Honda Amaze VX i-DTEC Ownership Review

[darkkid85]

My cousin's Brio got butter smooth gearbox.

really,, how?

did they change the transmission oil or did they carry out any service licke clutch bleeding on it?

let me no~~~ ramu

 

[deville_56]

really,, how?

did they change the transmission oil or did they carry out any service licke clutch bleeding on it?

let me no~~~ ramu

It was like that only from the very beginning.

Unchristened Angel

 

[livecars]

i have driven 23k (in 15 months of brio) and i still have issues in gear hardness. I dunno what the heck kind of gearboxes H! are manufucaturing.

If u compare to the butter smooth gear box of maruti and hyundai, honda gearbox are very bad :(

yes, brio and amaze seem to be cheaply built cars. Gearbox is absolutely horrible in both brio and amaze. Maruti gearbox is miles ahead of Honda gearbox even in Alto.

Yes, most of the owners are facing rattling issue and hard gear shifting but most of the things can be sorted out. We even have damp mats for NVH issue. Somehow amaze doesn't feel like Honda in terms of refinement. Why Honda

Noticed the same. Big mistake going for Amaze just by brand value of Honda, or for Etios just by brand value of Toyota.

 

[darkkid85]

yes, brio and amaze seem to be cheaply built cars. Gearbox is absolutely horrible in both brio and amaze. Maruti gearbox is miles ahead of Honda gearbox even in Alto.

Noticed the same. Big mistake going for Amaze just by brand value of Honda, or for Etios just by brand value of Toyota.

even the gearbox is bad for honda/brio, its not a big mistake to buy them.

Maruti has lots of issue with service, service costs are no longer cheap and they insist of semi-synth or synth oil which is 2 costly.

I test drove the swift vdi and have not driven a more horrible car, even tho turbo kicks in at 2.1 k rpms

Ramu

 

[deville_56]

I just don't agree with that. I have driven both Amaze and Brio, I never faced any issues with gearbox in either of them. Some might get lemon pieces, nothing else. It's absolute perfect and slots in precisely and without any effort. Comparing with Alto is utter crap. Get your cars checked, it might be car spec fault.

 

[livecars]

I just don't agree with that. I have driven both Amaze and Brio, I never faced any issues with gearbox in either of them. Some might get lemon pieces, nothing else. It's absolute perfect and slots in precisely and without any effort. Comparing with Alto is utter crap. Get your cars checked, it might be car spec fault.

Got it checked 3 times at service center in less than 1 month and have following up with Honda India customer care since three weeks. Extremely pissed with their lack of interest in resolving issue. (See my thread on Dealership reviews forum)

Sundaram Honda service center in Hyderabad is returning back the car without fixing issue each time, saying come back after 1 week!!

Kya karoon??

 

[deville_56]

Got it checked 3 times at service center in less than 1 month and have following up with Honda India customer care since three weeks. Extremely pissed with their lack of interest in resolving issue. (See my thread on Dealership reviews forum)

Sundaram Honda service center in Hyderabad is returning back the car without fixing issue each time, saying come back after 1 week!!

Kya karoon??

Go back and give a fight. They might be angry at you for complaining with Honda. Meet the works manager, if not yet. or get if checked at any other Honda dealer.

 

[js2892]

For all people having gear problems a *polite note*

Coming from a petrol car, even i had problems with slotting the gear as in a petrol car we are accustomed to shift more frequently.

Amaze's 3rd gear is pretty long. I'm sure most of you are having problems while slotting 2nd gear. Did you notice your speed while doing so? If you are at 30, the car will simply refuse to downshift, somewhere b/w 20-25 it'll be hard. But here's the point you can easily pick up the from 20 even in 3rd gear. I drive daily in Delhi and due to lot of traffic the speed is quite variable. From last month I've not been downshifting at 20 and car easily picks up. There hasn't been a single time when gear refused to slot. I recommend you to do the same and see the difference. Even after this gear slotting is hard, go to service center.
Same can be implied if gear is not slotting to 1st. 2nd gear can do pretty good job so don't downshift. Go to 1st gear only if you are standstill.
The gearbox may have been designed keeping FE in mind so that car remains in higher gear and low revvs.

I have also faced rattling issues but go that fixed at SS. That was 3 months ago and now rarely any rattling happens.
About NVH, I assume that's one thing which may remain of concern. After driving Honda City whose NVH levels are also not that improved, the only solution seems to drive with high music volume

 

[livecars]

Go back and give a fight. They might be angry at you for complaining with Honda. Meet the works manager, if not yet. or get if checked at any other Honda dealer.

Met the works manager last time and was assured that a Honda technician will be looking into the issue in ten days (already crossed). They said the Honda person will come in late Jan 2014 or 1st week of February 2014. Now they are singing a different tune . They are telling that the Honda technician may come in Feb end or may be month after, but they are not sure.

The problem with Sundaram Honda is they are giving car back on same day without repairing issues or even cleaning car. Each time, they say come back next week, and are more interested in closing the Job sheet!!

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ence-sundaram-honda-hyderabad.html#post360593

There is another dealer at Hyderabad - Pride Honda. Are they any good in resolving Amaze issues?

For all people having gear problems a *polite note*

Coming from a petrol car, even i had problems with slotting the gear as in a petrol car we are accustomed to shift more frequently.

Amaze's 3rd gear is pretty long. I'm sure most of you are having problems while slotting 2nd gear. Did you notice your speed while doing so? If you are at 30, the car will simply refuse to downshift, somewhere b/w 20-25 it'll be hard. But here's the point you can easily pick up the from 20 even in 3rd gear. I drive daily in Delhi and due to lot of traffic the speed is quite variable. From last month I've not been downshifting at 20 and car easily picks up. There hasn't been a single time when gear refused to slot. I recommend you to do the same and see the difference. Even after this gear slotting is hard, go to service center.
Same can be implied if gear is not slotting to 1st. 2nd gear can do pretty good job so don't downshift. Go to 1st gear only if you are standstill.
The gearbox may have been designed keeping FE in mind so that car remains in higher gear and low revvs.

I have also faced rattling issues but go that fixed at SS. That was 3 months ago and now rarely any rattling happens.
About NVH, I assume that's one thing which may remain of concern. After driving Honda City whose NVH levels are also not that improved, the only solution seems to drive with high music volume

I'm driving Petrol Amaze, and the gearbox sucks!

Even from standstill, slotting to 1st is extremely tough. I try to drive at correct rpms, so that the engine is not overstressed and fuel economy is maintained.

Unfortunately, the gearbox is so bad, that I downshift to 1st from 2nd at near standstill, the gear refuses to slot. It is like two pieces of metal hitting very hard against each other and refusing to move. Like some iron slab has been placed that prevents movement of gear to 1st. So I'm forced to drive Manual transmission version like Automatic version at whatever gear it is present in, and avoid changing gears as much as possible

 

[ankushv]

If honda cannot make the amaze trouble free like the swift dzire the amaze project will soon blow up in their face . A pillar rattles , hard gearshift , no auto lock and unlock doors . I drive a vxmt diesel . I also own a swift dzire vdi .

 

[vishnu vichu]

Just touching 1000 kms. Not sure if this will fix the problem, since I find the gear doesn't downshift to 1st even when i'm at less than 10 km/hr speed and requires atleast 3 tries before it slots into 1st gear.

Honda India seems as bad as ASS. See my email conversation with Honda India.
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ence-sundaram-honda-hyderabad.html#post361830

I have done almost 15k km's and there is no problem with me with the gears. I think it would free up after munching few more thousand km's.!

If possible could you upload some multiple snap shots of the connections ..

Lemme see into it . Are you trying to do it as a DIY ?

any one upgraded tyre dimensions ? currently amaze comes with 175/65 R14 , i feel these are tiny for a sedan .

i feel 185/60 R15 would be right size ?

195/55 R15

It may look tiny, actually upgrade is not required all the variants has ABS with EBD that does a very good job with the existing one . If you may upgrade if you need a wide look and also the mileage will drop .

For diesel one's the mileage won't be have a high drop as those engine's are more torquey.

Any one has installed projector headlights for Amaze, have been searching in Chennai unable to get any

No, No one here has done yet. Are you going for it ?

Sorry to differ, but not all variants have ABS. Petrol variants except top end VX and (I think) newly launched SV dont have ABS. Please tell if you are looking at Diesel or Petrol? And which variant?

I agree that the default tyres look too small. I would suggest that you upgrade ONLY the width of tyre and not rim size. So 185/65 R14 is the right upgrade.
Also what is your driving - good roads or bad roads? Also go for a soft rubber tyres if you are primarily on good roads and somewhat hard tyres if you are on bad roads.

A correct upgrade is highly recommended for Amaze! :D

15" alloys won't be having any problem in indian roads. Almost all OEM alloy sizes are 15" .

My good, do u desl or steroids 4 ur car?

i wish i got 34 on my honda brio , max i got is 20.5

Haha, For sure Diesel

U can get it for 2000 rs on ebay + plus extra charger 4 the fitter

CAR DASHBOARD WOODEN KIT / TRIM FOR HONDA AMAZE V MT / S MT AUTOGRAPHIX | eBay

Ramu

The pictures are not clear yet and so what i doubt .

185/65 R14 should be right upgrade . my car is SMT(D) so ABS/EBD is standard .

but since all tyres will be upgraded i dont think abs will be affected .

ABS won't be affected .

I munch very less miles, Approx 120-150 per week.
I have poured in 10ml for now, and refuelled once.

Will update my views after at least a couple of more refuels.

Eagerly waiting for your inputs.

i drive mostly in Bangalore city so some roads are good ,some are worse .

currently stock tires are good year (don't know what version ) , i feel they are good but road noise is bit huge . car wobbles a lot if road is uneven .
rattles from dash board is bothering me a lot , my car is almost 3 months old ,

Problems facing .

1) noise levels gradually increasing
2) gear slotting is bit hard , my old swift is smooth with buttery shifts.
3) rattle sound from both sides of dash board (LHS and RHS)
4) my some one shakes his leg in car ,whole car shakes .
5) i have carnelian pearl red color and it get dusted within 5mins of wash .
6) clutch pedal gives screeching noise sometimes and when i show this to my friends noise vanishes .
7) when i apply brake i hear a noise which i usually hear from bus braking.
8) so many problems within 2.9k KMS

feels only i m facing these problems or others too who own a Diesel Amaze ?

only thing i liked is power of Amaze .

The rattlings should be from the A pillars.
The clutch sound is from the clutch tension spring.Show it to svc and tell then to get it lubed. Done it twice and now it's no more.
DO some noise damping .

Guys,

Bit of experience from my side -

Pros (apart from the very known ones) -

1. Good FE. I drive around 60+ KMs on weekdays and 20-30 KMs in weekends. I have been getting more than 20 KMPL continuously. In the morning hours, while going to office, I drive ~40-60KMPH with few traffic stops and sometimes to my surprise the display says 30 KMPL. Not sure how much accurate it is.

2. Power
3. Ease of driving and steering
4. I can connect my iPod. I have created playlists and I can easily browse and select playlists, albums, artists etc. It's very much compatible with iPod. I could easily connect my USB drives(less than 8GB, Transcend) without any hassle.
5. Seat height adjustment - I did not find this in a lot of cars and happy to have it in Amaze

Cons -

1. Rattling sound - Gosh!! sometimes this irritates..especially at 1500-1800 RPM (3rd Gear). I am going to fix this at any cost in my next servicing.
2. Auto lock
3. There is hardly any space behind the back seat. I am not able to keep even my tissue box.
4. Average standard music system (especially the look and feel).
5. Gear slotting - Gradually I am used it and now I am quite comfortable. One key point is it doesnt allow to downshift so easily unless the speed is relevant for that gear.


I am sure I'll be able to share more/different experience after few more thousand KMs. But overall I am happy to own this car.

/neo

Nice shoot out's !

 

[vishnu vichu]

Yes, most of the owners are facing rattling issue and hard gear shifting but most of the things can be sorted out. We even have damp mats for NVH issue. Somehow amaze doesn't feel like Honda in terms of refinement. Why Honda

I Primarily had problem's with the gear shift and it's butter smooth now.

yes, brio and amaze seem to be cheaply built cars. Gearbox is absolutely horrible in both brio and amaze. Maruti gearbox is miles ahead of Honda gearbox even in Alto.



Noticed the same. Big mistake going for Amaze just by brand value of Honda, or for Etios just by brand value of Toyota.

That was an Horrible comparo !!

For all people having gear problems a *polite note*

Coming from a petrol car, even i had problems with slotting the gear as in a petrol car we are accustomed to shift more frequently.

Amaze's 3rd gear is pretty long. I'm sure most of you are having problems while slotting 2nd gear. Did you notice your speed while doing so? If you are at 30, the car will simply refuse to downshift, somewhere b/w 20-25 it'll be hard. But here's the point you can easily pick up the from 20 even in 3rd gear. I drive daily in Delhi and due to lot of traffic the speed is quite variable. From last month I've not been downshifting at 20 and car easily picks up. There hasn't been a single time when gear refused to slot. I recommend you to do the same and see the difference. Even after this gear slotting is hard, go to service center.
Same can be implied if gear is not slotting to 1st. 2nd gear can do pretty good job so don't downshift. Go to 1st gear only if you are standstill.
The gearbox may have been designed keeping FE in mind so that car remains in higher gear and low revvs.

I have also faced rattling issues but go that fixed at SS. That was 3 months ago and now rarely any rattling happens.
About NVH, I assume that's one thing which may remain of concern. After driving Honda City whose NVH levels are also not that improved, the only solution seems to drive with high music volume

Well said !!

Met the works manager last time and was assured that a Honda technician will be looking into the issue in ten days (already crossed). They said the Honda person will come in late Jan 2014 or 1st week of February 2014. Now they are singing a different tune . They are telling that the Honda technician may come in Feb end or may be month after, but they are not sure.

The problem with Sundaram Honda is they are giving car back on same day without repairing issues or even cleaning car. Each time, they say come back next week, and are more interested in closing the Job sheet!!

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ence-sundaram-honda-hyderabad.html#post360593

There is another dealer at Hyderabad - Pride Honda. Are they any good in resolving Amaze issues?

Why don;t you try some other Dealer's ?

I'm driving Petrol Amaze, and the gearbox sucks!

Even from standstill, slotting to 1st is extremely tough. I try to drive at correct rpms, so that the engine is not overstressed and fuel economy is maintained.

Unfortunately, the gearbox is so bad, that I downshift to 1st from 2nd at near standstill, the gear refuses to slot. It is like two pieces of metal hitting very hard against each other and refusing to move. Like some iron slab has been placed that prevents movement of gear to 1st. So I'm forced to drive Manual transmission version like Automatic version at whatever gear it is present in, and avoid changing gears as much as possible

Why don't you show the same with a SVC mechanic sitting nearby you so that he can spot out easily the problem.

If honda cannot make the amaze trouble free like the swift dzire the amaze project will soon blow up in their face . A pillar rattles , hard gearshift , no auto lock and unlock doors . I drive a vxmt diesel . I also own a swift dzire vdi .

Hard gearshifts are vanished from mine. I never have that old problem now

 

[livecars]

i drive mostly in Bangalore city so some roads are good ,some are worse .

currently stock tires are good year (don't know what version ) , i feel they are good but road noise is bit huge . car wobbles a lot if road is uneven .
rattles from dash board is bothering me a lot , my car is almost 3 months old ,

if you mainly drive in city and most of your roads are tarred or cement type, and not neglected stretches of road which have rocks jutting out, you can go for soft rubber tyre. Else, hard rubber. Comfort and ride cushioning is better in former. Latter has more life (around 10k kms more) and more rugged.

Problems facing .

1) noise levels gradually increasing
2) gear slotting is bit hard , my old swift is smooth with buttery shifts.
3) rattle sound from both sides of dash board (LHS and RHS)
4) my some one shakes his leg in car ,whole car shakes .
5) i have carnelian pearl red color and it get dusted within 5mins of wash .
6) clutch pedal gives screeching noise sometimes and when i show this to my friends noise vanishes .
7) when i apply brake i hear a noise which i usually hear from bus braking.
8) so many problems within 2.9k KMS

feels only i m facing these problems or others too who own a Diesel Amaze ?

only thing i liked is power of Amaze .

I'm facing all problems from 1 to 5, and i have done little over 1k kms in my S-Petrol model.
1-> Engine seems to be losing refinement. I thought Amaze Petrol would retain low noise levels, but it is becoming noisier :(
2-> V. Bad even in my case. Never thought it would be so bad, else i would gone for a different car instead of Amaze.
3-> Happened for me too. I informed to service center and they added foam cushioning to both pillars. Now occasional vibrations in front and glass has reappeared after 2 weeks.
4-> :)
5-> i have blue and i understand the pain. Try going for a good quality liquid cleaner like Formula 1, Sonax. If you clean it in morning with the cleaner, it will attract less dust and stay relatively fresh till evening.

6,7-> clutch and brake issues to be fixed by mechanics. Please speak to service manager if you want these issues to be properly fixed, when you are giving them to servicing at Honda ASS.

That was an Horrible comparo !!

Based on my experience with gearboxes of Alto k10, Swift, Brio, Amaze, --> the Maruti gearboxes are super.

May be if you drive my Amaze with its current gearbox, you'll nod your agreement to my statement. I'm not the first one to experience the bad gearbox issue in Honda Amaze.

Lot of people including me, have gone for Amaze mainly with trust based on previous Honda products like Honda City, Civic. I also heard that many families booked Etios without even a test drive, because they were sooooo happy with Qualis, Innova. So I'll stand by my stated opinion. :)

Why don;t you try some other Dealer's ?

May have to try other dealer next time, but am not sure about quality of service. Hyderabadis, any suggestions?

Why don't you show the same with a SVC mechanic sitting nearby you so that he can spot out easily the problem.

Sorry, what's SVC?

Honda ASS technicians are either lazy or badly trained or both, going by the way they are doing servicing.

 

[livecars]

If honda cannot make the amaze trouble free like the swift dzire the amaze project will soon blow up in their face . A pillar rattles , hard gearshift , no auto lock and unlock doors . I drive a vxmt diesel . I also own a swift dzire vdi .

Agree, but Honda may not be so worried if Amaze loses popularity, since they have several launches scheduled in 1-2 years beginning with Honda city 4th generation. I feel that Amaze was just a test mule to see if 1.5 litre diesel engine works well in India. Now have they planted the same capacity diesel engine in Honda city (which has been successfully tested in all Diesel Amaze's on road :P ).

how old is your car?

honda ass seem to have received directive from Honda to fix A pillar rattles, as soon as customers report them. so get this fixed soon.

gear shift is a different matter altogether, with Honda ASS staff not even acknowledging issue properly. did you inform this matter to Honda ASS during your visits to service center?

 

[ankushv]

My car was purchased on 25 july 2013 . I have complained of the a pillar rattle on all three services . My last service was day before yesterday and I complained about the rattle still no effect . They lost my usb pen drive too when I gave my car for service . Never happened with maruti to me .