I've tried both and honestly speaking.
Outside specialist is better than SC if your car is out of warranty. I've had bad experience with SC in replacing my oil cooler hose.
They talk and only act like pros but actually they are sweet talkers only.

SC, for example, if your CVT Kong, they will ask you replace the entire unit.
but there are outside specialist which can tear apart the CVT and change the damaged part only.

see the difference?

There is a FB group for all Proton CFE turbo and CVT discussions

https://m.facebook.com/groups/CFEnCVT/

depending on your location they are able to recommend you outside specialists

Speaking about maintenance - So far my CVT and turbo haven't died on me. Steering rack still fine.
just change the CVT oil (and filter) on time and use good quality Engine oil and these 2 items will happily serve

This post has been edited by SleeplessEyes: May 2 2019, 05:05 PM

Im using a 2014 exora. So its a 5 yr old car and i aint dumping it yet.
The only thing which broke down on me once is a dead battery and thats also because it reached its life expectancy .

Otherwise my turbo is fine. My gearbox is also working well.
i might need to have my mounting checked since there is slight vibration.
I only use full synthetic oil in my exora.
Gearbox oil and filter should change according to time. Same goes for any regular auto gear box.
Oil cooler hose changed according to manufacture recommendation.
Basically the car just needs a little bit more TLC than your average Perodua

The car has successfully gone down south several times, up north and recently to Kuantan.

So if you are expecting this car to breakdown close to 5 yrs, simple, ignore maintenance schedule. But that will be a silly thing to do. Even a Perodua will have problems if neglected.

my Exora bold is 5 years old already.. Gone up to Genting many times and once speeding in the highway at 140 for few hours.
Trust me. This hard driving is really exercising the turbo.

But my turbo hasnt failed on me as you would think.

this is because
1. I use fully synthetic as recommended. Semi synthetic is the minimum.
2. After each hard drive I make sure I idle the engine for a while and check if the fan is running. I don't mind wasting some petrol to idle for even as long as 5 mins after a hard run. I make sure the radiator fan cuts off before proceeding to turn off the engine.
3. I follow a guideline either 6 months or 6000km oil change interval (whichever comes first) although some says the oil can drag up to 7k on Fully.

if one cannot follow guidelines above then you can stay with the CPS version. Of course you will miss out the turbo power.

This post has been edited by SleeplessEyes: Jun 16 2019, 05:11 PM

Hi. Anyone knows what's the diameter of the Exora radiator fan? It's not faulty. But keen on replacing it with a slim type of fan ala Mercedes type of fan.

Just to keep the noise down. It's really loud. But super effective in keeping the temp in check.

I'm not sure whats your actual definition of "press the pedal quite hard".
Because if my Exora if I were to press really hard on the throttle pedal, the whole car will launch hard. As though someone triggered rocket boosters behind.

This is because Exora is using wet clutch system (no its not the same as VW's dry clutch DSG) , not the conventional torque converter. it was intentionally programmed to slip the clutch first 0 to 15Km/h, on normal throttle pressure. Press it really hard and it will engage the clutch immediately .

So yes, if you press it lightly, it will take off slowly. This is normal. Same thing when reversing. Though it slips even more to cope with the heavy body.

Actually wet clutch is supposed to transmit better power from engine to drivetrain (less loss compared to conventional torque converter) .
It only slips for a short moment.
Whereas conventional torque converter, it slips continuously inside the converter until it has reached "lock up" stage.

Hence it should not consume more fuel than torque converter.
But because its a turbocharged engine, fuel consumption unfortunately will be slightly higher than a 2.0L N/A engine.

My dad's ex Honda City IDSI was using also wet clutch system on it's CVT, though after 120K mileage and 10 years of age, the clutch system began to act up. And once the engine vibrated quite hard when stopping real hard, and engine RPM show as though its about to die.
Still able to drive. Just that each time when accelerate, the clutch will vibrate / judder slightly . And a few times for some reason, with the Gear in D and not moving at all, the RPM will drop from 800 to 500RPM like as though its trying to engage full clutch when the brake is applied. Why it did that , I have no idea.

Regardless of that clutch slipping problem, it has successfully made trips up north and down south reliably before sold off to another owner. Probably that's Honda's design fault and thats why now the new EarthDream CVT is connected to a torque converter.

By right when the car has completely stop,and gear in D still, the clutch should be half disengaged - Meaning it is still slipping which is why when you released the brake, the car still can move, though very slowly.
But I didn't experience this "sudden zero power" in my Exora though.

This was explained by Punch CVT official representative , years ago. Full discussion can be read here:

Questions and answers on CVT Saga, Exora, P3

Yes you are correct. It senses the foot brake and gear position to control the clutch .
When foot brake is depressed in D - Clutch is partially slipping but not 100% engaged. Idle creeping.
And wet clutch can do creeping better than dry clutches.

I tried once with gear in D and handbrake on , yeah, felt exactly like how a conventional auto would try to do - creep with the handbrake on.

My bro in law did what you said - "don't try to use the D to do prolonged slope balancing"
He said it is better to balance the car uphill, but I told him don't do it on my car because it has a clutch. And that was in Genting highland, near the Theme Park Hotel. So Imagine how steep that road was.

And he said because it will slope down, in fact, only if someone was dumb enough not to immediately accelerate after releasing the brake.

IMO, I rather press the foot brake on D, on hill, regardless conventional T-Converter or wet clutch. His ideology is just so wrong.

Here is the odd part I noticed about this car.
If one were to drive it faster, it doesnt drink like a thirsty horse. Reasonable FC for a 1.5 ton MPV.
But if its short distance, it will drink like a thirsty camel.

I've once tried 2 long distance trips.

From Kuantan - Subang = drove at 140 constantly and it was showing around 10L/100kM.
But if drive just at the speed limit 100-110, it does around close 9L/100KM. See ? Not much difference right?
That was from Subang to Penang.

(But I've tried once doing only 80-90km/h, thats where the best FC comes in)

Then my recent trip from KL - PD and back, without speeding too much and only highway route was from KLIA to USJ.
Only 9.2L/100KM and 189KM of distance. And it managed all just RM 40 of petrol.

Oh, I've tried once, call me stingy, it was just for testing. Just short distance, mix city + highway driving.
Subang to Kota Kemuning and back.
Poured RM 12 (to make up 5.7L or 6L of petrol) , got only 10.5L/100KM. and managed only 60KM out of that 5.7L of petrol.

Its just difficult to get the Exora to make it sip as little petrol as possible without the addiction of turbo boost.
But I find that if you drive it under 70, it does help.
70KM/h and RPm below 2000RPM, meaning feather touching the accelerator pedal.

And letting go off the accelerator when slowing down before hitting the brakes does help improve FC.

My 2014 EB.. you won't believe my mileage.
47,777km (As of yesterday evening)

Only used for either short drives once in a while or long distance.

I have my Axia (manual) workhorse to do the daily running everywhere.
Does around 17km/l or 5.9L/100km. If drive like Fast and Furious - goes down to 15km/l

I totally agree with you. To get below 8L per 100km one needs to really have a light foot and stay away from the turbo temptation.

Proton should had installed Eco and Power button just like the Innova (or Honda). To control the throttle pedal for better FC.

If it were me. I will tell the SC. It's bloody under warranty. Its either you fix or else I'm gonna give "you" a real piece of my mind. sc just wanna avoid

You are lucky the car still under warranty. But even after warranty over there are outside CVT specialists which can test down the CVT rather than Proton themselves just know how to change the entire GB.

Apparently from other forumers quoted the price of a new GB can vary from as low as RM 8k to a jaw dropping RM 11k depending on SC.

Outside 3rd party repairs will set you back half the price for a reconditioned gb (use back the same gb casing).

Thank goodness mine after 5 ys of service it still able to hit 160 even (but thats just a shortwhile, for safety reason). Otherwise a working GB can do 130-140 for hours without triggering the CVT light.

If you priortize on FC I suggest getting Ertiga.
But if driving experience - Exora for Power and handling.
It has enough power to put most 2.0L NA to shame but will not.. outrun a Crv / Civic 1.5T.

FC - don't expect Ertiga FC from a Exora. More like a 2.0 or 2.4L
Full highway it can do as low as 7L per 100km. If u really baby it.

Mixed city and highway.. around 9-10L per 100km. (10-11km/l)
Short distance city driving - Better don't ask.

Update : Filled up just RM 20 (9.62L)..and within 79km..yelllow light on.
11. 9L per 100km. 8.4Km per litre.

Driving condition? City driving plus speeding on LKSA. And carrying loads at the back. The price you pay when your right foot is itchy.

This post has been edited by SleeplessEyes: Dec 1 2019, 11:25 PM

These days radiator is made of high temperature nylon plastics unlike the olden 80s Datsun Corrola metal radiator. To cut manufacturing costs.
Especially This turbo engine is hotter than NA Engine due to extra heat from the blazing hot turbocharger.

I would check the radiator cap function and also check any radiator clog that causes pressure build up

This post has been edited by SleeplessEyes: Feb 8 2020, 09:14 PM

Just FYI, the Exora platform is from the same family - Preve and Suprima.

http://<link removed>/images.<link removed>/prot...atformlarge.jpg

But to ask Geely to put their engine, its a biq request. Yes, no doubt Geely is their major shareholder now but I don't think Geely wants to do that. Also it needs to match with the chassis.

What Geely can do is, change the current plaguing Punch CVT into a 6 speed auto (Remember Hyundai / Kia once had a 6 speed auto for their Hyundai Sonata / Kia Optima).

Now I'm not to say I hate Punch, but others don't like the CVT. Do like what they did to the Saga.
Change to Hyundai GB to win customer demands.
Once change the GB, crank up the turbo boost baby....let its torque overpower even the CRV 1.5T.
The CVT has always been the limiting factor of this engine's potential.

Put a external oil cooler to replace the problematic OCH OCA problem.

Then again , Proton need to really work hard on the dull interior, even on the newer Exora RC model.

2.5Years, thats quite reasonable. I think you should charge first then need to do a battery load test to see if can hold up.
But again I'm surprised your bigger 75D23L didnt last that long.

Mine is using INCOE NS70L . Battery is 1 year plus.
Have been "sleeping" before MCO kicked in. Just started the engine on 5th of April.
If counted start from MCO , thats like 2 weeks and 5 days. I think its beyond that. More like 3 weeks.

https://streamable.com/6hpz2i

Voltage was showing 12.2Volts in this video But I think the voltmeter calibration maybe abit out. Maybe in actual fact 12.4V.
Just for FYI, when it was showing 12.2V, it was on ACC mode, not ON mode. thats why when you see it drop only it was in ON position.
(I should had used my Multimeter first but was abit in a hurry)

This post has been edited by SleeplessEyes: Apr 9 2020, 02:30 PM

The NS70L that I'm using , it sits perfectly into the bracket. No issues,
NS70L is essentially known as 65D26L (yeah, the numbering thingie is rather confusing)

Difference between the 55d23L and 65D26l, is the AH capacity is slighty higher..just abit. around 65AH.
CCA could be the same (if both is 550Amps).

Yup, mine is normal lead acid.
yes there are maintenance free ones, but usually I prefer the normal lead acid.
Even the normal lead acid ones are pretty much close to maintenance free.
Maybe once every 1-2 months, randomly open the caps and check for water level.

Otherwise it runs well so far.

I guess you got lucky.
When I bought my OCH from PPC (Proton Part Centre) I was only given the rubber type. Not the semi-steel type. When I asked for semi-steel, only reply was "Out of stock". I guess they allocate it to their SCs first.
So you were lucky.

But my rubber hose didn't explode when I didn't change it for 4 years
Damn lucky I am.

Costed me around RM 150 , for both parts and labour (changed at Proton dealer)

In fact, I'm the opposite.
for my daily ride, Axia, I changed the battery from the tiny NS40ZL to the huge 55D23L that you guys are using now.
No joke. In Exora it looks like a medium sized battery but in Axia it looks huge.

But starting is sure guaranteed for this big battery in a small engine
550AMPs of CCA

Back to the Exora, I would think what alexei has done is to reduce the "water tank" size, but the alternator size remains the same, I think its 90amp rated.
So i think of it like a smaller water tank (AH capacity) but water inlet remains huge flow.
Cold Cranking Amps will definitely be drastically reduced.

Of course now it means each time he starts the car, it flushes the water (amps) capacity even more.
But I think the stock alternator should be able to handle it.

I remember once someone said that the old perdana V6, Proton originally fitted with a NS60L . but it has shorter lifespan due to 6 cylinder engine. maybe can someone clarify what battery it was originally fitted with?

Hold your horses there , bro. Dont get so furious
I'm just speaking my opinions only. But I'm not against your theory.
If you daily drive it , then I think it should be alright.

Unlike mine, spend 90% of its life sitting at home, so it probably is better of with a bigger battery. I might consider getting a home battery charger with pulse charging feature. Cost less than RM 100 on lazada.

Otherwise as of today, I checked my battery voltage , it shows around 12.5V for a 1 1/2yr battery. Kinda concerning.

Like how rarely driven? Mine is 6 yrs old. Done only 53K. I'm serious.
Engine oil only change every annually (full synthetic)

Only issue is :
i) my engine or GB mounting is shot; Feeling the engine vibration during idling and slow speed . Like a diesel engine.
ii) some "frog" noise only when going over speed bumps. Cant figure out what noise is that.

Otherwise car still runs pretty much okay. Gearbox still runs well. turbo still pushing out those torque muscles.