[Ponbaarathi]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Wheel bearing is the part that has gone bust.

Originally Posted by arjithin

Like Anurag mentioned, it could be a wheel bearing noise. 3 year/24k km is too early for a wheel bearing to be shot. What kind of roads do you drive? If it happens to be wheel bearing, please report the kind of damage here.

Thanks for your input a4anurag & arjithin. I will get it sorted post lockdown. My car has never seen bad roads. Mostly it is ridden over NH45 and city roads. I will update after a visit to MASS.

[whitewing]

Took out my petrol swift yesterday for the first time since the lock down was announced. Had a smooth ride, while parking after the ride, I noticed a white deposit on the ignition key housing any idea what this is?

I checked the battery voltage, it is reading 11.7/11.8 volts and started with the first crank.
The car has been parked in the basement since the lockdown and apart from one instance of cranking the engine and a short roll up and down the garage to change the wheel position. The car was left to slumber.

[Slickshift99]

Originally Posted by whitewing

Took out my petrol swift yesterday for the first time since the lock down was announced. Had a smooth ride, while parking after the ride, I noticed a white deposit on the ignition key housing any idea what this is?

I checked the battery voltage, it is reading 11.7/11.8 volts and started with the first crank.
The car has been parked in the basement since the lockdown

Hi there, as you mentioned your car had been in the basement for quite a long time, chances are that a layer of aluminium oxide may have formed over the ignition key housing. I suggest you to check your car battery terminal and other bare metal surfaces for any kind or corrosion. You can use a light sanding paper to clear it off and oil the same.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by Slickshift99

Hi there, as you mentioned your car had been in the basement for quite a long time, chances are that a layer of aluminium oxide may have formed over the ignition key housing. I suggest you to check your car battery terminal and other bare metal surfaces for any kind or corrosion. You can use a light sanding paper to clear it off and oil the same.

Thanks!
Checked the battery terminals - they are OK, the oxidation is only on the ignition key housing. Have wiped them off.

[RijuC]

Mine is Swift VXi (O) Oct, 2016 petrol model.
This month I got the service done after 1 year 7 months gap (due to lockdown etc.). I had an extended warranty valid upto October, 2020. Hence I took the car to Competent motors Gurgaon Info city service center. They charged me Rs. 8200/- for the service, and later it came down to Rs. 7600/- after some discount on labour. Works were changing engine oil (0W20 as per manual), fuel filter, Air filter, AC filter, brake oil, coolant, brakes oiling etc. Just one month back I had to change the coolant (golden cruiser coolant from a local mechanic) before I went for a long trip. Distance covered was about 700 km. But the maruti service center says the coolant used was of bad quality and you must change the coolant with what Maruti gives. And another extra work I asked was Tire rotation (ODO was 10400 km, but 4 years of torture by agency hired drivers).
Now queries:
1. I feel for this much work, 8k is too high. Or it was ok? Shall I go to local mechanic from next services once warranty coverage is exhausted next month?
Any recommendations for a good regular maintenance/ periodic maintenance service station in Gurgaon? Hero Honda Chawk is my nearest landmark.

2. The car's mileage was about 15 kmpl till Feb, 2020 when it was mostly driven by on payroll driver and agency hired drivers, till 8300 km ODO. After lockdown,
when I am driving, the current mileage on MID is 19.1 kmpl and tank to tank last measured is 19.4 kmpl. AC runs always at 2 or 1.
Shall I continue with same 0W20 engine oil and MGP marked coolant or shall shift to other grade of engine oil, coolant? I mean in order to keep the engine healthy (whatever torture happened in past).
Engine has become a little noisy most of the times, and with high vibration (however it's my feelings. Maruti service center says car engine noise and vibration are fine). However at times it becomes very silent and without any vibration.

3. Recently I had to drive in low light, extreme rain and night conditions. The headlight was not enough, road visibility was very poor and I wear specs. What headlight change I shall consider, a. Without changing the electricals set-up, b. With changes in electricals, without deteriorating the reflectors.
And since I am not much experienced I won't be able to do this change by myself. Which store/ service center in Gurgaon can help me for this?

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by RijuC

1. I feel for this much work, 8k is too high. Or it was ok?

8k is definitely on the higher side. How much did you pay for engine oil?

Shall I go to local mechanic from next services once warranty coverage is exhausted next month?

Definitely. My local mechanic charges around 2600 bucks for basic service (engine oil + air, oil and cabin filter + brake cleaning + foam wash)

Any recommendations for a good regular maintenance/ periodic maintenance service station in Gurgaon?

No idea. Try nearest GoMechanic if nothing else works out.

Shall I continue with same 0W20 engine oil and MGP marked coolant or shall shift to other grade of engine oil, coolant? I mean in order to keep the engine healthy (whatever torture happened in past).

No need.

Engine has become a little noisy most of the times, and with high vibration (however it's my feelings. Maruti service center says car engine noise and vibration are fine). However at times it becomes very silent and without any vibration.

What's the idle RPM? A lot of 2nd gen Swift owners have complained about idle RPM being too low which causes vibrations. Try driving another Swift to see if there's something wrong with yours.

3. What headlight change I shall consider,
a. Without changing the electricals set-up,
b. With changes in electricals, without deteriorating the reflectors.

A. Better 60/55w bulbs. I've used Osram Nightbreaker once and returned it the next day as there was hardly any improvement over stock setup.

B. Philips 100/90w bulbs with headlight wiring kit and ceramic holders. Noticeable improvement in throw and intensity. I personally haven't faced any issues with the reflectors.

[Ponbaarathi]

Originally Posted by Ponbaarathi

My 3 year old second gen swift has completed 24K kms. Of late i am experiencing some sort of whirring noise from rear at speeds above 50 kmph. It increases proportionally with speed. What may be the issue?

Took the car to service centre last week. The SA examined and zeroed on front-right bearing. Apparently it was changed under extended warranty. Still the noise was persistent. After examining again, the SA concluded it as tyre noise caused by uneven wear due to improper wheel alignment.

Later took the car to a tyre dealership. After checking alignment he said that the values are within limit, but both front tyres have uneven wear. He suggested changing tyres to a better brand since stock MRF tyres have similar complaints after crossing 20k kms.

Any suggestion guys?

[headbanger]

Originally Posted by Ponbaarathi

Took the car to service centre last week. The SA examined and zeroed on front-right bearing. Apparently it was changed under extended warranty. Still the noise was persistent. After examining again, the SA concluded it as tyre noise caused by uneven wear due to improper wheel alignment.

Later took the car to a tyre dealership. After checking alignment he said that the values are within limit, but both front tyres have uneven wear. He suggested changing tyres to a better brand since stock MRF tyres have similar complaints after crossing 20k kms.

Any suggestion guys?

20k is less for tire change per se. However it is true that tire noise increases after 15-20k for average quality ones.
Whirring noise is typically caused by wheel bearings. And my experience with bearings is that you are able to at least deduce which direction the noise is coming from. While tire experts can weigh in their expertise, I believe that uneven tires do cause a little wobbly feeling and typically that means a little anxious feeling at speeds above 80kmph. But they don't cause whirring noises.

Another point is that uneven wear on the tire surface happens due to incorrect balancing of tires. The alignment basically takes care of the direction of tires movement w.r.t. steering rotation and an incorrect alignment will lead to uneven wear on either edge of the tire. So alignment being within limits should not be a factor here.

One low cost option will be to swap the rear tires to front and see if that removes the issue. It will just clear out the theory of tire uneven damage causing the noise.

Another thing is to see if there is any stone stuck in the front disc brakes.

If everything fails, my suggestion will be to try another workshop or FNG for diagnosis.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by RijuC

They charged me Rs. 8200/- for the service, and later it came down to Rs. 7600/- after some discount on labour. Works were changing engine oil (0W20 as per manual), fuel filter, Air filter, AC filter, brake oil, coolant, brakes oiling etc.
.....
Now queries:
1. I feel for this much work, 8k is too high. Or it was ok? Shall I go to local mechanic from next services once warranty coverage is exhausted next month?

Can you provide a breakup?
The engine oil change, grease etc normally comes to ~3k.
Paid service in the range of 1.5k
Since you have also done tyre rotation, I assume that would have been ~1K?
That would be in the range of 5.5k - 6k.
The coolant cost itself would not be much I think ~200??

This i think is the new normal for MASS service costs.

Originally Posted by self_driven

8k is definitely on the higher side. How much did you pay for engine oil?
Definitely. My local mechanic charges around 2600 bucks for basic service (engine oil + air, oil and cabin filter + brake cleaning + foam wash)

Which Oil is used? That is extremely economical!

Originally Posted by RijuC

2. The car's mileage was about 15 kmpl till Feb, 2020 when it was mostly driven by on payroll driver and agency hired drivers, till 8300 km ODO. After lockdown,
when I am driving, the current mileage on MID is 19.1 kmpl and tank to tank last measured is 19.4 kmpl. AC runs always at 2 or 1.
Shall I continue with same 0W20 engine oil and MGP marked coolant or shall shift to other grade of engine oil, coolant? I mean in order to keep the engine healthy (whatever torture happened in past).

Not an expert, but have read that it is recommended to continue with the same oil type (synth/semi synt), not sure if the grade makes a signifcant difference in our climate.

Originally Posted by RijuC

Engine has become a little noisy most of the times, and with high vibration (however it's my feelings. Maruti service center says car engine noise and vibration are fine). However at times it becomes very silent and without any vibration.

Since you say, you were not driving it, it could be that you are more aware of the engine state since you are at the wheel?
If you have a OBD ELM scanner handy, try monitoring this via the torque application for a few trips and try to co-relate to vehicle parameters.

Originally Posted by RijuC

3. Recently I had to drive in low light, extreme rain and night conditions. The headlight was not enough, road visibility was very poor and I wear specs. What headlight change I shall consider, a. Without changing the electricals set-up, b. With changes in electricals, without deteriorating the reflectors.
And since I am not much experienced I won't be able to do this change by myself. Which store/ service center in Gurgaon can help me for this?

Originally Posted by self_driven

A. Better 60/55w bulbs. I've used Osram Nightbreaker once and returned it the next day as there was hardly any improvement over stock setup.
B. Philips 100/90w bulbs with headlight wiring kit and ceramic holders. Noticeable improvement in throw and intensity. I personally haven't faced any issues with the reflectors.

As mentioned by self_driven I the Nightbreaker "kind of" improves the visibility, but I felt the improvement was marginal.
The 100/90w switch improves things significantly. Would recommend that. Have used it for years now, and no visible issues yet with reflectors.
The changing of the harness itself is trivial, make sure they use good ones - philips/hella are the ones I know have lasted years.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by whitewing

Which Oil is used? That is extremely economical!

Shell Helix HX8. Costs around 1600 bucks for 3.5 litres.

This oil is labelled as fully synthetic by the manufacturer although the mechanic told me it is hogwash as fully synthetic oils cost around Rs. 1000/litre. So this one as per him is a semi-synthetic in fully synthetic packaging.

[RijuC]

Big thanks to Self_driven and Whitewing for the valuable advice and suggestions.

As suggested, I shall continue the engine oil and other fluid grades same as new car first fill.

I am attaching the service invoice of the last maintenance 3rd September, 2020 (my details have been masked). The engine oil used was Ecstar Castrol 0W20, costs Rs. 1067/- for 3.2 litre.

This time I could remain next to the mechanic for the entire maintenance period. I usually do this. However, last time PASCO GGN didn't allow me to be in maintenance bay. Hence this time I dumped PASCO (I didn't have any good experience with PASCO either during car buying.) All fluid replacement, filter, spark plug replacement, car Tyre rotation happened in front of my eyes. Hence I am satisfied in that regard.

Regarding the vibration, the engine RPM shows 1100 when I start the first time in the morning. It drops down to 700-800 rpm if left idle. However I do not switch on the AC immediately, and usually do it once I leave the parking area. Hence I shall further check the idling rpm with AC and provide feedback here.

Whenever I request for checking the on board module software the GGN service stations have standard answer, either they say it is not required unless there is significant problem in your car or the kit is not working, Sir! Whereas my previous experience in kolkata was very good, the service station SA happily oblidged every time I asked them to check my previous car (estilo 2009) in 2010-11. They used to get surprised that someone is asking them to check car software! It used to be a special occasion for them and all SA and mechanics would gather for a hands-on checking with the kit.
Here in GGN the story is different. They get offended as if I am asking something illegal!

For the 100/90 headlamp now I have to find out a good shop in GGN who can supply original wiring harness and lamp, electricals and do a neat job without alignment issues. I would certainly use the good branded wirings & relays. As an engineer engaged in core sector I always prefer rightly sized/ rated original products. It may cost me more, but it would be safe for the car, for the occupants and others in near vicinity. Safety and quality are more important than the cost. I have seen many disasters due to compromises on the quality, cost, design rating and sizing faults and consequently loss of assets, money and/or life.

[RijuC]

Today, it was a bad day. While returning from CR park to Gurgaon, faced a 4 km bumper to bumper traffic near IGI airport. It was too tiring till the Ambience mall. After turning right from Hero Honda Chawk, a lunatic driver dodged my Swft from right with his VW vento. My right fender panel got bent and the headlamp assembly was offset by a few mm. He was in a hurry, he did complete the overtake. The vento didn't even touch the ORVM. Then he suddenly swayed left and I couldn't steer left. A goods carriage vehicle was parked on the left side, and there was no space. Vento rear left door and fender panel just had minor scratches and black rubbery patch (is it from my tyre?). Both of us had a thorough look at the damages, yelled at the goods carriage vehicle driver and went off peacefully without any argument.

I guess my front right tyre was also damaged. The wheel cover has marks. I could not understand tyre marks. However I have not noticed any loss of pressure so far (after 6 hours of the incident). Let's see what happens tomorrow.
I called up Heera motors, Sukhrali, Gurgaon (Team-BHP reference for good denting/painting work in GGN). He asked me to take the car tomorrow morning. Hope the repair cost is not very high.

[RijuC]

Visited Heera motors today with my damaged Swift at 10:30 AM Other than the bent front right side fender panel, the middle portion top and bottom support plates of the right side headlamp were found broken, some paint damage on fender and bumper right side.
Talked to the supervisor. Gave reference of Team-BHP also. He said dry denting to be done for the fender panel and plastic welding for the headlamp housing plates. A few paint patch up to be done. Total quote was Rs. 800/-. Time required was 1.5 hour. I agreed for the work. The supervisor instructed two mechanics for the work. I am posting a WIP (work in progress) photo also.
The supervisor and workmen were well behaved (I really didn't expect this much courtesy- perhaps due to Team-BHP reference). He asked me to take before and after photos and save them. Work was completed within the time. Meanwhile I did some office works over phone. After completion, we did the functional checks of the headlights and turning lights and we're found OK (functional check was necessary since wire terminal connectors and bumper were removed.).
I would like to highlight another point (which again I didn't expect). The workmen discussed among each other to remove extra screws, studs and small broken pieces from the workplace, i.e., good housekeeping. This is very important since I am coming from industrial background. Really liked their attitude towards good housekeeping.
The supervisor suggested to do painting works after some more scratch decorations by people on road and scratch artists in parking lot.
Overall satisfied. Went to cybercity to join office for the second half.

[RijuC]

Update for headlamp and fog lamp changes:
Last weekend visited Gurgaon Batra Auto care, Auto zone, opposite to payel cinema, sector 14. However they didn't have H4 philips Xtreme vision Gforce lamps. Followed up with him for a couple of days. Also called up Parnami enterprise (Philips automotive dealer in Gurgaon). However none of them had stock, neither could arrange the H4 lamps.

Wednesday (16th December), called up Kalra CAR ACCESSORIES (they have stores in sector-8, sector-47 and sector-49). Car accessories is in bold because that's the keyword. There are many other Kalra car stores in the vicinity. Sector-8 stores informed they can arrange the lamps.

Visited their place on the same day. They replaced the stock OSRAM H4 lamps with this Philips Xtreme vision Gforce H4. Cost= 1700 INR (MRP price).

Then they suggested same Gforce lamp for the fog lamps, and I agreed. Swift manual says front fog lamp is H16 type 19 Watt. However, the stock fog lamp was philips 35W. And Kalra car accessories stores told I can use H11 55W lamps. I was in a dilemma. But they said no problem. The electrical harness is same and can withstand 55W rated current. (I mean the current for the 55 watt lamp).

They had to tweak one wide flat pin to fix the lamp in the housing. However, electrical socket worked. Cost= 1800 INR (MRP).

All lamps functional testing were done and found to be OK (though light power, beam alignment couldn't be checked in daylight).

They didn't reduce a single paisa- very high handed (attitude was like else you go and buy them somewhere else). All transactions were without any receipts or bills. Hence I was expecting a little less than MRP. Anyway, I was struggling for the weak light (I wear specs also).

I am yet to drive in dark. Yesterday while returning from office, liked the light on road in evening twilight condition. High Beam seems to be little more on right side.

But the headlight plastic part was very hot after the drive (used the lamps just for 10-15 minutes). Any idea whether this is okay? Or unusual?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by RijuC

Then they suggested same Gforce lamp for the fog lamps, and I agreed. Swift manual says front fog lamp is H16 type 19 Watt. However, the stock fog lamp was philips 35W. And Kalra car accessories stores told I can use H11 55W lamps. I was in a dilemma. But they said no problem. The electrical harness is same and can withstand 55W rated current. (I mean the current for the 55 watt lamp).

IIRC the second generation Swift had H8 35W fog lamps in them from factory. I had fit HID's projectors in them.

If you have added the 55W in fog lamp it is recommended to add that setup with a relay.