Maruti Baleno: Multiple infotainment system issues leave me frustrated

These issues do not occur at any specific time thus making it difficult to demonstrate the issue in front of the workshop personnel.

BHPian apollo_1999 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello everyone,

I purchased a Maruti Suzuki Baleno 1.2 zeta petrol in December 2021. It's a manual transmission car. Up until now, I have clocked around 22500km and the car performed flawlessly as expected. Starting from October 2022, there are multiple issues with the infotainment system provided in the car. The problematic infotainment system in my car has been a constant source of frustration and disappointment. I would also like to highlight that the infotainment system is running the latest software version.

• There is no response in the system while operating from the steering-mounted buttons.
• The unit freezes while operating Google maps.
• Apple CarPlay refuses to open up in the system while the phone is still connected.
• At certain times when the system freezes, the speakers emit a humming noise.

These issues do not occur at any specific time thus making it difficult to demonstrate the issue in front of the workshop personnel. I made some videos when the issue pops up in my car and shared them with the service advisor. After numerous requests to the SA, a technician from the OEM company, Harman came to inspect the system and pointed out that the cable I am using is a counterfeit one although it was an Amazon basics MFi (made for iPhone) cable which is certified by apple. I tried to convey the issues and also informed him that the problem is still there when I switched to another cable a few weeks back. A short test drive of around 7-8km was conducted and the issue didn't come up. After the TD the technician recommended that I should use the cable that came with the phone. Also, the behaviour of the technician from harman was unprofessional. This technical visit happened in December 2022.

After a few days of shifting to the cable that came with the phone, I started to face the same problem again. I reported this issue to the SA again and again but did not receive any response from their end. After a few days, the SA replied that the technician is out of town and they didn't know when he will be back. Seeing the dealership's unwillingness to solve my problem I raised a complaint with Maruti Suzuki and shared all the details with them. After about 5 days I received a call from the workshop manager and another technical visit from the dealership's technical team was arranged. This time it was a home visit. During this visit, a 15km long TD was conducted and again no problem came up. in the meantime, I was told to report any issue if it comes up again. After 2 days the problem happened again and this time I made a video of it and shared it with the workshop manager.

A 3rd technical visit was arranged at the workshop with the same Harman technician. I took the car again to the workshop and upon checking the cable he blatantly claimed that it was a counterfeit cable, he even went on to say that I was using a fake iPhone as well. Until and unless I could demonstrate the problem in front of him he will not replace the system. Seeing his ignorance about Apple devices, decided to avoid a conversation with him. I spotted the serial no and shared it with the workshop manager, he assured me of his full cooperation and asked me to wait for the report created by the technician at the end of the day. As usual, the report indicated that it was the fault of the cable and my phone, not their system.

Utterly disappointed I dropped a mail to Nexa's TSM as well as the RSM regarding this issue but I am yet to receive a response.

Despite multiple visits to the service center, the infotainment system remains problematic and has not been resolved. From glitchy touch responses to frequent system freeze, it has become a liability rather than a helpful tool for navigation and entertainment.My standard warranty expires in December 2023 and the Infotainment system is not covered under the extended warranty.

Requesting fellow Bhpian's assistance in this matter.

Thank you.

Here's what BHPian audioholic had to say on the matter:

In the entire last 6 years of using Apple car play in more than five cars and a lot of different head units on temporary cars, I haven’t used the Apple Original cable even once. It’s always been Amazon Basics, MTT, Portronics and what not brands. So I wouldn’t buy that theory. However that seems to be an argument from the engineers side which might be right in their internal understanding and troubleshooting guidelines. Hence why dont you use the original cable for a few days and really rule out its not cable problem? Perhaps the Harman head unit is not capable of withstanding minor interference from a third party’s cable which would be shielded well in the apple cable.

Here's what BHPian MotoBlip had to say on the matter:

Have you tried doing a factory reset? Although I have the older SLDA system, I'm aware of a dealer mode setting(use mute + setting buttons together for a few seconds) in the newer model, please check whether that has a master reset option or similar setting, meanwhile you could also try updating the system yourself. I doubt it's a cable issue, have been using a third party cable on mine for years now and haven't had any issues.

Here's what BHPian Leoshashi had to say on the matter:

Cable is the first thing they check, happened the same with me. I'm facing the exact same issues on my XL6 and since it happens randomly, it's next to impossible to reproduce it in front of the representative.

The best I could do was record some videos and forward to the maruti representatives. Fingers crossed.

Here's what BHPian TorqMaster had to say on the matter:

Where do you place your phone after connecting the cable?

I used to face this often. Then i fixed a phone mount on my XL6 and used to mount the phone on it and connect the cable. This way the port of the phone doesn’t interfere with anything. This seemed to have helped with the crashes.

Here's what BHPian DCEite had to say on the matter:

Google maps Android navigation hangs on my Ignis Zeta Petrol since day 1 (Purchased on May'22).

The issue, like in your case, is intermittent. And when it does occur, simply plugging out and plugging the cable back in does not solve the issue. Unless the HU completely switches off and is then restarted (With the Suzuki Logo).

I too had showed it to Maruti Nexa in Noida(Motorcraft) who in turn arranged a Harman engineer. My story is similar to yours, where he tried to put down the issue to non-original cable, even when I explained him multiple times that issue occures with original cable as well and with multiple phones.

I think there is an inherent bug or flaw in the Smartplay system which either Maruti does not want to acknowledge or the Harman engineers don't want to fix.

Perhaps this might be one of the reason why Maruti is now moving to SmartStudio system , which might have this fixed.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.