[vikramv4u]

Parag bhai.. Thanks for the update..

Quick Q: I thought you had installed Steering Mounted Controls, right? Or did you just intend t

Thanks

Vikram

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vikramv4u

Quick Q: I thought you had installed Steering Mounted Controls, right?

No Vikram I didn't. I had contemplated on this few years before and later lost interest and hence never even bothered much. As of today, I don't feel the need for it.

[paragsachania]

Horn Replacement:

Off late, the Hella aftermarket dual horn that I had replaced couple of years before was troubling me since a while. It would either sound weak or would function single. I presumed this to be an issue with the coupler or relay and hence checked that too but to no avail. Finally decided to get rid of it and replaced it during the last week.

Ordered this from Amazon : Product Link

(Product packaging)

(The Twin Horns inside)

To replace these horns, it was necessary to remove the bumper to access both the horns. Hence, the task wasn't as easy as other cars that are known to have generous space inside the engine to fit these.

(Bumper removed)

Steering Grip Removal:

During May 2015, I had got a steering grip fitted from Devaraj near JC road, Bangalore. Quite a popular one he has been when it comes to stitching these covers along with impeccable fitment which is almost factory finish.

This grip was fitted when the Odometer reading was around 50,000 Kms. After this, I have driven ~1,40,000 Km and hence the material had started to show signs of aging that I decided to get rid of it mainly because it had started to become an eyesore and the material itself had become way too glossy and slippery to handle.

Spent some time on yesterday by removing the steering wheel and then the grip from it after dismantling the components/parts associated with the wheel.

Note: Mine is 2013 VDi and hence no Airbags

(Removed the steering wheel from steering column)


(Shows aged grip along with glossy surface)


(Dismantled)

By using a cutter and a nose-plier, managed to pull the entire grip off the steering. You can also notice the leftovers after this, especially the adhesive that was used to install this grip.

(Grip removed)

I then used a bucket of warm water along with shampoo to wash all the parts of the steering to get rid of the dirt as well as the adhesive. Thankfully, the method of using warm water along with mild soap/detergent with some rubbing ensured that every section of the steering wheel that had residue of adhesive was clean from it completely.

You can notice below the results of the cleaning exercise.

(After cleaning)

The steering was finally fitted back to column ensuring that the center position is not disturbed.

(Fitted back onto the column)

[paragsachania]

190,000 Kms:

With just a usual drive to Chikmagalur and back and the daily runs for school drop and pick up, the Odo reached 190,000 Km.



Nothing much to update as all is well. Next service with just Engine oil and filters change is due soon. Couple of planned drives next month.

A time consuming DIY project on cards too as few parcels arrived and I am waiting for some free time from work.

[paragsachania]

196,000 Kms and loads of updates:

Phew!! It has been a gap of nearly 7 months since the last update in February. Soon after this, the Covid pandemic hit the world and literally put brakes on things that we loved doing – DRIVING! However, post June, I have been out very regularly to my hometown of Belur and areas in that region with family to get a break from the monotony. Few more impromptu drives with friends to relish the monsoons in recent months contributed too. This ensured that the workhorse wasn’t really idling and parked in the basement and hence got its own breather to cruise on the open roads too. So, in a span of 5 months since June, with such trips contributing to clocking decent kilometers, the Odometer managed to cross 196,000 Kms last month and then there are more such drives to come. Overall, it has been a significantly slower progress by usual standards that the Ertiga should have already breached the 200,000 km mark by now . Hopefully, this should happen in coming months as there are few longer trips planned if all goes well.

Odometer Reading as of 30th-September: 196,181 Km

Lot of DIYs executed and few more in pipeline:

Following were the DIYs carried out on the Ertiga in the last couple of months although few of them are really simple ones that need no mention at all:

• Brake and Tail Lamp Replacement
• Door Damping
• Installation of Speakers
• Re-fixing the bumper protector
• Rewiring and reinstallation of Osram DRL Fog lamps
• Gear Knob replacement

DIY Periodic service that includes:

• Front Brake Service and Pads replacement
• Rear Brake Drum and Shoe cleaning
• Engine Oil replacement
• MAF Sensor Cleaning

My apartment basement is perhaps the most inapt place to carry out DIYs due to the absence of natural lighting. However, the availability of a power socket is a boon too. Thankfully, even with such limitations, I have spent quite some time over the last 5 months to execute needful and necessary DIYs. Hence, this ownership update has pictorial accounts of all these DIYs along with adequate details to complement. I am glad that whenever possible, I was conscious enough to capture images while executing these DIYs which I have so casually missed on earlier occasions. Most of the images are captured with a flash owing to not so bright lighting but I am sure they would still do justice.

[paragsachania]

Brake and Pilot Lamp Replacement:
While I am not particularly sure of the reason why in the span of 2 years, the brake lamp bulbs on both sides gave away, I may have to attribute this to the not so genuine bulbs that are available in the market. I had mentioned earlier that when I visited the MGP store near my home, they denied stocking bulbs reasoning that they hardly get enquiries. With no option, I had during the last instance purchased a pair of these P215Ws (Brake/Rear Pilot) from a reputed automobile shop. The bulbs were of Roots make, a popular brand too. But these bulbs fused in less than 2 years that this time I decided to pick it a pair of Philips from an authorized distributor. I hence visited JC road, Bangalore one of the days and when I enquired about these bulbs, I was forced to buy a box of 10 as they didn’t sell them loose. I was generally OK to buy a pack of 10 since they were really inexpensive (less than 200 INR). Further, I also picked a pack of W5W that I can use in future to replace front Parking, High mount stop lamp & Rear number plate bulbs. WagonR too shares same specs for most of the lighting too and hence the purchase wouldn’t go waste anyway.



Re-fixing the Bumper Protector:
Due to age, which is number of Kms to me and not really the years, the adhesive on the rear protectors had given away. I didn’t want to remove them permanently and hence decided to re-fix them after applying 3M tape. The pair on front is holding up well and hence didn’t really bother about it.







Gear Knob Replacement:
This was done purely on experimentation basis as there was no compelling need except that the existing Gear Knob had a section where the paint had peeled off due to normal usage. So when I was at the MGP store, I merely asked for its availability and upon confirming that it was available, I just bought one.

Happy that in my car this happened too late. I have seen cars done as low as 30,000 Km with work out letterings on these Knobs and other regularly accessed switches too.



Honestly, though I liked the gear knob’s feel, the black one just didn’t suit with the all beige interiors and I didn’t like it. Hence, will also replace the gear lever boot cover with black and see if that will make things better for the eyes!

[paragsachania]

Door Damping:

A long pending project, mainly because it required a lot of time & dedication and of course the patience to execute too. Doing this at home also meant staggered approach with car remaining unusable for at least a week as I would execute this in piecemeal. Having the second car helped here for urgent errands too while the Ertiga remained parked with all the mess inside and removed door pads.

I never wanted to take the expensive way, nor visit an installer for the same. I would any day prefer to do such things myself, peacefully and to my satisfaction.

Glancing through the Damping material thread helped evaluate the material I would pick, especially after reading BHPian CMS and SunnyBoi’s experiences here. The material was picked from SP road in the month of February while the job was executed in the month of July, only after eCommerce portals started delivery again. An immense help to complete this was the Hot Air Gun that I borrowed from DBHPian Audioholic. I had almost called up a Bosch store nearby to buy one but logistics worked out and I could pick it from Audioholic from a place nearby.

All 4 door-pads were removed and bought home, where I peacefully cut the sheets and pasted on these pads with the help of a hot air gun and let it dry in the balcony for at least 2 days to get rid of any smell (bitumen).













The work in progress images along with the final execution are as below:











Post damping experience has been definitely good, especially with the outside noise that has reduced significantly that now if I am waiting at a signal, I hear the engine clatter more prominently than the traffic outside! A hint that the next one should be damping the firewall/dash area with a proper insulation material to make the cabin further silent.

Installation of Speakers:

Post damping, It was time to fix the speakers. I had zeroed in on the JBL Components for the Front and co-axials for the rear. The current speakers for both front and rear were Hertz and one of the front speakers had given away. Also, since I had damped the doors, I was keen to pick something that would provide me a better Bass than the Hertz and it very well was the right decision because I found Hertz too crispy for my ears missing the much needed low end Bass that the JBLs very well managed to deliver.











Tweeters of these components were larger in diameter than the outgoing Hertz’s. I merely used a file and expanded the holes and fixed them securely on the quarter panel as below:

[paragsachania]

Rewiring of Osram DRL Fogs:

I had installed a pair of these 3 years before. But one of the days I realized that the right hand side fog wasn’t functioning at all – Within the same reflector housing, the DRL and the blinking function was very much working normally. I didn’t attempt to repair it or remove it. However, one thing I was serious about was regarding rewiring the entire kit after securing the cables of this kit and making them stronger. I always found the gauge of the signal cables that came with the kit too skinny that I had the fear that they would give away some time even after rubbing against each other. You can make out what I am referring to by looking at the gauge of these signal wires that have no protection whatsoever.







Visited SP Road and got good 20 meters length of nylon stretchable wire sleeve to help me with this job. Along with this, also picked up a good crimping tool as a good to have tool and extended by tools collection.





The fork terminals definitely looked in bad shape, thanks to the abuse it would have taken during the last services at the ASC. I wanted them to be replaced with Ring terminals:



The DRL cum Fog units were cleaned to shine:









Managed to pass through every wire through the sleeve and locked them on both ends with shrinkable tubes:







A close up of the work done:



The Bumper was removed for this entire job, only to find a lot of debris that had dried. This was because of the last drive where the Ertiga got into a deep slush and came out as well (Dashcam footage in later posts).



The reason why the fog only light wasn’t functioning:
I couldn’t find any loose connection. I shook the cables around the reflector and nothing would turn the fog lamp on. I checked the voltage received on the coupler to ensure if flow of power isn’t hampered and a reason behind but that too was perfect. However, for once I just applied little pressure and pulled the cables away from the reflector and the fog light came on. Since I did not want to really remove a sealed unit, I made use of the zip tie, pulled the cables with not to brutal force and locked them in place and ever since, the fog light is working fine on the right hand side!!





I also secured the coupler with water resistant tape like this:



I did not cut the extra length of any of the wires of this kit. Hence, secured them with zip ties before installing the unit and placing this in the engine bay next to the Air filter box.

[paragsachania]

DIY Periodic Service - Engine Oil Change:

The last service was carried out MASS at 182,000 Km for it involved replacement of all the suspension parts and for such tasks I would always prefer an authorized service center than experiment an FNG mainly due to the availability of the right tools and the infrastructure. The next service didn’t require anything but replacement of Engine oil, oil filter and air filter. Hence I decided to carry out this service myself at my parking location in the basement.

Purchasing jack stands was very important since I would have to get below the car to access the oil drain bolt and drain the old oil.



Along with Jack stands, I also bought some more tools, especially the one that would aid me to remove the fuel filter housing to access the Diesel filter and replace it too.



A visit to MGP store on one of the weekends where I picked these filters:

Engine Oil, Fuel and Air filter Replacement:

Motul Xcess 8100 was my preferred choice. I have never been more satisfied with Shell or even Mobil 1 Delvac for that matter and this is the 4th time I am changing oil with Motul. Along with the Oil, here are the other essential tools to help me with the Oil replacement:



At first, the oil filter was removed



Jacked up both the front wheels to a height good enough for me to crawl below and access the drain nut in the oil sump:





The Torx Set to help me remove the oil drain bolt:





I made use of this can of chemical to drain the oil. Still managed to spill some of it outside as I pulled out the drain plug:



The new Oil filter:



To refill the oil, cut a 1L water bottle and used it as a funnel:



Air filter (old and new)

[paragsachania]

DIY Periodic Service - Brake and MAF sensor cleaning:

Front Brake Service and Pad replacement:
I had recently begun to notice that there was a grinding noise especially when I reversing and mildly pressing the brake pedal. Since this was happening only when I was pressing the brake pedal, I was sure it had to do with the front brakes. I inspected the Rotors physically by moving my fingers on the surface but didn’t find any abnormal wear. So I began to suspect the pads and picked a pair from an MGP store nearby.





One of the days, I jacked up the wheels and replaced the pads on both the sides after which the noise that was present while reversing slowly has gone away. However, the pads themselves were still having good life.

Also, these rotors are stock, done 196,000 Kms now and have no signs of uneven wear or surface unevenness. For a record, I still don’t face any wobbling or pulsation in brake pedals while braking at high speed.



Here is how the existing pads compared with the new set.



As you can notice, the wear hasn’t been bad that would ask for a replacement at all but soon after I replaced them, the sharp grinding noise on reverse just vanished.

Here is a record of the number of times I have replaced the Brake Pads:

• The very first set was replaced at 82,000 Km – Normal wear
• The second set was replaced at 148,000 Km (Run 64,000 Km) – Normal wear
• The third set was replaced at 195,000 Km (Run 47,000 Km) – Hardly any wear except for noise when reversing (proactive replacement)
• The Rotors are stock as of today, after 196,000 Km and I am quite impressed with their quality and life too!!

Rear Brake Drum cleaning:
Pretty easy except that I made use of stud bolts to take the drum out from the wheel hub instead of using hammer and chisel that even the ASC does.





I really liked this approach as the drums have 2 threaded holes to enable you to put in stud bolts which help the drum pop out.



Made use of tooth brush and Abro Brake spray and then sandpaper on the inside of the drums and the brake shoes.











MAF Sensor cleaning:
It was quite some time that I had cleaned the MAF. The CRC MAF Sensor cleaner can too was empty but I had IPA bottles handy that I had picked up just before the pandemic to use it as surface disinfectant. So this time I cleaned the MAF using the traditional and the most popular method.

[paragsachania]

How does the car look after ageing at 196,000 Kms?

Thankfully, the exteriors or the interiors have aged very well after so much of driving behind the wheels. My car washing frequency is very long, at times once in 45 days during monsoon season. Also, I rarely visit water wash centers unless absolutely necessary or if I want to ensure that the under chassis area is clean from debris/muck.



The last few months have seen quite a lot of drives that the exteriors begged for a wash. Also, an update after this long on this thread wouldn't do justice if I did not share the images of how the car looks today. Hence, I took some time out yesterday evening and headed for a proper external wash including under chassis at a nearby place.









And then, this is exactly how fresh the car looks, as of yesterday!

Drives never stopped:

Like I mentioned earlier, drives continued to be regular post June and I managed to clock quite a few thousand clicks on the last 4 months itself.

A 250 Km drive with friends and BHPians:

With few BHPians (arunjosie, speedsatya, mighty_lothar), somewhere North of Bangalore, along the super good roads:





A longish drive till KA-AP Border with a friend along with a visit to Gunjur lake:





A wonderful monsoon drive with BHpians funkykar and addyhemmige:





The same drive when the Ertiga got stuck in slush but thankfully managed to come out of it. Here is an account of the same captured through the dashcam:

https://youtu.be/m863d4iIw0M

A drive to Kalasa 2 weeks before:

Why I will always prefer practical cars:

My first drive post opening of interdistrict borders was to Chikmagalur to my folks’ place. During this trip, I visited Café Coffee Day’s furniture manufacturing unit that my uncle was part of and picked up this large wing chair. They were clearing all the manufactured but unsold units here. The Ertiga with the 3rd row folded accommodated this easiy.



Again, in the month of April, our apartment residents contributed funds to help the needy staff. Managed to carry these bags (19 of them) by folding the 2nd and 3rd row:





Till the next update, keep revving.....

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

rotors are stock, done 196,000 Kms now; still don’t face any wobbling or pulsation in brake pedals while braking at high speed.

I made use of stud bolts to take the drum out from the wheel hub

Wow !!! Stock rotors at 1.96 lakh kms, and brake pads lasting 82k and 64k kms .

It speaks volumes on three counts:

1. using the brakes just right.
2. using only high quality brake pads (here, MGP)
3. quality of the rotors

I'm shocked to see that Ertiga brake pads cost 3360 a set. That's steep.

Rear drums - I've always had the drums removed using the bolts.

Just for reference, when I had the Versa, the Sumitomo brake pads still had 40% life when I'd done 58,000kms. That's when I sold the car.

If I remember right, the pads went on till close to 85,000km.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by vigsom

It speaks volumes on three counts:

1. using the brakes just right.
2. using only high quality brake pads(here, MGP)
3. quality of the rotors
.

Since I have sat shotgun with Parag a few times, and for a good distance, its definitely true, and I am sure these brake pads have been slammed hard only when someone else does something crazy in front of his car. Else its all pretty calculated. My cars brake pads dont cross 20k kms since I am used to driving hard if I am alone and even Dad has a pretty hard driving style.

We are waiting for 2L kms celebration of this Ertiga eagerly

[WhiteSierra]

Nice DIY maintenance work and updates Parag sir, loved reading your updates on your Ertiga as much as I loved reading your Tall boy thread. I too like to do regular maintenance of my cars on my own, I recently changed the squeaking fan belt on my Innova. I also did a DIY installation of those Hella chrome trumpet horn set on my Wagon R last year, I purchased them from Amazon too. Those jack stands, the tools you used are almost similar to what I use regularly.

I'm waiting for the next milestone, the 2 lakh km update.

Originally Posted by audioholic

Since I have sat shotgun with Parag a few times, and for a good distance, its definitely true, and I am sure these brake pads have been slammed hard only when someone else does something crazy in front of his car. Else its all pretty calculated. My cars brake pads dont cross 20k kms since I am used to driving hard if I am alone and even Dad has a pretty hard driving style.

We are waiting for 2L kms celebration of this Ertiga eagerly

Using engine braking in every possible situation will help to gain more life from brake pads. Since you have an AT Crysta, it doesn't work. But I see many people with MT not using engine braking but slamming brakes. With EVs that scene is slowly changing and will change in future, more people will adapt to regenerative braking to increase range.

Originally Posted by vigsom

Rear drums - I've always had the drums removed using the bolts.

That is always the best practice, I too follow the same method. Using hammer and chisel may deform the shape of drums, and is not a healthy practice to remove drums.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Wow !!! Stock rotors at 1.96 lakh kms, and brake pads lasting 82k and 64k kms .

Indeed wow but then I always learn to drive better every day and this also could be the reason.

Regarding pads, I was not happy with the second set lasting just 64K mainly because I assumed that improvements with respect to my driving will ensure the second set too will outlast the first one. But that was not the case and I suspect only quality to blame. However, the 3rd set that I replaced as part of DIY haven't really worn at all if you notice the images and compare with the new set. The only reason to replace was for that noise on reversing and this wasn't the typical noise that comes indicating a pad wear but really sharp to the ears!! May be quality of MGP pads to blame here?

1. using the brakes just right.

Absolutely. I can actually recollect the number of times I may have panic braked during my entire ownership. That still doesn't mean I am a slow or a sedate driver. I prefer to drive based on merit of rroads.

2. using only high quality brake pads (here, MGP)

Brake and Tires. No compromises there. I have also written an account on how a set of pads from a Bosch Service center in Pune spoiled my driving from Bangalore to Pune in my WagonR.

3. quality of the rotors

I have to agree. The rotors have lasted really well. In WagonR, I had changed the first set at 1.47L and second one at 2.47L and each time MGP.

I'm shocked to see that Ertiga brake pads cost 3360 a set. That's steep.

They are steep indeed. Couple of us had discussed this too. I also recollect there is an OE equivalent that is less expensive too.

Rear drums - I've always had the drums removed using the bolts.

That is good to know vigsom. What I wanted to mention was that even ASC or MASS prefers to take the short cut, hammer the drum to loosen it sticking to the shoes and chisel it out. I never liked this idea at all.

Just for reference, when I had the Versa, the Sumitomo brake pads still had 40% life when I'd done 58,000kms. That's when I sold the car.

If I remember right, the pads went on till close to 85,000km.

This is exactly what I was expecting from the set that I just replaced. They seriously look to be in good health, visibly. May be, I will try to fit these some time again and use too.

Originally Posted by audioholic

Since I have sat shotgun with Parag a few times, and for a good distance, its definitely true, and I am sure these brake pads have been slammed hard only when someone else does something crazy in front of his car. Else its all pretty calculated.

How can we forget one of the best monsoon drives we had. That was really a long shotgun you sat :-).

We are waiting for 2L kms celebration of this Ertiga eagerly

Even me! I really want to reach the 2L mark sooner and hence I am already heading for a drive tomorrow . Hopefully after that I have planned a long one for around 2400 Km too.

Originally Posted by WhiteSierra

Nice DIY maintenance work and updates Parag sir, loved reading your updates on your Ertiga as much as I loved reading your Tall boy thread.

The Tallboy still continues to munch miles, without much ado, albeit at a slower pace. That is certainly a dependable machine I have owned till date.

I also did a DIY installation of those Hella chrome trumpet horn set on my Wagon R last year, I purchased them from Amazon too. Those jack stands, the tools you used are almost similar to what I use regularly.

Glad to know that we have some common choices!!