[Tgo]

Wanted to update about the recent 70K km service and the Differential change for the 2015 AWD I have.

Last month I had dropped off the duster for a check up regarding drive train shuddering under acceleration from standstill. I had assumed it was an issue with the mounts of the 4WD transfer case. However I got a call from the service guys at Renault Jaipur that the whole differential needs to be changed. They did a thorough test of the car and found that the differential was jamming up causing some extra resistance on the engine when accelerating from standstill.

This is the part as per the part number mentioned in the Invoice. Cost: INR 1.57 Lac inclusive of taxes. Luckily it was covered under extended warranty.

Source: boodmo.com

They ordered the part from Chennai and I got the work done on 19th June. The differential change and the 70K service was carried out and I got the car back on 21st June.

Cost of Differential Change for someone who has to pay out of their pocket:
Part No 383002A01A, FINAL DRIVE ASSY: INR 1,57,267/-
Transmission Oil: INR 540/-
Labour: 1888/-
Prices are inclusive of taxes. Labour includes Oil top-up, removal and re-fitting of the differential and wheel alignment after installation of the differential.

Differential Oil Type: TRANSELF NFJ 75W80
Oil Qty: 1 Ltr

Invoice - replacement of differential:



Invoice - 70K service (insisted against, tyre care, engine coating and door lubrication pack). Alignment was taken care of as part of warranty work.

[jmktm]

Guys ,
has anyone fixed a mobile phone holder ( for maps) for the Duster ? Other than on the windshield ,I mean.

I bought a cheap Chinese one ,but the dashboard surface is wrinkled finished and hence not attaching .
Any advice ?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Tgo

Wanted to update about the recent 70K km service and the Differential change for the 2015 AWD I have.

This is very similar to vibrations issue on the Mahindra XUV-500 AWD, just that this is the first time I have heard this issue on Duster AWD while this is a common failure on XUV. Both cars have a similar AWD layout.

With XUV, if there is a vibration issue at highway speeds, the ITM unit(rear AWD assembly) needs to be replaced, they changed the one in my car under goodwill warranty twice even after extended warranty(3+2 years) expired. But the cost of part is low, it was 35k till last year. 1.57 lakhs in case of Duster is too expensive.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

This is very similar to vibrations issue on the Mahindra XUV-500 AWD, ...
1.57 lakhs in case of Duster is too expensive.

That's the way it is with Renault spares. Everything is expensive. I believe they have very low localization levels.

The driver door beading/weather strip cost about 4800/- (inquired the other day about it)

[ARAY]

After 50k kms and replacing the front and rear suspensions of my duster AWD under warranty twice, finally installed the RogerABs .
I had a theory, when it came to premature leakage of dusters hydraulic dampners. Every time after my trip from Himalaya I realised during the trip that the dampners are hitting their hard limit. Now it could be the hydraulic chambers didn't have sufficient headroom to accomodate the compressed fluid at the hard limit of the suspension and thus broke the oil seal and leaked. There was sufficient oil seeping after every trip to the hills.
What I plan to achieve with the buffers is to stop the dampners from hitting their hard limit ,maybe prolong the life a bit. I might be wrong and will get to know by end of this year. Other things I have noticed is that the awd maintains a better line at corners , oversteer has been reduced. Dusters GC remains same but height has increased by 1.3incjes .City drive has been affected positively but the humps let you know that they are there.
Many duster awd owners had suggested the use of buffers but i kept aloof due to the claims made by the owners and the company.
Price was 7500 including shipping and install.
I went for the Rogerab DUO variant , pictures will explain why.
http://rogermotors.com/product/rogerab/

Packaging


Install


Before


After

[KMan]

Hi guys. After getting the rear shocks and the headlight stalk changed a couple of months ago, it's time now to start thinking about changing tyres. Had swapped out the Wanderers right out of the showroom to Yokohama Geolandars A/T-S G012 when I got the car in 2014. Now, 3.5 years and 63K kms later, still feel like they could run another 5-7K km as there is sufficient tread left. However, I have faced an increasing number of punctures, so I want to swap them out ASAP.


Quite happy with these tyres and have only heard good things about the Geolandar G015s which were launched a couple of years ago. Was thinking about going for the same. Would welcome opinions and suggestions. Don't necessarily go off roading, but daily drive is around 70-80km on not great roads.


Also, it is time for the 60K service. Planning to do it next week. Recently, some electrical niggles have cropped up. Last week, the ESP light came on. It stayed on for a while and then disappeared on it's own after a couple of days. Also, the speakers randomly stopped working. After turning off the car and removing the key from the ignition a couple of times, they came back on. Neither issue has occurred again . Will provide information about that once it's done.


Looking forward to hearing from all.

[Bijo]

Originally Posted by v6kgang

I have experienced all the 3 problems quoted by you.

I also had faced the issue of ESP warning light staying on. After searching on google I found that weak battery could cause this situation. I had my battery checked in the local battery shop and found that my battery is weak. I replaced my battery one month back and this problem did not appear after the battery replacement. I had the issue of Medianav going mute frequently before the battery replacement.

[v6kgang]

Originally Posted by jmktm

Guys ,Any advice ?

Hi JMKTM, I’ve tried multiple types and failed, only working way was to use a weight mount (not the friction mounts) on the area above mediaNav unit.

Originally Posted by KMan

Neither issue has occurred again . Will provide information about that once it's done.Looking forward to hearing from all.

I use Geolanders and it’s better than MRF’s. I’ve heard very good feedback on Alnacs from duster community, may be worth a check. Also, like Bijo says below, check your battery health and change it, it will make the problem disappear.

Originally Posted by Bijo

I had the issue of Medianav going mute frequently before the battery replacement.

Hi Bijo, You have done a better diagnosis than the service centre. Though, I didn’t notice specifically my recent battery swap did solve this problem for me as well until recently.

Update:
I wanted update the MediaNav maps and ended up updating the firmware as well. The audio started switching on automatically since then, even when the ignition is OFF. My watchman got spooked the other night on hearing Tamil songs he has never heard before and was convinced that he is being haunted by a ghost. Whenever this happened I managed to switch it off in 15 to 20 mins, which didn’t have a problem until recently. BTW I have a Sony AMP, Kenwood Sub connected to my MediaNav as well. 2 weeks back I had to go for Hyderabad for 3 days and when I came back the battery was dead completely, even the central locking won’t work and even the engine lights won’t switch ON. Took the battery went to Amaron and the meter showed 0% charge 0n the battery. Left if for charging with him and picked it up 2 days later with 100% charge. Now when I connected the battery, ESP lights came on permenantely. But the vehicle is running normally after disconnecting the Amp (so that even If the mediaNav came On, battery drain would be minimal). Contacted the service centre again to downgrade the MediaNav firmware and replacing the front windsheild and they are quoting a couple of days again to get the work done, cost should be around 20K for the windshield. If anyone has done it before Kindly clarify what’s the damage to the pocket. I am thinking of claiming insurance.

My initial idea was to pick up a XC40 in lieu of Duster in mid 2019. With this recent episode, have come to a decision to dispose this piece of metal now and go in for Swift or Nexon AMT for now (primarily driven by Wife) and I possibly will have to delay the decision of going with the Europeans for 1 more year. Though I’ve heard a lot of good things about Volvo, I am not sure if I can bring myself up for the task of buying another European car for a while.

[sriramaero]

Hi All,

I went to one of the Renault Showroom in Chennai to enquire about an AWD Duster and the sales representative told me that they are expecting a new facelift version sometime in August 2018.

I am not sure if this information is trustworthy as Duster recently facelifted its car. But still, considering the competitions (especially Creta) in their mind and looking at the new Dacia Duster, I am starting to think that it could happen in the near future.

Does someone has any first hand information on the same?

Thanks & Regards

[nettooran]

Originally Posted by sriramaero

Hi All,

I went to one of the Renault Showroom in Chennai to enquire about an AWD Duster and the sales representative told me that they are expecting a new facelift version sometime in August 2018.


Thanks & Regards

I am already in love with the 2018 duster and was looking forward to its launch here. Hope they don't price it at a premium.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by nettooran

I am already in love with the 2018 duster and was looking forward to its launch here. Hope they don't price it at a premium.

They would be fools if they did after the Kaptur debacle. The new Duster is for sale abroad at almost the same price. Why? Underneath, it is the same platform and componentsm they have made an effort to make the interior smarter.

Instead of cheap and sensible, it is now sensible! I think a new petrol engine will be added.

[blorebuddy]

As per my sources, there is no immediate plans for Duster facelift as it got one last year. All the focus of the Chennai plant is on Nissan Kicks and Renault 7 Seater based on Kwid platform.

[sriramaero]

Got my Duster RxZ AWD variant delivered last week and have driven 1K kms. The performance of the car upto a speed of 120 Kmph is very nice and it is in fact better than my expectations. I pushed the car just to hear it roaring, but still its more of a wind noise than the engine actually roaring.





As I am very much interested in checking the off-road capabilities, took it to the river beds of Palar (Around 40 Kms from Chennai) and tried some basic stunts.

I would definitely need some more time in the off-road to evaluate its all terrain performance. But my first impression is definitely good as you can see some pics and videos below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfxpI3_TS_Q

Finally, Getting home with lots of off-road memories

[C300]

Originally Posted by sriramaero

Got my Duster RxZ AWD variant delivered last week and have driven 1K kms. The performance of the car upto a speed of 120 Kmph is very nice and it is in fact better than my expectations. I pushed the car just to hear it roaring, but still its more of a wind noise than the engine actually roaring.

Many congratulations Sriram. Looks smashing in that color. Wishing you many miles with the AWD.

[CAPTAIN REX]

Originally Posted by sriramaero

Got my Duster RxZ AWD variant delivered last week and have driven 1K kms.



As I am very much interested in checking the off-road capabilities, took it to the river beds of Palar (Around 40 Kms from Chennai) and tried some basic stunts.

Congrats Sriram on the new AWD duster. Nice photos and the video of the Duster in the Palar. Just 1000 km and you are already pushing the duster.


I am supposing that you had not ventured out into the Palar only with the duster, and that you had another 4WD vehicle with you as a back up, in case you had got stranded somewhere. There are certain places on the Palar where you will be out of mobile coverage, and getting stuck there will not be a memorable experience.


Wishing you miles of smiles in the duster and drive safe.