[anky]

Engine & Gear Oil additive too was extra and not needed .My alto of 7.25 yrs done 29000 kms runs a bill of approx 4000 on each service and although they insist on servicing every six months/5000 km I do it 1 yr /10000km . The second cheapest car should not cosk approx 4k every service to maintain . PS I use Sai Service , Lower Parel Mumbai.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by rangarx

Sorry I could not trace the first service bills (10000 KMS)
But this latest service (20000 KM) details are as below

Gusset - 3.49
Plug oil drain - 18.62
Mirror assys - 756.00
MGO (5W30) Shell - 2.7 l - 695.63
MGO (75W90) - 2.1 l - 632.75
consumables - 69.87
Labour -
Misc. labour - 400.00
BG 100 - Engine oil additive - 427.00
BG 325 - Gear oil additive - 409.00
Rear view mirror assy- 220.00
Net Bill amount - 6808.00
My extra billing was 760.00+220.00 for ORVMs and labour for them.
Just let me know your feedback.

I have left alone the items in your list that did not apply to my 24 month service. Rest were correct. All fluids and spark plugs are supposed to be replaced every 24 months (except engine oil which is to be replaced every 12 months).

I carried my own engine oil (Shell Helix 15W40). So I was charged for only the oil filter. I vetoed usage of any oil additives. And what is this 75W90 MGO? Never heard of it. An engine flush perhaps? Totally unwarranted.

Perhaps they used it for the switch to 5W30 MGO, which is a wrong oil for your 800cc Alto. Go back immediately and demand a free change over to 20W40 MGO + oil filter. Don't delay this. Refer my and others' experiences about this in the Synthetic oil Vs Mineral oil thread (last three pages). If you PM your email id to me, I will forward the email response from MSIL for my query about this. Take a print-out of it and throw on their faces if they try their pep talk.

[gsbhatia]

Originally Posted by Gansan

And what is this 75W90 MGO? Never heard of it. An engine flush perhaps? Totally unwarranted.

That, most probably, should be gear oil.

[Gansan]

^^Ah, yes, you are correct. It is transmission oil and should be replaced every 24 months. But the engine oil and tranny oil additives are a waste of money.

[HONESTabdul]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I have left alone the items in your list that did not apply to my 24 month service. Rest were correct. All fluids and spark plugs are supposed to be replaced every 24 months (except engine oil which is to be replaced every 12 months).

I carried my own engine oil (Shell Helix 15W40). So I was charged for only the oil filter. I vetoed usage of any oil additives. And what is this 75W90 MGO? Never heard of it. An engine flush perhaps? Totally unwarranted.

Perhaps they used it for the switch to 5W30 MGO, which is a wrong oil for your 800cc Alto. Go back immediately and demand a free change over to 20W40 MGO + oil filter. Don't delay this. Refer my and others' experiences about this in the Synthetic oil Vs Mineral oil thread (last three pages). If you PM your email id to me, I will forward the email response from MSIL for my query about this. Take a print-out of it and throw on their faces if they try their pep talk.

Read your discussion and had to ask a question. i own a Waggy 2010 with the K10 engine. Should i go for the 5w30 MGO? I yr service coming up

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by HONESTabdul

Read your discussion and had to ask a question. i own a Waggy 2010 with the K10 engine. Should i go for the 5w30 MGO? I yr service coming up

For your car, that is the recommended oil. Don't go for 20W40.

[straight6]

Hi, I'm in the process of buying a used 2007 Alto with 71k kms on it and hanging oil to the Motul 8100 X-Cess full synthetic 5W-40. Is it ok to go with that oil? What will be the change interval with the oil? I heard 15-20k.

[Gansan]

The change interval is one year or 10,000 KM, whichever is earlier. This rule is constant, even if you pour liquid gold in to the engine. Period!

[gpa]

Originally Posted by Gansan

The change interval is one year or 10,000 KM, whichever is earlier. This rule is constant, even if you pour liquid gold in to the engine. Period!

+1 to this. No matter what you hear from others (oil manufacturers and their slick marketeers) stick to a 10k interval even if you are on the best fully-synth brew.

[straight6]

Originally Posted by Gansan

The change interval is one year or 10,000 KM, whichever is earlier. This rule is constant, even if you pour liquid gold in to the engine. Period!

Originally Posted by gpa

+1 to this. No matter what you hear from others (oil manufacturers and their slick marketeers) stick to a 10k interval even if you are on the best fully-synth brew.

Thanks. I'm also going to upgrade the headlights to the Philips 130/100 as I've had in all my cars. Anything to keep in mind before I do it in this car since its got the height adjustable headlight units?

[Gansan]

I think there is a thread called "Modding your Alto". Search for it.

[gpa]

This LTO has been pending for ages. Finally managed to get some time over the weekend to pen this down. For the followers of this thread, you will notice that there has not been an update from the 30k service so that's just where I will start from.

In the conclusion I will sum up the total service costs and FE as well over the entire duration of four years and 52,000 kms.

30,000 kms Service Update - May 2010

This was a regular 5k interval service where I changed the oil, oil filter and the oil filler cap (as this was cracked), I remember very vividly that the car used to squeal at times when started and so I replaced the water pump belt as well. The rear drum brakes were also cleaned at this service and after the washing process, I realized the car had two fresh scratches courtesy the careless staff in the washing/cleaning bays at MASS.

At the 30k service, I made the switch to Shell Helix HX5 15W40 oil after using Mobil Super XHP 10W40 for 10,000 kms primarily because it was becoming tough to source the oil and since Shell Helix HX5 was readily available at a Shell bunk, it saved me the hassle of trips to JC Road to source the oil.

Clutch Overhaul II at 34,816 kms - September 2010

If you scroll back a few pages, you will see that I had the first clutch replaced under warranty ~14,000 kms mark. Barely 21k kms later, the clutch developed problems again and became hard requiring considerable foot power to engage/disengage it. It worsened in stop-and-go traffic and I was forced to change it. Since my running was heavy and I covered almost 5k kms in heavy city traffic in the interim four months after the 30k service, I decided to change the oil (Shell Helix HX5 15W40) and oil filter as well since the car was at MASS.

Front-end shunt - November 2010

On a rainy November morning, I had to leave for work early at 6:30 am and barely a kilometer from home, I was climbing the road which slopes up at ~40 kmph in fourth gear when suddenly a Ford Fiesta which was parked on the LHS of the road darted out into my path. The road is fairly wide, but I still had to take an evasive maneuver to avoid crashing into the errant vehicle. It was early in the morning, the brakes were cold and the road was a nice slick surface considering the heavy rains the previous night. In a few seconds, I was a passenger in vehicle as the wheels locked and despite my best efforts to control the vehicle I slammed into the concrete pillar of transformer located on the RHS of the road.

There were a few sparks and fizzles since the pillar had a wire running down its length which got jammed between the front-end of my car which attracted the attention of a few early morning joggers and the local paper and milk delivery guys who rushed to my car. Thankfully the damage was minimal since I was at a low speed and the damage was restricted to a shredded front bumper, a broken RHS headlamp and a slightly deformed front apron. I was able to continue driving and reach my office that day, but realized that the MRF ZVTS tyres did not provide the grip necessary in the situation although there was plenty of tread left.

Subsequently, there was a drift of the vehicle to the RHS since the body had taken an impact and it needed to be realigned which I did at the 40k service in Jan 2011. As a result of the shunt, one link in the steering column assembly also collapsed but my mechanics at MASS said that I can continue driving until there was a need for replacement which would be signaled by noise from the steering assembly. The front bumper and RHS headlamp assembly also needed to be replaced and I did this as a DIY over a weekend a few weeks later after picking up the parts from the MGP store on JC Road.

40,000 kms Service Update - Jan 2011

The Alto was being used heavily in the city and come January 2011, it crossed the 40k mark which entailed a full service. I first took the car to the MASS Body-shop where the car was aligned using the body alignment machine (Car-o-liner) and I then took it to MASS for the service.

The 40k service was a major one and involved a change of - oil (Shell Helix HX5 15W40), oil filter, brake fluid and gear oil. I also opted for a throttle body cleaning (last done at the 20k service), brake bleeding and wheel alignment (usually done outside but did it at MASS due to time constraints). I used the MGO Suzuki 75W90 gear oil instead of the Mobi Lube GX 80W90 I had earlier filled in at the 20k service primarily since I didn't have time to spare for a trip to JC Road to source it. The engine coolant which was changed at 20k was still good and so the mechanic mentioned that I can change it at the 50k service instead.

However, I changed the front brake pads since the car was running on the original pads that came from the manufacturer since there was a squeal on heavy braking at time. 40k kms on the original set was good enough life for me.

50,000 kms Service Update - Dec 2011

Life had changes aplenty and threw the odd googly at me as well and so my driving reduced after the 40k service in January of 2011. The next 10k kms were the slowest to be covered till date. Finally in December 2011, the Alto crossed the 50,000 kms mark and I took it for a full service at MASS. The engine oil (Shell Helix HX5 15W40), oil filter, coolant and one high tension spark plug chord were changed.

After the car had seen four summers (2008 - 2011) I decided to get the a/c gas top-up done to prepare for the onslaught of the upcoming summers. There was no work done on the a/c system since I bought the car in May 2008 but I had noticed a perceptible drop in cooling performance and so decided to get the a/c top-up done at MASS.

Conclusion

My Alto turned four last month (May 2012) and has proven to be a reliable workhorse. When I look back at the past four years, I am amazed because the Alto has the ability to keep running without a hiccup.

The FE has been good given the fact that most of the driving is in city traffic and there have also been times when the FE has been phenomenal (mix of highway/ring-roads and city driving) and as left a smile on my face. Regular services aside, all that is needed to keep the car running smoothly are regular wheel alignment, balancing and rotation, change of wiper blades and of course a good wash/polish when time permits.

However, age has taken its toll - The MRF ZVTS tyres have become hard and lost all grip around the 40k kms mark, the battery died once last year in March and I had to push-start the car that one instance. I had to give the battery to a local shop for an overnight recharge recently since the car was not driven for close to five weeks and cranking was taking some effort. Despite all that the OEM Exide battery still soldiers on to this day and I will have to change it before the onset of winter if I continue to use the car regularly.

A few batches of the Alto were notorious for having poor quality clutch assemblies (there is a thread on this forum dedicated to the topic) and I have been a victim of it. Since the clutch change at ~35k mark I have had no problems thus far even though the car has been driven extensively in city traffic.

The battleground that is Bangalore roads have also left their scars over the four years in a few places and I need to get those attended to in the coming months. The steering column is now beginning to make noises (as a result of the shunt at the 40k mark) at times when the car is driven over mild undulations and is due to be replaced.

There have been many times when I have started the car in the morning, driven for over 150 kms in Bangalore's heavy city traffic in a day and switched off the engine in the wee hours of the night and again fired it up the next morning to go over the same routine again and the car has not complained proving that the Alto is truly a reliable car!

Detailed maintenance expenditure and FE statistics are coming up.

[sumeethaldankar]

Hey GPA remember me, long time no see. 50K in India's best selling car. That's cool.I see you have a Brio mentioned in your signature.Can't wait to read your initial impressions on same.

Apart from the clutch the Alto has been faithful and loyal to you.BTW weren't you previoulsy not happy with the shell helix's performance ?

[gpa]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Hey GPA remember me, long time no see.

I sure remember you mate! Yes, I have been away from this forum for a while, got back to regular posting only in the past few months.

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

50K in India's best selling car. That's cool.I see you have a Brio mentioned in your signature.Can't wait to read your initial impressions on same.

Yes, I have put down an initial ownership report on my Brio in the Assembly Line section. Will share shortly. Stay tuned.

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Apart from the clutch the Alto has been faithful and loyal to you.BTW weren't you previoulsy not happy with the shell helix's performance?

I think you are referring to the Mobil Super 10W40 oil? It was a good choice but I didn't have time to source it from the distributor on JC Road here in Bangalore and so switched to Shell Helix HX5 15W40 from the 30k service onward which I continue to use to this day.

[gpa]

Service History after four years and 52,000 KMS

The services over four years have cost me the following:

• I free service/1,000 kms: Rs. 636
• II free service/5,000 kms: Rs. 2088
• III free service/10,000 kms: Rs. 778 + Rs. 2000 for 3 litres of Mobil 1 5W 50
• IV paid service/20,000 kms: Rs. 2974 + Rs. 1725 for the Mobil 10W40, NGK plugs and Gear Oil
• V paid service/26,500 kms: Rs. 1393 + Rs. 850 for 4 litres of Mobil Super XHP 10W40
• VI paid service/30,000 kms: Rs. 2585 + Rs. 915 for 4 litres of Shell Helix HX5 15W40
• Clutch Overhaul and oil change/34,816 kms: Rs. 3722 + Rs 702 for 3 litres of Shell Helix HX5 15W40
• VII paid service and body alignment/40,000 kms: Rs. 4436 Service + Rs. 1379 Body Alignment + Rs. 932 for 4 litres of Shell Helix HX5 15W40 + Rs. 330 NGK spark plugs + Rs. 2547 RHS headlamp assembly + Rs. 1162 front bumper + Rs. 500 LHS ORVM
• VIII paid service/50,000 kms: Rs. 3135 + Rs. 786 for 3 litres of Shell Helix HX5 15W40

Overall fuel efficiency after four years and 52,000 KMS

As of April 22, 2012 the Alto covered 52,243 kms consuming 2,905.33 litres of unleaded petrol for an overall FE figure of 17.98 kmpl

Edit: Note to Mods - Please change the title of the thread to Maruti Suzuki Alto LXi--Ownership Review - four years and 52,000 Kms