Latin NCAP also crash-tested the Suzuki Swift manufactured in India.

The Brazil-spec Renault Duster has been awarded a zero star safety rating by Latin NCAP.

The Duster scored 11.78 points for adult occupant safety, 11.24 points for child protection, 15 points for safety assists and 24.38 points for pedestrian protection.

In the frontal impact test, the Duster offered good protection to the driver and passenger's head and neck. Driver and passenger’s chest showed marginal protection. Driver’s knees and one passenger’s knee showed marginal protection. The car showed a fuel leak after the frontal impact test.

Unusually high structural intrusion was observed in the side impact test. Also, the front passenger door opened during this test.

The test car was fitted with 2 airbags, seat belt pre-tensioners with load limiters as well as a seat belt reminder. The Brazil-spec Duster gets ESC as standard but does not get other safety features like Automatic Emergency Braking, speed and lane assist systems.

Latin NCAP also crash-tested the Suzuki Swift manufactured in India. It didn't fare well in the test either.

Renault will be replacing the current model with the new-gen Duster sometime later.

It could be the end of the road for the Renault Duster in India, as a recent media report suggests that the French carmaker is planning to discontinue the model.

The report states that the Duster is being taken off the shelves with the aim of reducing costs and increasing profitability. It is said that the final batch of the Duster will roll off the assembly line in October 2021.

If you're a fan of the Duster, don't get disheartened just yet. Renault will be replacing the current model with the new-gen Duster sometime later. The exact timeline of the launch is not available at this moment.

The next-gen Duster is already being sold in international markets. Last month, the carmaker revealed the facelift version for the European market.

The mid-cycle refresh adds new LED headlamps with Y-shaped LED daytime running lights, new alloy wheel designs and updated tail lamp clusters.

On the inside, the SUV gets a new 8-inch touchscreen infotainment head unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a 3.5-inch digital instrument cluster, a 4x4 monitor with an inclinometer and altimeter, multiview camera and blind-spot monitor.

Source: Economic Times

The 2021 Duster gets new features in addition to several cosmetic updates.

Dacia, Renault's sister brand has taken the wraps off the updated Duster for the European market.

The mid-cycle refresh includes new LED headlamps with Y-shaped LED daytime running lights, new alloy wheel designs and updated tail lamp clusters.

On the inside, the SUV gets a new 8-inch touchscreen infotainment head unit. It replaces the old 7-inch unit and gets the latest software, along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. It also has a 4x4 monitor with an inclinometer and altimeter, multiview camera and blind-spot monitor.

The updated Duster gets new seats and centre console, a 3.5-inch digital instrument cluster, cruise control and automatic headlights. Features such as automatic climate control and heated front seats are available on higher variants.

In Europe, the 2021 Duster is available with a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 89 BHP, 1.3-litre petrol with either 128 BHP or 148 BHP, a 1.5-litre diesel producing an output of 113 BHP and a 1.0-litre bi-fuel motor that can run on petrol or LPG.

The updated Duster is expected to make its global debut on June 22, 2021.

Renault's sister brand, Dacia, has released a teaser video of the upcoming Duster facelift. The SUV is expected to make its global debut on June 22, 2021.

The teaser video reveals the side profile and the redesigned tail lamps of the 2022 Dacia Duster. While the overall shape of the SUV has been retained, the tail lamps get Y-shaped LED brake lights. 

Moving to the interior, the updated Duster is likely to come with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It will have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

In the European market, Dacia offers the Duster with a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol, 1.0-litre bi-fuel and a 1.5-litre diesel engine option. In addition to a manual gearbox, the Duster gets an automatic transmission as well as an all-wheel drive system.

Renault has increased the prices of its entire product lineup by up to Rs 39,000.

Renault India has silently increased prices across its entire product lineup. The price hike ranges between Rs 7,000 to Rs 39,000, depending on the model and variant.

Prices for the Renault Kwid now start at Rs 3.32 lakh and goes up to Rs 5.48 lakh (ex-showroom). The entry-level variants of the Kwid have received a higher price hike of up to Rs 14,000, while the mid and top-spec trims get a price increase of Rs 9,000. The Neotech edition of the Kwid gets a price hike of Rs 7,000.

Starting prices of the Renault Kiger have increased from Rs 5.45 lakh to Rs 5.64 lakh; translating to a Rs 19,000 hike. The mid-spec variants receive a Rs 9,000 price hike, while the higher-spec CVT-equipped RXT and RXZ trims get a more significant hike of Rs 39,000. The top-spec Renault Kiger now comes with a price tag of Rs 10.08 lakh (ex-showroom).

The Renault Triber MPV is now priced between Rs 5.50 lakh to Rs 7.95 lakh. The entry-level 'RXE' trim receives the highest price increase of Rs 20,000, while the remaining variants get a Rs 13,000 hike.

The Duster SUV has received a standard price hike of Rs 13,000 across all its variants. Prices for the Renault Duster now start at Rs 9.86 lakh with the top-end trim now retailing at Rs 14.25 lakh (ex-showroom).

The car's engine seemed to be revving fine but very little power was being transferred to the wheels in D or R modes.

BHPian aKrain recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Posting this as I am trying to figure out the root cause for an issue with my recently purchased Renault Duster Turbo CVT.

On 15 May, I was travelling with my family from Noida to Uttarkhand in our 1 month old Duster. We drove for about 5 hours and made a stop at Rudrapur border to show our Covid e-pass. After doing the formalities, we started off but after driving a few kms, the car suddenly lost power and started to slow down. I quickly pulled the car to the left and brought it to a halt. The car's engine seemed to be revving fine but very little power was being transferred to the wheels in D or R modes. On engaging D, it just a moved a little bit and after that anymore revs didn't make the car budge an inch. The gear indicator was showing D and some weird characters in between.

Something seemed to be wrong with the engine/transmission and I immediately killed the engine. From the time the issue had surfaced, the general warning light (orange) had come up for some time in between and then gone off. The general warning light is the one with number 5 on this webpage.

According to the manual, it means that the car is to be driven with care to the nearest service centre.

After getting out of the car, we found that there was some oil leaking from the front left very close to where the battery is located. Opened the bonnet and found that there was a dip stick in front of the battery for some kind of oil (most probably power steering oil). The oil seemed to be leaking from around that area. As it was getting dark, it was hard to see where exactly the leak was. It was definitely not near the engine or the engine oil dipstick which are both located towards the centre of the bay.

Fortunately, I was able to arrange for a tow truck from Renault RSA as well as a cab for further travel within half an hour. Since the car was under warranty, the RSA arranged for the car to be taken to the service centre in Haldwani. This was a big relief as all showrooms/shops were otherwise closed due to the prevailing lockdown.

I have still not been able to understand what exactly happened. Since the lockdown is not going to end soon, I would like to know if any fellow BHPians have faced any such problems? Any insights into the possible root causes for the issue are welcome.

Here's what BHPian Indian2003 had to say on the matter:

Are you sure that this is the dipstick for the servo? It seems more logical that it is the dipstick for the automatic transmission which is to the right when looking at the car from the front.

Here's what BHPian aKrain replied to Indian2003:

That is what I assumed as well but the car's manual doesn't show the location of the transmission oil dipstick. It does make sense in case the transmission oil is also located there.

In case it is the transmission oil, how bad is the issue going to be?

Here's what BHPian Tgo had to say on the matter:

The power steering pump and reservoir unit is located below the LHS front headlamp. There is no dipstick for that. PS oil is red in colour for the Duster.

What you might have checked would be the CVT oil dipstick. I cannot be sure though. A look through the manual would explain or show an indication of where to find the transmission dipstick.

The symptoms you described suggest towards a transmission related problem. A CVT transmission relies on hydraulic pressure to shift the pulleys into the required gear ratio configuration. With low/no oil, there will be no fluid to carry the hydraulic pressure thus resulting in a malfunction. Malfunction could be due to air getting trapped in the oil galleries of the transmission leading to erratic hydraulic pressure. The oil which lubricates the gearbox also works as the hydraulic fluid. In case of low oil level, there could be damage to the gearbox components due to lack of lubrication.

It should be a simple case of:

• Identifying the source of the leak
• Residual oil quantity by draining it completely and tallying it against a full fill quantity
• Assessing damage to transmission by checking the remaining oil for metal particles, and if no damage is inferred,
• Filling it up with the correct oil and driving off.

NOTE: In case you find out that they diagnosed low oil, do insist on oil analysis and a gearbox replacement if the internals have been damaged. You don’t want to be haunted by the ghost later.

Leak from oil filling port or dipstick port is not unheard of and that might be what happened in your case.

Here's what BHPian aKrain replied to Tgo:

Thanks a lot for the detailed analysis. This does seem to be the most logical explanation. The oil was definitely not red in colour. So that also rules out the power steering fluid. It was more like greenish gray in colour.

What would be a good way to know whether there was any damage to the gearbox internals?

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

A 7-seater version of the Duster called the Grand Duster is also in the works.

Renault has filed a design patent for the next generation Duster in India.

While we still do not know whether Renault would offer the new model in India, this new development has fuelled speculations of its launch.

The second generation Renault Duster has been on sale in international markets since 2017. But, despite its popularity, it never made it to India. Instead, Renault introduced a refreshed version of the old Duster (M0 platform) in 2019.

Now, it seems, Renault might be finally be ready to bring the next-gen Duster to India. If launched, it could compete with the MG Hector, Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and Tata Harrier. Moreover, a 7-seater version of the Duster called the Grand Duster is also in the works. That could give the brand an entry into the 7-seater SUV segment.

Source: Gaadiwaadi

The SUV is likely to go on sale in Europe at the end of this year. It is unclear if Renault would offer it in India.

The upcoming 7-seat Renault Grand Duster has been spotted undisguised during a promotional video shoot.

The SUV is significantly longer than the regular Duster and has what appears to be slimmer headlights, a silver front skid plate, silver ORVMs, roof rails, and new alloy wheels. The overall shape is similar to that of the Duster.

The Grand Duster (codenamed Project RJI) was spotted testing last month and is expected to be based on the second-gen Duster, which is not offered in India.

The SUV is likely to go on sale in Europe at the end of this year. It is unclear if Renault would offer it in India.

Source: motor.es

I really do not think the oil seal bulged due to the coolant and also thought the timing should not jump just because some amount of oil fell on it.

BHPian prguru recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Prelude: I have a preowned Renault Duster RXZ AMT 2016 model which was bought in June 2020 and at the time of buying, it had clocked 69,000 kms on the odo. All the services were carried out by the A.S.S itself. I got the annual service done at the A.S.S at 74,000 kms and the current ODO reading is 76,390 km.

I recently got the anytime warranty for 1 year for which I paid Rs. 29,165. I could not get the normal anytime warranty (costs about Rs. 19000) since the previous owner had missed two service intervals and got it serviced a little late. Hence, I had to go for Improper Service Anytime Warranty by paying Rs. 10,000 extra.

Recently, while driving, I noticed some engine noise. I took it to the FNG mechanic and had a test drive with him and made him hear the sound but he could not pinpoint the issue and he asked for the car to be left at the service center to take a look. Since I had an active warranty, I denied and took it to the A.S.S on 30th March. They checked and said that due to the engine heat, the crank shaft oil seal bulged causing some engine oil to fall on the timing pulley and thereby changing the engine timing itself.

Since I had warranty, I asked them if that can be repaired under warranty but they denied. The reason given – the previous owner had not agreed for the entire coolant to be flushed and fresh coolant to be added at 60,000 km as per the maintenance schedule and that the engine got heated due to this (car had max level coolant which was topped up) and bulged the crank shaft seal making the oil to fall on the pulley. Since this issue is related to coolant, they denied to repair under warranty.

It gets interesting here: When I spoke to the SA, he said if the coolant had been flushed and fresh coolant added, it would have retained its viscosity and ensured the engine temperature remained under control but since the coolant was topped up, it has lost its viscosity and could not keep the engine temperature under control which caused the crank shaft seal to bulge.

I asked him these questions:

1) If the engine temperature got so high, why did I not get a temperature warning or why was there no error code on the OBD for which his justification was that the temperature did not get so high to set up a warning on the Dashboard but got high enough to bulge the crankshaft oil seal.

2) How did he conclude that the topped up coolant had lost viscosity?, asked him if he had run any tests to prove that but he had no answer to that but said it is based on their experience they know it is due to topped up coolant.

The SA sent me the below images:

A gap can be observed as marked in the third image on the crank shaft which was never communicated to me.

I told them that I will take a look at the car and decide what to do next. Visited the A.S.S on 2nd April and to my surprise, I see that everything was closed and the car was out of the ramp. I asked them why they have closed it up when I clearly told them that I need to take a look but they said they cannot keep it like that. I got suspicious of their behaviour so got the car back.

After that, I dropped an email to the S.A and the service manager to give me in writing or in an email on what diagnosis was carried out and how it was concluded that it had happened due to the coolant not being replaced at 60,000 km, to which, till date, they have not given a reply and have been beating around the bush and asking me to visit the A.S.S.

I dropped an email to a few having top posts at Renault but even after two days, there is no call or even an email from anybody asking what is going on. Have raised two complaints from their website (case numbers) but nobody got back and if I call their toll free number, the customer representative says they are looking into it and somebody will get back.

I really do not think the oil seal bulged due to the coolant and also thought the timing should not jump just because some amount of oil fell on it (engine oil level is at max) and that just to deny warranty, they are linking it to the coolant.

Please comment if this could be a coolant issue or due to any other factors or if anybody has come across this kind of a scenario where timing itself changed.

Here's what BHPian Jeroen had to say on the matter:

Sorry to hear about all of this. It is a bit messy I am afraid. I think you have asked some good questions.

Couple of thoughts/comments. Viscosity is completely irrelevant when it comes to old and new coolant. Maybe something gets lost in translation here?

The main reason for changing out coolant and a flush is to ensure any rust and debris in the coolant system comes out. Also, the coolant will, over time, loose it’s ability to prevent corrosion. So, yes, a coolant system needs to be flushed and re-filled with fresh coolant in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended maintenance practice.

Yours went well over 10,000 km over the recommended interval. I would think it is unlikely for anything as dramatic as overheating to take place, but that will be difficult to prove. That’s unfortunate, but it will be difficult to argue.

The rust and other debris can settle in places within the engine and/or radiator. Which means that in certain spots, the cooling will not be optimal. Your Engine Coolant warning light measures the temperature of the coolant circulating through the engine. But that is sort of an average temperature. If say, one cylinder is partly blocked to scaling, that will simply not affect the temperature of the coolant.

Again, I think it is unlikely to be the case, given it is still a relatively low mileage engine. But you can see why your S.A. is adamant. He does have a point in terms of the coolant - it should have been replaced.

However, I am not so sure there is any correlation between the crank shaft seal failing and the coolant as such. Unless there was a massive cooling problem, this seal won’t fail. There is no cooling around the seal. The seals operate at whatever the engine casing/oil temperatures are. In order for it to fail, the temperature of the engine and oil would have to be sky high and you would have been looking at some very serious engine damage, not just a seal.

Additionally, I don’t understand how the oil leak can cause the timing to be off. It looks like the oil leaked onto the crankshaft sprocket. That is a toothed timing belt. It won’t slip, it can only jump a tooth. And it will only jump a tooth if the belt was not tensioned properly, or was stretching too much due to wear. Not sure when this belt needs changing?

I am not quite sure what this gap on the photo is supposed to be indicating? I am not familiar with this engine. Can the crankshaft sprocket somehow change its orientation (in which case the timing would be off too)?

I don’t understand why they claim the timing is off. Is that gap some indication as to how the sprocket needs to be aligned? Perhaps other members more familiar with this particular engine know?

Here is my take and summary:

• Viscosity in coolant is not a factor.
• Coolant flash and refresh not done, can cause engine cooling problems in due course. Not very likely to have caused any problems yet though.
• There is no solid explanation as to why the seal bulged
• There is no solid explanation as to why the timing would be off

Good luck.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

There are no discounts on the recently launched Kiger crossover.

This month, Renault is offering benefits of up to Rs. 1.05 lakh on the Duster.

The 1.3L turbo-petrol version comes with an exchange benefit of Rs. 30,000 (available on RxS and RxZ variants), loyalty benefits of up to Rs. 15,000 and a cash benefit of Rs. 30,000 (RxS CVT & MT). Besides this, there is a corporate discount of Rs. 30,000.

The 1.5L petrol version comes with total benefits of up to Rs. 75,000, which include exchange benefits of Rs. 30,000 (RxS and RxZ), loyalty benefits of up to Rs. 15,000 and a corporate discount of up to Rs. 30,000.

Renault is also offering benefits of up to Rs. 60,000 on the Kwid and Rs. 65,000 on the Triber.

These offers are valid till April 30, 2021. There are no discounts on the recently launched Kiger crossover.