Hello friends. It has been a terrific journey so far. I will not bore you with details of servicing. I am summarizing below. But I have changed my earlier opinion about my ability to value add in this forum, so this post.
I had been quite in awe of the knowledge of members like AG and Iron Rock and Chetak etc. and when they contribute, nothing really worthwhile could have been be added by me except that it had been rewarding to read their forum posts and enjoy the fruits. However, recently I met during service, a few fellow Pajero owners, who are also members here, and it doesn’t quite seem that members are doing the basics right.
This post will cover service history, general experience, the most recent service (somewhat eventful again) and the “basics”.
Service #3, 9-Jul-16, 10579km, Oil filter 996, Fuel Filter 1,785, Motul 8100-Xcess 5w40 7,800, Misc and Taxes 1,410 = Total Rs11,991/-
Service #4, 7-Jan-17, 14181km, Oil filter 988, Motul 8100-Xcess 5w40 7,731, Wheel Balancing & Alignment 1,800, Misc and Taxes 3,870 = Total Rs14,389/-
Service #5, 21-Jul-17, 20782km, Oil filter 1,016, Fuel Filter 1,820, Motul 8100-Xcess 5w40 7,170, Engine Flush 680, Service Labour 2,875, Misc and Taxes 4,866 = Total Rs18,427/-
Brake Pads change, 8-Nov-17, 21370km, Service Labour 6,920, brake Pad Set 4,727, Brake Fluid 300, Misc and Taxes 2,653 = Total Rs14,600/-
Service #6, 3-Mar-18, 24952km, Oil filter 1,016, Fuel Filter 1,821, Motul 8100-Xcess 5w40 6,858, Air Filter 2,195, Rear Link Bushes (4 nos) 1,536, Service Labour 3,196, Misc and Taxes 3,648 = Total Rs20,270/-
The general experience has been delightful. Whether it is long drives – I drive to Kanha, Dandeli, Udaipur, all from Bombay, at times with more family members (total 7 people), and the Pajero Sport behaves nonchalantly, taking the extra load without fuss. There have been no malfunctions of anything at any time. Till now the returns are 100% everywhere. The ride quality is incredibly smooth, and I frequently let my wife drive and sit in the 3rd row all by myself, and with kids in the middle, and enjoy the serenity. Whatever good things Pajero owners have written – they are all true.
It is tough to keep away scratches – I park in my own garage, at work and at home, have never hit anyone, yet I have a minor driver side dent on the door at 5 feet height – how on earth could it have happened?
The most recent service happened after 8 months gap instead of six months gap. I saw that Shakti Motors had closed down, and in its place Autotech Mitsubishi, owned by Sinha Cars pvt ltd. has taken dealership with a service center located at the same place. It does all brands, so traffic is good enough to support costs, I hope.
I discovered that 1) air filter is extremely unclean, so while it is cleanable and should be changed at 40000km, I opted to have it changed right away – one can still only clean and live with that, but mine was terrible and such an important part costs only Rs2100, and to me was a no brainer 2) the rear linkage bushes were worn out on both sides, so I had them replaced, and 3) the engine oil had lost all its viscosity and drained out like water instead of oil, so I was actually two months too late, and in future will never let anything get in the way of a prompt service. In fact I wonder how Fortuner owners can afford to do a service once a year – it has to be done six monthly in my opinion regardless of what the manual says.
After this the vehicle, which was already behaving like a glider, is hard to keep grounded – it seems to be now floating as well. Acceleration is sharply improved as well.
Other dos and don’ts – I met some other Pajero owners during the service, and one in particular had done up his vehicle so elaborately that I shrunk in shame at the sight of it – after all I had done no mods at all. We struck up a conversation and he started off by asking me about mileage. My answer of 9.5 in city, and 11 on highway, and 12 if driven conservatively at modest sub-80 speeds stunned him. He climbed into my car and verified it for himself. He was getting only 7.5 on his vehicle. Both over 3 years and 25000KM and both AT.
I explained that I use the best engine oil – Motul 8100 X Cess 5W40, and that I had changed the tyres on day 1 of ownership to Michelin Lattitude Cross, and got a 50% jump in performance with these two changes, and filling nitrogen at 32PSI all round. That I get no wear, don’t bother swapping or rotating tyres, don’t keep getting balancing and alignment done unless I experience some problem, and generally don’t tamper with the car. That I had put an AC air filter as well.
He initially reacted skeptically, but after he took a look at my tyres (still new and good for as much more), and his tyres (totally worn out at 25000km, despite having done alignment periodically), he noted down the details and decided to change.
So guys and gals – be conservative in periodicity of parts changes relative to manual, use the best oil, use the best tyres immediately, change filters, don’t get anything done which need not be done, drive with minimal braking (don’t speed up to a red light). Your car should give you brilliant service. If you are about to buy, don’t react with “don’t give me that crap / I think I will try the stock tyres out / I haven’t thought about it” etc. Just drive desperately from the showroom to your tyre guy, and swap for best in class tyres immediately on day 1.