Inddie basking in glory amidst sun n sands..

Watch this space for Inddie's southern adventure! ~1750 KMS - ||Plains. Plateau. Ghats. Beaches.||

||4 Lane buttery smooth NH 7 - 676 KMS in 9 Hours|| 130 KMPH ||

||2 Lane pot hole ridden NH 45|| 30 KMPH||

ABS saves the day!

Been there - Done that! Coming soon, Inddie's southern adventure -  A travelogue.

Watch this space.

Headlights fixed again!

I was promised during the 40000 KMs service by SA that the left headlamp set would be replaced under warranty as the high beam focusing was not working and was found to be faulty. SA had asked me to come down on a weekday to have it replaced.

So, I go there on 29th Friday afternoon and SA accepts the car. I also asked for an additional work of scratch removal from front bumper on the left side which i had got by rubbing against the wall almost an year ago. The scratch was present at the cusp of bumper and the body panel arching over the front left wheel.

SA said he will try to deliver the car in the evening - if  not- next day.

I got a call on 30th that my car was ready. The left headlight unit had been replaced under warranty at no cost and the left bumper scratch was fixed as well. There is still a small area on the body panel where the paint was rubbed off which is still not taken care - but the bumper was painted neatly. Most importantly, the high beam alignment was tested by me and was done to my satisfaction even before i landed at Concorde to pick up my car. This mechanic by name Murugan knows the electrical stuff well and all the while, right from day one, only he has been knowledgeable enough to fix the headlight issues. Couple others (may be junior folks) who worked on the car in the past, dont even know where the screws are present for a highbeam adjustment!

Got a bill of 1400/- for the paint job. Car was delivered sparkling neat inside out - overall a good job.

- Aravind Kamath Posral

40000 KMs Service Update

Before we get into how the 40K service went, I would like to share the headlight saga once again. Up until 30K service, the headlight focus was good after it was set right on my fifth visit for the same issue. During the 30K service, I told the SA that my left high beam bulb was gone and that it needed to be fixed. They indeed replaced the bulb, BUT, the highbeam was out of focus again. The left high beam was focused at about 10 feet from the car and was absolutely worthless. Somehow, since right high beam was focused properly, I just kept driving and procrastinated on the focus problem. Then about a month back, left low beam bulb fused out. Then I kept driving with the remaining 3 for about two weeks until the right low beam bulb fused too. So virtually I am left with no low beams and with no other option left, I go to Concorde about 2 weeks back...dont remember the exact date. Then I explain the problem and tell them that two low beams bulbs need replacement and left high beam needs to be lifted up and refocused. After 2 hours, I get my Inddie back, with 2 low beams fixed - no complaints there - but instead of lifting the left high beam, the right high beam has been lowered to match the left one. At that point, mine was the only car in the world whose high beams had a shorter throw than the low beam!!! Effectively I was left with 4 low beams and 2 fog lamps! I covered around 1700 KMs after that and a good portion of that was in the night. Night driving speeds were limited to 50KMPH with such idiotic headlamps.

Come 40K service, I am greeted promptly and attended within 10 mins on 5th Nov, when my inddie's 40K service was scheduled. The list of problems from my side first:

1.Lift both the highbeams (refocus them)
2. Clutch releases too close to the floor (to which the Service Supervisor retorted "Saar, if you release clutch the car should move only na"..Hmm... I did not know this after driving for over 17 Years now :P)
3. Left indicator would not stick (stalk problem)
4. Turbo kick not being felt like before

SA recommended:

1. Engine flush
2. Decarbonizing

As part of the mandatory 40K service, all fluids were replaced including coolant.

Result: Bill of 9191 Rs. Issues 2, 3 and 4 taken care and Inddie looks good for another 10K KMs haul. The indicator stalk (switch) was replaced under warranty at no cost.

Issue 1 still persists. I have been promised a replacement of left headlamp unit as left high beam lifting motor is not working as expected. I hope to have this replaced next week. Will keep you posted.

- Aravind Kamath

Headlamp bulb replacement...

One of the standard things that you get with a brand new car is a spare set of two headlight bulbs. Open pretty much any car owner's manual, they say replacing a fused bulb is "Do It Yourself" job. Now let the bulb fuse. Open the hood of the car. Surprise!! Other than A Star, most other  hatchbacks have no space to even poke ones finger anywhere near the headlamps. So if you have a fused bulb you got to drive straight to service center. I think there is a need for a better design that makes a basic thing like replacement of a bulb by the owner possible.

30000 KM Service Update

Just completed 30000 KM service yesterday. Had a few issues that needed to be taken care of:

- A/C blower not blowing the cold air (quantity and quality) the way it used to before
- Clutch starts engaging right from the max depressed position of the clutch pedal
- Steering wheels pulsates upon braking at high speeds probably from 100 KMPH - 60-70 KMPH

- High beam bulb fused

Apart from this regular service.

Some of the service requests I made (outside of the regular service(:

- 3M teflon coating - exterior
- 3M interior cleaning
- A/C flush

Car was delivered as promised. Got a bill of 9380/-. Of which around 4500 was for my service requests and rest was cost of taking care of issues and servicing that includes engine oil (just stayed with normal oil not synthetic) and other consumables and labour. Clutch bleeding was done to fix the clutch release issue and I definitely feel a difference, but my gut feeling is this may not last. I think, this will again resurface in another 2000-2500 KMs. I am also feeling a step kind of a thing when I depress the clutch fully sometimes and sometimes it is buttery smooth. Highbeam alignment is gone after the bulb change. I will have to get it fixed again.

I smell that clutch change is round the corner. What baffles me is my Maruti 800 did not require a clutch change when we sold it at around 60000 KMs. Our Froggie (Astar) is still going good with original clutch with over 50000 KMs on the odometer. Our i10 did 38000 KMs before we sold it but that may not be an apt comparison because  it was automatic. Our blueyy is still at mileage infancy having done 7500 KM in 1.5 Years. My Inddie acting up with clutch at 30000 KMs - Hmm, never know. There is no reduction in traction or accleration I get, the turbo kick can still be felt, but the clutch pedal release seems to be the sore point. Problem is, in hydraulic clutch there is no concept of clutch play adjustment (as per SA) and that is where the issue is.. Will be driving Inddie to sullia this weekend, so the service effectiveness will come to the fore then.

25000 KMs Update

Clocked 25000 KMs about 10 days back. Currently ODO is at 26000. March 31st, started at 4:00 AM from Bangalore to Sullia and reached Sullia by 9:25 AM with a 20 minute breakfast stop at madikeri. Thats like 5 Hours and 25 Mins to sullia with a 20 minute break. Nice. Road is littered with too many speed breakers. Kept cruising at 100 - 110 KMPH. No new rattles or squeaks. Finished work in Sullia by 3:30 PM and started back to blr at 3:45 PM. Reached bangalore by 10:30 PM. covered 650 KMs in one day.

Inddie is just rolling. When I drove the blueyy recently, I drove it like I drive my inddie. Blueyy complained right from the word go. Inddie just wants to go after roads - good and bad alike - but blueyy doesn't like bad roads at all.