[AutoAce]

I never anticipated sharing an unpleasant experience in my first blog on this platform. However, today I find myself documenting the unfortunate incident that occurred with my 3-year-old Maruti Swift car that had clocked just 11,000 kilometers, and the inadequate after-sales service that I received from the company. Maruti Suzuki was once synonymous with reliability and quality, but it appears that the company has deviated from its path and is no longer upholding the high level of service that it was once known for.

The Incident:
On the evening of January 12th, 2023, I was driving back from work on Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad, maintaining a steady speed of around 90 km/h. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise emanating from the front of my car, which initially sounded like a tyre bursting. But upon closer examination, I noticed smoke wafting out from under the bonnet and engine oil dripping from the engine. Fearing the worst, I quickly pulled over to the side of the road on Outer Ring Road and arranged to have my car towed to Maruti Authorised Service Center for repairs.

Disappointing Experience:
I had my car covered under both Extended warranty and had taken “Engine Protect” rider in my Vehicle Insurance. The insurance was also taken from Maruti Insurance.
Initially, I had claimed insurance under the engine protect rider, but the same was denied as there was no external damage to the car.
After that, I went for claim under warranty and the engine was dismantled. It was found that one of the Connecting rod had broken and damaged the engine block.
Maruti refused the claim under warranty, stating that it was a hydrolocking case and water had entered the engine without providing any proof. This was puzzling as it was the dry season and I had not entered any waterlogged areas. Moreover, there were no watermarks on either the air intake or exhaust side. I denied paying any money and asked them to provide a detailed investigation report or cover the repairs under warranty.
Later Maruti arranged for the insurance survey again, and this time, due to pressure from Maruti, the insurer (HDFC Ergo) approved 50% of the claim amount. Despite this, I made it clear that I would not bear the remaining 50% and that Maruti had to cover it. Finally, Maruti paid some portion, and I had to pay Rs. 10000, which I reluctantly paid as I did not want the issue to linger on any further.
Finally, The engine block, piston & rings, and valves were replaced, while the crankshaft was checked for damages, but there was no damage, so it was not replaced.

Conclusion:
Despite having the car covered both under warranty and Insurance, still I had to struggle a lot and after a lot of deliberation, the cost was shared by the Insurance company and Maruti and I also had to make payment more than my actual liability (I was liable to pay for consumables only). And for covering a portion of the amount also, the company behaved as if they are doing me a favor and they are doing it for “goodwill”.
It is my hope that this blog post serves as a warning to potential Maruti Suzuki customers, and that the company takes immediate action to improve its after-sales service. Maruti Suzuki was once a name that stood for reliability and quality, but it seems that the company has lost its way and is no longer providing the same level of service that it used to be known for. I hope that Maruti Suzuki will take this matter seriously and resolve it promptly so that customers like myself can have confidence in the company once again.

In the end, I'm unsure if I should feel relieved for paying only Rs 10,000 despite initial rejection of my warranty and insurance claims, or disappointed for paying more than my actual liability despite having taken all possible cover.

[Chevyspark]

Something is fishy from your side, as only 2 photos are provided. No odometer reading, no oil sump, oil filter or engine hood photo. Probable reason behind bending of connecting rod is that the engine has been run without any engine oil. This is a classic example of oil leakage through the damage on oil sump or oil filter due to which oil got leaked and engine ran dry. Ultimately engine block blown by connecting rod. Manufacturer is having no fault in this.

[pkulkarni.2106]

I am very sure that Maruti would have found out if what you say was the case. And obviously they would not have borne any portion of the repairs.
Given the fact that the manufacturer has (reluctantly) paid for close to 40-45% of the repairs, they must have found out the root cause/problem & it must be something else.

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

Something is fishy from your side, as only 2 photos are provided. No odometer reading, no oil sump, oil filter or engine hood photo. Probable reason behind bending of connection rod is that the engine has been run without any engine oil. This is a classic example of oil leakage through the damage on oil sump or oil filter due to which oil got leaked and engine ran dry. Ultimately engine block blown by connecting rod. Manufacturer is having no fault in this.

[Chevyspark]

Originally Posted by pkulkarni.2106

I am very sure that Maruti would have found out if what you say was the case. And obviously they would not have borne any portion of the repairs.
Given the fact that the manufacturer has (reluctantly) paid for close to 40-45% of the repairs, they must have found out the root cause/problem & it must be something else.

As per the thread the 50% claim is paid by the insurer and ₹10000 is borne by customer itself. The maruti is paying near zero sum on repairs. And of 50% they may fetch 50k from the insurer via claim. The engine breakage is highly possible due to external factors such as via engine sump hit by any rock or something else. And that is why insurance claim may be applicable if engine protection rider was opted as no warranty would be adhered in such scenario.

[pkulkarni.2106]

I don't mean to argue, but if this was the case, why did the insurance company deny the claim in the first place (the OP says the reason cited by them was "no external damage"). Also, if let's say the reason for all this was oil sump being hit by something, OP hasn't listed it as the part listed.

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

The engine breakage is highly possible due to external factors such as via engine sump hit by any rock or something else. And that is why insurance claim may be applicable if engine protection rider was opted as no warranty would be adhered in such scenario.

[PratikPatel]

Maruti is right in its diagnosis of hydro locking. Contrary to what most people seem to think the word ‘hydro’ in hydro locking is not synonymous with ‘water’. Hydro means any liquid. A hydro lock happens when the volume of liquid that enters the cylinder is greater than the volume of cylinder at end of the stroke. As the liquid is not compressible the piston cannot complete the stroke and the forces & momentum generated will either stop the engine from rotating or will cause mechanical failure as it has in this case.

There is a lot more to this story than is being told here. The state of the connecting rod shows the amount of mechanical force it’s been subjected to. There is a lot of background story that is missing out here. What exactly has been done with this car before this happen has relevance to why this happen.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by pkulkarni.2106

I am very sure that Maruti would have found out if what you say was the case. And obviously they would not have borne any portion of the repairs.
Given the fact that the manufacturer has (reluctantly) paid for close to 40-45% of the repairs, they must have found out the root cause/problem & it must be something else.

I agree.
It would not have been a obvious user-attributable fault, else not a penny would have come from either insurer or Maruti. There is no "goodness of heart" here that either of these two esteemed mosquitoes would have given up any amount.

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

Something is fishy from your side, as only 2 photos are provided. No odometer reading, no oil sump, oil filter or engine hood photo. Probable reason behind bending of connecting rod is that the engine has been run without any engine oil. This is a classic example of oil leakage through the damage on oil sump or oil filter due to which oil got leaked and engine ran dry. Ultimately engine block blown by connecting rod. Manufacturer is having no fault in this.

If that is the case, why does the rod bearing look completely fine?

Has Maruti invented a bearing that does not require lubrication?

Further, an engine that is run without oil will have bearing and crankshaft failure that causes rod breakage at the bottom bearing area, not at the center.

[Chevyspark]

Originally Posted by pranavt

If that is the case, why does the rod bearing look completely fine?

Has Maruti invented a bearing that does not require lubrication?

Further, an engine that is run without oil will have bearing and crankshaft failure that causes rod breakage at the bottom bearing area, not at the center.

Make me pardon, it seems like a head gasket issue or anything else in which coolant entered into combustion chamber causing so much damage to the connecting rod.

As engine piston is only able to compress specified fuel not coolant or water.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

Make me pardon, it seems like a head gasket issue or anything else in which coolant entered into combustion chamber causing so much damage to the connecting rod.

As engine piston is only able to compress specified fuel not coolant or water.

I don't have experience with engines, but from past interactions with the engine guys I understand that there are coolant galleries in the engine block as well where the coolant flows. It may be a case of such a gallery developing crack/ leak into the cylinder.

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

Probable reason behind bending of connecting rod is that the engine has been run without any engine oil. This is a classic example of oil leakage through the damage on oil sump or oil filter due to which oil got leaked and engine ran dry.

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

engine sump hit by any rock or something else.

I beg to differ here based on the conrod photo shared by OP. If engine had run dry to the extent the conrod jammed, got bent and broke in two, both the journal bearings would have had severe scorching and abrasion marks. Which isn't the case here.

Sample photos of seized bearings :

[AutoAce]

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

Something is fishy from your side, as only 2 photos are provided. No odometer reading, no oil sump, oil filter or engine hood photo. Probable reason behind bending of connecting rod is that the engine has been run without any engine oil. This is a classic example of oil leakage through the damage on oil sump or oil filter due to which oil got leaked and engine ran dry. Ultimately engine block blown by connecting rod. Manufacturer is having no fault in this.

Hi Chevyspark, I would upload more photographs, but I only got these photos from tue Service center. As far as Odo reading is concerned, I can upload the same.
And as far as your diagnosis is concerned, the engine oil leaked on road as the engine block was damaged by the connecting rod. There was only one connecting rod found broken. Rest all were fine

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

Make me pardon, it seems like a head gasket issue or anything else in which coolant entered into combustion chamber causing so much damage to the connecting rod.

As engine piston is only able to compress specified fuel not coolant or water.

This may be a probable issue, but no root cause analysis was shared with me despite repeated requests. Only cause identified was Hydro-locking. The source of water entry was not clarified. But ASC personally confirmed that water ingress was not from Air intake or exhaust.

Originally Posted by pkulkarni.2106

I am very sure that Maruti would have found out if what you say was the case. And obviously they would not have borne any portion of the repairs.
Given the fact that the manufacturer has (reluctantly) paid for close to 40-45% of the repairs, they must have found out the root cause/problem & it must be something else.

I asked them to cover the cost entirely or reject the warranty claim entirely with a detailed investigation report as I didn't wanted their charity.
However, they stated that they will manage the insurance team and arranged survey again. The surveyor covered 50% of the cost. I fail to understand this part coverage behaviour of both Maruti and Insurance.

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

As per the thread the 50% claim is paid by the insurer and ₹10000 is borne by customer itself. The maruti is paying near zero sum on repairs. And of 50% they may fetch 50k from the insurer via claim. The engine breakage is highly possible due to external factors such as via engine sump hit by any rock or something else. And that is why insurance claim may be applicable if engine protection rider was opted as no warranty would be adhered in such scenario.

Actually I thought rock hit to be the cause initially, considering the loud "thud" I heard when the incident happened. So initially I went with the insurance claim.
However the first surveyor had confirmed there was no external hit or any damage beneath the engine.
After getting this report I initiated the warranty claim.

Mod Note: Please use the EDIT or QUOTE+ (multi-quote) button instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!

To know how to multi-quote, click here.

[pranavt]

A head gasket failure generally will not leak enough coolant into the combusion chamber to cause hydrolocking. Another similar cause would be a fuel injector sticking open. However, again, not enough volume of fluid to cause hydrolocking.

Block casting issues can cause coolant or oil leaks, but the leaks will happen on the exterior of the block, not towards the cylinder as the sleeve would also need to be cracked for the oil/coolant to flood the cylinder.

Are there any pictures of the piston top? A failure in the valvetrain (valves, valve guides, valve springs, valve spring retainers) can cause a valve to drop into the combustion chamber, lock the piston in place and destroy the connecting rod.

[Jeroen]

As others mentioned, it is not due to oil starvation. I doubt hydrolock can happen with a running engine due to a head gasket failure. Head gasket failure usually result in small amount of cooling liquid that are won’t cause hydrolock.

You can easily test the cooling liquid for exhaust contamination. If there is no contamination, it can not be the head gasket. Usually a test as simple as a pH test will suffice.

Whenever I have dealt with blown head gasket it was always possible to tell where the leak/blow by took place when you remove the cilinder head carefully.

I think something got sucked into the inlet valve, or there was a problem with the valve train, and or distribution belt/chain.

Given the state of the piston rod I would also suspect damage to the cilinderhorloges and obviously the valve(s). Ask them for images of the underside of the cilinderhorloges and top and the valves and cam lobes and distribution belt/chain.

Good luck

Jeroen

[viXit]

Originally Posted by PratikPatel

Maruti is right in its diagnosis of hydro locking. Contrary to what most people seem to think the word ‘hydro’ in hydro locking is not synonymous with ‘water’. Hydro means any liquid. A hydro lock happens when the volume of liquid that enters the cylinder is greater than the volume of cylinder at end of the stroke. As the liquid is not compressible the piston cannot complete the stroke and the forces & momentum generated will either stop the engine from rotating or will cause mechanical failure as it has in this case.

My guess is a fuel injector stuck open. Flooded the cylinder and bent the rod as it would not be compressible.

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

Make me pardon, it seems like a head gasket issue or anything else in which coolant entered into combustion chamber causing so much damage to the connecting rod.

As engine piston is only able to compress specified fuel not coolant or water.

In such cases the fluids will be visibly contaminated and you would be able to easily tell where the leak came from. As soon as the head comes off, you'll see the failure in the gasket

Originally Posted by AutoAce

Hi Chevyspark, I would upload more photographs, but I only got these photos from tue Service center. As far as Odo reading is concerned, I can upload the same.
And as far as your diagnosis is concerned, the engine oil leaked on road as the engine block was damaged by the connecting rod. There was only one connecting rod found broken. Rest all were fine



I asked them to cover the cost entirely or reject the warranty claim entirely with a detailed investigation report as I didn't wanted their charity.
However, they stated that they will manage the insurance team and arranged survey again. The surveyor covered 50% of the cost. I fail to understand this part coverage behaviour of both Maruti and Insurance.

Please do share the insurance and SVC bills. It'll help us understand this arrangement between the SVC and the Insurer. And why/how the insurer agreed to reimburse the cost.

It's not free, your premium will likely go up next year onwards

However the first surveyor had confirmed there was no external hit or any damage beneath the engine.
After getting this report I initiated the warranty claim.

Use this as proof to claim entire amount from maruti. No fault of yours if that's the case.


My Honda Amaze was subject to a hit on it's oil pan and broke the pan. A large hole developed and the entire engine oil leaked out within a matter of seconds. Attaching link (Why you should get an engine guard | Damaged oil pan leads to Maruti Ertiga engine failure @ 6000 km) and pics

The low oil pressure warning started flashing and the engine immediately shut itself down to prevent further damage. I am certain that such a failsafe is present in Maruti cars too, especially since they have minimal/no protection to the very vulnerable and sensitive oil pan. SO I seriously doubt that the OP could have caused this by oil starvation either by accident or negligence.

And the Hyderabad Ring road has little to none debris on it. It's maintained immaculately well.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by viXit

My guess is a fuel injector stuck open. Flooded the cylinder and bent the rod as it would not be compressible.

I doubt that very much. This happened in a engine that was running, a stuck injector doesn’t produce sufficient volume of fuel.

Originally Posted by viXit

The low oil pressure warning started flashing and the engine immediately shut itself down to prevent further damage. I am certain that such a failsafe is present in Maruti cars too, especially since they have minimal/no protection to the very vulnerable and sensitive oil pan. SO I seriously doubt that the OP could have caused this by oil starvation either by accident or negligence.
.

I doubt very much there is a protection in any car engine when it comes to no or low oil pressure. All engines I am familiar with, never ever stop due to low or no oil. They will happily tear themselves to bits, unless you manually shut them down.

The thinking behind this is of course safety. You don’t want an engine shutting down on you when you might need power. So there will be a warning, audible alarm and a red light, but nothing else.

Jeroen