Honda could have provided magic seats, like the original Jazz. That would have been a huge differentiator.

BHPian Shreyans_Jain recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Checked out the Elevate at the showroom over the weekend. Here are the initial impressions:

• Styling is sharp and on point. Looks different, in a good way. Me and wifey both liked it.
• Doors are pretty light and flimsy. Sound hollow when closing. Exactly like my Gen4 City, and not as confidence inspiring as the Gen5 parked next to it.
• Front seats are superb. Adequate height, superb cushioning and excellent lumbar support.
• Driver’s ergonomics are good. Everything felt easy to hand. However, the center armrest is non adjustable and absolutely useless. Visibility out is good.
• Like how they have carved out a large phone holder cum wireless charger slot into the Center console.
• The new center display screen is a HUGE improvement over the old Honda systems. Still, nowhere as good as that of Seltos or Creta.
• Quality of materials of the dash is a huge let down. Dull and scratchy, again exactly like the Gen4. AC vent adjustment knobs are unlikely to last beyond a few months. Steering wrap material feels cheap to hand. AC adjustment knobs are clicky and plasticky. The Gen5 City cabin and material quality is far superior. Seltos cabin and material quality is far superior.
• Marginal cladding on the front wheels arches, a clear step down from the Gen 5 City. No cladding for the rear wheels in either car.
• No rubber beading on the doors, front and back. Honda had made this blunder on the Gen4 City, and were swamped with complaints of water leakage into the cabin. They had corrected with on the Gen5, which comes with proper 3 layer beading. Evidently, they have gone back to their old ways.
• No felt lining or any insulation of any kind in the boot area - the wheel well. Expect road noise to be high and overall insulation poor.
• Back seat is very comfortable for 2. Cushioning is on point, and space is good. But cabin width is less. Elevate cabin is definitely half a size smaller than Seltos or Compass cabins.
• Adjustable rear headrests are well placed and supportive. The rear armrest is actually usable and does not fall down to the seat base like it does in the City. Window sun shades are a huge miss - available on both Creta and Seltos.
• Despite the high window line, cabin does not feel claustrophobic. Wife is short, but she did not feel hemmed into the rear seat, like she does in so many cars, including City.
• Honda continues to use that stupid cardboard piece as headliner. It belongs in cars like Alto and WagonR, not in City and Elevate. Remember the criticism Slavia and Kushaq got for using a cheap cardboard headliner initially? It is applicable here as well.
• Overall sound insulation of the car felt pretty poor. Could hear the kids running around in the showroom. Again, Gen4 City flashbacks.
• All seats are placed at a very good height. You walk into the car and walk out of it. Full marks for ease of ingress and egress.
• Honda could have provided magic seats, like the original Jazz. That would have been a huge differentiator and added to the practicality quotient. Missed opportunity.
• Boot space is about par for the course.
• Lack of hybrid option is inexplicable. I would have booked it, had this been available.

Overall, while Honda seems to have made a decent product, there is plenty of cost cutting that is visible to any existing City owner. The car reeks of the Gen4 City and Amaze, and many hard learnt lessons have clearly not been heeded to here. The salesperson recognised me as a regular visitor (my cars have been serviced there for over a decade now). He agreed with the criticism and said “Sir wait for the price. All your complaints will go away after seeing the price”. I’d better hope so, for if this is priced even close to Seltos, it will be a hard sell. And had they offered the hybrid, it would have just killed the overpriced GV and Hyryder hybrids.

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My wife keeps telling me whenever we upgrade her i10, she won't settle for anything but a Jeep.

BHPian Night Raven recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am a happy owner of the 2022 Jeep Compass. Mine is the base 1.4 sport Manual, completed 26000kms about a week back. I have had 2 niggles so far. First one was a loose connector to the wipers, causing them to stop working at random. Second one was when the coolant reservoir developed a small crack resulting in a leak. Luckily I noticed the small hissing and gurgling sound after turning off the engine and it was quickly replaced under warranty by Jeep ASC before coolant level went low enough to throw any overheating warnings.

This is how the leak looked:

So far I have been immensely happy about my decision. Sometimes I feel I should have extended my budget and got a higher variant, especially looking at the way they have been increasing prices. My wife keeps telling me whenever we upgrade her i10, she won't settle for anything but a Jeep. My 3 year old son keeps putting me in embarrassing situations by showing off his "Jeepie" to cousins and friends

About two months back we took part in an off-road event organised by God's own Jeepers and supported by Jeep India. This was the one time I strongly felt I should have opted for a 4x4. Out of the 21 Jeeps that attended the event there were only two 1.4 P sport models. Me and the other guy in a petrol automatic. We both were so tensed we almost thought of giving up even before the trail started (some other non 4x4 jeep owners actually did also) But we managed to complete the trail and come out unscratched with the other more capable ones. No burnt clutch, no underbody damage, not even a rattle. To be honest, I started respecting my Compass much more after the trail.

Adding a few pics of the unforgettable experience:

Enjoying the Kerala Monsoon after a short drive visiting relatives:

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

If you look into the matter further, petrol SUVs are gas guzzlers and battery-electric cars may not penetrate that much as the fossil fuel cars.

BHPian DRPSREDDY recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I believe TATA and Mahindra cannot run for long with the trio of Petrol-Diesel-Electric only combo.

If you look at the government projected figures of 30% electric by 2030, shows that Petrol will last for another 30 years but Diesel may die in the next 15 years, if government decides to implement stricter emissions laws.

If you look into the matter further, Petrol SUVs are gas guzzlers and battery-electric cars may not penetrate that much as the fossil fuel cars. So, both Indian duos need to shift the Hybrid sooner than later as they will loose out to the Japanese as they are deep into hybrids. Hope they don't lose an early war.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

100% agreed. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Moving your posts to a new thread.

The petrol-engines of these large SUVs are royal guzzlers, giving 6 - 7 kmpl in the city. The market is signing off diesels which will only become more complex, cumbersome & expensive with time. The market is still a LONG way off mass adoption of EVs and there is still a massive market for ICE cars.

Hybrids are today's solution. Just see how happy Innova Hycross Hybrid owners are! 15 kmpl - wow.

Here's what BHPian Mr.S had to say on the matter:

I agree. Hybrids will be great during the 2025-2040/2045 odd phase (for the next 15-20 years). They will have a 15-20% share of Pie but more important in SUV Segment can go upto 30-40% & even higher in Bigger SUV. Won't be surprised if Toyota will be selling 70% Hybrids of a Innova or Fortuner.

It will require huge investment though. 1000s of Crores & counting & will require maintenance across the chain including training of folks. Not an easy issue. And you wonder how good these guys will be. But next 15-20 years should have a big space for Hybrids in the 20L+ Segment. For Mahindra it is more critical than Tata given their dependency on Diesel & Large SUVs.

Tata sells 50% of its cars using 2 models -> Nexon & Punch, both of whom will have a big electric presence if the battery prices come down in the next few years & both of them are largely city cars ! It is a missed opportunity though ! Don't know if these guys can invest along with the investment in Electric Cars !

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

No doubt that Hybrids are one of the most lucrative options right now, but I don't think Mahindra is having any plans of getting on the 'hybrid' boat as they have already displayed their prospective future EVs(Tata has explicitly said they have no plans for Hybrids). I also feel that even Honda which has one of the best hybrid systems will be bringing any more hybrids(besides City) to India. They have already displayed their intentions by not missing out on Elevate Hybrid and have said that instead they plan to bring Elevate EV within 3 years. Let's see what plans they have with the other 4 SUVs that they intend to bring by 2030.

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

4 years ago, we wouldn't have known EV would grow to this level. The numbers speak for themselves. The growth is and will be exponential.

On the other hand, i don't feel so great about hybrids. The price difference do not justify the power or the fuel efficiency.

I think Mahindra is doing a great job. Explosive performance oriented ICE engines that will serve the present. A line up of EV for the future. On the other hand, Tata is doing okay with ICE engines. Their EV line up is very promising. I feel hybrids will not become mainstream, at least in the near future.

Here's what BHPian ergon_9700 had to say on the matter:

I actually agree with DRPSREDDY. Diesels won't last long. Max 20 years in my opinion. And for Petrol max 35 years.

Bigger engines especially turbo petrols are quite the guzzlers. XUV700 petrol is quite the guzzler especially the automatic version. Tuning can help but only to an extent. Mild hybrids can help to adding around 15% more economy.

Fuel economy as we know depends in several factors like engine efficiency, power loss, vehicle weight etc.

Hybrids even though they add weight, do use battery power to reduce strain on engine. Hence giving more economy. EV mode in stop go traffic. Also for people with long distance driving, hybrids are a natural replacement for those with diesel cars. Praying that the finance Ministry reduce Taxes on Hybrid cars.

But then we must note advances in EV battery tech. Toyota recently claimed a battery advancement that can give around 1000km with a single charge. But infra plays a big role even if you have high range.

Here's what BHPian antz.bin had to say on the matter:

I doubt Tata and Mahindra will venture into the Hybrids. Hybrids have way too much equipment (i.e. cost) and very little govt support to rationalise the pricing.

Govt in all probability will not increase GST on EVs too much since EVs directly promote reduction in requirement of imported crude and promote domestic electricity generation. Hybrids don't do either of that.

Already we have price parity with EVs w.r.t. Diesels and Hybrids. Creta Diesel AT, Grand Vitara Hybrid and XUV400 are priced the same, have the same interior and boot space. They also have roughly the same features (for the price). In fact the GV Hybrid actually costs substantially more than the XUV.

As of now, the XUV400 is the only EV which is >4m and also made in India. All Tata EVs are <4m. Once these companies grow their EV portfolios in the >4m segment, there is very little the Hybrids can do to compete. Larger cars also mean larger batteries installed which should alleviate some of the highway range concerns.

Its really a pity that sedans are on their way out. Sedans make ideal EVs with their long lengths, relatively low weight(vs SUVs) and lower drag coefficients making them more efficient overall.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

4 speed AT gearbox is very convenient in the city.

BHPian Shrek8421 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi,

I bought a preowned Maruti S-Cross.

• Odo 10k
• Reg Nov 2021
• Silver Zeta AT
• Single owner and well maintained.
• 1 dent fixed on left panel and windshield replaced due to a crack from a stone.
• 11L vs 14.3(OTR)

Initial impressions:

• Ride is sublime and handles amazing.
• 4 speed AT gearbox is very convenient in the city. Yet to test on the highway.
• Lots and lots of space. Coming from a Ritz.
• Smartplay studio works fine. Wired AA but no issues so far.
• Boot is small but convenient due to no loading lip.
• MID is monotone but all important info is available
• Getting 10 to 11kmpl in Bangalore traffic.
• Performance is linear and responsive.

Few issues:

• Existing OEM mats are of poor quality. Velcro has come off and need to be replaced.
• Turning radius takes getting used to.
• Rear camera lacks adaptive guidelines but has adequate clarity.
• NVH is audible when pushed.
• Gearbox is slow to shift in lower gears compared to the new 6AT.
• Overall I am extremely happy with the car. It drives like a dream and the experience can't be captured on a spec sheet.

I have a few questions:

• Will Grand Vitara mats fit the S-Cross?
• Should I get extended warranty?
• Any other accessory suggestions.

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

Two accessories I can recommend:

• Wireless Android Auto: It is such a convenience. No more fiddling around with usb cables.
• Internal TPMS. I would recommend Treel from JK. I got the same. Happy with their after sales service and warranty. One of the sensors stopped working after ~ 1.5 years and they promptly couriered me the replacement.

BHPian Shrek8421 replied:

Thanks a lot for the suggestions.

• Which wireless AA did you get? There seems to be lack of options in India.
• I was hoping to get an external one because of the complicated fitment. But I will check JK out.

Is it accurate? Does it work only on solar or does it need charging?

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

I am using external TPMS (many options available on amazon). I have never had the need to charge it and the battery is always charged through solar. I have driven for extended hours during night time as well. Display based TPMS are better than app based ones which consume some phone battery for sure to transmit data via bluetooth. Also, there is no need for pairing and you can remove and refit the sensors in any car (if required). The only con is that you need to remove them if you wish to fill air in the tyres. I need to do this once in two months on an average. A special tool is provided as an anti theft measure so you need to keep that with you at all times as well. I have kept it along with my car documents.

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Sometimes, the Auto Hold despite being engaged and showing green on dashboard doesn't hold the car in place

BHPian Tmittal93 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I got my XUV 700 AX7L Petrol from Indraprastha Mahindra Delhi on 17 May 2023 after booking on 07 October 21. Glad as I could be, the car has started to show issues after driving merely 350Kms.
The major issue being problem with EPB and Auto Hold.

Now before I go in detail, i searched plenty about the issue but couldn't find any discussion on same anywhere on net.

The problem arises during cold start and witnessed it first on 06 August and again on 09 August.

Once the car is parked and put in Park mode, the E-parking brake engages automatically, following which I turn off and exit the car.

However, when I cold start the car after 1-2 days, wearing seat belt, all doors closed, shift to D from Park, the car starts to move forward without me pressing the accelerator, while EPB is still engaged. The red light on EPB switch glows and the dashboard shows EPB still engaged. Yet the car starts to move forward. I have to press the brakes to stop it.

This only happens on cold start. Consecutive stop start, the car functions normally and does not move until I press the accelerator when D mode is engaged and EPB is still active.

Now, normally, once you enter the car, put on seat belt and close the doors, turn the car on and shift to D mode, press accelerator, the car automatically disengages EPB and moves forward.

This still works fine but not at cold start.

Issue 2: The Auto hold problem.

Sometimes, the Auto Hold despite being engaged and showing green on dashboard doesn't hold the car in place even on flat road. The car crawls forward if i leave it in Aito Hold + D mode. This happens very less but does happen. I also make sure to press the brake fully so that Auto Hold can maintain enough brake pressure and yet the issue arises.

Issue 3: Beading near left ORVM came loose: I used a strong double tape to stick it back but quite surprised beading falling loose on a brand new car.

Issue 4: The Mahindra A.S.S.- to get above issue checked, I called the service center 13 times for appointment and in turn got one call back to book appointment. I started calling them at 10.30 in morning and was finally able to make appointment at 6 in evening.

Anyone here knows, what might be causing above EPB issue? The car should not crawl forward like this at cold start.

Also, can anyone advise on a good Mahindra service centre in Delhi?

Here's what BHPian ashvek3141 had to say on the matter:

This is the 2nd issue I'm reading on the E-brake of the XUV700 and it is quite concerning. This definitely is a major safety concern if your ask me! So gimmicky feature not working as required is still acceptable; but such failures are non-negotiable.

Not to forget, these issues are only from the BHPians who possibly are members or know of TBHP. There might or possibly will be so many owners across who'll be facing such issues and have no access to such a platform or don't know about.

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

True the car shouldn’t crawl ahead when EPB is engaged, specially when it’s almost a new car and assuming you are doing everything as mentioned in the owner’s manual. I’m ruling out mechanical issues, sensor issues, low break fluid, or worn break pads.

Technically This is how the EPB system works;

If the EPB system detects any rolling after EPB is applied, the motor on caliper re-clamps the disc to avoid any rolling.

As an added feature, to avoid roll away due the reduction in clamp force due to decrease in temperature, the EPB motor on caliper re-clamps the disc multiple times based on the temperature.

As you have mentioned, it’s happening during the cold start only (generally engine RPM is higher during this time), so more torque is produced initially during the power strokes while RPM’s are high initially, which is getting transferred to the wheels. Hence the brake calipers are not able to hold the vehicle in stationary position for this additional input of torque initially.

Since it’s an electrically/electronically - hydraulically operated system , I would first troubleshoot based on the assumption that either the voltage provided to booster break cylinder which is supposed to clamp the disc/drum, which is either providing irregular voltage, If it receives more or less voltage than necessary, this may be due to a fault in the battery and/or ECU or any software related issue. Hence check the electrical circuit/battery conditions and terminals.

Or the hydraulics of the break booster cylinder is at fault for not able to raise the pressure to clamp the disc and hold the vehicle steady. This would be the same logic for AVH too.

I would just plug-in the OBD scanner and see what error codes it throws. Probably you can visit a reputed service centre to see if any error codes pop-up before giving it to Mahindra service centre.

But but, it is strongly advised to get the critical component like brake system to be rectified/checked at service centre.

Good luck

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

Sounds like either a software or hardware defect.

The EPB application software which is controlling the actuators is meeting all necessary pre-requisites for EPB HOLD, which is why the EPB remains engaged.

However, the CAN communication between this ECU and the TCU could be contradictory. The TCU may not be receiving consistent CAN signal from the ECU that hosts the EPB software, that EPB is engaged. It may instead be receiving a signal that says EPB is disengaged.

Thus the TCU could be getting into D mode operation (which it should not in this case, the driver command to put gear D should be overridden and prevented).

Another probability is this could be a hardware defect. There could be a feedback loop within the EPB system that measures whether the EPB is actually engaged, which could be giving a false negative during this cold start scenario. As a result, while the brakes are actually applied by the EPB actuators, the feedback from the actuator assembly to the CPU (that's executing EPB software) could be incorrect. Thus the EPB software interprets that EPB is disengaged and sends a corresponding signal to the TCU, which then proceeds to move from P to D interpreting this as a valid operation. Please note that the TCU would also have a EPB DISENGAGED pre-requisite to allow D gear-mode operation.

As to why does the EPB not disengage on its own while the vehicle begins crawling, this could be because the EPB software application is already in EPB disengaged state (due to the scenario mentioned above).

While this is just one of the probable root causes, in order to identify the actual root cause of this issue, the first step should be to monitor/analyze CAN communication between the ECU that hosts EPB software and the TCU. This logging needs to be done while this scenario occurs, hoping it's reproducible.

Do note that this is a safety critical issue, if the vehicle is parked on a ghat decline or on a highway shoulder, uncommanded crawling could result in fatality. Please insist on the root cause being analyzed by Mahindra, prior to accepting any warranty replacements of the EPB assembly. If this is indeed a software issue, the defect should go through the problem resolution management process at the Tier-1 supplier that manufactures this ECU (and its software), such that it doesn't affect other owners of this vehicle.

It is also possible that this issue could be part-local, which means that there's a variation in the EPB hardware assembly at the Tier-1 supplier's manufacturing line where-in due to some anomaly, the behavior of the hardware is different for this specific unit, while the software itself may be functioning correctly. Other EPB hardware units are OK. In such cases, root cause analysis by the OEM is MUST, to ensure the Tier-1 goes through specific process improvements at their manufacturing line, to ensure zero part variance.

An interesting question to ask (for M&M) would be, why didn't this get detected at EoL of the Tier-1?

Someone needs to do a fun 5-Why Analysis. And it surely cannot be the owner of this vehicle.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The BMW dealership was courteous and prompt, and accepted the car for checks, and got in touch with BWM Germany

BHPian supermax recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A BMW owner in Sweden was shocked to receive a cost estimate for battery replacement on his pre-owned 2017-model BMW 225 XE; the battery was deemed to have been exposed to abnormal/unusually high wear-and-tear, which results in zero insurance payout. The cost for the battery replacement? SEK 80000 or INR 6.35L.

A pre-owned car:

The 2017 car was bought pre-owned, by Anders, and his wife, in 2020, and they were very happy with it, and hoped to be able to use it for a good while. The car had done over 1L kilometers, but that's hardly a huge thing on Swedish roads. The car had been serviced only at BMW approved service stations, and within the correct service intervals, and was in great shape, but for the problem with the hybrid battery.

The problem with the hybrid battery:

Within a few months of purchasing the car, Anders observed that 7.6 kWh battery with an NEDC claimed mileage of 41 km was barely managing 15 km, even when fully charged. Anders wasn't overly concerned, as his service station had told him that the battery was covered under an 8 years warranty, and he'd also filed a claim with his insurance provider, under the engine/major component replacement header.

Initial response from BMW dealership in Sweden:

The BMW dealership was courteous and prompt, and accepted the car for checks, and got in touch with BWM Germany, who seemed rather interested in the case. Upon BMW Germany's insistance, they requested Anders to allow them to retain the car for three more days for additional testing.

The verdict from BMW:

Much to Anders' consternation, it was pointed out to him that while the battery did have an 8 year warranty, the warranty also had a mileage clause which limited the warranty to 100000 km (1L km), which the car had already exceeded. They further told him that the battery exhibited signs of abnormally high wear and tear, which negated the possibility of claiming damages from the insurance provider. The solution was a replacement of the hybrid battery, the cost of which would be SEK 80000 (6.35L INR) and Anders would have to bear the entire cost from his own pocket!

Anders' reaction":

Anders was obviously shocked at the turn of events, and wrote to the country head of BMW in Sweden, and even sent in a reminder, all to no avail. After another few months of radio silence from BMW, Anders got in touch with Auto, Motor, and Sport magazine in Sweden, the editor of which was immediately interested in Anders' case.

The motor magazine gets involved:

With the editor of the motor magazine personally following up the case with his contacts, BMW issued a response noting that they felt that the battery in question shouldn't require replacement during the life of the car, and that the issue was likely a result of defective cell modules in the battery, and that BMW would stand for the cost of the battery replacement.

The aftermath:

The battery on Anders' 225 XE was indeed replaced without charge (pun not intended!), thanks to BMW, but the incident showed that private individuals often get the short end of the stick when it comes to warranty claims. The involvement of popular media forced BMW to take prompt action, to avoid negative publicity.

Additional points of interest:

The battery was technically out of warranty, with the car having clocked more than 1L km mileage, but BMW went ahead with the replacement without cost while admitting that the battery likely always had a defective module. Clearly this admission of guilt and free battery replacement wouldn't have happened had it not been for the involvement of the media. How would it be, in countries like India, where warranty policies are deliberately vague, and warranties don't mention the exact amount of degradation in capacity a battery must suffer, before it would be eligible to be replaced under warranty? With both hybrids and EVs getting more popular and prevalent in India, and due to the rather limited time the technology has been present in India for, only when the issues start cropping up will people get to know if warranty claims are a simple matter, or something they have to spend considerable time and potentially money, litigating for. This also raises the point of the need to do thorough homework before buying a pre-owned EV or hybrid vehicle. Given the cost of batteries, buying a pre-owned EV or hybrid is nowhere as simple as buying a pre-owned ICE vehicle. Go through the warranty fine print thoroughly before going for that deal that seems too good to be true.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The most pathetic thing that I noticed at the service center on day 2 itself was the theft of petrol.

BHPian Sai Teja recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi guys, this is Sai Teja here, posting for the first time on this platform. To give you guys a bit of my background, I am a recent graduate of Automobile Engineering(B.Tech) from a so called "esteemed institute" in Chennai. Sorry, just couldn't hold myself from taking a few potshots at them. So, speaking about the relevant things, we own i.e not me but my father, a 2006 Hero Honda Passion plus and a 2017 Baleno Delta. Obviously not an exciting garage, but I hope that it doesn't matter as what makes us be here is our love for these machines and the excitement they give us, whatever the size and segment they belong to.

The story of my internship dates back to December 2021. It was a requirement by our institute's curriculum to have worked in a real environment for 15 days and produce a legitimate certificate as a proof of that. So, me and my friend Bunty (not keeping him anonymous, we actually call him that way) got a bit over-enthusiastic and decided to work for 30 days. The time of November in 2021, not being too far away from the then recent lifting up of covid lockdown, made many service centers reluctant to allow us be a part of their setup. One might wonder why we weren't trying to get into something like a genuine manufacturing plant. The limitations of our location in Andhra Pradesh and heavy restrictions imposed during those days forbid us from being a trainee at any genuine manufacturing facility. At last we ended up at a NEXA showroom situated alongside the highway in Andhra Pradesh, and there begins our Internship, a very fancy word for what we were going to do in the upcoming month- sweat all day long, smelling the obnoxious diesel and it's fumes along with the scent of petrol at times and return home with greasy and oily clothes. I still wonder sometimes that Internship was too fancy a word for the work we have done, but nevertheless it helped get a few cars back on the road.

On the very first day, me and Bunty were assigned to work under two technicians. Both of those technicians were young, under 30 but they have been doing this work for the past 11-12 years each. The first job which I assisted on was the replacement of the steering rack on a 2016 Baleno. The early Baleno's did have a problem with the power steering system, which we ourselves have encountered with our 2017 model. However, I don't remember Maruti Suzuki issuing any recall but the service centers were surprisingly willing to change the racks when any issue with them was noticed and that too for free of cost. The issue of this power steering involved a noticeably heavier steering and squeaky noises from column at times. The noises could often be mistaken for poorly assembled interiors of the marutis, but the weight of the steering makes the driver to pin point the issue. So when I asked for a bit of detailing regarding this issue which we ourselves have been plagued with, the technician informed me that the assist motor was at times delivering bit too much torque to the rack, which grinded the gears on the rack and the advisable fix was to replace the rack (advised by MS india). After the disassembly of the older rack from the car, I tried to get a look of the older rack but it wasn't visible as it was well shielded and wasn't easy to break apart either. The new rack was fitted and the car was now good to go.

The most pathetic thing that I noticed there was the theft of petrol. When we arrived there, only one of the ten technicians was doing that. Unfortunately, I caught him doing that on the second day, only to watch him do so for the next one month unable to complain due to my inferior role and the begging we had to do to get to work there. So on that day I simply asked him how was he doing it, to which he replied something like only he had managed to do it pretending to be a genius, but he didn't explain what he was exactly doing. I always thought that the fuel injected systems are comparatively tougher to steal from as it would involve tampering with some electric circuits. Still curious (with no other intentions), me and my friend went to the technicians we were assigned to ask about how he managed that, thinking it was a common practice for them for to steal some. And to our surprise no one else knew about how to do it or how we was managing after all. We later came to know that he never took no more than a litre of fuel as it barely corresponds to any change in the indication and in the case that if there is any and the customer is vigilant enough to notice it, he would simply say that those were idling losses.

So, the question we asked our technician didn't create any ruckus, but everyone got to know the trick and now all were stealing in mass. And we stand guilty for for this misadventure of this unjustified curiosity. Here's how it is done, so save yourselves (only for Suzuki built vehicles) - the fuse box underneath the hood situated adjacent to the battery and in close proximity to the left upper strut mounting, has an array of fuses among which one of them belongs to the fuel pump. This fuse would be removed and by-passed through some small wires when in ignition off condition. After the wires were put into terminals of the fuse, the fuel line form the low pressure pump to the high pressure pump was disconnected and was put into a bottle. When the ignition is turned on the fuel just rushed into the bottle and in no time filled it up. The Open spaces in the engine bay due to the smaller engines enable for a relative ease of stealing, especially the Suzuki cars that have K12M units (Baleno, Swift etc) and the 1.5L Brezza, S-cross, Ertiga and XL6, the open spaces in engine bays allow to place a one gallon engine oil container exactly beneath the fuel line. The only car that was packed completely underneath the hood was the S-cross 1.6, which even by then was discontinued from production, and it was indeed a nightmare to work upon with very spaces even for the wrenches. My level of detailing may cause this post not to make it up to guys, but anyways I decided to share so atleast you can take a few measures of your own to prevent this. The theft of fuel was finally caught when on the penultimate day of our internship, an S-cross entered with nearly a full tank of petrol, which due to a few scheduling issues was passed on to work on among 3 technicians. The things that unfolded that day are quite funny. So the first guy works on the brakes, replaces engine oil and steals one litre of fuel, the second guy replaces cabin air filter, engine air filter and the wipers and steals another litre of petrol, while the last one worked the battery, terminals and audaciously stole 2 and a half litres of petrol. We on the other side who were watching all of this unfold, were thinking of what to tell them, whether to say that this one's quota is over or steal less!! That's too much. However, as it was the penultimate day we stood there helpless in embarrassment. And the next day the customer noticed quite a dip in the gauge and "boom" there came the crackdown from the management. I hope that it has stopped since then, but I may never know.

This was just a brief part of my whole month of internship, which I thought would provide a few insights in how measured you should be with the service centers. Although the others stories of my internship don't have anything to do with such malpractices and could be informative to some of you, I will stop it here. I look forward to any constructive criticism and valuable feedback on my writing and opinions on whether I should write about my other experiences too.

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Was surprised and shocked to see that there was an issue with the suspension as well.

BHPian cefiljoseph recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Coco crossed over 179k kms which was about 10k since I got her. This means it was time for an oil service and there was a laundry list of items that I planned to take care of in this service.

To do list:

• Change engine mounts
• Get a bumper bracket to fix a previous hit on the number
• Service window regulators and door locks
• Clutch replacement
• AC frame replacement
• Center console lid repair
• Brake fluid
• Brake pads
• Power steering fluid
• 180k service
• Steering rack
• Check fuel tank
• Speaker trim replacement
• Hub caps
• Right Mirror
• Remove glue from dashboard
• Toyota monogram
• Screw on the dashboard
• OBD port not staying in place
• Low beam lights upgrade
• Light check
• Suspension works
• Windshield rock-chip
• Bodywork

I was willing to do the basic service in Toyota even if there was some premium so the service records look clean and then do the other jobs at a competent garage. Since Toyota typically charges 4-5x prices for most things and I don't have a currency printer at home I had to resort to getting things fixed at an independent place without compromising on any quality be it in parts or labour.

I asked Toyota workshop in Thane (Lakozy) for an estimate for the basic service and they send me a quote about about 14k. Having a fortuner back in Kerala, I instantly realised its a jacked-up quote.

Even for uninitiated, it can be seen how they add some random cleaning and engine flushing to increase the price around 4-5k which if you put into perspective is a shocking 50 percent increase in the quote.

Happily declined their service and decided to get it all done at a competent place.

Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, my initial plan was to give the car to Wagenwerkz by Jatin who had already worked on our W211 before and did a good job. Moreover, I think it's a good practice to give cars to someone working with Germans since they are likely to be more skilled after working on cars with low tolerances. My logic was if they can work on a Mercedes well, they can surely work on an old Toyota.

In the meantime I also remembered about CRK automobiles run by aakashk8300 from BeemerBug_06's thread on his Corolla.

I was following CRK automobiles on social media and coincidentally around the time, saw a post of a Corolla they just worked on.

The work looked decent and it inspired confidence in me to keep CRK as an option. I DMed them asking what was the bill they gave for the Corolla they worked on in the post. Next day, Akash and I connected on call and he explained to me the costs involved. The prices were reasonable and in-line with what I had gathered from my research.

On the same day, a Friday my father had a flight to Kerala so I decided I'll drop Coco at the shop as well. I called up Jatin from Wagenwerkz to see if he was available to take a look at the car but he told me he was busy and gave me a slot for Tuesday. However, I wanted to get the work done earlier if possible so that we could have the car back in the following weekend when my father and sister would come to our place in Thane. So, I checked with aakashk8300 to see if he was available that day to take a look at the car. Surprisingly it wasn't that crowded then for him and told I can come to his garage in Dadar once I dropped my father at the airport.

Having gained confidence and this fitting within my schedule, I along with my father decide to give it there only.

I dropped my dad at the airport and then reached CRK Automobiles after a bit of hunting on maps and some calls with aakashk8300 himself.

Once I reached, he patiently explained to me about each and every issue, tried to understand to what ambition I want to fix the car and spoke about cars in general too. We went for a test drive where he found some issues with the suspension, clutch and steering rack. Later I explained some of my niggles with the car like the inaccurate fuel gauge and showed him the list of issues I had with me.

Afterwards, he gave me a tour of the place and showed me some of the cars they were working on. A W115 and W126 caught my eye. There was also a E60 530d which is sort of a rare sight these days because of its reliability or the lack thereof.

aakashk8300 also showed me his two personal cars, both Mercs - one SLK 230K and the other one a W204 200K Pre-Facelift (Review: My pre-owned Mercedes C-Class (W204 C200K)). Both these cars are documented on team bhp and good reads so linking them as well. Being a huge Mercedes lover myself, I saw he had good taste in his rides as well and it assured me that Coco was in good hands. It is always a good sign for me when the garage owner has a tasteful German themselves, they are not just in this business for the money but also their passion which is something I value so much in a mechanic.

aakashk8300 told me that they would open the car the next day on Saturday to see the condition of the internals and then give a detailed estimate.

Afterwards, I took the train back to Dadar but I was still thinking about Coco and hoping she would get the best care out there.

aakashk8300 sent me picture of the internals and told me what parts would need to be replaced.

Clutch and Flywheel was in a bad condition. I was recommended to replace the clutch and polish the flywheel. For the clutch I was given an option for the OEM one and an imported aftermarket one. The difference was around 2k more for the OEM clutch and I decided to go with the OEM one. I also approved the estimate as well. Will share the total cost with breakdown at the end of the post.

Next issue to be attacked was the steering rack.

Upon inspection, there was play in the rack but it was within repairable limits. Decided to get it changed with new boots as well.

Was surprised and shocked to see that there was an issue with the suspension as well. This is because I has changed the struts in front at a garage in Hiranandani called Chandrashekar auto garage. However, owing to poor workmanship, it was installed incorrectly and there was a gap in the suspension strut as aakashk8300 showed me.

Notice the gap in the strut which made it useless. Thanks to Chandrashekar for the work, I am now forced to get it changed again in less than a year. It was truly disheartening to see my go-to mechanic in Hiranandani Estate doing such a job. Now, to some extent I understand that things can go wrong in such jobs but what was truly disgusting is that even after flagging this to Mr. Chandrashekar, he didn't take any responsibility or accountability for the same. This is now way to treat a customer and is the recipe to ruin a business. Not surprisingly, there was another Corolla owner there who came to report a similar issue with his suspension that was changed there. To say the least, it was truly an appalling experience. Anyways back to the present.

aakashk8300 informed me that a lot of child parts like link rods, bushes etc were torn or needed replacement which is again thanks to Wasan Utrust who conveniently hid this during the sale. Again, a truly horrible thing especially considering it's a renewed brand supported venture.

I had no other choice but to solve all this at one go and decided to get it all fixed. Gave the approval for all these works. Due to increasing Mumbai rains the work was getting delayed so I was told to expect the car back by the coming Friday which worked fine with me. I was also informed that some of the trims couldn't be sourced and we agreed to keep it collected and would solve it at one go sometime next year.

All the parts arrived on Wednesday. I decided to go see the work and give an advance as well.

All the component including the front subframe was out when I went to see on Wednesday but rest assured Coco was getting the care it deserved.

Always nice to see good parts.

aakashk8300's SLK was undergoing bodywork that day and we talked about the car and that's when I realised it was the same SLK that was featured here on team BHP. I and my friend, Arman also run a social media page @findwagen where he had featured this SLK as well. Truly a small world.

I was told that I'll get the car by Friday and only some fitting and testing was remaining by then. Next day was Eid and aakashk8300 forgot to account for this when he estimated the timeline. So he told me now the delivery will slip over to Saturday. It was an honest mistake and I myself make these time estimation issues often so I didn't complain or anything and told it was alright. After all, a rushed work won't be a good one. The only issue however was my father and sister reached on that Friday night and we didn't have a car on the next day. It was a minor inconvenience we could put up with.

aakashk8300 updated me with the progress and delivery at around 5 p.m. Unfortunately, I got a meeting scheduled for then and it was so important that I couldn't skip it. So, my father agreed to go collect the car. However, at noon, during the power window service, aakashk8300's texted me saying that the rear left window motor has gone kaput and it will need a replacement to function properly. My sister always used to make fun of me for not getting this fixed so I told to definitely get this fixed. This extend the delivery time by a few hours so we agreed to collect the car from aakashk8300's at his residence around 8:30 p.m. which gave me enough time to finish my meeting and collect Coco myself. The failed motor became a blessing in disguise hehe.

On my way aakashk8300's mentioned that the parking light was not working and this is something they missed to check . I told it was alright since I was going to take the delivery and decided to collect her.

Upon reaching, I saw coco in her entire glory reborn at CRK. I will let pictures do the talking here.

Got the missing hubcaps replaced too.

I took an extended test drive with aakashk8300's and noted there was a good difference. I ticked off the completed work on the notes app and took the delivery.

We shook hand and paid him the remaining amount.

On the way back home, I noticed that there was an alignment issue. Upon asking aakashk8300's, I was told that my tyres had uneven wear and they tried fixing it. The only solution to this would be a tyre change so hopefully it will get fixed in the upcoming tyre change.

On the whole, I was really happy with the work done by the team at CRK and the great service provided by aakashk8300's. Hoping to make it my go to place for Coco!!

In case anyone was wondering how much all of this costed attaching the breakdown below.

Those reading might find the total cost spend to be high considering it's almost as much as the car. However, I would like to point out that doing this preventative maintenance would keep her good for the next five years at-least and it's still far cheaper than buying a car that would give a similar experience today. Also did I mention I love Coco.

Till then, I plan to use the car as much as possible before I go back to Kerala shortly and won't be seeing Coco for at least a year.

Planning to do some road trips which I'll write about in another post. I can't get enough of Coco.

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The engine on cold start sounds like a diesel. The NVH levels are quite poor.

BHPian shivaramanuma recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I purchased a Honda City ZX CVT petrol (non hybrid) and I agree with some of the comments made by you. I have owned two Honda Citys in the past and this is clearly the worst of the lot.

I see some of the below as really poor or annoying:

• The engine is noisy is not fuel efficient. I rarely get mileage upward of 10 in city driving. Eco mode is actually worse, so after a couple of attempts did not bother to use it.
• The auto head lamp is very irritating. In 38C heat in broad daylight it switches on the headlight if I come under the shade of a tree. Tried all settings but could not change this.
• Reverse gear does not mute or reduce the audio sound. This is available even in i10.
• The passenger seat cannot be height adjusted even manually. The position is quite low and my wife was very unhappy about her view.
• The rear camera is quite cheap.
• The infotainment many times does not connect on wireless Android Auto. As you said it is still very poor.
• The boot when opened does not hold unless you push it firmly. It comes back and hits you, so be very careful.
• The ADAS auto braking is too sensitive, it put off the passengers when it braked on seeing some intrusion, though I had steeered away.
• Driver height adjustment should be automatic. 360 camera is a big miss.
• The engine on cold start sounds like a diesel. The NVH levels are quite poor.
• Auto AC does not bring down the fan speed for a long time. The fan as with any other car makes a lot of noise. My i10 is far better.
• The brake light on the tail light is too small. I am worried about somebody hitting me. They should have swapped the night warning light from the brake light.

Now there are somethings I do like:

• The engine is refined (except for the noise).
• The rear camera display in the infotainment can be turned on/off by pressing the outside knob on the indicator stick. I put this on without the indicator if I am not sure about the left side. Not sure why they did not do the same on the right side.
• The rear seating comfort is the best.
• Honda accessories are really good, I opted for most of it.
• The front and rear bumper diffuser protector is very useful as it stops most of the small hits.

I don't think I will keep this for more than 2 years unlike my previous Hondas which were with me for at least 5 years.

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I was looking forward to hitting the Mumbai Pune expressway for its fantastic roads.

BHPian Ashtoncastelino recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Trip to Mumbai and back:

Every year June we take the Swift on a long drive to celebrate our purchase of our family’s first car, this time since mom was in the country we decided to visit Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani for a day and proceed to Mumbai.

Started the journey around 4AM on 27th June 2023.

Full tank and ready to munch kms.

First stop for breakfast. at Shanbag Hotel Yellapur.

At Dehati Kolhapur.

Once done with lunch we proceeded towards Mahabaleshwar. We headed straight to our booked resort. We reached the place around 6pm sharp and it was drizzling with thick fog around.

Enjoying the fog.

Visited few places around Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar and chilled at the resort for a day. It was raining intermittently. On 29th June proceeded towards Mumbai. We passed through some fantastic roads with scenic views. I was looking forward to hitting the expressway for its fantastic roads.

At Udipi2Mumbai while doing Udipi to Mumbai.

On the expressway.

Reached Mumbai at around 6.30 pm.

Rear wiper project justified its use during this trip.

Kms clocked from Manipal to Mumbai.

The next day I had a chance to meet BHPian BeemerBug_06 and see his 28 Year old gal.

Both the G-Series Engine together ! G10B and the G13B.

Drove BeemerBug_06's Zen and absolutely fell in love it with it. His clutch was the lightest clutch i've ever experienced. The car has no Power Steering yet the need for it never crossed my mind. The Automech exhaust installed is a perfect match with this Zen and doesn't sound like a fart can when floored hard. Overall I really have to give a shoutout to BeemerBug_06 for his immaculately maintained Zen.

 HPian BeemerBug_06 and Yours truly with the legendary Zen which is completely still in its original form.

Photo with the Swift is a must.

At CSMIA Mumbai.

Started our journey back to Manipal around 12am on July 4. Other than the trucks on the road hogging the lanes we did not have any issues, No doubt The roads were a bliss to drive on.

I maintained 80-100kmph speeds even on open roads.

Just after entering KA.

Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.

First stop for fuel after doing 630kms on the tank.

Reached My village Moodubelle around 6.30PM where another full tank was done to calculate total trip cost and AVG FE.

I couldn't look at the Swift being this dirty so decided to give her a good wash.

Alloy wheels colour changed to bronze naturally.

Before wash:

Cleaned:

Trip stats:

Total kms covered.

Manipal - Mahabaleshwar - Mumbai Fuel Efficiency and cost.

AVG FE was 17.42KMPL over 1073kms with B2B traffic and Hill climbs.

Fuel Cost: ₹6636.98

Return Trip:

Mumbai - Manipal

Gave a fantastic AVG FE of 19.4Kmpl over 875kms and costed just ₹4698.49.

Final Odometer.

This was my family's first long trip and we thoroughly had fun. This was the first time Swift had a run in Maharastra roads in its lifetime. Surely the family has decided on more long drives with this Swift after this trip.

Regards,

Ashton Castelino

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