Red Hot Alto Spice

Well just tanked up. Here are the results
Date Litres ODO Dist Kmpl
27.06.09 34.20 46 46 ==
01.07.09 24.93 390 344 13.80
06.07.09 25.10 760 370 14.74
12.07.09 29.49 1172 412 13.97
20.07.09 23.87 1483 311 13.03
28.07.09 27.28 1877 394 14.44

Average 130.67 1877 1831 14.01

This time I filled at another pump. Let's see if it improves.

So did you got any improvements?

RoadRocket

oh this is good peter, from 13.** to 14.01 is better, let the engine go with more miles run and this would improve majorly after your 3rd free service.which fuel did you tried this time?

Yea. A marginal increase. Let's hope for the best.

14 is a good figure for a new car, your mileage will incresa more after our next service for sure, lets hope for the best

Yesterday I took the car to MASS and complained about the low milege. They started with the usual nonsense on how to check milege. I stopped them and told them that I know exactly how to calculate. Then they started about driving which again I told them that I know. Then they asked at what speed I keep the AC blower? I was shocked. What difference does that make. He said that if the blower is kept high it will affect milege. I said OK I always keep it at 1 or 2. Now talk. Then the car was taken inside for checking. I went in too. They just cleaned the spark plugs and air filter, which were anyway absolutely clean. Just 1000KM after the service. They said nothing more can be done. They decided to do a milege test. They disconnected the fuel pump and connected a portable tank and pump. 1 litre petrol was put in. They used an old coolant bottle to measure. My wife went along with them. She insisted that the test be conducted with the AC on. Now we all know that this test is rigged. This portable pump is calibrated to supply less fuel. There is a power loss. However they goofed up somewhere. The car gave just 10Kmpl. Now these idiots say that there is always an error. 10Kmpl means that the car is actually giving 13Kmpl!!!!. I demanded to see the manager. He agreed to redo the test without the AC. Driving absolutely slow (40Kmph) on an empty road the car gave 18Kmpl. I said ok. Difference is 8 Km. How can your AC eat up so much. Something wrong. Now he says, that the engine is small and the load of the AC increases consumption significantly. I said the compressor size is decided based on the engine size and car size, so don't tell me this. After a lot of argument, they agreed to change the O2 sensor and check again.

Peter, Driving car with A/C on strains more on engine and affects the mileage but the the speed of it doesn't affects it afaik.


VT

Vibhor wrote:Peter, Driving car with A/C on strains more on engine and affects the mileage but the the speed of it doesn't affects it afaik.


VT

Agreed. The fan motor consumes the same amount of power (from the battery) at any speed. It's only the compressor which affects the milege.

what you did was perfect peter, many a times rather mostly they always take owners on a ride with their ridiculous answers to questions regarding FE, atleast make out the currect content and make understand the reality of power, displacement and load variation instead of making fool out of customers who not each and everyone are around.
Yes it does takes load on engine while running along with AC which mostly compressor does this and not the fan motor.
PS. thankgod he didnt told you to switch off your lights and music system and all to gain more mileage.

Vibhor wrote:Peter, Driving car with A/C on strains more on engine and affects the mileage but the the speed of it doesn't affects it afaik.


VT

But still 8 kms difference is way too high.

Well here's a small update. Yesterday the MASS replaced the car's O2 sensor as told to me after the test. I seems that they have encountered this problem before and probably the replacement of the sensor solved the problem. The first tactic they use is to convince you that nothing is wrong with the car. Only if you make a noise and insist on some action, do they do anything. Best way to do that is start shouting at the Manager infront of other customers and accuse them of cheating customers.

Checked the milege again today after the sensor change. I got 9.56Kmpl.

just 9.5kmpl?
is it in the city on ac?

napster wrote:just 9.5kmpl?
is it in the city on ac?

This was 80% highway 20% city (not like Mumbai or Bangalore) with AC. Goa roads are not as crowded as the cities.

Car has been taken back to MASS. I've left it there and taken a service car to use till they return mine. I clearly told them that I'm not interested in their milege tests without AC and slow driving on empty roads. I was to know the milege with AC in normal usage. 13-14 is not an acceptable figure at all to me and I'm getting 9.56. I need at least 16.

80%highway giving 9kmpl??
this is the worst figure alto ever gave, i've not seen an alto giving less than 12kmpl in city and on ac, get high on the MASS and get a replacememnt of the faulty parts causing the problem,

those are the worst figures peter, something wrong with your car.I mean even worst drivers get around 11-12 mileage, do get it rectified with your dealer there.

An ALTO and 9KMPL !!!! Some thing is seriously wrong ! P3T3R , you should be getting at least 16 with A/C on. Since you have checked your car at dealer and so far everything seems to be fine, I suggest you escalate this to MSIL. There is always a 1% (may be less than that) chance of Atomizer error. Even though the chances are remote, it still holds good. Contact MSIL with all the necessary details on mileage test.

That's very less mileage. A serious matter of concern.

Well I'm getting the car back today. Let's see what happens.

this time if the problem isn't rectified, ask them for a replacement, i know they wont replace but atleast they'll sortout the problem completely

Yeh, I too agree with napster. Insist on a replacement claiming that its a manufacturing defect. Check the user manual for average mileage claim by MSIL.

Got the car back this evening. They said the car is ok and as per their tests it gave 13 with AC and 18 without. I asked for it in writing and this is what I got.

Dear Sir,
This is in regards to your complain about your Alto car bearing reg no GA08E8862 saying that you get 13-14 kms per litre with A/C on and blower speed in second postion and 18KMPL without a/c, we would like to inform you that we have checked your vehicle and done a milege test on your vehicle .As per our test we got 13 kmpl with A/C and 18kmpl without A/C as per the road and traffic conditions at the time of testing,This figure cannot be said as standard milege of the vehicle since milege can vary according to many factors and driving habits and a/c usage.
Also we have checked the fuel system and found no leakages or loss of fuel .Also we tested other vehicles of same model and the milege given was within the same range but all vehicles were driven by same driver and in the same road, but traffic conditions may have varied.
Hence we can say that there is no problem with the vehicle and also we would like to educate you that fuel efficiency of any vehicle is never constant since it depends on the various factors and driving conditions which can vary and so as the milage according ly. Hence we cannot give a standard milage for any vehicle.
We would like to assure you that there is no manufacturing fault at present in your vehicle.
For any suggestions and clarification you can contact the undersigned during any workingday.
This letter is given as per your request.
Thanking You,
Yours Faithfully,
Vishal .Gundap
Works Manager
Chowgule Industries Pvt Ltd
Fatorda. Goa.

The above letter is reproduced exactly with all the spelling mistakes and other errors in punctuation as in the original letter. The works manager is aware of my intention to post this and has no objections to the same.

Some points to be noted.
-I never claimed 18Kmpl without AC. I have never used the car without AC. 18Kmpl was acheived during the milege test conducted in my presence.
-No mention is made of the test with AC where the car returned 10Kmpl.
-No mention of my report of 9.56Kmpl after the O2 sensor change.
-The testing which returned 13 & 18Kmpl respectively was not done in my presence.

As soon as I received the letter I went to the sales section and asked what is the claimed milege of the Alto. I was told 18Kmpl. There was a poster saying 18.1Kmpl under standard test conditions. The sales executive was also aware that there is an ARAI requirement to also post real world milege figures (without & without AC) in normal driving conditions. He admitted that they did not have it.

Both the works manager an the sales executive requested me to use the car for at least 5000Km and if the problem persists, they will look and replacing the AC or other faulty parts.

all these executives doesnt take things seriously at times, they just wanat to get through the problem for that day, instead of searcing for silly reasons and convincing the customer to go back home with the faulty car, they can check whats the problem with it and replace the parts or if its a major problem then replace the car itself, that gives the customer peace of mind, and that is what important for the company, even the company gets good name

Now do you all see where Maruti has come to? As far as peace of mind is concerned, yes there are a lot of service stations, but people working are absolute fools and love to shirk away responsibilities. If the product is fine, then they call you for the first two years asking you to get your car serviced, and then, its tata-bye bye from them. When some serious trouble occurs, these people just shy away, instead of attacking head-on. Plus they also try to fleece people by telling them to get all unnecessary things done in their cars. They have also started pricing exorbitant prices for their spares and labour. Its time for people to realise this. Maruti should no longer be at the first position. It simply doesn't deserve it. Full stop.

As for me this is the first and last Maruti I'm buying. I was extremely satisfied with Fiat. However they don't have a small car (like the Uno) in their product line up now.