Need advice: Vibrations & judders on my 93,000 km done Maruti S-Cross

I got the tyres changed to Bridgestone Turanza yesterday. The ride quality is better than before but I still feel the judderiness and vibrations.

BHPian car-dent recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello, I am facing a peculiar problem with my S-cross 1.3 Diesel Facelift bought in 2018. It has done about 93k as of now.

Since last couple of months, i am feeling the car to be very juddery and having a rough ride. There is no sound in any component as such or any other problem in driving. No issues in steering control or anything else. I showed it to to the service centre last week during my service at 92.5k kms. They suggested me to change tyres as supposedly they were having eneven wear. (the tyres were CEAT securaDrive changed 2 years ago at 48k kms on ODO, So run about 44k kms.) They checked the suspension and steering, wheel bearing etc to be fine.

I then showed it to a tyre shop and he suggested the same thing.

So, I got the tyres changed to Bridgestone Turanza yesterday. The ride quality is better than before but I still feel the judderiness and vibrations.

The judderiness is so much even on freshly resurfaced Greater Noida expressway that it is always on my mind and i cant get my mind off it.

What else can cause this judderiness and rough ride quality that i should get checked?

Here’s what BHPian SmartCat had to say on the matter:

Definitely looks like a wheel alignment issue. Do this:

• Drive on rough road at low speeds (say 20 kmph) and take your hands off the steering wheel. Does the steering/car violently move left & right?
• Take a full/sharp turn at slow speeds and let go off the steering wheel. Does it self-center?

If the answer is YES to the first question and NO to the second, you have a wheel alignment problem. Go to some other reputed wheel alignment shop with experienced technicians.

Here’s what BHPian MT_Hyderabad had to say on the matter:

1. I suspect that it is due to engine mounts, but before you get them changed, let me tell you how to rule out other things:
2. Put system D as per recommended dose and drive for 20 odd kms. Now check if vibrations reduced, if they didn’t proceed to step 2.
3. Lift the front bonet. Ask someone to observe the engine. Start the car. If there is a lot of movement in the engine, mounts are definitely the culprit. Throttle hard and let go, keep observing the engine. See the gear lever and steering. No significant movement/vibrations in the engine or other parts, move to step 3.
4. Roll down the windows, put the blower and ac off. Move slowly, brake just before a speed breaker or a bump and observe for any sounds from the front suspensions when the car jumps up and down the speed breaker.
5. Put your memory into action and try to identify when this roughness started. If it grew very gradually, replace the engine mounts and suspension bushes. If it started recently, get the injectors cleaned.
6. I am assuming that fuel filter, oil and oil filter and air filter are in good condition.

Short story: I have a Tata Safari Dicor. Same roughness observed. Changed everything including the tires. Roughness reduced but did not go away. Some vibrations observed even during idling.

TASS asked to replace suspensions and other components, estimate provided for 40 k.

I just replaced engine mounts from TASS in ~5k. All vibrations gone from more than an year(since Sept 21)

Please note: There are many other things that can cause these vibrations, but for a less than 1L km driven car, I will target the ones mentioned above.

Please also note: TeamBHP Tata Safari Issues thread helped me save the money, even when I was not a member. One of the reasons why I invest my time here, writing long posts and trying to help others and learning more in the process.

Here’s what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say on the matter:

The car is over 90000km old. By all means, the dampers would be shot. It is very rare that shockers of mass market cars last this long on typical Indian roads.

The fact that the tires are new leaves only the shockers as the main possible point of concern.

Here’s what BHPian ashivas89 had to say on the matter:

This seems like a very clear case of shot dampers (shockers). It is not necessary for the damper oil to be leaking out overtly for the dampers to be diagnosed as kaput.

The shims inside the damper used for adjusting the orifice and thereby the damping characteristics could and would have degraded due to the number of miles you’ve put the car through.

Get new dampers, and have them look at the top mount bushes also while they are at it.

My wife’s 11 year old Fabia also has the same problem. Jiggly, unsettled ride even on smooth roads. Lower arm bushings + dampers + top mount all need changing.

I am curious though, on what basis did the ASC give a clean bill of health to the suspension? Did they do a proper objective diagnosis or was it just by performing a visual inspection?

Keyword: Need advice: Vibrations & judders on my 93,000 km done Maruti S-Cross