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-   -   Renault Duster AWD : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/156651-renault-duster-awd-official-review-36.html)

Take a look at my post again. I ve clearly said that most people buy AWD vehicles in places where there is Snow and Ice because of treacherous road conditions.

In India, we've got a bit of slush and sand. Some places do get snow etc but for the most part the lightweight cars like Marutis etc manage perfectly well, just like in rural France and Italy where the common cars are these typical small cars.

Agree :thumbs up.

Don't you feel that an AWD is also useful for slippery surface, not only slush and sand? We do have tropical climate in the southern parts of india, I would assume it would be safer to be in a AWD car in such a case, no?

All I am saying is that an AWD car is safer than FWD for reasons discussed above. So to say that we do not need an AWD is not correct IMHO. It is also very true that AWD does not sell much in india- just like other safety features that comes last in the essential features list for an average indian buyer.

I think we are digressing from the topic- FWD vs AWD has been already discussed in detail in topic below

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-m...0-fwd-awd.html

Back to duster then :)

AWD is good to have and is a bonus or an insurance should one land up in a tricky situation because of weather and or some unforeseen situations. Like, taking a diversion if there is a road-block and it is raining and the terrain is muddy.

We never know what lies ahead of us, especially if you travel and travel a lot [I do and have been in this situation umpteen times]

AWD is necessary, absolutely not, but if someone can afford, should go for it. I personally would skimp on some investments and get an AWD. The benefit of a better ride is also there.

For it to be effective in slippery condition, it has to be full time AWD (which is engaged all the time) like in Forester or Fortuner. In case of part time 4WD (like CRV or Captiva) the 4WD gets engaed when the system detects a slip and it is not exactly lightning fast to react.

But then, one can engage 4WD once the situation demands and can be in control.

True, but in many SUVs like Honda CRV, the driver doesn't have manual control over the AWD system.

Is it? Never knew that. Scary.

But IMO, very few if any people would be buying such a car if they need 4WD.

There are two modes in most clutch based softroader on-demand/part -time 4WD systems. In Auto mode, the 4WD system gets engaged when wheel slip is detected automatically, so generally no manual intervention is required. However, in case you find yourself in a tricky situation or know ahead of time, that you are going into a tricky situation you can use the Manual/Lock mode which engages before you get into the situation. I have seen this 4WD lock button in most 4WD Soft Roaders. It is there in the Duster, XUV, Honda, etc, etc...

Completed 600km Kerala Trip over the long weekend.

Took the Wayanad route to reach Guruvayur from Mysore. Overnight stay at Kenichira on Friday and Guruvayur on Saturday.
Mysore – Antharasanthe – Nagarhole National Park – Kenichira Wayanad – Thamarassery – Tirur - Guruvayur

Visited Thrissur Puram festival on the way back to Mysore.
Guruvayur – Thrissur – Kunnamakulam – Nilambur – Gudalur – Gundalpet - Nanjangud - Mysore

My parents also joined us for the trip. Car was fully loaded to the brim, with 5 of us and luggage.
Dusty gobbled up the miles with usual ease. The handling was predictable on Winding roads of Kerala.

I faced a very strange problem/ Niggle with my Duster a few days back. I was supposed to drive down to Mangalore from Mysore for a planned family vacation. The night before I was to leave, I saw that there was about 6 bars of fuel in the tank, So I went to my trusted fuel station and got full tank of fuel ( also topped up with 6 liters of diesel after auto cut off). During refueling , the ignition was in " ON" position, although the engine was not running. On starting the car again, I was surprised to see that the fuel gauge was stuck at 6 bars only! Resetting the MID multiple times did not cause any change in fuel gauge reading.

A quick search on similar problem yielded similar complaints from other Duster owners , mainly on UK Dacia forum. The solution people found for this ranged from as simple as waiting till fuel level in tank goes down and then filling up again , to replacement of some sensor in fuel tank. I had no time to take the car to service center, so decided to wait and watch how this niggle behaves.

During the drive to Mangalore this is what I noticed

• MID was functioning & was showing the amount of fuel consumed since last reset, average and real time fuel economy
• Distance to empty was not accurate- was stuck at about 420 with a full tank of fuel for a long time
• during the drive Distance to empty fluctuated a little and was sort of range bound ( between 420-480)

While driving down the ghats after Madikeri, suddenly the fuel gauge started functioning properly ( showing almost full tank as I had just driven 140+ kms after filling up). Even Distance to empty started functioning properly
Have driven the car for almost 1000 kms after that (which included a trip to Ooty also) and the problem has not recurred.

Now can somebody please solve my queries

1. Has anyone faced a similar problem?
2. What is the likely explanation regarding the etiology for this behavior?
3. On what basis does the car calculate the amount of fuel consumed since last reset? Is it based on how much the fuel pump has pumped out of the tank?

P.S. The way the Duster behaved in twisty & hilly roads (during both Mangalore & Ooty trips) was truly amazing.
Zero lag, Excellent Drivability with minimal gear changes, Zero clutch slipping in any situation (even on stop start on relatively steep inclines), with pretty good fuel economy to boot!clap:

The newer Torque on Demand AWD systems based on clutch pack based systems are lightning fast to react, and absolutely seamless in operation. They use sensors from ESP system to detect slip, and work together with ESP system for stability control.

I've faced the exact situation in my Lodgy last year. In my case, the fuel indicator reset itself after 2 days! This problem hasn't recurred since and it's been close to a year now. I just assumed it to be a software glitch and moved on. There's another member here who reported the same problem on his Duster. Since it was a one-off occurrence for me, didn't bother to investigate further.

Good to hear your Duster performed well! The K9K is made for the highways and country roads.

Thanks for the reply.
I hope it is just a software glitch as you have said.
I am definitely not in a mood to deal with Renault's service team before the next service is due.
Can anybody answer my 3rd question please?

We had a tough time with this issue (not a glitch really but bigger) almost a year back. The service center guys had no clue of the problem and after some running around and discussions back and forth, the issue wss reported to Renault and they ended up advising to change the entire fuel tank. The service center did this for free of course.
If you have noticed this problem once then it is most likely to recur, so better get it checked.

Vikram

NOTE FROM T-BHP SUPPORT: Please avoid quoting the entire post as it may inconvenience small-screen / mobile-phone users. Thanks.

Thanks for the information. Can you please explain in detail what was the problem faced?
Was it exactly identical to what I faced?
Was the issue constant or intermittent?

Please give some more details

P.S. I did some more research on this issue and found out that Renault & BMW cars are extremely sensitive to refueling with ignition "ON". Some one in UK Dacia forum has strictly recommended to remove key from key slot while refueling.