[KUV50]

I was driving with my wife (both senior citizen) in our 2011 Swift Dzire from B'luru to Belegavi on 14th June 2024. Road was clear and weather was good. We were going at 80 kmpH. After passing Sira (about 120 km from B'luru), a motorcyclist overtook us from left and frantically pointed to the front left wheel of our car. I ignored him and drove on, but quietly checked for wheel wobble or one side drag by keeping my hands off the steering, but nearby, so that I could grab the steering if required. Nothing, car kept going steady and straight.

After another kilometre or so, the bike caught up with us again, and repeated the pointing gesture towards front left wheel. We slowed down and rolled down the window a couple of inches. The man said there is smoke from left wheel side. This could be serious (everybody is afraid of fire in a car), so we slowed down and stopped by the side of the highway.

Just as I was opening the door to get out and see, the man came up, and asked me to open the bonnet quickly. I did so, and by the time I could unbuckle the seatbelt and get out, he had the bonnet open and there was smoke. He waved with his cap, and the smoke disappeared.
He said it must have been momentary and asked us to drive on slowly. We did that and after just about 100m, he caught up and asked to stop and open the bonnet. Again, by the time I could get out he had bonnet open and I could see some flames and smoke. He asked for a cloth or water and by the time I got these, he waved his cap at the flames, and there was only smoke.

Still he threw water where the flames had appeared, and after touching showed some oil on his hands.

He said that most probably the ECM was damaged by rats/bandicoots (a common problem even in our cities), and hence the fire. I said that let me try to call the nearest Maruti dealership. He said they will take ages, but that he is a mechanic and will ask his helper who was on his pillion to go by the motorcycle and get it. It will take only 10 minutes, he said.

His helper went and was back in 15 minutes with 2 black units neatly wrapped in plastic. Then the helper went under the engine with the package and a ring spanner. The man asked me to keep the clutch pedal pressed to ease the access to change the units. Later on I realised that this was a ploy to get me out of the way.

In 5 minutes the man brought 2 similar looking black units, holding them in a towel, saying that they were hot and leaking oil. He showed them for a couple of seconds and then threw them by the side of the road.

He said to tie either tobacco leaves or Hans chhap tobacco sachet near the engine to keep the rats away, as they do not like tobacco smell. This will avoid trouble in future.

Then he said the parts cost 18,000 and labor 4,000. Of course he did not have PhonePe (that would leave an identity track). So we went 20-25 km to Hiriyur, and there I drew cash from ICICI bank branch ATM, and gave it to him. While talking, he said that his name is Ashok Patkar, he is from Bandra, Mumbai and had come to Sira 40 years ago. So he speaks only broken Marathi, a little Hindi and mostly Kannada.

We thought we were saved and thanked God! After that we travelled upto Sangli, Maharashtra and returned to Bangalore. However after returning I contacted Maruti regional office and finally got a maruti dealership near our house to jack up the car and see for myself with help of their service persons, what was the trouble. But we could not see any evidence of any work having been done on or near the engine. After I drew the sketch of the part, I was told that there is no such part in Dzire.

Then my son found a similar incident near Powai, Mumbai reported on Team-BHP. There the conmen claimed sparks in a Hyundai car.

The final take from this expensive lesson is never to open the bonnet unless you are there. I had this rule for the dicky, because I was told that even security personnel were not above planting stuff in the dicky while checking and then claiming that they found contraband in the car.

Final advice and lesson, call 1033, the NHAI highway assistance hotline if in any trouble.

[Raghu M]

Sir, you have done a great favor by sharing your experience. I have to admit, this is such a cool idea and almost a foolproof one. Unless someone (mostly from our forum) sees the part and identifies it, they are absolutely safe. Even if someone identifies and points out the wrong part, am sure they have something in their script (read act) that will keep them safe. Very good information shared. These incidents happening mostly in the Karnataka belt is giving some fear of travelling to the state.

[Ravi Parwan]

Damn, that is one scary humbling story. A lot of people would be thinking here that this could not happen to me, I am too smart for such shenanigans. Let me assure you, in the heat of the moment, this can happen to any one of us.

These guys would have practiced and implemented this on multiple people till they are sure of success and have safety cutouts in place to retreat if faced with skepticism.

Somehow I feel, these scams and scamsters have evolved very quickly from simple tire low/ tire puncture stories to ECU failure scams. A periodic check of all fluids, (from windshield washer to gear oil), as well as some familiarity of a normal engine bay should instill some confidence in our minds that all is well with our rides. Another good practice is to stop after 15-20 min of driving and check the wheel temperature. As we drive, the wheels get heated from the conducted heat from brakes. Disc brake wheels heat up more than drum brakes, and more braking effort on the front, so for most cars, the front wheels would be at slightly higher temperature than the rear ones. Point to keep in mind is that a pair of wheels should be at similar temperature and under no circumstances should be too hot to touch.

The new age practice of having covers and shields in place, to reduce noise and give a cleaner look to the engine bay has further complicated things. I remember in the M800, you just had to remove the air filter casing and you could eyeball all the vitals of the engine. Now you can only check all the fluids, check below the car for any drips and visually check all tires for pressure before starting any long journey. repeat the same at the end of the journey and you will likely notice any issue before it becomes a major one.

[anandavinash]

Thank you for sharing this incident here. I remember back in 1998 in Mumbai, we had parked our car (Maruti Suzuki Esteem) on the street opposite Shopper's Stop in Andheri, Mumbai and gone shopping. On returning, the car wouldn't start. Out of no where, someone came and offered to help. He tinkered with the engine and got the car to start. When my father asked if the car would go all the way to Chembur, he said he wasn't sure but if we needed assurance, a part needed to be changed.

We agreed and 5 min later, he came back with a heavy cylindrical object and went under the bonnet to "replace" it. He came out, handed over the "faulty" one and said it had to be kept upright because it was filled with acid. We paid him Rs. 1,500 or so back then and came home thinking that the guy was a God sent. It was only later that we realized we'd be duped. The guy had probably just cut a cable somewhere and prevented the car from starting. Also, that object filled with acid was bogus. :-)

You live and learn I suppose.

[pkulkarni.2106]

I think I had read about similar incidents, not sure if it was T-BHP though.
But it can happen to the best of us - we love our machines & crooks can take advantage of the same.

Having said that, there are too many red flags IMO:

1. A biker trying to catch up on the highway to tell you something's wrong with the car.
2. Even after ignoring, catches up again to "help" you.
3. After coming to a stop, asks you to open up the bonnet. Opens it up in a hurry even before you do.
4. Quickly diagnoses the problem & has the part handy. What are the odds that a random person on the highway is a car expert?
5. Nowadays even the A.S.S. don't have select parts in stock & they need a few days to arrange the same. Hard to believe that a "good Samaritan" has everything you need.

When we drop the car at the A.S.S., we personally verify if a part really needs to be changed. I feel we should be extra cautious in such situations.

But yeah, as they say - live and learn

[DieselAnna]

Similar two incidents happened to us:

1. Something similar happened to my father around 20-25 years ago in Mumbai. He was driving our old Maruti back from work and some biker pointed out at the car bonnet. It was raining that time and Dad stopped out of concern. The biker stopped too and said that smoke was coming out of the bonnet and because of rain, it was not visible clearly.
And he said he is a mechanic and can help. Dad smelled something fishy and said I'll figure out as I am myself an engineer. Dad shut the bonnet and left immediately without making any conversation.

2. Two months back I was driving to KA on Mumbai-Bengaluru NH48. After crossing Pune, and before Satara, two people on a bike came to our left and pointed at my front left tyre. I was somewhat sure they are conmen and I have tpms installed so I knew nothing was wrong with my tyres. Casually showed a thumbs up to them and drove off.

Note to self: If I encounter such a situation and see someone pointing or gesturing at our car, just stop at the nearest crowded place or a petrol bunk. Usually these guys don't want to be near any attention grabbing place. And one thing is common, they'll be always be on a 2 wheeler for faster escape, if things go south.

[unni246]

Originally Posted by KUV50

Just as I was opening the door to get out and see, the man came up, and asked me to open the bonnet quickly. I did so, and by the time I could unbuckle the seatbelt and get out, he had the bonnet open and there was smoke. He waved with his cap, and the smoke disappeared.
He said it must have been momentary and asked us to drive on slowly. We did that and after just about 100m, he caught up and asked to stop and open the bonnet. Again, by the time I could get out he had bonnet open and I could see some flames and smoke. He asked for a cloth or water and by the time I got these, he waved his cap at the flames, and there was only smoke.

Still he threw water where the flames had appeared, and after touching showed some oil on his hands.

Thanks a lot sir for posting this quite a useful thread!

I understand the con and all, this is quite a new one and could put any expert driver in panic mode.

But how in the world were he able to create this smoke and fire scenario in split seconds?
Also isn't this alarming that some casual road user is able to set our car on fire?

[bijims]

Thanks a lot for detailing your experience with us! most of us would keep quiet on knowing that we were cheated and wouldn't dare to disclose them on a forum, you have done us a service by pointing out the fraud these people are up to

[IAmGroot]

Similar incident happened to us or was about to happen.

We were driving from Pune to Ahmednagar in the night, after crossing a discontinued toll booth, one biker came to our left and pointed towards the tire indicating something is wrong.

Generally, I don't keep cabin lights on, however as we neared the toll booth, we switched it on for kids to look at something. This is where the con's profile the vehicle and start following you.

I immediately looked at my TPMS and found nothing wrong. That's when I realized it’s a scam or worse some robbers. I immediately switched the high beam, shifted to sports mode and put the 2-wheeler rider far behind in my rear-view mirror.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Senior citizens are the most vulnerable. These days, digital arrest and all other scams are happening to senior citizens predominantly. Scammers know that they have saved money for the rest of their lives. They cannot stay alone or they will be robbed. They cannot even drive alone now. I don't know where we are heading.

[vimalvittaladas]

I had similar experience back in 2010, while I was driving my WagonR from Mumbai to Kerala. It was around 8 am in the morning and somewhere near Panvel at a toll plaza, a person hinted me that smoke was coming out of bonet.

I was new to cars then and since family was with me and I was at a toll plaza, I parked by side. Just before opening the door, he insisted to open bonet and press accelerator after keeping vehicle in neutral. I did the same and after a minute he asked me something serious happened (which I forgot now) and he can replace the item from his shop which is nearby.

I followed him to his Shop which was hardly 1 km away nearby NH. He did some 30 mins work(naive me ignored all his acts during those time)and told the part replaced and it costed 7000/. We handed over the amount and continued our journey. Somewhere near Mahad, I drove in to a dealership and described the incident.

They thoroughly checked and told that nothing had been replaced and it was a tactic from that person to rob the money. Feeling cheated I drove myself to nearby police station and lodged a complaint with them by submitting my dash cam footage. Till date nothing came out and I am sure that police might have thrown those papers to dustbin.

Lesson learnt from that incident is that never ever depend on random technicians, rather call helpline of manufacturer and take advise.

[deathwalkr]

Thankfully it was just money out of pocket and nothing untoward :(

More such cases discussed here:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...-fooled-6.html (Scam: "Engine mein spark hota hai..." DONT GET FOOLED)

[100Kmphormore]

As per my experience as a biker, I can tell you this - no ones gonna keep following you on a highway and repeatedly asking you to stop, however serious it may be. I have alerted many about loosely shut doors/cargo/side stands and wrong indicators and only 10% have maybe slowed down to actually check whats amiss and thanked me when they caught up with me later. Others - my answer is, I told ya. The consequence is upto you, if any. Ive got my own journey ahead.

In the case we have had punctures in our car on long journeys, one was always with the mechanic/spotter near the wheel, just to ensure he doesnt do shady things, and am extremely unwilling to even leave my bike/car in a service center unless I know the manager/mechanics personally, just because of something like this happening albeit in a different way.

[quad_exhaust]

Thanks a lot for sharing this incident sir. I'd never heard of such a scam till I read you post. It's really saddening to see the lengths people can go to in order to con people out of money. Thanks again.

[Nissan1180]

Thanks for sharing this incident. I went to the police to report a similar crime in Mumbai recently.

I became a victim of the spark scam in Mumbai near the Phoenix Marketcity mall. I was driving my Xcent on a road clogged with traffic. There was some space after a signal and a biker came in front of my car and told me to lower my window. I foolishly complied and he told me that sparks were visible inside the engine compartment. I stopped to investigate and suddenly a guy came out of nowhere and offered his services as a mechanic from a nearby Hyundai service center.

I did not think that was a coincidence. I let him open the bonnet while he told me to start the car. He had actually removed the spark plug from a cylinder and told me to come out and see the car jerking and the sparks being visible.

At that moment, I got scared and told him to fix what was necessary. He went under the car, did something I don’t know about because he told me to sit inside and press the clutch.

After a while, he came inside and told me to go for a test drive. My car was absolutely fine earlier and it was the same, possibly worse because some part was stolen or replaced with a chor bazar alternative.

He told me to talk to his boss, the (fake) Hyundai service center owner. I was scared, but the amount he quoted me brought me back to my senses. He told me he replaced the AC compressor and alternator and I’d have to pay ₹30,000 plus. I told the driver to stop the car but he kept driving towards an ATM. This guy was a mechanic and had tools with him, so I didn’t want to get beaten up. I told him to stop near a traffic police chow ki and fortunately, I was driving. I quickly got out of the car and told him to get out, and walked fast towards the traffic police. I went inside and the Officer helped me contact the PCR van. They took me to the spot, then to the station.

I did not lodge an FIR because they told me that the spot was for some other station and hence I would have to go there. It was 12 AM and I was too tired and shaken. I went home after thanking the officers. I lived for many days with the fear that they had stolen or replaced some part which might later cause the car to stop running in traffic, which in Mumbai can be very troublesome. Fortunately, the car remained reliable.

The police officers took cognisance of the complaint and called the scammer from a police official’s phone. I am grateful to have escaped any harm from these scammers. I never thought something so dangerous could happen in a crowded area on a weekday evening. I learnt to never trust anyone on the road again.