Another Update. ECM replaced and injectors cleaned, no change in milege. Spoke to the sales guy and he asked me to shoot a mail to the CiL top brass. Here it is.
To: Chowgule Industries Ltd., Panaji
Cc: Maruti Suzuki / Kind Attn: Mr. Chetan Bokare
Good Day Sir / Madam,
I purchased an Alto LXi from your Margao showroom on 25.06.2009. The details of the car are as follows:
Model: Alto LXi
Registered Owner: ***************
Registration Number: GA-08-E-****
Engine Number: F8DN*******
Chassis Number: MA3EYD81S***********
This car has consistantly been giving me a very low milege. The milege has been 13-14 Kmpl. The car usage is primarily 40% in the city and 60% on the highway. This was even after the 1st servicing. The same was reported to the service department of your Margao branch on 05.08.2009. The car was checked thoroughly and a milege test was done. The car gave 18Kmpl without AC and 10Kmpl with AC on 08.08.2009. However the same was mentioned as 13Kmpl in the written report by the works manager Mr. Vishal Gundap. The Oxygen sensor was also changed which did not rectify the problem. The Works Manager also insisted that there was no problem with the vehicle. I reported this matter to the sales personnel who had claimed a milege of 18+. I am well aware of the fact that milege varies with the driver and also driving conditions. However any variation beyond 2Km is obviously abnormal. Also a large difference between AC and Non-AC milege is abnormal. The sales personell also agreed that compared to other customers, the milege of my car was low. I have also interacted with other owners of the Alto and all were getting much better milege. The sales personell advised me to use the car some more and that the milege would improve considerably after 5000Kms.
The second service was carried out at your Vasco-Da-Gama workshop as the car was being used in Vasco-Da-Gama at that time. Presently the car has completed more than 7500 Kms but there is still no improvement in the milege. On 24.02.2010 the car was taken to the Margao workshop and the problem was reported. The vehicle was checked and the throttle body was replaced. However there was no improvement. As per their test (which I did not witness), the car gave 14 Kmpl with AC and 23 Kmpl without AC. This difference of 9 Kmpl was normal according to your works manager Mr. Vishal Gundap. Since I was not satisfied with explanation of the service staff, I requested to speak to someone higher up in Chowgule Industries Ltd. He declined the same and asked me to convey my greviences to Mr. Chetan Bokare of Maruti Suzuki, which I did in his presence. He also echoed the same opinion as that of the service staff. However after a lengthy dicussion he advise me that he would instruct the service staff to re-check the car. The car was left at the workshop and I was advised that the ECM would be replaced. Today (05.03.2010) I received a call from the service advisor, that the car was checked and the milege was still 14Kmpl. When asked whether the ECM was replaced, he was unaware of it. He later called back to inform me that the ECM was replaced and the car is presently running a new ECM. Since there was no change in the milege, I asked him to inform the works manager. I received a call from the works manager and he advised me to use the car and check the milege. During the time the car was at the workshop, I was provided a loaner car (Alto LX). I have been using this car for a while now and it has been giving me a milege of 16Kmpl with AC (calculated using the full tank to full tank method). This despite the fact that the car is not in the best of condition having been used by a number of customers. Hence I refuse to accept that my car which has been well maintained and driven carefully is OK and that the milege of 14 Kmpl is normal. For your information my other car (non Maruti) with a 100 BHP engine gives me 13Kmpl with AC. This should give you an idea of my driving style. I am also well aware that milege depends on various factors like driving style, road conditions, traffic conditions etc. and it is impossible to get an accurate figure. But the variation between AC and Non AC as well as the variation between actual and claimed milege is too much in the case of my car.
Kindly look into the matter and rectify the problem in car as soon as possible.
Best Regards,
Capt. Peter Savio Lourenço