Maruti Swift Air bags problme

Dear Sir/Madam,

I own a Maruti Swift (MH 12 BW 6969) since 2005. It has not been a very pleasant experience as I have faced many problems with the car. Recently I met with an accident at Mahim.

My car must be around 40 kmph when a Scorpio suddenly jumped into the road at a junction. I applied my brakes hard but some how it didnt work (despite having ABS & EBD) and it collided with the Scorpio's front tyre.

Surprisingly nothing happened to the Scorpio whereas our car got hit hard and the airbags popped out and all. I was surprised that the car, hit at such low speed could get damaged so much & honestly did not feel the airbags were needed for this.

Anyways I got my car towed to Vitesse (Andheri), where I informed them that I do not trust the cheap technology used by Maruti (ABS/EBD/AIRBAGS) anymore and do not want the airbags replaced. I came to know about similar instances of other Maruti vehicles where airbags pop out without much reason and brakes do not function in emergencies.

Vitesse people told me that they had already ordered the airbags (without my confirmation) & that now I had to get it replaced. They gave me vague reasons for which I had to allow them to replace the airbags. They gave me an approximate estimate of Rs 45000/-for the airbag replacement. Although I kept on arguing about the airbag replacement they kept the matter pending till I got fed up & told them to replace it.

Now after the replacement of airbags when I went to collect my car, I saw that the airbag light is still on & that the seat belts do not retract. On asking they informed me that another sensor (costing about 41000/-) is needed to rectify this & I could still use the car without it.

This means that the seat belt & airbags still would not function & in future & if I wish to sell my car the resale value would go down considerably.

My point is why I was put through all this when the airbags were anyways not going to function. It has been more than 45 days since I am without a car & do not know as to how many more days will pass by.

I believe that other customers should also be wary about the low cost new technology provided my Maruti.

Jitendra Kamra