[swiftdiesel]

I'm not a Duster driver but I should share about the cruise control on the Lodgy. It's an absolute delight for my right foot and I've become a sane driver. I'm never known for maintaining a sane cruise speed and I drive at "higher than safe" speeds so that my ankle doesn't hurt. No more of that lunacy, thankfully! I've become a more relaxed, less worked up patient driver with extensive use of cruise control; those daft "boy racer" dangerous speeds are long gone. I don't exceed 110 kmph on highways during the day (usually stick around 105 mark) and never exceed 100 (usually hover around 90+) during nights. Cruise control has given me better mileage, relaxed stress free drives, non-indulgence in road rage racing and a relaxed restful drive for my family too. Just as C300 mentioned, I can +/- speeds as the need arises and Resume to my preset speed when it's safe to do so.

Cruise control is seriously under-rated but in my case, it's made a sane, safe driver out of me and that's something. If you really learn the art of cruising at safe speeds, trust me, you won't have it any other way!

[SajiNSalin]

My AWD Duster's GPS sometimes get stuck. I had got the GPS antenna replaced about a month back by the Trivandrum Renault ASS and then the GPS seemed to be OK. In the last two weeks, the GPS starts responding only after about 10 to 15 minutes into the drive. After stopping for a break for tea/coffee, it doesn't respond for quite sometime and then works fine afterwards. Do any other AWD owners face this problem and what was the remedy?

[artrocious]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

My AWD Duster's GPS sometimes get stuck. I had got the GPS antenna replaced about a month back by the Trivandrum Renault ASS and then the GPS seemed to be OK. In the last two weeks, the GPS starts responding only after about 10 to 15 minutes into the drive. After stopping for a break for tea/coffee, it doesn't respond for quite sometime and then works fine afterwards. Do any other AWD owners face this problem and what was the remedy?

I dont face this issue. I think it should be an issue with your head unit which causes it to freeze. You should get it changed.

Originally Posted by Tgo

My June 2015 Duster AWD was sent for its 40K service to Renault Gandhidham where its being used by my dad. I was reported that one of the front shockers and bush was replaced under warranty.

Guys - THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH AWDs SHOCKERS.

I will post the details of my AWD in full -

My AWD rides on MRF Wanderers and is 18 months old with 24K on the odo. I hear a noise "dhuk dhuk dhuk" with very mild wobbling and the frequency changes with speed. The RASS at Perungudi took it for a spin and told me it is a tyre issue and I should claim warranty with MRF.

I was really worried that the only part that is not in the purview of Renault warranty is the tyres - and I need to claim a warranty on it in just the second year.

What is worse is that MRF tyre warranty comes with "terms and conditions"
1) MRF at its own discretion may decide if there is an issue with the tyre at all
2) If ever MRF agrees there is a tyre issue then I should pay a portion of the tyre cost based on wear and tear. Yup, in the 2nd year of ownership I NEED TO PAY MONEY FOR SOMETHING I ALREADY PAID FOR.
3) If a tyre has a more than one puncture warranty is VOID by default.
4) If I should claim it via Renault they will remove the tyre and send it for claim for about 3 days during which the car will stand at the service center or I can do it myself at MRF office in Guindy, Chennai.

With all this in mind my biggest concern was WHICH tyre is at fault? It can't be that all tyres are gone kaput. If it is just one then I can bear the additional cost, if more then I should take a small loan.

I have befriended the RASS at perungudi and they are usually obliging to my requests. I always make it a point to send an appreciation mail to various levels in the hierarchy for a job well done. They even let me on the floor and see them work on my car when necessary.

With their support I requested the manager/SA to help me eliminate which tyre/s were faulty. I proposed how this should be done i.e by elimination. Basically to swap my tyres with another dusters tyres until the noise was gone completely. So this is what we did:
1) Remove all tyres and swap - Go for a test ride and confirm it is a tyre issue. Result: Noise was gone. Tyre issue confirmed.
2) Swap any one of the tyres individually for each tyre till the noisy tyre is identified by going for a test ride in each swap.

I AM VERY VERY HAPPY WITH RENAULT SERVICE THAT THEY OBLIGED for this simple issue that they could have simply brushed off and let deal directly with MRF (or maybe it is the goodwill that i built).

It is not easy to:

(ramp the car up +
remove a tyre from another car +
swap to my car +
ramp down +
go for a test ride +
swap the tyre out +
fit it back to the original car) x 4 times

It took about 4 hours and 2 people but they did it and CHARGED ME NOTHING for it.

My AWD on their ramp with another Dusty's shoes:


RESULT: About 2-3 tyres are faulty.


MRF:
I took the car to MRF and at first look he said that all tyres have "mild" uneven wear and one of the tyres have a puncture patch. The puncture patch tyre cannot be given warranty and he finally agreed to swap out just ONE of the 4 tyres in warranty and I paid about 2400 for the new one based on treadwear. I swapped out another tyre with the stepny (brand new) and noise was almost gone. One more finding was that the all tyres were from different batches.

But, the story does not end here:

I got the ANSWER I needed but it only brought up a BIGGER question: I can understand 1 tyre failing but If all tyres are from different batches how can 2-3 tyres develop an issue?

continued in next post........

So now was when I dug deeper and looked closely at the suspensions. This is what I saw:




The front two were fine but the rear two had developed an oil leak.

Just to remind you - The vehicle is 18 months old with about 20K on the odo - Never done any off roading and never driven on speed breakers or pot holes at high speed. Even if I did, my front shockers should also have been affected.

Anyway, with this fact in tow - I went to RASS and told them the case. Being the cooperative lot that they were - they said that though it is hard to claim warranty on suspensions they will go ahead and try.

Couple days later comes the shocker!

Some background Info: My car is pre-worshipped. The first owner had it for just 6 months (mid-2015) and had to sell it since he was travelling abroad. I picked this amazing vehicle at 6 months old with 6K on the odo.

Back to the story:
The SA calls me and tells me that Renault is NOT likely to approve warranty for suspensions on the car because the same rear suspensions were changed "UNDER WARRANTY" at 500 Km mark by the first owner .

I went crazy!

Again, I pulled the good will card and the SA agreed for a "work around" to still get me the suspensions under warranty. He said he needed a weeks time and that I take the vehicle.

The long wait for his call thus began and after frequent reminders he kept responding - "Sir, AWD rear suspension is hard to find Sir. It needs to be imported".

Anyway, 3 months later he did call me telling ONE of the suspensions were available and they are ready to swap it. So I took the car and got it swapped when he said that the other also arrived and both are now swapped.

Overall - I am not unhappy about how Renault handled this issue, but what concerns me is HOW CAN THE SUSPENSIONS FAIL SO SOON?

Here is a request to all 2014/2015 AWD Owners:
"TAKE A TORCH LIGHT AND LOOK AT YOUR REAR SUSPENSIONS FOR OIL LEAKS RIGHT NOW"
(See my pictures for reference of what it looks like)

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by artrocious

I hear a noise "dhuk dhuk dhuk" with very mild wobbling and the frequency changes with speed. The RASS at Perungudi took it for a spin and told me it is a tyre issue and I should claim warranty with MRF.

The dhuk dhuk noise you say, is what I observe in both the old and new (somewhat reduced) dusters when the vehicle is in a turn going over rough patch (gravel) and the steering is turned to about 90 degrees or more. This comes from the steering geometry I believe rather than from the suspension.

These MRF wanderer tires that come with the Duster have been praised a lot in all the reviews of the car fro providing very good levels of grip amongst other OEM fitment items. Problem is that the reviwers review the cars which have worn through maybe less than 10-15 % of their life.

My dad's 2012 Duster came with wanderers and around the 18K km mark the tires started humming noises at 40kmph above with clearly visible uneven wear which would render the tire useless after another 10 k of running. same story.... Renault says MRF at fault, MRF says vehicle alignment is at fault. Anyways, at around 32K km got two new tires in goodwill and paid for the third which along with the spare lasted till 78K km. But even with the new set, though the uneven wear was considerably reduced the humming started again after 15K km of use. In the mean time suspension bushed were changed as per Renault directive. So, cannot really put my finger on whether it was the faulty bushes, uneven tire pressure, improper alignment or bad quality of tires which resulted in uneven wear and humming.

My 2015 Duster AWD came with Wanderers and the same humming began at around 20K km mark but they had no uneven wear at all. So one thing is for sure MRF wanderers on the duster result in the humming noise, which I believe is as a result of their design.

Point that proves the above statement is that at 78K my dad's duster went for a tire replacement and he was advised by Renault service manager to try Apollo Aptera which till today at 1.05L km (~25K km of running) have shown no sign of uneven wear or humming. But they pick up punctures very easily.

Originally Posted by artrocious

The SA calls me and tells me that Renault is NOT likely to approve warranty for suspensions on the car because the same rear suspensions were changed "UNDER WARRANTY" at 500 Km mark by the first owner .

The recent front suspension change on my AWD could also be a result of an off road shunt the car took when we had to go off road at highway speeds to avoid an accident. I feel very vulnerable not since the vehicle has crossed 40K and the service folks while changing the shocks at the 40K service under warranty said its covered till 40K only.

Suspension leak would also tend to sag the car. Was that also observable?

[artrocious]

Originally Posted by Tgo

The dhuk dhuk noise you say, is what I observe in both the old and new (somewhat reduced) dusters when the vehicle is in a turn going over rough patch (gravel) and the steering is turned to about 90 degrees or more. This comes from the steering geometry I believe rather than from the suspension.

This is a sound that comes by default irrespective of the angle but went away when I swapped the tyre. Not at any specific angle. Sound also varies with speed.

Originally Posted by Tgo

Suspension leak would also tend to sag the car. Was that also observable?

No big impact on ride quality or sagging. Maybe it was detected at an early stage or my observation skills are limited.

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

My AWD Duster's GPS sometimes get stuck. I had got the GPS antenna replaced about a month back by the Trivandrum Renault ASS and then the GPS seemed to be OK. In the last two weeks, the GPS starts responding only after about 10 to 15 minutes into the drive. After stopping for a break for tea/coffee, it doesn't respond for quite sometime and then works fine afterwards. Do any other AWD owners face this problem and what was the remedy?

Do you by any chance put your car on a ferry frequently ? The GPS in Duster uses both Satellite lock & input from tyres (distance travelled, speed etc.) and then arrives at your location. When the car is loaded on a ferry/boat, the GPS coordinates & tyre data mismatch which takes a while to calibrate.

Also, it would be a nice idea to check in option menu whether the "GPS position is current" or not next time it happens.

Originally Posted by artrocious

Guys - THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH AWDs SHOCKERS.

I will post the details of my AWD in full -

My AWD rides on MRF Wanderers and is 18 months old with 24K on the odo. I hear a noise "dhuk dhuk dhuk" with very mild wobbling and the frequency changes with speed.

Did you try alignment & balancing somewhere outside ? I have personally found Renault alignment & balancing to be a little inaccurate.

Originally Posted by artrocious

Anyway, with this fact in tow - I went to RASS and told them the case. Being the cooperative lot that they were - they said that though it is hard to claim warranty on suspensions they will go ahead and try.

In my knowledge, Suspension have full warranty till atleast 30k kms.

Couple days later comes the shocker!

Some background Info: My car is pre-worshipped. The first owner had it for just 6 months (mid-2015) and had to sell it since he was travelling abroad. I picked this amazing vehicle at 6 months old with 6K on the odo.

Should not matter. Number of changes are immaterial if the part is in warranty.

Back to the story:
The SA calls me and tells me that Renault is NOT likely to approve warranty for suspensions on the car because the same rear suspensions were changed "UNDER WARRANTY" at 500 Km mark by the first owner .

May have been a botched up repair job.

Originally Posted by Tgo

These MRF wanderer tires that come with the Duster have been praised a lot in all the reviews of the car fro providing very good levels of grip amongst other OEM fitment items. Problem is that the reviwers review the cars which have worn through maybe less than 10-15 % of their life.

Yes. Wanderer Sport are one of the best OEMs on Duster.

So one thing is for sure MRF wanderers on the duster result in the humming noise, which I believe is as a result of their design.

Correct. The humming sound does come in after 25k+ kms.

Suspension leak would also tend to sag the car. Was that also observable?

Same question. - I see it has been answered (EDIT)

Regards,

Pawan

[SajiNSalin]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Do you by any chance put your car on a ferry frequently ? The GPS in Duster uses both Satellite lock & input from tyres (distance travelled, speed etc.) and then arrives at your location. When the car is loaded on a ferry/boat, the GPS coordinates & tyre data mismatch which takes a while to calibrate.

Also, it would be a nice idea to check in option menu whether the "GPS position is current" or not next time it happens.

Pawan

I have never used the AWD on a ferry. This problem of GPS "freezing" happens sometimes, and is difficult to predict when it will happen. The last one week, it has been working fine. I did look at the number of satellites it is able to receive in GPS, and when it works, about 7 or more satellites are being received. When it does "freeze", the satellite signal strength is adequate, but not satellites are received message comes on. Very strange problem. The Google maps on the Tab I use is able to show the GPS location, but is not always accurate and does wander off the road. I have found the Duster GPS is accurate and always positioned on the road, when it works.

Thanks

Saji

[sourabhzen]

NCR Duster AWD owners, any one interested to join for mild off road outing?
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ex...ml#post4161104

[revved_up]

Hi All,
Query for duster AWD users. Can we add a reversing camera and feed the display to the oem headunit? If yes, kindly share details. I have just purchased a pre-owned 2015 AWD duster!

Sorry if this has been posted already.

Thanks in advance.

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by revved_up

Hi All,
Query for duster AWD users. Can we add a reversing camera and feed the display to the oem headunit? If yes, kindly share details. I have just purchased a pre-owned 2015 AWD duster!

Sorry if this has been posted already.

Thanks in advance.

As per my knowledge you can't. The reverse cam unit given at the ASC has the screen fit to the IRVM. There are some people who have flashed the OEM unit to some other OS & then using this facility.

Regards

Pawan

[revved_up]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

As per my knowledge you can't. The reverse cam unit given at the ASC has the screen fit to the IRVM. There are some people who have flashed the OEM unit to some other OS & then using this facility.

Regards

Pawan

Thanks Pawan, I am taking delivery of my RXZ AWD 2015 pre-owned Duster tomorrow. Shall investigate further dpeending on the firmware running on the medianav. However, i have seen videos on youtube where camera display is directly fed to HU. I think the HU already dtetects the reverse gear because the audible sound for parking sensors is anyways coming through speakers?

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by revved_up

Hi All,
Query for duster AWD users. Can we add a reversing camera and feed the display to the oem headunit?

I have the same model as your's.

You cannot link up camera to the system screen. However, renault has a neat OE camera built into the rear view mirror. It is pricey and there are cheaper Chinese options that bolt over the mirror, but for the OE one, the mirror gets replaced with one with a built in screen so it looks very neat.

My car is parked in the office, so I will send you pictures when I go there next.

[revved_up]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

I have the same model as your's.

You cannot link up camera to the system screen. However, renault has a neat OE camera built into the rear view mirror. It is pricey and there are cheaper Chinese options that bolt over the mirror, but for the OE one, the mirror gets replaced with one with a built in screen so it looks very neat.

My car is parked in the office, so I will send you pictures when I go there next.

OK sure!! Can you also share approximate cost of the OE camera with mirror?

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by revved_up

OK sure!! Can you also share approximate cost of the OE camera with mirror?

Approximately 10K when I installed at the time of purchase.

[revved_up]

Originally Posted by artrocious

Here is a request to all 2014/2015 AWD Owners:
"TAKE A TORCH LIGHT AND LOOK AT YOUR REAR SUSPENSIONS FOR OIL LEAKS RIGHT NOW"
(See my pictures for reference of what it looks like)

Thanks for this! I also see my rear left shocker leaking! Although i dont feel any issues while driving.
If i go to ASC, will they cause issues in replacing? Any leads what should i do?

I have 235/R16 section AT tyres, hope that wont cause an issue! My logic says, if AT tyres were to cause an issue, they would cause all shockers to leak, right?