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-   -   Maruti A-Star Automatic : Ownership Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/96070-maruti-star-automatic-ownership-review-11.html)

I still have my A-Star AT.
Purchased Dec 2012, Around 37000 kms covered till date.
Mostly highway driving and not much used in city during weekdays.
I get about 13kmpl in city and 18kmpl on good highway roads. Typically AC on all the time, except early mornings.
Stock tires may run for another 5K kms.

Only issue is vibrations in idle and slow speeds, increases especially when AC is on.

Love the comfort of AT, safety of ABS, Good music system, Driver Seat height adjustment and also good suspension for occasional bad roads. Nothing much to complain about.

I bought mine in May 2013 and have clocked 8K kms till date. The car is mainly used by my wife to ferry my children back from school and daily running is an average 5-10 kms. The car has been returning FE figures in single digits thanks to the limited running everyday. Overall ownership experience has not been bad so far but for the below niggles:

1. Vibrations at low speeds (as pointed out in the earlier post)
2. The AT is not a great one and the ratios at which the gear shifts happen are not optimal.
3. The stock battery went kaput in 18 months flat. Quite a surprise, rather a shock to me.

Can you pls tell more about this vibration ? During two TD's, I have not noticed this.

I have an AT since august 2013, the vibrations are typical of the 3-pot engine, it is hardly noticeable once the car pick up speeds beyond 15-20.

Generally there is no need to use the accelerator in crawling traffic, but at times in stop and go traffic with AC on, the vibrations are felt hard on inclines (flyovers, underpass), I feel this more when the tyre pressure is low (27-28 psi) and the engine does feel the resistance from the tires and struggle to keep the vehicle moving, I give it a gentle tap on the accelerator to get moving. If the pressure is maintained at 33 psi, then it should not be a problem.

The vibrations are certainly bearable on brand new or 2/3 years old vehicle, but once the engine mount tend to wear out, things may get bad, ofcourse the car would need a lot of running to reach such a situation.

Are you looking at a pre-owned one? Good examples will be available for 3-3.5 lakhs or even further. I drive on the ORR (Koramangala - bellandhur) during peak hours, my worst mileage figures have been 10 kmpl, best being 13-13.5 kmpl, the occasional short trip on hosur & NICE road does help.

Thanks ! I have found a sparingly used 2011 model, and waiting to pick it up. Would be driven by wife.

+1 to it. Exactly the feedback I wanted to share as well. The challenge is more when you drive it esp in bumper to bumper city traffic.

I still have mine. Due to compact dimensions, fantastic for in-city drives. Even on highways it will keep up with big boys, with bit of a struggle. I found absolutely no vibrations any time of the day. Pick up is not exciting though. Takes looong time to reach 120 on highway. Crawls up to 140 and that is it.

We have ours too - 4.5 years and 20K odd kms.

Thanks, Guys !

Our planned acquisition is as a city drive, & mainly for wife. The default choice for the highways would be the Storme.

One question:
Need the volume knob of the HU. Help, please ! Where can I get one ?

Congrats Condor.

Shall enquire at MASS and MGP stockist here in Hyderabad. In case they do have, shall inform you.

Congrats on the new acquisition clap:

If the HU is a Nippon/Kenwood you can try at this place:
Hi Tech Service Point
No. 277, 5th Cross, Koramangala 6th Block, Bangalore - 560095 Land Mark: Behind Bethany High School
Phone/Mobile: 080 - 41105959, 080 - 41105050, 9845006909

Congrats. A good choice as compared to a new Nano or K10 AMT. Coincidentally, I had mentioned the same in one of the threads on Nano vs Alto.

Just curious. Did you find this online and is it a car in HSR Layout?

Thanks, NPV & Rajeev.it's the stock unit. Let me check once I get the car.

Online, yes. But not the HSR one.

If you have the old one with you you can fix it by pouring some glue like Feviqwik or epoxy around the central tube. I used some hot-melt glue that is quite soft even when solid, and works nicely to keep it snug on the shaft; but I've learnt not to smack the volume button now! :D

@mvadg, no .. the old one is broken beyond repair. Fevikwik was the first thing to try.

Btw, what's hot-melt glue ?