Re: Attention: New Maruti Suzuki Swift Brake Issue Update:
I reached the service station at 11:40 yesterday and met the customer care manager for Sai Service, Mr. Ravi. After a brief wait I was introduced to their Dy. Manager for Service Mr. Abhijit and was escorted to a conference room where we had three representatives from Maruti Suzuki India's Brake division. One of them wasn't a technical guy while the other two actively work in their R&D division for brakes. It was a heart warming feeling to be interacting with someone who works day in and day out on brakes for all cars out of the Maruti Suzuki stable.
The first session was an interactive discussion whereby the manager from MSIL asked me to describe my issue while the techies made notes. I was asked every minute detail of the incidents and the conclusion I derived with respect to braking on the car. I told them what I experienced and what is written on this thread. They asked a few questions like what I feel is more prominent, whether its the pedal travel or the brake response, etc.
After about 20-25 minutes of interaction we went onto the workshop floor where the car was on a ramp. The techies first did a static inspection of the brakes and made notes. They did not find anything unusual. Then it was time for a test drive. They wanted me to drive and point out the issue I feel is a problem. So, after several braking attempts, I still had a feeling that the brakes lacked bite as well as the pedal travel being too high and less confidence inspiring with respect to the response and stopping power. Later on the two techies took turns and did some high speed brake slamming to see if the brakes respond as per spec and as per them they do. I continued to feel that the brakes respond too slowly and lack the response and bite I usually see from other cars. They asked me whether I had noticed brake fade and I mentioned my observations during the drive to Goa. Later they asked me if I had any burning smell in the car after braking in a panic situation. I hadn't had an experience of burning smell anytime.
We went back to the service station and they put the car back on ramp to open up the brake system to check for any faulty parts. After opening up the brake system, they noticed that the brake pads had burnt out. But I doubt that the burnt brake pads were a cause of the issue since I am sure my car did not come with burnt pads from day one. They did routine checks along the brake system and replaced the brake pads for free. They took pictures of the burnt pads and decided to take them back for further analysis. Brake bleeding was done and they took the car out for another round of trial. Since new brake pads take time to settle, I knew we wouldn't be able to derive much out of a test drive. But we did take a trial and the brakes weren't effective (obviously). I told them that irrespective of their inspection, I continue to feel that:
1) The effort required on the brake pedal is high.
2) There was lack of bite and response from the system leading to an increased effort on the brake pedal.
3) At the same time the brake pedal feels soft (spongy).
They mentioned that: - European regulations demand that there shouldn't be a wheel lock upon sudden slamming of brakes and wheels should lock only after some effort is put in. This is to avoid accidental lock up of wheels on lower impact on the brake pedal.
- This brake system has been developed after taking customer feedback from the old Swift.
- Apparently, the old Swift had lesser brake pedal travel and thereby passengers observed a sudden jerk (used to leap forward), upon braking. Hence to have a comfortable drive during braking, they have increased the pedal travel. This inturn leads to a "notion" that the car doesn't jerk during braking.
- They claim that the brake bite, response, stopping power, booster power is improved vis-a-vis the old Swift, only the brake feel inside the cabin has changed.
- There was no booster recall done for the old Swift and the size of the booster was same across all the models. What they introduced in the old Swift was an "improvement" based on customer feedback.
They replaced brake pads in my car are yet to set in. I will wait for another 5-6 days to get a proper feel of the brakes. The guys at Maruti Suzuki were very courteous and prompt in responding to my doubts. I would like to give a big thank you to their team for taking time out of their schedules to address my issue. Even though the issue (my feeling) with the brakes continues to haunt me, I'll give them a benefit of doubt and wait until 5-6 days to provide a feedback. They are reading this thread and I hope they took my feedback in the right spirit.
I would like to have fellow members from Pune / Bombay to drive my car when we meet and let me know if its just me who feels that the brake response is average and what the engineers from Maruti Suzuki mentioned is true?
team-bhpians dinar and diesel_power, could you guys put up your observations so far with respect to brakes on your cars? That would help others understand the issue I have been facing.
A big thank you to team-bhp! Without the forum, there wouldn't have been a medium to have this interaction with fellow enthusiasts.
Last edited by moralfibre : 23rd November 2011 at 10:01.
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