

2. Space: Need I say anything more? Being monocoque, even the rear seats are usable. Only issue for the last row is it’s ingress/egress.

3. Practicality: It’s a well thought out car with provisions for almost everything. Well it's an MPV trait.

4. Driving dynamics despite being an MPV is among the very best.

5. Features I love:
-LED lights all around, had some issues with focus earlier, but solved it to satisfaction. It continues to struggle in fog though. For that I intend to use a pair of good old halogen fogs with some quality yellow bulbs, which will be plug and play whenever needed.
-The comfortable captain seats and well sorted ride: My parents absolutely love it.
-AC performance: The rear AC is there for a purpose and when used, the AC is sufficient for all. I was scared about summers but it lived up to its reputation.
-Smartplay HU: Has enough features to keep me happy. Rear Camera is a real boon!
-Auto Folding ORVMs. I realized it’s usefulness when we got the S Cross which lacks this feature.
-The Ugly claddings: Never thought I’d say this, but they are extremely sturdy and pragmatic for our conditions. Has saved the body umpteen times from nasty hits.
-Bottle holders at front with cooling function: They are immensely useful over long drives.
-Cruise Control: Enough said!
-The Under boot storage: Very practical to keep regular supplies. I use it to keep Umbrellas, Emergency kit which consists of Tow Strap, Jumper cable and Tubeless tire repair kit, Battery Jump starter and body cover neatly.

6. Smart Hybrid System: Gives enough boost at part throttle, and till now it’s start stop system has never proven to be a nuisance in daily use.

It’s hard to list out all the small positives, so I’ve mentioned the top ones, and will now go for the top things I hate about this car:

Dislikes:

1. Absolutely third grade dashboard integration: Rattled at the slightest provocation. Had to do a major surgery and fix all of them. Else I was so badly frustrated with it that I was planning to cut my losses, sell it and get a base model Crysta!

2. Lack of features: Agreed it’s 90% of the Crysta at 50% of money and there is no direct competition, but it wouldn’t have hurt Maruti to give it some must have features. I badly missed features like Auto Dimming IRVM, Footwell lamps, UV cut glasses etc which it’s cheaper sibling the Baleno gets. I expect Maruti to give it at least UV cut glasses on this MPV with the facelift since it has huge glass area.

3. Looks: The stock look with tiny wheels look absolutely horrible. While looks wise I’d have loved to get 16 inchers of the XL7, the practical guy in me suggests that currently I’m on the best possible tyre combo-195/65R15. Also Before I forget, those black painted wheels are downright crappy. It’s a scratch magnet and the design is too hard to clean properly!

4. Engine should get an Engine cover. I like to keep my engines clean and this K15 is notorious for water getting inside spark plug hole if pressure is used.

5. Thin window panels: They let in a lot of outside noise inside. Also stock sound insulation is nothing to brag about.

6. Not many options in MGA except the chrome crap.

7. Lack of rear fog lamps

8. Stock key fob design, looks too mundane and is a scratch magnet too. Would have preferred old oval fob.

Changes done/Features added over the stock XL6:

1. Complete sound proofing done, Not the regular damping. Unfortunately lost most pics due to a corrupted SD card. Still have recovered some and a detailed post is coming soon. Has made a huge difference to the inside cabin comfort.

2. Upgraded to Michelin XM2 195/65R15 on D-day itself. One of the best things to happen to this car. Hope Michelin sorts out it's supply issues by the time the current set wears out.

3. 5th Wheel is now an alloy

4. Engine isn’t exposed now from underneath, gets a nice flush fitting engine guard.

5. Ceramic Coated, DIY. Durability is good even after a year.

6. Upgraded to MGA PM 2.5 Cabin Filter

7. Installed Solar powered TPMS by Manatec

8. Dead pedal Footrest rubber installed

9. Runs on OEM Iridium Plugs now

10. Installed Foot well lamps

11. Installed Auto-Dimming IRVM

Niggles faced:

1. When the car was new, it’s fuel lid wouldn’t open. The spring near lid hinge wasn’t adjusted properly, it took my old Mechanic Arjun few seconds to set it right.

2. Rattles from dashboard. Fixed myself, well documented here.

3. The boot struts appeared weak at one point of time, had to push it all
the way up. Maruti had confirmed that this is covered under warranty. However, I accidentally cleaned the strut and it all became fine. It was covered with fine dust and may be that had something to do with the operation. It became fine after that and till now I haven’t got it replaced.

4. When the car was new, the driver side request sensor would work intermittently. I was directing the water pressure jet on the handle which is forbidden in the owner’s manual. Was entirely my mistake and it got resolved on it's own.

Recommendations to Maruti for facelifted XL6:

1. 15/16 inch alloys with some good design. With our road conditions I wouldn’t be adamant for 16 inchers, but we deserve a good looking 15 inch design at least.

2. Auto Dimming IRVM

3. Puddle Lamps from the Ignis/Baleno/Kizashi

4. Backlit buttons for the PW console

5. UV Cut glass all around(A must)

6. Engine cover and underbody guard like the Dzire/Swift

7. Rear foldable sunblinds like the Kia Seltos

8. Footwell lamps

9. Try to do something about the crappy dashboard integration. It’s a rattle snake as of now

10. A good music system, like the Seltos/Creta with amps and all.

11. Rear fog lamp, an absolute must.

12. Bi-Projector LED Headlamps, the current ones though good, light scatters a lot. Projected beam gives different kind of confidence to the driver.

What can be implemented in future generations:

1. A panoramic sunroof-it’s all the rage right now

2. Curtain and side airbags

3. 6 Speed AT and MT gearboxes

Warranty claims: None

Any current complains: None, keeps running like a clock.

Who loves this car the most: While dad is happy with the comfort offered, he is physically fit and hence not too concerned about the vehicle he is being driven in. Mom on the other hand is suffering from Sciatica and till now, the only mode of transport she considered was flight or trains. Road trips were a strict no-no for her, since she couldn’t sit for more than 1 hour at a stretch in ANY car. That has changed drastically with the XL6, and this is the reason mom loves this car the most. She is now able to enjoy road trips, which were earlier a nuisance for her. Seats which are firm, placed at the right height and enough feeling of space ensures that she enjoys the trips to the fullest now. Recently she also tried to drive it, and was surprised by the ease of driving. She loved the light clutch, smooth gearshift and ergonomically sorted seating and this is the first time she drove a manual in last 9 years.

For me, this car will be special since it’s my first car, and the affinity mom has developed, makes it even more special.

Efficiency, Kitna Deti hai: Depends a lot on the driving conditions and style, and by tankful to tankful methods, the best I've got till now is around 20kmpl, while the worst stands at around 14.8kmpl when I was gunning the engine and did Varanasi-Ranchi in flat 6.5 hours. I don't pay much attention to FE these days, but it always remains between 17-19kmpl.

My maintenance regime: Strictly following the Owner's manual, except for few things:

1. I'll be sticking to 5k oil change intervals. Agreed it may be overkill, but the oil is cheap(~Rs. 1300 per 3.5L can), and it degrades heavily around the 7-8k mark. Will be doing this at home, DIY.

2. I plan to change the filters proactively at half the recommended mark. For example, replacement of fuel and air filter is recommended at 40k service. I intend to do it at 20k. 40k for fuel filter will be too much, given the quality of fuel in my area. Again DIY since I doubt MASS will agree to this.

3. I clean the air filters myself every 2000 km, or whenever I get time.

4. Tyre rotation every 5k kms, Balancing and Alignment as per need.

5. One thing I noticed was that the Exide battery had it's electrolyte level below the minimum mark during first service. May be this is why the OEM batteries doesn't last long. Since then I've made it a point to visually check the level frequently and top up with Exide Distillo Distilled water whenever needed. I'll prefer that MASS mechanics don't touch this because they tend to overfill the battery, which then causes all kinds of spillage and corrosion.

6. My other maintenance practices include frequently lubing the locks, hinges, Window channel etc. Twice a year is enough I believe.

How much on the Odo: The car has run close to 12,800 kms in past 1 year. My annual running remained around 10k with other cars, but due to COVID scene, I'm preferring my own transport rather than opting for public means. Hence the slightly higher running.

Birthday drive: My good friend Dr. Mukund planned a highway drive and breakfast. For the first time I was the co-driver in my own car. The roads were awesome and the scenes were equally breathtaking. Also got the car cleaned inside out the previous day. Some pics:

First PUC

Cleaned the engine bay myself:

Also, as a symbol of gratitude for the service our rides give, celebrated it's birthday, like I do for GG:

Signing off with one of my favorite clicks:

Regards,
Shashi

[MadTiger]

Long Post Alert!

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Update: Footwell lamp added! The XL6 is as well equipped as a cave, specially when compared to Brezza or Baleno. One of the many things I missed in this car was a warm welcome the footwell lamp provides. At the same time, I wasn't ready for those insanely bright setups by LED strips, needed something more "OEM" looking. Well, in MGA, there are some options. Celerio got footwell lamp option as MGA in Orange color, while old WagonR got it in dark blue. Opted for more subtle Celerio's setup.

Regards,
Shashi

So ever since I saw this post I immediately ordered the part however due to lock down boodmo kept changing the delivery dates. Since this wasn't urgent I decided to wait for it to arrive.

Finally the part arrived in 2nd week of June. Excited I was to get it fixed. But it isn't what it is until you plan implementing it.

First thing first, which wire to tap? Shashi recommended to tap from A pillar, but there are so many wires which one to tap got me thinking.

This unit does not have any switch which mean I need to tap from the dimmer line else it will remain always On!

So I decided to open the rear cabin light assembly and took my multimeter to find out which wire has the dimmer signal. It turns out the the White wire (always on) being the (+ve) wire and blue being the (-ve) wire with dimmer cut off.

Now time to use the scotch lock to tap the connection, this being my first time using scotch locks wanted to be sure I do it right at the first time, as there is no room for error. Its not recommended to re-use scotch lock once punched and the kit comes with two only.



After tapping the connection - time to test! Connected the lamps and voila they work and dim out once the doors are closed.

Next thing was to zip tie the wiring harness and fuse box neatly all the way to the terminating points. As suggested by Shashi I used foam tape on A pillar to avoid any rattle and used rubber tape on the plastic cover.



Once done I had a hard time figuring out a flat surface near the footwell to mount the lamps. After many trial an error found a place on both side to mount it.

Unfortunately since I was doing it alone, did not take many pictures.

Attaching couple post installation. End result satisfied!

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

The XL turns 1:
Signing off with one of my favorite clicks:

Attachment 2179241

Regards,
Shashi

Congratulations! This was fairly quick around the sun. Wish you many more smiling miles ahead!





Recently we went for a longish drive to Gokarna. This was our first long drive ever since we came back from Kolkata end of December 2020. Except once we went to Mysore. Rest it was almost sitting idle due to second wave of Pandemic.

With onset of Moonsoon the drive was pleasant, we started around 5 am in the morning and reached our hotel around 3 pm. We took ample breaks in between including breakfast and lunch.

The drive was excellent, for the first time pushed XL6 to its limits and the throaty growl was engaging. Usually I am a sedate driver but doing couple of back to back sprint and redlining XL6 my wife got curious and asked me "Why is our car sounding like a motorbike?"

With Petrol breaching the Rs. 100/ltr mark, I did get a bit apprehensive about the FE, with little disappointment the average XL6 returned was 15.8 KMPL. This was with 2 adults, 2 kids and weekend luggage. Had 29 Psi all around.

I believe since our route had quite a bit of ghat section this could have adversely effected our FE.

Everything went well except on our onward journey a minor incident happened. There was a check post while exiting Gokarna and police had kept barricades. As I was approaching the entrance a callus KRSTC bus driver entered the barricade before I could exit. I had to negotiate the exit since I had cars tailgating me. It was a tricky situation. I kept my calm however while negotiating the exit I missed the barricade which got too close to the left side of the car and brushed it.



Thankfully I was able to rub off with a rubbing compound and finished it off with coat of wax on my return.

My XL6 is closing almost 10k kms. Preparing for an ownership review soon.

Few click from the recent trip.














Finally came back home and took some time out to clean her inside out!







A new addition to my accessories list.

MGA - 2 in 1 Vacuum cleaner and Tyre inflator. Part Number : 990J0M99923-050

Listed price is Rs. 2890







Really nifty and compact design. The inflator is a bit noisy but I guess all portable inflators at this price point makes decent amount of noise. Was fairly quick, has digital reading and auto cut off once preset psi is reached. The vacuum cleaner has decent suction haven't throughly tested it yet though, will update the post on my findings.

thanks,
Aniruddha

[VKumar]

Congrats for completing 1 year of ownership.

As soon as I saw the picture of XL-6 on home page, immediately clicked it to see if the signature pic has been clicked again or not.

At the time of 800's birthday, the XL-6 came wearing a birthday hat. The 800 also didn't disappoint on the XL-6's day either

[Scarlet_Rider]

Shashi - Congratulations for completing 1 year of ownership!!

Originally Posted by VKumar

The 800 also didn't disappoint on the XL-6's day either

Great to see the Priya joining the party as well.

[abhi9044]

Congratulations on completing 1 year with the XL6 bhaiya.

On a different note, where did you procure those Suzuki Shell Helix stickers under the hood? I remember that they are present in your GG as well.

Originally Posted by MadTiger

Long Post Alert!

Really nifty and compact design. The inflator is a bit noisy but I guess all portable inflators at this price point makes decent amount of noise. Was fairly quick, has digital reading and auto cut off once preset psi is reached. The vacuum cleaner has decent suction haven't throughly tested it yet though, will update the post on my findings.

This is a great tool to have, however, I would like to advise you to use the inflator only during emergency situations. I was using the inflator very often to fill up the tyres in my car and one day it just died. Even the vaccum stopped working and there was no power going to the unit. The fuse of the car was fine. Thankfully, it comes with a 1-year warranty and the dealership where i bought it from have agreed to replace it.

[TrackDay]

Congrats on the XL6 turning a year old ! Your cars are lucky to have you

Reminded me of the day when the 800 turned 21 and the XL6 had to look on patiently at the cake ! Seems like it is the turn for the 800 now, but alas there are others too today and they seem to be saying something to the 800.