My Safari Suffer...ings!

[pogusingh]

SafariDude, I really feel very bad at reading this. I have been also contemplating buying the DICOR and such happenings are very bad reflection on the workmanship of TATAs. I can understand how one feels stuck on the road when the vehicle goes bad. The bad part is that you did all the right things to enable TATAs to catch/rectify the problem. If an year old vehicles are going to have such issues what can we really expect from the TATAs.

But at the same time I have a feel that you have been slightly unfortunate. I am not sure if these things happen with all TATA vehicles. I am currently owning an M800 and believe me while it is percieved to be the one of the most reliable I had a real trouble with it even though I was always taking it to the Maruti authorized service station. They never were able to rectify the issue which they always were assuming in the engine. The issue was finally found in the fuel injector but this whole process made me to go through a really bad phase for about a couple of months or so.

I think if you write email to the TATA management it will help. You should get the safari thoroughly checked from their service station. In case you think that you are not feeling good about the vehicle, sell it.

-Regards
POGU

[wolfinstein]

As said above, The Vehicle was bought Second Hand.

I don't think the problem occured in Goa, You cannot drive a Turbo on a long distance run without the Oil Pump, in those 700 odd Km.

Me thinks the Oil seal was faulty from the start, But in short regular driving it did not give way..However with constant driving the Seal ripped off and the incident occured.

Oil seal leaks or Pump failures are unpredictable, and lets not blame TATA quality for it, They can happen to any car at any point of time.

From the optimist point of veiw, It at least kept lugging on safely and brought you into civilization, I don't think any other thing could have survived the long distance.

[adityapd]

Safaridude,

you had mentioned oil leakage as a problem faced in your dicor when you bought it second hand in your post highlighted b y Steeroid...do you think that was the culprit ??

Also, have you already put your vehicle for sale ?

there is an ad for a Oct'06 dicor for sale in Mumbai in today's timesdrive.

~A

[pogusingh]

Have a look at the following. TATAs look to be the worst of the lot

JD Power Asia Pacific 2006 India Customer Satisfaction Index Study
IQS 2006
J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2006 India Sales Satisfaction Index Study

-POGU

[safari dude]

My Dear PoguSingh, Adityapd, Wolfinstein God Father, Hari Rama, Jaggu, Extreme Torque, Sideways,gd1418, Zucchero, The Mag, Condor, Esteem Lover, Doktorkats, Steeroid and all the others who went through my long woebegone story regarding my broken down Safari dicor!

Hello,

The vehicle is back on roads of kochi! as of yesterday night. I kept reading and re-reading the column and thanking and praying for support that I received from all of you. With a majority of stuff replaced by the service station (with new stuff from Tata's.....under warranty that expired yesterday....lady luck was still with me!) I reached the AutoMatrix guys yesterday morning, test drove the wheels and found them satisfactory ...and drove down to Kochi.... from 1100 hrs till 2200hrs with one break for tea & lunch at Ferrokh and the veh was fabulous. My love story with the safari still rattles on.I don't think I shall sell it. I am done in with it for the good/ bad. Vehicle has brought me home safe and sound.

The Mechanical Engr told me that the oil pump had been the culprit leading to the break down @ Surat kal. My total damages was Rs 500/= +train tkt + cost of a full tank of Diesel, thats all.

As of now... I thank everyone at Team BHP for their support and help... and of course the Tata's who stood solidly through the ordeal.
Will Recommend Dicor & Tata's to anyone ....STILL...

[pogusingh]

Originally Posted by safari dude

My Dear PoguSingh, Adityapd, Wolfinstein God Father, Hari Rama, Jaggu, Extreme Torque, Sideways,gd1418, Zucchero, The Mag, Condor, Esteem Lover, Doktorkats, Steeroid and all the others who went through my long woebegone story regarding my broken down Safari dicor!

Hello,

The vehicle is back on roads of kochi! as of yesterday night. I kept reading and re-reading the column and thanking and praying for support that I received from all of you. With a majority of stuff replaced by the service station (with new stuff from Tata's.....under warranty that expired yesterday....lady luck was still with me!) I reached the AutoMatrix guys yesterday morning, test drove the wheels and found them satisfactory ...and drove down to Kochi.... from 1100 hrs till 2200hrs with one break for tea & lunch at Ferrokh and the veh was fabulous. My love story with the safari still rattles on.I don't think I shall sell it. I am done in with it for the good/ bad. Vehicle has brought me home safe and sound.

The Mechanical Engr told me that the oil pump had been the culprit leading to the break down @ Surat kal. My total damages was Rs 500/= +train tkt + cost of a full tank of Diesel, thats all.

As of now... I thank everyone at Team BHP for their support and help... and of course the Tata's who stood solidly through the ordeal.
Will Recommend Dicor & Tata's to anyone ....STILL...

Just got reminded of the saying, All is well that ends well. May be the title of the thread needs to be slightly modified now. All the best and merry driving

-POGU

[dicorex4x4]

Very timely thread and post.

I had noticed the "Check Engine" light come on briefly around the same time that my A/C condenser fan started vibrating (posted in Rahulk's LX thread). After the fan was replaced, the light came on once or twice and disappeared in a second, which I attributed to a fill of HP Turbojet from a not so known bunk.

Hit the highway after that and the light didn't appear even once for over 1000 km on the highways.

Back in the city and the light starts glowing intermittently accompanied by the engine turning extremely rough. This behavious stays for about 5 seconds and then its back to silent mode. Another observation is that this happens only in bumper to bumper traffic and not at speeds above 40 kph.

Will be taking it to the TASC on Monday and will keep this forum posted.

safari_dude, glad your truck is back in action. I have another jaunt coming up and I sure wouldn't want to go through a similar experience.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by dicorex4x4

the light came on once or twice and disappeared in a second, which I attributed to a fill of HP Turbojet from a not so known bunk.

Take to TASC and get fuel filter cleaned - 5 minute job. YOu've got muck in your fuel.

[pogusingh]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Take to TASC and get fuel filter cleaned - 5 minute job. YOu've got muck in your fuel.

Steeroid, you really are a Safari Doctor . As i understand this shouldnt be a problem specific to safari as it should happen with any other vehicle as well. Not too sure if I came across too many instances of the same on TBHP( except for one innova thread where you had pointed out the same cause). Also sometime back I had seen Review on Choosing a Car Dealer by sanspeak - MouthShut.com
where the same issue had been reported.
All I can conclude is that Petrol Pumps are selling some bad diesel and hence its very important which petrol pump you get the refilling from.

-POGU

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by pogusingh

As i understand this shouldnt be a problem specific to safari as it should happen with any other vehicle as well.

I do not know about other vehicles, but the Safari cuts the engine when the filter detects bad fuel.

On the one hand it protects the engine, but on the other you could be clipping on the fast lane at 120 clicks when this happens. I'm not sure if its such a bright idea, but I havent had a major issue on this count.

[dicorex4x4]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Take to TASC and get fuel filter cleaned - 5 minute job. YOu've got muck in your fuel.

It didn't turn out to be so simple, unfortunately.

Took it to the TASC where they hooked it up and found an ECU error. They fit in a replacement ECU and the same symptoms ocurred. All the sensors and relays seem to be fine. The wiring harness is now being changed and I should have truck back in the evening. The fuel filter is fine as per them.

The Safari got first priority to go in and 2 service advisors looked at it immediately. Will keep the forum posted on the replacements.

[safari dude]

Originally Posted by dicorex4x4

It didn't turn out to be so simple, unfortunately.

Took it to the TASC where they hooked it up and found an ECU error. They fit in a replacement ECU and the same symptoms ocurred. All the sensors and relays seem to be fine. The wiring harness is now being changed and I should have truck back in the evening. The fuel filter is fine as per them.

The Safari got first priority to go in and 2 service advisors looked at it immediately. Will keep the forum posted on the replacements.

They told me the same stuff at Goa and then they re-set the Check engine light and I ended up struck @ mangalore. Please tell them to check the Turbo bearings and oil pump that supplies the turbo for Sure before resetting the ECU sensor.

[Jaggu]

Glad to hear that your car is back. Treat her well and do listen to our steer to make it a better experience.

cheers
jaggu

[dicorex4x4]

safari dude,

You said:

While on the way somewhere after Ratnagiri and before Goa ( Rajapur) the "Check engine" light came on. Stopped the vehicle and let it cool down. Restarted again and the light stayed off for quite sometime but came on again after 30 min or so.

Did your temperature gauge go beyond the 1/2 mark? You mentioned "let it cool down". Was the light accompanied by the engine sounding extremely rough?

My temperature gauge was absolutely normal and there was no overheating. The only thing was the rough engine noise accompanying the "Check Engine" light.

Back in the city and the light starts glowing intermittently accompanied by the engine turning extremely rough.

My TASC gave me an update - the replacement wiring harness has not resulted in any change. They have done the checks as instructed:
1. Fuel filter is clean
2. Turbo bearings are fine
3. Oil pump is fine

They told me the same stuff at Goa and then they re-set the Check engine light and I ended up struck @ mangalore. Please tell them to check the Turbo bearings and oil pump that supplies the turbo for Sure before resetting the ECU sensor.

The TASC has escalated to Tata Motors and are now replacing the wiring harness with an OEM harness (as against replacement). From the look of it, this looks like a problem nobody has encountered earlier.

Will keep the forum posted on developments. Should get the truck back tomorrow.

[doctorkats]

could it be a problem with the engine oil pressure switch/sensor?