Reduced pickup in swift diesel

I took my family of 5 to our native place last weekend in my swift VDI. On the way we took mumbai pune expressway. For the first time i was able to drive the car at 120kph. I have driven the car at 100kph many times before on a highway to work. After first 20mins of drive we stopped for snacks. After half hour we restarted on our journy. However as soon as we joined highway the car refused to accelerate in 5th gear when up shifting at 50kph as i normally do. It remained at 50kph even after flooring the accelerator. Same happened with first gear & the car stalled many times in a traffic jam. For the rest of the 1000km journy (to & back) I had to rev up to about 2500rpm to get enough power so that the car would accelerate in higher gear. Once the rpm reached above  tourbo range the car would accelerate normally. The problem is not noticeable when i am driving alone but it still takes more time to accelerate in 5th gear.

I have given the car for servicing & repair today as it has run 5000km now.

Can any of you guys guess what the problem could be? ECU, Engine or fuel?

I received the car back from servicing & repair today. The service guy had told me that all problems were fixed & pickup was less due to some tuning problem & was corrected. But on my way back home, i found that the pickup problem is still there.

I will take this up tomorrow with the service center.

Can anyone pls tell me if this is indication of engine damage & will driving further in this condition cause more damage?

I don't think there could be any engine damage. 

I guess air & diesel filters have been checked/cleaned, and FIP (Fuel Injection Pump) timing checked.  As the problem still persists, to me it sounds that there could be some problem/malfunctioning of sensor (ECU).

Other reason that normally is attributed to loss of pick-up is clutch/slippage.

Get it thoroughly checked/rectified.

Dear Mr Pankaj,

Thanks for the reply.

I am sure that the service fellow did not check any of the things you have mentioned.

I took the car for checkup again today. They took test drive. The advisor said that there is no problem & diesel model have same pickup. This even after explaining that first 4000km, there was no problem with 5people sitting, The car would accelerate even on upward slope.

He asked me to shift gears at higher speed/rpm so that there would be no lag. He also said that this is common across diesel.

I am shifting gears at following speeds 2nd ~ 20, 3 ~ 30, 4 - 40, 5 - 50. I can change gears at higher speed, but my feeling is that it is wrong.

Should I approach another workshop or register complaint on Maruti helpline. Please advice.

That explanation is absurd.  You have experienced good pick-up/acceleration earlier.  I haven't experienced so in Swift Diesels driven by me (number of times) nor in my Indica Turbo, which delivers lesser power & torque.  I too by & large use the same speed-gear ratio... change to 2nd at 10-15, 3rd at 20-25, 4th at 35-40 & 5th at 50-55.  At full load or on highway, I accelerate a little more in 3rd & 4th.

Yes, I think you need to consult another dealer (Mumbai has many), and also register a compliant.

Milind, I also have similar problem with my Swift Dzire. But my problem is only with first gear and that too occassionaly.

I also took my car to service station last week. But during our test drive with manager, there was no problem. Even then he got the car scanned, but no problem was detected.

I also did not face any power lag for the next 40 km drive. But after that it happened again. I am not sure what to do.

Feroz, missed that thread of yours.  As we all agree, it should not happen - in any gear.

The possible reasons for poor pick-up/acceleration - to the extent I understand - are generally clogging of Air & Fuel filters, Clutch slippage, Brake grabbing, clogging of silencer / catalytic converter, loose accelerator cable and could also be due to some problem/malfunctioning in FIP timings & ECU.

Mr Feroz,

I have problem of the engine stalling when starting from rest at full load. Before i was able to get the car moving by releasing clutch & break, without having to push accelerator. Now I have to give some accelerator (somehow as i am relatively new to driving & can't control break & accelerator with right foot at same time) to keep engine alive.

I will call up the maruti helpline & see what they say.

Also, is it possible that clutch plate has worn out in just 5000km?

i own a swift vdi from last 2.5 yrs and never had a problem with pickup untill today.

After driving about 10-15 KMs, i experienced no pickup while driving in 5th gear. I pressed the pedal to full but RPM stool steady at 2000. I was shocked to see this. I got my car serviced lasy month and its has complter 50000KMs.

I am mostly very easy on my car so the question od clutch wear does not arise. But as mentioned in the thread, any problem with ECU could be an issue.

How should i take care for this problem

I presume ther is not engine check light or service vehicle soon light turning up in the car. If yes, then you know what is to be done.

Next, clutch damage is ruled out because the problem does not indicate a faulty clutch. So, starting from the simplest things, like the fuel. Did you fill from a different outlet? Bad fuel can give such problems, ie loss of pickup and performance. Check these factors.