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Old 23rd September 2012, 11:32   #121
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

One thing I've noticed is , when the CNG levels are low , and when I start the car, it switches over to CNG , the engine lugs and acts as if it runs out of breath and shuts off!

Shouldn't it switch over to petrol automatically after running out of CNG?!

The service center guys told me that the switchover has to be done manually and is not automatic!

So effectively when I'm driving , and I run out of CNG the engine shuts off and does not switch over to petrol on its own, in the middle of the road!

Guys, whats you opinion on this, faced the same, or is something wrong with my car?


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Last edited by GT500 : 23rd September 2012 at 11:33.
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Old 23rd September 2012, 19:18   #122
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I don't think this is normal. The car should switch over to petrol automatically. Mine does. I do assume that your car is the co. fitted and not after market cng kit.

In fact, when the car switches over to petrol, then the switch keeps sounding an alarm which does need to be switched off manually.

Last edited by aah78 : 21st December 2013 at 22:53. Reason: Posts merged.
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Old 14th October 2012, 20:44   #123
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

Even my car (factory fitted CNG kit) does not automatically switch to Petrol when CNG is low.

There is no alarm, nothing. When CNG level is low, the car's power decreases drastically and therefore, it decelerates. And then, to prevent the engine from stopping, I have to switch over to petrol.


Quote:
Originally Posted by LithiumSunset View Post
(Sorry for a follow up comment so quickly, mods, but saw no way of editing the previous post on the android app.)

In fact, when the car switches over to petrol, then the switch keeps sounding an alarm which does need to be switched off manually.
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Old 14th October 2012, 23:20   #124
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

Quote:
Originally Posted by GT500 View Post
One thing I've noticed is , when the CNG levels are low , and when I start the car, it switches over to CNG , the engine lugs and acts as if it runs out of breath and shuts off!

Shouldn't it switch over to petrol automatically after running out of CNG?!

The service center guys told me that the switchover has to be done manually and is not automatic!

So effectively when I'm driving , and I run out of CNG the engine shuts off and does not switch over to petrol on its own, in the middle of the road!
Shift from CNG to petrol when Petrol is over WILL NOT HAPPEN AUTOMATICALLY ( its manual in my car too ). You have to switch over manually. But it wont just shut down all of a sudden, you will have few seconds to react. This has happened to me in the past where I was going to run out of gas on highway doing 120. A jerk and loss of power, but the engine wont get killed instantly. And after I stopped, the engine did idle for 20 seconds approx, so I did have braking power and PS with me all the time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LithiumSunset View Post
I don't think this is normal. The car should switch over to petrol automatically. Mine does. I do assume that your car is the co. fitted and not after market cng kit.
Mine does not. Surprising.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LithiumSunset View Post
In fact, when the car switches over to petrol, then the switch keeps sounding an alarm which does need to be switched off manually.
Never happened to me! I a now in shock!


Quote:
Originally Posted by dsunn View Post
Even my car (factory fitted CNG kit) does not automatically switch to Petrol when CNG is low.

There is no alarm, nothing. When CNG level is low, the car's power decreases drastically and therefore, it decelerates. And then, to prevent the engine from stopping, I have to switch over to petrol.
Exactly, it does not switch over. Can this be configured ? I will confirm ASAP.
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Old 15th October 2012, 00:42   #125
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

Quote:
Originally Posted by dsunn View Post
Even my car (factory fitted CNG kit) does not automatically switch to Petrol when CNG is low.

There is no alarm, nothing. When CNG level is low, the car's power decreases drastically and therefore, it decelerates. And then, to prevent the engine from stopping, I have to switch over to petrol.
+1 to this.

Mine is WagonR LPG though. Once the gas is too low, engine struggles and stops; just the way a bike would do when falling in reserve. Need to switch to petrol manually at that time. No issues with such a flip as petrol comes to rescue immediately!

Maruti should integrate this into their system as software control!
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Old 26th November 2012, 12:03   #126
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

aaggoswami great review. Very Good for the people like me who wish to own a CNG car for city commuting.
I have finalised the WagonR Green for my wife who is persuing her masters and need to commute everyday around 80 kms. Just a few scenarios raised a question in my mind regarding safety of this vehicle. Team your views will help me to close this deal.

Few days back one of my friend has met with accident who own Santro and fitted CNG around 2 years ago. One of the BEST (Public Transport bus in Mumbai) driver lost control and rams his car from behind where CNG tank was fitted. Moment it happened they came out of the car as safety precaution. Someone from the trafiic cop mentioned that they were lucky that CNG bottle did not burst. He also mentioned that he has witnessed such things few months back where CNG car burnt after impact from behind. My concerns are,

1. Does such kind of impact burst CNG tank after collision?
2. If not in what conditions such scenario could occur?
3. What are the safety measures Maruti Has taken if such incidents occurs? Cause there is no room between CNG tank and door of Boot space.
4. What are the safety measures one can take if he owns such vehicle?

There are many people says that such kind of vehicles (without boot space from end of tank to boot lid) are not SAFE at all cause there is no impact resistance machanism. Hence in such collisions the direct impact comes onto the CNG tank, which is harmful for driver and passenger inside the car. I am sure MARUTI must have given some thought process to it.
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Old 2nd December 2012, 19:23   #127
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

Quote:
Originally Posted by Achilless View Post
aaggoswami great review. Very Good for the people like me who wish to own a CNG car for city commuting.
I have finalised the WagonR Green for my wife who is persuing her masters and need to commute everyday around 80 kms. Just a few scenarios raised a question in my mind regarding safety of this vehicle. Team your views will help me to close this deal.

Few days back one of my friend has met with accident who own Santro and fitted CNG around 2 years ago. One of the BEST (Public Transport bus in Mumbai) driver lost control and rams his car from behind where CNG tank was fitted. Moment it happened they came out of the car as safety precaution. Someone from the trafiic cop mentioned that they were lucky that CNG bottle did not burst. He also mentioned that he has witnessed such things few months back where CNG car burnt after impact from behind. My concerns are,

1. Does such kind of impact burst CNG tank after collision?
2. If not in what conditions such scenario could occur?
3. What are the safety measures Maruti Has taken if such incidents occurs? Cause there is no room between CNG tank and door of Boot space.
4. What are the safety measures one can take if he owns such vehicle?

There are many people says that such kind of vehicles (without boot space from end of tank to boot lid) are not SAFE at all cause there is no impact resistance machanism. Hence in such collisions the direct impact comes onto the CNG tank, which is harmful for driver and passenger inside the car. I am sure MARUTI must have given some thought process to it.
I have the exact same concern and this is the only concern stopping me from going ahead with the Wagon R CNG. Can any of the more accomplished seniors shed some light on this? Thanks.
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Old 26th December 2012, 01:24   #128
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

summary: need suggestions for new battery for wagonr.

The D-Day:
Having trouble with car battery which is around 5 yrs old.
my wagonr (2005) didnt crank up on saturday. Tried dhakal start but it failed miserably. Called up MASS and got it jump started. was informed that need to travel around 10km to recharge the battery. did that. but made grave mistake of not cranking it again on same day. Next day, again same issue. the service guys were not responding - maybe because of sunday.
Monday was again very stressfull. the service guys were totally misleading. had tens of calls to them.
was thinking that car-battery-alternator might have severe issues. so didnt want to try local garage, although one was very close by.
Tueday was again same case with the service guys. after lot of pleading finally the guys came around 8pm.
Now the guys were more supportive. again informed to go on long drive. Also assured that if car doesnt start on wednesday morning, they will come again and help to get it to service station in mundwa.
Then the most dumbest thing happen with me. when taking reverse, the car stalled due to slope and had to frantically call for help. the car push was totally not working. Some how got hold of garage for jump start. this mechanic was hell bent on selling the new car battery at 10 pm to me. didnt heed to him and came back home.
Finally took my bike, asked wife to drive the car and gave the car to mahalaxmi service centre in mundwa. came back home at 12!

overall, i had no idea how to maintain the battery. always left that to the service guys to take care of. had assumed it to be maintenance free.
now looks like the battery or alternator might need to be replaced. so any suggestions on which model to pick are welcome.

Last edited by chetans : 26th December 2012 at 01:25. Reason: text
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Old 23rd November 2013, 20:47   #129
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

I've driven my Wagon R CNG for almost 50,000 kms now.

However, nowadays, my travelling is much less since I've moved closer to my office. Previously, my car's monthly mileage was close to 2,200 kms... now it is barely 300 kms.

Wagon R is a work-horse and a great value for money. It is spacious, the steering and handling is perfect, the driving position and visibility is great and the engine is smooth and silent. Among the cars in its price range, I believe that Wagon R offers among the best ride quality.

But it has its limitations. The body roll is immense, 1st and 2nd gears are sluggish, pick-up (especially in CNG) is not great, and the car's width is disproportionate to its length and height (don't even think about fitting 3 people in the back seats). Besides, there is no place to put any stuff in the CNG car dicky. This car is great for city driving, but on highways it is no fun at all.

Given the fact that my work commute is much lesser now, I am considering buying either a premium petrol hatch-back or a petrol compact SUV.

I basically want a car that is spacious, has good pick-up, driving position and ground clearance, and offers a good city driving experience. Wagon R has almost all of these qualities, and that is why upgrading from Wagon R is so hard.

Any suggestions?
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Old 3rd December 2013, 12:31   #130
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

Quote:
Originally Posted by dsunn View Post

I basically want a car that is spacious, has good pick-up, driving position and ground clearance, and offers a good city driving experience. Wagon R has almost all of these qualities, and that is why upgrading from Wagon R is so hard.

Any suggestions?
I am not sure of your budget, but I will suggest you Ritz. Its a very logical upgrade from Wagon R, the roll is controlled, its built well, has a very nice range of motors, good ride for city and reasonable space. Forget the looks for a while and what we have is a very under rated car. Spares are also not expensive ( and a lot of things are shared among other products ).

You can consider grand i10 also, but just IMHO, Ritz would be more practical option. However, if you have higher budget, you can consider Ecosport or Duster and even Ertiga. Though Ertiga and Ecosport/Duster are in different segments, Eritga is practical and not that large a car.

Depends on your budget and requirement, but the first logical upgrade would be IMHO, Ritz.
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Old 21st December 2013, 22:02   #131
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

Great reviews here, lots of information too
Quote:
Originally Posted by saumil_b View Post
Also, the Maruti guy told me the tank capacity is aboiut 14-16 kgs !! How do we manage that!!

Anyone from Mumbai who knows pumps around Santacruz where we get the right pressure??
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajay387 View Post
And from the earlier posts i assume the tank capacity of CNG is max of 12 kg!
Had recently accompanied my friend for his wagon R's first service. Upon pestering the MASS guy for a while about CNG tank capacity, here's what he showed me

Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown-img_0826.jpg
Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown-img_0825.jpg

Hope this helps.
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Old 22nd December 2013, 00:40   #132
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

aagoswami : Went through your ownership report and i must say it was a great read.

I own a Hyundai I10 CNG (Dealer Fitted) and its almost a year now with the car. As temperatures have started to fall in Delhi, i am encountering some issues with engine. The SWITCH to CNG is automatic and happens after 15 seconds. One morning when i started my car i could feel very thick vibrations. I waited for the switch over to happen and started moving. In I10 you have the gear shift indicator and to my shock i observed it was not showing up and moreover on every downshift i could feel the jerks and it was almost as if the car would stop. I switched back to petrol immediately and since then haven't encountered the problem. (touch wood)

I am not sure if its the temperature or a problem with the engine. Would appreciate if you could share your opinion.
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Old 12th September 2017, 14:49   #133
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Re: Maruti Wagon R CNG Review, 31,000 kms update and first breakdown

Finally, I sold the car at Rs. 1.8 lakh.
Km :63,000
Bridgestone B250 tyres had around 8000~10000 km on them.
Amaron Battery was still under warranty.

For the good service it game me specially when the roads were flooded, or be it hot and humid conditions, always it will remain as a learning curve for me. This car was driven by my father, sister, chauffeur and me over a period of 7 years.

Due to dengue and then skin trouble post dengue, I barely used it in last 2 months.

Here is my final review of the car with odo reading 63000 kms. :

Ride and Handling : Handling is better than what you expect from such a tall and narrow car, but it can't break laws of physics. Staright line stability was good enough as long one is not pushing the car beyond 100~110 kmph.

Ride is good in urban conditions, and suspension wont crash through small potholes. Large potholes would make themselves felt inside the cabin. Lower tyre pressure and older tyres with not so good sidewall strength adversely affects handling. Felt this when stock JK were out of their expected service life. Changing to Bridgestones made significant difference to the driving dynamics.

Engine : Apart from high seating and easy ingress/egress, the other impressive part was engine. For a car built for urban operations, engine was happy at highways; an irony IMO. It wasn't a scorcher, far from it, but certainly K10 did have grunt. For a 1000cc naturally aspirated motor, top end grunt was good. I did enjoy revving it while overtaking on single lane highways. My usage did include running on highways too (highway runs had reduced over period of time). Reason why car had IDV of Rs, 2.34 lakh and insurance was due on 16-09-2017.
Engine was slightly noisier while running on CNG as compared to petrol.

It loved working hard, and driver had to put in efforts for extracting a bit of performance from it.
Typical Japanese unit. G10 was easily better than this but its long gone.

In urban conditions, poor bottom end torque = lots of gearshifts, this engine cannot pass the 2nd gear speed breaker test without clutch slipping.

Gearbox : Long throws, effortless shifting. Slotting in reverse sometimes difficult. Did job as expected.

Seats : One of the best seats in business for its segment. How many cars have adjustable front headrests in that segment ? And Wagon R LXi has adjustable front and rear headrests. Even after 7 years of usage, seat hadn't any sagging or any other concern. My Grand i10's driver's seat had sagging in 18 months/9000 kms.

A/C was a chiller. Did spent Rs. 4500/- last year. No complaints.

Headlights : Again, I found them to be more than adequate. Beam spread and throw was very nice. Bulbs took care of intensity, never installed wiring kit + 100W bulbs, but Philips Xtreme vision+ were installed. Worked wonderfully.

Rattles : None. My 2015 Swift VXi has started a rattle from glovebox area. Wagon R never had any such issue.

Cost of running on CNG :
Last I filled in CNG, cost was rs. 45.6/kg. City efficiency with A/C was 20~22. Rs. 2.2/km. Highway I managed to once get 27 km per kg of gas. My chauffeur got around 26-27 kg on highways with A/C.

Any Advantage of Factory Fitted CNG ?
Yes. Earlier I had used Mruti 800 and Baleno 1.6 sedan with CNG. Wagon R with factor fitted felt like a sea change. No irregular idling, no fear of engine shutting off, and incredibly efficiency, smooth switchover, and engine was still free revving on CNG. Lack of power on CNG was almost never felt unless I started pushing the car hard. For an average motorist, CNG mode will feel as if its on CNG. No hassle of tuning whatsoever. Just fill it, shut it, forget it.

Areas of improvement :
ORVM on LXi was ridiculous. The plastic cover + glass is single unit and has to be adjusted manually, no internal adjustment. VXi gets proper mirrors. If not those, atlesat internally adjustable mirrors in LXi should have been included by Maruti.

Day and Night IRVM sorely missed. In a country that is high beam crazy and where most wont even know what is high beam, this feature is an absolute must.

Removing spare wheel in CNG variants : Rear seats have to be folded to access the spare wheel. Can we have some better option please ?

Tachometer : Tachometer could be included in my view. The simple instrument cluster of LXi starts to feel dated quite soon.

Lower dashboard cowl : The dashboard rises upwards from base of A-pillar. This was not appreciated by many, including my chauffeur. I never faced any problem, but some do. Last generation Wagon R was better in this regard. My Aunt used last generation Wagon R, and then bought the current one on sale. Didn't like it while being more comfortable with Amaze.

Overall : An economical car for urban operations and it can handle the highway duties too. On highway, engine has more to offer than chassis IMO.
Ease of ingress/egress is awesome. The image of car might be getting more and more budget, but its one of the most practical, value for money car in its' segment. I rarely faced the issue of steering not returning back to its position. Its an utterly reliable machine which is inexpensive to maintain.

Am, I going to miss this car : Yes. Over a period of time, I started appreciating the practical stuff this car had to offer. It didn't burn hole in my pocket for fuel or maintenance.

NOTE : CNG cylinder will need testing every three years. It has to be done at approved centers only. If the car is more than three years old and not tested, the CNG station can refuse to fill CNG in the car.

@mods: Can we please update the thread title : Now sold.
If you feel the need to do so, kindly lock the thread. In case of any queries on CNG wagon R from any member, I shall revert back.

Last edited by aaggoswami : 12th September 2017 at 15:04.
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