Don't know whether it's normal to others though I have encountered this several times before. You can literally feel something that is moving in the seat when your back is leaning on the seat, and when you rub your back on the seat there will be this "ngek ngek" or "erk erk" sound that you call it. First complaint and the guys at the service centre managed to get rid of this sound by adjusting something, but the sound came back the next day. After 2nd complaint they changed the seat to a brand new one. However, after about 2-3 months with the new seat, it is back to square one. The sound came back again, though it is not as serious as the "defective" older seat. The feeling of something moving in the seat is not as annoying, and the "ngek ngek" sound is not as loud. Still the sound is there.

I have come to accept the low quality of the fabric seat in this Preve Turbo, other than the loud engine/CVT sound during accceleration.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Jul 13 2014, 05:05 AM

Not only the Myvi's seat is better than the Preve, but the feel of the gear lever quality is better too. Not only the gear lever of the Myvi is better to the touch and feels more premium(the gear lever of the Preve feels cheap and plasticky in comparison), but the gear lever in the Myvi shifts smoother through the gears. The gear lever of the preve feels stiff and hard and doesn't shift around the gears as easily as the Myvi.

The Preve Turbo has decent handling and powerful acceleration, but the overall quality is lacking due to some of the poor quality fittings and loud engine/CVT sound. But for the price of RM69k that is what to be expected. For reasonably good and comfortable cars I guess we have get ready to pay RM110k and above for similar C-segment alternatives.

Good that the leather seats in the Preve LE doesn't exhibit the same problem as some(or most) fabric seats in the Preve Turbo. I have got used to the feeling of something that is moving inside the seat, the feel of some air pockets in the airbag or something, and the sound that pops up when my back rubs against the seat. The feeling is not really nice since you get the impression of a bad quality seat, though I have got used to it.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Jul 13 2014, 03:16 PM

Assuming you have changed the bulb at Proton service centre, once you have changed the bulb for the first time, that bulb is covered for 6 months or 1 year, forgotten the period. You may check the receipt or invoice. Say you have changed the bulb and in the next 4 or 5 months the bulb is fused, you can get it replaced FOC at the Proton service centre.

1. Judging the fuel economy from the money you spend to pay for petrol at the pump station, weekly or monthly, may be better indication that basing on the FC instantaneous reading of the vehicle. Don't know how accurate is the digital instantaneous FC meter of the vehicle as I find it weird that it shows 0L/100km when the car is stationary (should be around 1L +/-).

2. Assuming the setting of the air circulation of your car is at the right position(set to internal circulation rather than having outside air flowing into your car), then chances are something is wrong with the air filter, and some adjustment to it is required.

The fabric seat on my Preve Turbo doesn't have the loose thread phenomenon yet, though I always had this squeaking sound from the seat, even though I have had the whole seat changed at the service centre once. The squeaking sound came back. I don't know if i can wait until my next 20,000km service to get this resolved as the sound from the seat is annoying. Every time you move your back against the seat, especially when going over road bumps, and your back rub against the seat, the sound will come up.

Just poor quality seats. Anybody had this similar problem? I wonder if my case is an isolated case, but after having the defective seat replaced to a brand new seat, the sound is still there. Just made me wonder if all the seats in the Preve are meant to emit some sound?

Thanks for the feedback. In my case the sound is coming from inside the seat itself and not the connection at the bottom of the seat. On top of that, I can feel something inside the cushion of the seat behind my back when I move or rub my back against the seat, as if there is some air pockets inside the seat. It is not a nice feeling.

Try pressing your back against the seat. With your hands on the steering, try pressing your back against the seat, then move your back away from the seat, then press your back against the seat again. See if you get any sound. I get the sound every time I press my back against the seat. In that sense I am quite sure the sound is from the seat and not at the connection point at the leg joints of the seat.

Anyway, I'll go complain soon. The only problem is to waste one day leave just to get to the service centre, and currently I have a lot of work in the office.

So this noise from the driver's seat, looks like there are some owners here who experience the same thing.

May i ask if there is anyone who does not have this noise from the driver's seat IN ORIGINAL CONDITION? I am curious to know if there is a defect or design flaw in the driver's seat.

THanks for the response. Since you car is new, touch wood, there may not be any sound from the driver's seat yet. For my vehicle, when I got the car brand new, there was already sound from the back seat, a knocking sound which went away by itself after I adjusted the seat couple of times(open, close, open and close again).

For the driver's seat, for the first 1,000km mileage there wasn't any sound. I think the sound came up when the mileage was around 3,000km+ or so. I complained to the SC once and they didn't replace the seat but adjusted something. When I took the car, I was so happy that the sound was gone, but the next day the sound came back. I arranged for another appointment, and in this 2nd appointment they changed the seat to a brand new seat. I have to wait for about 1 month for the stock to arrive at the service centre.

After changing to the new seat, there wasn't any sound at first but after about 1,500km the sound came up again.

Yes, touch wood. The Preve Turbo is generally quite a nice decent car to drive with decent acceleration power although the sound from the engine during acceleration can appear to be slightly loud.

If you feel the gear stick of your vehicle is difficult to shift, it may be faulty. You can complain and have it checked and replaced with a new one. I have my gearstick replaced by the vendor as it was really hard to shift when I received the car. They have confirmed the gearstick of my vehicle to be faulty.

Having said that, the gearstick of the Preve Turbo is inherently stiff and does not shift as smoothly as most transmissions in Japanese(and continental) vehicles.

Yes, there will be sound from any car when the vehicle is accelerating, but the sound from the Preve (Turbo) is audibly and clearly louder than most Japanese. I am sure the Camry will be much quieter than the Preve during acceleration. The low frequency drone from the Preve Turbo is very prominent. Almost any colleagues who drive Japanese or continental cars will comment on the loud engine of my Preve Turbo when they sit in it.

The Nissan Sylphy and Ford Focus are much quieter than the Preve TUrbo during acceleration. Quite a significant difference really.

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated. Guess my case is an isolated case then. Will have to get the vehicle to the service centre to sort it out soon.

Cheers.

Been a manual transmission driver for more than 10 years. In my view, yes, nowadays with the current conditions of the traffic on the roads, the convenience of an automatic transmission far outweigh the pros of the manual transmission. The only appeal of a manual transmission vehicle the way I see it is in the driving excitement, that's about it. Can be useful if you are in a racing mood and want to go into racing mode. It's nice to shift the stick around when going into corners or exiting a bend. Though how many times you want to do that in everyday driving. Fuel economy of a manual transmission may be slightly better than an automatic transmission but it depends on the driving style too, and most auto transmission vehicles are able to give good mileage these days especially the smaller cc vehicles.

For pure driving thrills and excitement, vehicles which come in manual transmission usually appeal to the niche market. Such as the Ford Focus ST. Folks buy these vehicles purely for fun driving. Though the Preve manual can give thrill seekers who are tight on budget, just not too much fun as those "real" authentic fun cars which usually cost quite a bit more than RM150k.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Aug 31 2014, 05:56 PM

Is yours with the Turbo engine. The engine of my car had shut down several times already during reverse parking, about 3 to 4 times. My car is about 1 year 1 month old now. Usually when reversing up slopes, but on one occasion it was on a flat road and still the engine shut down.

Guess there are some minor design flaws that still need to be ironed out by Proton. Just surprised they cannot seem to get some of the basics right, still.

Thanks for the information. In my case it is intermittent. I do reverse many times. Just this morning when parking I did a reverse going up a slope and the engine didn't shut down. Say in 100 times doing reverse it will shut down once.

Too troublesome. It doesn't happen too often so I don't bother. Good idea by depressing the pedal to get the engine revs up so as to prevent the engine from dying. The moment you see the rpms getting real low and you hear a weird sound from the engine as if it's going to die off, you would know the engine is going to shut down by itself.

I'm actually more annoyed by the quality of the driver's seat though, as I haven't got the time to get it to the service centre to have it fixed yet.

Yes, the steering in the Preve is heavy. As a matter of fact it's the heaviest steering I have experienced for a car. Certainly need to get some use, as I understand you will find it a chore if you happen to be used to lighter steerings in most vehicle. It will be more difficult to manoeuvre the vehicle in tight spaces especially when parking the vehicle, doing reverse etc. when you are used to light steerings. I don't think there is much you can do about it as the design of the vehicle, the weight of the steering wheel by Proton is as such.

The weight of the steering is not related to the size of the car or the wheels. Larger vehicles will have light steerings too. All larger Segment D Japanese vehicles such as Honda Accord for example, have light steerings.

Music player in the Preve is not good with flat 2-dimensional sound and weak bass.

Yes, you are correct that most if not all Japanese cars are on EPS(Electronic Power Steering), and yes, the steering feel is indeed lacking in most of these cars, especially the Honda City that I have just driven not too long ago. The steering feel is indeed one of the worst I have driven(for a Japanese car). It is not about the lightness of the steering but the accuracy of it. It felt loose and feedback was poor. Somehow it didn't give me the control and confidence I wanted especially when around the bends. Perhaps I wasn't accustomed to the steering feel of the City, but still it was one of the worse driving experience I have encountered. The Nissan Sylphy's steering is better in this respect, more accurate than the City but still with poor feedback.

And yes, the Preve's heavy steering is more accurate and feels more real than most of these Japanese vehicles.

However, there is a car on EPS that to me, is more accurate than the Preve, the Ford Focus. As a matter of fact, the Focus is just a joy to drive not only for the light and responsive steering but the combination of that and the overall dynamics of the vehicle particularly the suspension. Although the steering of the Focus is light, the accuracy is higher than any cars that I have driven, Even the Preve's steering can sometimes feel "loose" but the Focus' steering is taut and tight ie. accurate in any driving conditions, even though it is light. It is not so much on the argument about FAKE vs REAL feel of the steering, but the accuracy and responsiveness of it, the driver having added confidence in taking a bend or corners at higher speeds with the accurate steering. The steering can be EPS and light but it can be responsive and accurate(the Focus). There are EPS steerings that are light but not as responsive and accurate(most Japanese vehicles Honda, Nissan, Toyota etc.).

Though a disclaimer. It is not all about the steering only when it comes to the joy of driving. It's usually a combination of the steering, chassis, suspension and power, around that order. The Preve Turbo at RM70k isn't too shabby as its handling and Turbo power beat most Japanese sedans(which are mainly designed primarily for comfort). But if you want more thrill and joy in the drive, there are some cars which offer higher levels of handling and driving dynamics, one being the Ford Focus, but at RM120k+/- the Preve Turbo can be regarded as having great value.