7th Sep 2005, 22:41
Hello to all Waja owners, especially to Waja 1.8X owners.
I bought a Waja 1.8X after trading in my Wira 1.3 MT in November 2003. Now my car is about 22 months since I bought. A lot of you guys may not have the same feeling as I am having. I am a very proud owner of Waja 1.8X.
Car is like a woman. You can be upset, but you do not have to speak it out loud in front of the car. Below are the things that happened to my Waja 1.8X (I even named my pet cat Waja 4.0 when I took him from a canteen of a palm oil mill even before I bought this car. The owner of the canteen was a JAWA (Javanese).
Instead of just complaining, later I will give some suggestions on how manage the car.
Challenges that I had:
1. Backing up sensor was not working when I drove it from the new car pick-up point. Sent the car for 1st service and complained. They said the little 'tweeter' was not working and the sensors were OK. Parts ordered. After 1 month, never receive any calls from the guy. When I gave a call, the answer was, parts no stock. Then I gave a call to the 'big brother' in Glenmarie. They have a few in stock. Got replaced and I was very happy because a week before that my back bumper hit a concrete fence when I backing up the car at the wet market (I cook, you know).
2. After a while, I have a problem with 'check engine' light came off every time I started the car. I ignored it until 2 weeks later when the engine rpm went crazy especially when the aircond was switched on. I was on my way to the office, but ended up in the service center. The problem solved when they changed the ECU, I think.
3. Then, I got a problem with the engine. It could not be started although I poked the immobilizer so many times. It started when I was on business trip about 400 km away from home. But, finally I managed to start the car and drove back. Then, sometimes the engine died out when backing up the car, but never during normal driving. Then I sent the car to the center. They changed the immobilizer receiver. It worked for a while until the same symptoms came back. This time, after I sent the car again, they said it was the 'knock sensor' or something like that. But they have no stock. It took them 2 months to get the parts. After fixing it, the problem was resolved.
4. Power window switches. They changed them and the rear view mirror cover (for peeling paint) for me without me asking them. I was lucky because I have never had any serious problems with my power windows except for the switches (on the driver's side) and the driver's side motor noise. They changed the motor.
5. Fuel gauge faulty. I asked them to change the float, but they said it was the meter cluster. No stock. Got replaced about 3 months later.
6. Radiator burst at Bt. 3 toll while lining up to pay toll during a very heavy traffic. I heard as if I stepped on a mineral water bottle before this happened. After that the steam came out from under the hood. No overheating sign from the meter. Quickly I drove to the road side and switched off the engine and avoided the overheating. Found out that the fan shroud broke and hit the radiator surface. That was why the radiator leaked. Paid RM50 for towing using my auto-assist and they changed the radiator and the fan complete with shroud.
7. Changed rear tires. First after 6k km. Side wall punctured. Some wire poked the side wall. At 63k km, a steel bar about 50 x 12 x 1.5 mm poked the side wall.
8. Fuel door stop broken. I think the design was wrong as the tips (like shock-absorber) were so small that they will break again if replaced. I can live with this.
9. Steering rack free-play is high. They cannot do anything about it. This will make front wheels alignment almost impossible.
10. Cock-pit rattling sound - I call it 'Proton Signature' from aircond fixture. I let it be.
All the above happened within 60k km and they did not charge me. No. 7, 8, 9, 10 are self-explanatory.
Some of my suggestions:
1. If you have problems with your car, especially within 40 to 60 k km, work with the service advisor and do not release your anger on him. He is just working for the company. You will be surprised how accommodating he can be, including the mechanics.
2. Try not to let you engine idle too long. In the morning, if you need to warm-up the engine, just warm it up for a minute or so. We do not have winter in Malaysia. Even if we have, the car will have an electrical heater that can be plugged in to household socket. We need to get the oil temperature to 70 deg C as fast as we can without stressing the engine. Driving slowly after a minute or so warming up will increase the temperature faster instead of idling the engine. This is because it can take a while to get 70 deg C in idling mode. Do not, however, depressing the fuel pedal during idling because it will make things worse.
3. Change your oil and filter on time. If you use synthetic oil (RM150++), you may want to change the oil every 10k km. Filter should be changed every 5k km, but I just change it only with oil change (RM85++).
4. Do something about the fan. I have 2 friends who got the same problem with burst radiator. I think the fan supplied will not last more than 40 or 50k km. So, change it every 40-50k or make a protection plate behind the radiator, in front of the fan. Waja 1.8X is a 2-speed fan. Stress on the fan is very high under high speed condition. To reduce stress, if it is not necessary, switch off the engine when you have to wait for someone at the road side. Paying toll -- I use SmarTag now.
5. Auto transmission - change the oil as specified (RM150++) in the manual.
6. If your ABS light goes on during start-up and off after a few second after the engine is on, it is time to change your battery. I changed the battery last week with a no maintenance battery (Century RM195). I hope this battery will work.
I would like to go on and on, but I think people will get bored reading it. Lastly, I would like to suggest to all owners to put your experience in this forum and mentioned how much you spend on maintenance and others so that other people can benefit. I will write again soon.
9th Aug 2006, 00:18
Dear all,
I have read all of your comments about the Proton cars. I'm considering buying a Proton Waja, but after reviewing all of your comments, I am changing my mind. It is better for me to take an old Honda. A 20 year old Honda is better than new a Proton.
10th Jun 2005, 03:33
Hey guys, I need to change my timing belt (waja 1.8), any good recodmandation other than Proton Edar Service where the cost will kill me. Thanks.