I see. If minor rattling sound from doors or other places, doesn't matter too much if they don't make an effort to rectify it. Sooner or later more rattling sound will pop up here and there anyway due to wear and tear. Just the major ones that are annoying enough, then I suppose they should look at it more seriously.

The seats with "moving airbag", or seats with air pockets, this "defect" should definitely be resolved by Proton.

So the kruk-kruk sound comes from the lower bracket of the seat and not the airbag? Anyway I can feel the air pockets and airbag on the seat itself when I move, rub my back on the seat. So I guess it's two defects in that seat - 1) lower bracket making sound, and 2) Air pocket/airbag movement in driver's seat

Thanks for the photo and troubleshooting tips. Since I don't DIY myself, I will send the vehicle for the Proton guys to fix it in the next scheduled service. Since the vehicle is under warranty, I don't see the reason why owners should troubleshoot the problems themselves, especially spending money on lubricants such as "WD40"(not sure what is this). Though it is good some users managed to find out the problems and fix it themselves. The risk is sometimes while at it, more sound may pop up when opening/dismantling the parts, and the risk of breaking some clips etc. while in the process.

I don't know about others but why don't you complain to Proton and let them fix the ngek ngek sound? Or they are reluctant to look at it?

From my experience, there is always a risk with opening, dismantling panels that may result in other sound popping up here and there, not to mention breaking the tiny plastic clips that hold the panel in place if not careful. Sometimes it is inevitable even if one is careful. Sometimes it is better to leave it as it is in order to prevent more sound from popping up due to loose panels.

As one of the technician the Nissan workshop used to say in Cantonese "hoi yat pai, charn yat pai". (Open one time, deterioriates more).

My advice is if the rattling sound is minor, better to just leave it as it is. Only if it is loud to the point of annoying enough then only it is worthwhile to resolve it.

Yes, I understand there is no guarantee that the mechanics or technicians at the service centre won't cause more trouble when troubleshooting rattling sound in the vehicle in breaking parts or causing scratches everywhere. My point is even if some owners prefer to DIY themselves, there is also no guarantee that he/she may break the part himself, and worse still causing more trouble along the way. That is the reason I think if it's a minor rattling sound, that it is not worth bothering about too much. Only annoying rattling noises that are loud enough, then it is worthwhile to resolve it.

If breaking only one clip when dismantling door panels, dashboard or any panels in the car, the broken clip sometimes will go undetected as there are other clips that hold the panel together. But if unlucky, then more rattling sound will be heard due to one or two broken clips. It may not be a broken clip but something else such as loosened parts or wires. At least if something is broken by the personnel at the service centre, we can still claim for that part. If it's something that is broken by owners during the DIY process, things may get complicated if the service centre denies responsibility for a warranty claim unless the owners can outsmart the guys at the SC.

And not forgetting that troubleshooting problems may require trial and error. If lucky, problem solved. Otherwise, more problems crop up. That is the reason I advocate leaving serious rattling sound or any other major issues to the SC to resolve it. Minor rattling noises - either leave it or the owners take the risk with DIY.

An update. I just sent the car to COSE in the morning to rectify all defects, including the "kruk-kruk" sound from the driver's seat. It has been resolved. I asked the service guy what had been done to the seat, and he appeared clueless. He mentioned only the mechanic that fixed the problem knows about it in detail. Talk about efficiency. Anyway, it was mentioned in the invoice "tighten and check spring under cushion". The sound is now gone, most importantly.

Perhaps you are right in that the sound is not from the airbag.

Just an update. The "kruk kruk" sound from the driver's seat came back today when the vehicle is going over speed bumps. The sound is much lesser ie. softer than previously, but the sound is still there albeit much less serious than previously. Previously even though the vehicle does not go over speed bumps, the "kruk kruk" sound will still come up when driving on leveled roads when I move/rub my body on the seats. Although the sound is gone when the car is on leveled roads, it will still come up when going over speed bumps, though very minor, much softer "kruk kruk" sound compared to previously.

Will need to arrange to send the car to the service centre again sometime early January when the vehicle is due for the 10,000km service.

The Proton Preve Turbo is quite a good and value for money vehicle if one is looking for sedan at its price range. After 4 months of ownership, with the mileage close to 10,000km now, rattling sound has been eliminated completely. I can say close to zero except for a *very minor* kruk kruk sound from the driver's seat when going over speed bumps. In my mind, the vehicle has passed with zero rattling sound in the cabin so far. As a matter of fact, the 3-month old Ford Focus Titanium now has more rattling sound than the Preve Turbo in the steering wheel when going over bad surfaced roads. There is no rattling sound from the steering wheel of the Preve Turbo.

The only disadvantage or weakness, for me, is the loud and harsh engine sound in the cabin during acceleration at all speed levels, and a slight lag when the pedal is depressed during acceleration. Due to this 0.5 seconds lag, the drivability during bumper to bumper traffic is a bit cumbersome. If you can live with these "shortcomings" then I would recommend the Preve Turbo as an excellent and value for money proposition with good ride and handling over most Japanese equivalents up to RM100k in price range.

My Preve Turbo does not have any sound in the steering wheel. Maybe in another year's time then the sound will come up.

I think the steering sound from your Preve is different from the steering sound in my Ford Focus. In your case, the sound comes up when you are making a U-turn or when parking. In my case, there is no sound from the steering when parking or making a U-turn. Completely quiet. Only when the car is going over bad roads or rough roads, there is a rattling sound from the steering wheel.

Hi there,

I don't really attempt to determine the difference in FC between the Preve Turbo and the Ford Focus. Moreover, due to varied driving conditions (city and highways) and the route taken, it may not be all too accurate. So I can't really confirm on this.

As for acceleration power, didn't really take any 0-100km/h times but in hard acceleration the Focus burst of energy is gerater than the Focus. I can feel the car lunging forward and my body pushed back to the seat more strongly in the Focus than in the Preve Turbo. From the specs on paper in torque and horsepower, the Focus has an upper hand over the Preve Turbo apart from the higher efficiency of the Powershift transmission vs. the CVT in the Preve Turbo in promoting better energy transfer to the wheels.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Dec 9 2013, 07:42 AM

Yes, I have tried Petronas Primax, Caltex Techron and BHP only. When the mileage is lower, say between 1,000km to 8,000km, Caltex seems to provide a more powerful acceleration compared to Petronas. BHP is also good but Caltex feels great. The car seems to be less energetic ie. less powerful acceleration, coupled by engine knocking with Petronas. With Caltex and BHP, more powerful acceleration and less knocking.

But know, with the mileage >8,000km, seems like the type of fuel is more or less similar. Little or no more knocking with all types of fuel, even Petronas Primax.

I didn't try RON97 before. Perhaps I will try sometime. Do you pump RON97 everytime, or you just tried RON97 just for several times before switching to RON95?

Yes, I agree that the engine sounds slightly more refined wtih more mileage. My car is about 8,700km now. Still 1,300km to go before the 10,000km service, and I expect the performance from the engine to be better, more refined and smoother acceleration.

Okay thanks for the information. Maybe I will try RON97 sometime, after the 10,000km service.

May I ask where is the place for this "track day competition"? Is it a racing circuit, something like F1?

Okay, will try RON97 sometime just for the fun of it since there are now two experiences that confirm the Preve Turbo to have better performance in engine power and acceleration with RON97.

So it's in the Sepang Race Circuit as in the Ignition track day. Impressive stuff. Reminds me of a friend who is an avid racing fan. He used to have this old but presumably modified Mercedes Benz model with wide tyres that I think he uses for race occassions, and he used to tell me not to follow his footsteps. Haha.. I guess we need to spend quite a bit of $$$ for the tyres, brakes and stuff, since on the race tracks the tyres and brakes and also the suspension will be subject to high wear and tear with fast and furious driving. Not so suitable for normal passenger vehicles I guess?

He has the Citroen C5 and Boxter as his everyday drive, though the Merc has been sold since early this year. Not too sure what vehicle he is using for the race tracks now. Maybe the Boxter.

Yes, the Preve Turbo is fun, especially with the paddle shifters which may only come in useful during race sessions when attacking corners and stuff. Though the acceleration may not be the best, but handling is quite decent.

The sound from the seat came back. Need to bring the car to the service centre by end of the month to have a permanent solution.

What is the current mileage of your vehicle? Is it the low-spec Preve or the Preve Turbo?

Sorry to hear about your problem. The car won't move when you step on the pedal - seems like a serious problem there.

Sorry to hear about your problems, which I regard as quite serious. My model is the Preve Turbo, and I don't experience any of the problems that you have had. Your car operates with the ignition key whereas mine works on the Push Start button. So there is a difference there.

My only problem with the car is the sound from the driver's seat. I just finished the 10,000km service today, and after complaining on the seat for the 2nd time, the service centre has arranged to replace a new seat for me. The part has been ordered and I would have to wait for it to arrive before I send the car in for them to get the defective seat replaced with a new one.

As a side-note, when at the service centre today, I saw a service advisor driving a Proton Suprima S. When he stepped out of the vehicle, I approached him and asked him some questions on the Suprima S, since I was interested in the difference between the leather seats of it vs. the fabric seats in the Preve. My impression is the leather seats in the Suprima S will be more comfortable than the fabric seats in the Preve.

The answer I got from him turned out to be the opposite. He informed that his manager has driven both Suprima S and Preve on long journeys outstation. In long journeys outstation trips, the fabric seats of the Preve was said to be more comfortable than the leather seats of the Suprima S mainly because the fabric is softer. He mentioned his manager got slight backache in the Suprima S. Is the leather seat in the Suprima S that hard and more uncomfortable than the Preve?

On short journeys, no difference in comfort between the leather and fabric seats. Only in long journeys, the fabric seats is said to be more comfortable than the leather seats. Funny. If that is the case, the leather seats must be the hard type. The only good thing going for the leather seats, according to the service advisor, is it looks better than the fabric seats. That I agree, as the fabric seats look cheap in comparison to the leather. However, in comfort, the fabric seats are said to be more comfortable.

Yes, fabric seats can be more comfortable than leather seats. But I think it depends on quality of the fabric seats or leather seats too. The fabric seats in the Preve is okay, just a bit thin and hard when when compared to the soft and plush leather seats of the Nissan Sylphy. The leather seat in the Sylphy is thick, soft, plush and comfortable for long journeys. Even the leather seat in the Ford Focus is not as soft and plush when compared to the leather seat in the Nissan Sylphy although it is thick. Comfort-wise in terms of the seat material, my rating as as my in-laws are as follows :- Nissan Sylphy(leather) > Ford Focus(leather) > Proton Preve(fabric).

My mother-in-law has sat in the back seat of Nissan Sylphy, Ford Focus and Proton Preve from KL to Melaka to Johor Bahru, and the Nissan Sylphy gets the thumbs up. She commented the Ford Focus is not as comfortable as the Nissan, and the Preve is the worst. Of course, all is relative. The Proton Preve is still comfortable if you compare to vehicles with inferior or thinner seats.

If the Suprima S's leather is more uncomfortable than the Preve's fabric, then I think the synthetic (mixed) leather is harder with more PVC elements added into it. In other words, not really leather or very little leather elements in the "leather seat". It is funny that the Proton sales advisor related to me his manager has got sakit belakang when he drove the Suprima S for long journeys.

May I ask when you bought the Preve, and what is the current mileage of your vehicle when the fabric got torn off ? The fabric seat of my vehicle has not torn off yet. Just the annoying sound when going over bumps or when I move my body on the seat. The service centre changed ALL seats, front left, front right and the back seat of your vehicle? Major warranty claim. I only got the front RH seat changed as it is the only seat that is defective. All other seats are in good condition.

By the way I just checked the part as indicated in the Workshop Parts Order Requisition I received from the service centre today. The description is "Back Assy front seat RH" part number PW 940666-X1121 ; Quantity = 1


I just googled on this part and found out that the cost of this item is RM2,073.28. If the service centre has changed all the seats in your car, then your warranty claim is RM5k+. Refer to this link as below.

http://mforum.cari.com.my/home.php?mod=spa...o=blog&id=44938

Yes, I think there are many types or versions of leather. The cheap leathers(not really leather but PVC-like material or fake leather) will be hard and uncomfortable. There are some high quality leather seats around. The new Nissan Teana 2014 that has been launched in Singapore has got the new leather seats with advanced technology, more like an OSIM chair or something. Impressive stuff.

My experience is with the Preve Turbo. Not many problems except for rattling sound from the gearbox which just comes up recently at 10,000km mileage, and minor rattling from the driver's door panel. The driver's seat of my vehicle is defective too as it has some annoying sound from it, which will be replaced by Proton under warranty.

Mine is about 7 months old, I have intermittent "kriik kriiik" sound but not from the dashboard area. The sound is coming from the gear lever console. Funny thing is the sound pops up today and gone tomorrow, and pops up another day.

Minor "kriik kriik" or rattling sound such as these are difficult to troubleshoot to be frank. I highlighted this to the service centre and as expected they couldn't hear any unusual sound when they test drove it. Since the extraneous sound is not very loud and only comes up occasionally, I don't view it as a serious issue. WIth the stereo playing at low volume, the "kriik kriik" sound will be drowned in the music.