Maruti Suzuki Baleno Hatchback: Technical Issues & Solutions

[@shri]

@shri,

I assume you are using the zeta / alpha petrol.

In the city you wont notice discernable pull. Also, you wont find the rear bouncy if you have 5 persons in. Tell us once you have driven the highway

Most of my bouncy feel is in the Zeta & Alpha. Delta will likely have a lesser issue due to the higher sidewall. To be fair, i need to take the car out onto the expressway again to check the improvement. My experience with bouncy rides was when the car had done under 300km and its currently at 1800km

Regarding the stalling, i didnt feel it till about a week into ownership. Also, if you are setting the aircon low i.e. less than 24 deg, you wont feel it as much. I tend to set a higher temperature & want more air flow so may be its particularly affecting me. Once it gets hotter outside, this should go away.

Still need to resolve why my car jerks a bit when releasing clutch in any gear. Somewhat like releasing into 2nd at 25. That is surely a clutch setting issue & i need to get that done properly

With aircon set the way i described (fan one notch higher) all my other problems including a lower pickup seem to be less evident.

Ameyam

@ Ameyam, mine is Zeta. As you said it jerks when you change gears, even it happened to me once but next time when I pressed full clutch and released it smoothly till the end and it stopped. I tried it everytime and its working absolutely fine everytime.

Till now most of the time v had four passengers inside and on highway v were two where i noticed steering issue which I mentioned earlier.



Well I need to take it for long drive next weekend and will see the response.

 

[Suryaputhra]

@Ameyam, I am little busy, I will post details from service manual tomorrow.

-suryaputhra

 

[chairmansaab]

@ Ameyam, mine is Zeta. As you said it jerks when you change gears, even it happened to me once but next time when I pressed full clutch and released it smoothly till the end and it stopped. I tried it everytime and its working absolutely fine everytime.

Till now most of the time v had four passengers inside and on highway v were two where i noticed steering issue which I mentioned earlier.



Well I need to take it for long drive next weekend and will see the response.

Well , I did the same to reduce the jerkiness, Can someone explain why it does that ? I mean why the heck do i need to slowly release the clutch at 20 kmph+ speed?

About stalling, i use accelerator (Rev to 1200-1500RPM!) since this car hates to move at idle RPM. My stalling has been reduced to 0 percent now! I still hate it cause it fails to move even on slight inclines without accelerator ( I.E Into My Home) .

 

[ameyam]

@chairmansaab,

The jerky release comes from clutch either engaging or disengaging without slip. It shouldnt happen. I am planning to get the Maruti guys to look at it again

The stalling may be because of some faulty ecu program. Like me, you may also be setting the aircon as 26 deg or something as its cold outside. With the aircon in auto mode, fan speed drops to minimum & compressor cuts off. So engine may be getting confused as aircon is ON but there is no load. This is causing idle to drop too low. I have myself seen it drop below 500 several times in this condition while releasing clutch. But setting aircon manually at one fan speed higher is solving the problem for me. Since i started driving like that, car has stalled zero times, even on slopes & in ditches. Try it out & tell me

Ameyam

 

[Suryaputhra]

@chairmansaab,

The jerky release comes from clutch either engaging or disengaging without slip. It shouldnt happen. I am planning to get the Maruti guys to look at it again

The stalling may be because of some faulty ecu program. Like me, you may also be setting the aircon as 26 deg or something as its cold outside. With the aircon in auto mode, fan speed drops to minimum & compressor cuts off. So engine may be getting confused as aircon is ON but there is no load. This is causing idle to drop too low. I have myself seen it drop below 500 several times in this condition while releasing clutch. But setting aircon manually at one fan speed higher is solving the problem for me. Since i started driving like that, car has stalled zero times, even on slopes & in ditches. Try it out & tell me

Ameyam

As you observed it might be definitely faulty ecm program. Any error codes? if so we analyse through service manual.

-suryaputhra

 

[ameyam]

Before 1st service it had given me "u2001" code using the obd scanner. Having reported to Maruti then, they informed not to use the scanner as "there are too many sensitive systems". Some days back i did check with the scanner anyway & there were no stored ecu errors

Ameyam

 

[chairmansaab]

@chairmansaab,

The jerky release comes from clutch either engaging or disengaging without slip. It shouldnt happen. I am planning to get the Maruti guys to look at it again

The stalling may be because of some faulty ecu program. Like me, you may also be setting the aircon as 26 deg or something as its cold outside. With the aircon in auto mode, fan speed drops to minimum & compressor cuts off. So engine may be getting confused as aircon is ON but there is no load. This is causing idle to drop too low. I have myself seen it drop below 500 several times in this condition while releasing clutch. But setting aircon manually at one fan speed higher is solving the problem for me. Since i started driving like that, car has stalled zero times, even on slopes & in ditches. Try it out & tell me

Ameyam

i do put it on Auto mode but only on highways, I turn everything off at crawling speeds and open windows :D.
That may change soon as summer approach.

What needs to be done to fix this issue permanently? Is MSIL doing anything at all? I thought all new cars had anti-stall function by now , boy baleno proved me wrong.


Anyway, Is there any settings to turn on Fan without A/C? , my passengers complaint of suffocation. How do i circulate fresh air without using Air compressor ? Help me or i may need to retrofit some stuff in the back! Not in mood of opening windows at 100 KMPH, i feel uncomfortable and distracted.

 

[ameyam]

@chairmansaab,

Your passengers complained of suffication due to insufficient air movement in the cabin. The small vents are to blame. The cabin remains cool but you tend to feel suffocated. Thats how i learnt of the fan speed issue in the first place

To use blowwr without aircon, start the aircon and then push the A/C button (the one with the led light in it). So you still have fan but without compressor. Also, use the mode button to switch the car into outsise air mode to reduce suffocation

Even at crawling speeds, run the fan manually & tell me if the stalling priblem goes away

So far MS is showing no intent to correct the clutch issue though

Ameyam

 

[dr amar]

I m also having trouble with jerky clutch and stalling issues ... Also because of these i m leaving clutch late and press accelerator at same time in heavy traffic . Will it cause clutch damage to my car ? kindly help me how to avoid this ...

 

[ameyam]

Try my solution- run with blower one speed higher than auto & see if it helps

Ameyam

 

[ameyam]

The Maruti guy came to my office today. Actually, I had him picked up. He said the following:


1) Stalling- He said the engine stalls because, as you release the clutch, the engine gets loaded and doesn't have the power to overcome the load requirement. However, he was not sure why it didn't stall with the fan set manually. On the drive down, the car did stall once that way but it was the middle of the afternoon, so I couldn't demonstrate it properly


2) Jerks while releasing clutch- He said its because the engine and the transmission are not at the same speed. He said this car is different from all the other hatches and that we need to get used to a different speed for changing gear


3) Headlight dimming- as with Sr No1


4) Bouncy rear- He said (for a change) that they have given that as a feedback and will update me later


5) Low fog light illumination- He said that was by design


6) Steering issue- He drive on a expressway with us in the car and said there was no major pull. However, he mentioned the feeling of steering to one side or other was due to the car jumping over road seams, joints, expansion joints, bumps etc


Not sure what I make of this. I showed him both the suspension mod (the front inserts I had removed are still in the car) and the ELM adapter, both of which he didn't resist for a change. I explained to him how the rubber inserts were actually working by reducing the period for which the excitation (deflection caused by a bump) was moving the back.


Now, on Sunday, I have planned to go for a long drive with my Mom in the back. This will give me the final answer to whether the steering and bouncy ride. Otherwise, the car seems to be an OK daily driver. Not like a regular hatch but OK


Ameyam

 

[Suryaputhra]

We all talk about suzuki cars safety not good. See Indian made Hyndai i10 scored one rating in crash tests. Below is the source link

Hyundai i10 given 1-star adult safety rating by ASEAN NCAP - Team-BHP

-suryaputhra

 

[dr amar]

I m getting really bad bouncy ride in my alpha model car . How to reduce the bounciness of my car ? i always keep my tyre pressure at 32 psi to get good fuel efficiency.. Is it becauses of tyre pressure or somemthing else ?

 

[Suryaputhra]

I m getting really bad bouncy ride in my alpha model car . How to reduce the bounciness of my car ? i always keep my tyre pressure at 32 psi to get good fuel efficiency.. Is it becauses of tyre pressure or somemthing else ?

Follow manufacturer specified tyre pressure, it is good for car tyres and suspension. The bouncy ride will slowly get settled once you approach 5000km.

-suryputhra

 

[chsrdeepu8]

Source : Team BHP


One more accident of Baleno (A Diesel Zeta as per the images).
But atleast one confidence booster thing is all the persons in the car cameout with minor injuries as per the post.

I am not sure what has happened and how this incident happened and i dont want to start any debacle again regarding the body strength and all.

Just posting this as this might help someone gain some confidence about this car.

another accident of Baleno - Link from Team BHP

Sandeep