6 Years Ownership Update and ODO @ 1,71,077 Kms:
One more year has passed and now I have entered the 7th year ownership of Scarlett. It has been an excellent experience so far with this beautiful machine and I have no complaints or regrets. It is here to stay longer with us, and I don’t have any plans to let go of this wonderful machine.
The only hiccup so far has been the recent accident. I haven’t found any issues with the drive or handling after this but there is a random rattle issue, and it has been difficult to find the source of this issue so far. Its not serious enough that I’m bothered about it.
Regarding the long drives, there were no major drives during the past one year. Our annual monsoon drive with friends didn’t happen nor any family trip. Most of my drives were to Chennai and Kanyakumari/Nagercoil.
Below are the service history and other data that I have captured so far,
Service History:
All the services were done at
PPS/MPS motors which is located on the Hosur road near Electronic city. I have never missed any service schedule deadlines and in fact at times the service was done well in advance. They have not disappointed me so far.
The accident repair was done at
ARAS Jeep, Madurai.
Usage Pattern
Annual Usage
Days taken for every 5K Kms
Tyre replacement history and FE for each of those tyres: Firestone: This was the stock tyre and it was not great except that it gave a life of 50K Kms.
Fuel efficiency of Scarlett with these tyres:
13.89 Kmpl Yokohama Earth1: Firestone was replaced with Yokohama Earth1 @ 51,205 Kms. This is the best of the lot when it comes to comfort and braking. But the performance started dropping after 30K Kms and it also became noisier.
Fuel efficiency of Scarlett with these tyres:
14.44 Kmpl GoodYear Wrangler AT SilentTrac: This replaced the Yokos @ 99,111 Kms. These tyres are very good on the bad roads. It’s harder than Yokohama Earth1. Braking distance was not as good as the Yokohama Earth1
Fuel efficiency of Scarlett with these tyres:
14.27 Kmpl Continental AX6: On the highways this feels better than the previous GoodYears. When it comes to the comfort and the noise on cement roads, these tyres are way ahead of the GoodYear tyres. I could feel the difference in braking as well, the grip is much better. GoodYears are good for mild off-roading and on bad roads too. I have not tried any off-roading on the continentals so far.
Fuel efficiency of Scarlett during these tyres:
14.79 Kmpl (this is for the 5K Kms done so far)
Brake Pads(Front):
On an average I am getting a life of around 50K Kms on the front brake pads.
1st set replaced @ 51,205 Kms
2nd set replaced @ 1,01,884 Kms
3rd set replaced @ 1,65,119 Kms
Brake Pads(Rear):
The rear one has not been replaced yet.
Brake Disc:
1st set replaced @ 1,01,884 Kms
Wheel lugnuts:
It’s a known issue with these cap-type lug nuts that if the cap thread gets misaligned then it is difficult to remove it. Whenever the tyres were removed, I was having issue with atleast 2-3 nuts. So, I got the complete set replaced with the normal nuts @ 1,01,884 Kms.
Wheel Alignment/Balancing:
All WA/WB has been done at Madhus except once or twice when I got it done at PPS. I normally get it done every 5-7K Kms but there have been a few misses and at times it has gone upto 10-11K too.
Wiper:
Wipers were replaced at 68,853 Kms (the OEMs are very expensive (closed to 5K), so replaced with Bosch wipers which costs around 900/-).
These Bosch wipers are flimsy and had to be replaced again @88,699 Kms and @1,19,668 Kms.
@1,19,668 Kms, I went back to the OEM one. OEM is very expensive, but the quality of these wipers are leagues ahead and gives a better life.
The rear wipers have been replaced once.
Battery:
Looks like it is designed to die every two years
1. The stock Exide battery - 2 years and 26 days (62,930 Kms)
2. The replaced Amaron battery - 2 years and 25 days (54,434 Kms), this was replaced under warranty.
I thought Amaron will last longer than Exide, but it fell short by one day.
Based on the history, I am in the replacement zone now.
Timing Belt: Set 1: Timing belt was a periodic replacement at 75K Kms. As per the technician, it was in good condition, but I got it replaced to keep the Warranty/Extended Warranty intact.
Set 2: This was replaced at 1,63,490 Kms as Jeep increased the replacement schedule to 90K Kms.
Clutch/Flywheel:
I got this replaced @ 1,41,500 Kms. I didn’t face any issues except for the hardness. But I still went ahead and replaced the clutch along with the flywheel.
Engine Mounts:
C-Mount was replaced at 1,19,668 Kms
Transmission Mount was replaced at 1,41,500 Kms
Parts replaced during the accidental damage- Below are the parts replaced as part of the accidental repair work.
- Front Suspension (RH Side)
- Tie Rod Stabilizer (RH Side)
- Head Lamp (RH Side)
- Steering Rack
- Alloy Wheel (RH front)
- Torsion bar front
- Swinging Arm Lower Control (RH Side)
- Front bumper
- Panel Fascia/Front bumper lower
- Tow Hook
- Wheelhouse splash (RH Side)
- Fender (RH Side)
- Bracket Fender mounting front
- Moulding Wheel Flare
- Metal Covering Radiator Closure
- Mudguard (RH Side)
- Dent repair and Painting
Parts replaced based on request:
Since the right-side suspension parts were replaced, I asked them to replace the same parts on the left side as well. It didn’t make sense to hold these parts on the left side as they had never been replaced till now. And few other works involved which was not part of the accident repair.
- Front Suspension (LH Side)
- Tie Rod Stablizer (LH Side)
- Swinging Arm Lower Control (LH Side)
- Wheelhouse splash (LH Side)
- Brake Pad (Front)
- Coolant
- AC Cleaning
Starter Motor:
Recently while starting the car, I was getting a squeaking/grinding noise at the end. The noise was quite bad. So, I took it to PPS motors and they immediately confirmed that it’s an issue with the starter motor. They asked me to leave the car at the service center as this issue can damage the flywheel too. Plan was to remove the starter motor and send it to the vendor to check and repair if possible. After a day they updated me that the starter motor has been overhauled, and the issue is fixed. Next day I went and took the delivery and observed that all is fine.
This service cost me 14K as against 58K which is the cost of the starter motor for Compass 4x4. The starter motor is cheaper for the 4x2 variants.
Front Windscreen:
This was replaced at around 34K Kms. It was due to a stone hit/crack on the highway and had to get it replaced by claiming the insurance.
I got unlucky the second time with another stone hit few days back. It happened on the NICE road. The hit was quite loud this time. I’m yet to get the windshield replaced.
TPMS – Sensairy:
Its 4 years and 6 months since I got this fitted. Till date, I have replaced all of them at least once as they stopped working at different timelines.
Fuel Efficiency:
The average fuel efficiency till date is 14.28 Kmpl. If you show enough patience while driving on the highway, this engine can easily give you 18-20Kmpl+.
In city driving conditions, I get around 10-12 Kmpl
Overall Fuel Efficiency: Currently this is at 14.28 Kmpl
Fuel Preference:
I go for the standard fuel and prefer BPCL than others. In between I switched to IOCL for XtraGreen diesel which helped to up the fuel efficiency by a small margin but, availability on the highway was an issue. So, I moved back to BPCL.
Fuel Price range during this ownership so far
Other details on Fuel efficiency
Some random clicks of Scarlett
That’s it for now. Looking forward to many more happy and safe miles with Scarlett.