My Safari Suffer...ings!

[safari dude]

Hi! Safari Dude here. Bought a safari in Oct 06, LX, and got it outfitted really well. Had been driving it ever since and was recently posted out from Mumbai to Kochi. Dream journey for the driver (self), and after despatching the household goods by truck the family and I ( family consists of wife, two kids aged 12 & 8 and a 2 yr old dog named pluto)

With the long drive in offing, got the safari serviced at 19,500 Kms 02 weeks before starting from Mumbai to Cochin. Started on 25th from Mumbai and reached Goa on the same day evening around 1930 hrs (NH 17 is not exactly a dream run, but the scenery is fantastic). 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. Called the Tata helpline on my mobile and informed him about the problem again. He said that show the vehicle at Goa. Next day at Goa went to ND Naik and Sons and handed over the vehicle telling them about the problem. They checked the vehicle and gave it back after 21/2 hrs saying that the sensor was mal-functioning, nothing was wrong with the vehicle.Spent the day enjoying the sites and sounds of Goa and with a cool mind started off next day(27th Mar) for Cannanore (night halt). Well we were not destined to reach Cannanore that night as the vehicle started emitting copious white fumes at Suratkal near Mangalore and we had to stop call helpline again and inform them about the problem. They gave a Mangalore no. of Auto Matrix and the service Engineer said to check if the oil light was on? It wasn't so he said to drive on and try and reach the show room. So we trudged on at 40 Kmph or whatever the highway traffic allowed with everyone from the opposite direction pointing at the white fumes. Finally near the town the vehicle oil light glowed and we stopped again. Rang up automatrix and the service engineer said Put oil and drive on. We put 5 lit Engine oil and drove on to town. Stopped near the airport turn off to ask directions and the oil light came on again.Then I decided not todrive any more and asked the service engineer to come help and tow the car as I was scared that the Engine would seize now if the car had already digested 5lit oil in less than 10 min.So after a 30 min wait the tow veh - a tata mobile arrived and took us to the service station.By now I was really feeling tremendously let down by the break down. The service Engineer said he would take a day to let me know what the problem exactly was. I told him about the check engine light and showed him the Goa service slip.He got back to me the next day and informed me that the Turbo Charger oil seal and bearing had failed because of oil pump failure and the steering cross nut was very loose. Iwas lucky to have escaped incident free and arrived in Mangalore. The bill would be about 70-80K. Well, stayed overnight at Mangalore, and then took a train to Kochi, with dog squeezed in with the guard (that's what we wanted to avoid in the first place!). Waiting to receive the car and wonder if I would trust it again for a long drive! Would the vehicle still be road worthy? or should I put it under the hammer?Expert Comments welcome

[Godfather]

This is definately a weird problem that you have faced..
I have a few questions,

1. What were the speeds you were doing on the highways??
2. Did you frequent any stops and before siwtching off the vehicle did you idle it for a couple of minutes here( Note..it has to be more than 5 Minutes as there would be lots of high speeds involved and the turbo would have been on continously)
3. Did you hit any pot holes in good speeds?


Godfather

[hari_rama]

Do you idle the car for sometime after every starts n before turn offs??

check this thread.....am not an expert,but the damage to turbo seal maybe due to it....

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...hut-off-2.html (Do all Turbos require idling before shut-off?)

[Sideways]

Goddy / Hari Rama, they've found fault with the oil pump. Probably wasnt supplying required oil pressure due to which turbo internals failed. So it's not that the turbo failed due to not idling the car sufficiently after high speed driving etc.

Safari dude, if i were you, i'd check compression. This would probably indicate if there was any internal damage caused due to starvation. Also check for any blow by vapour. Knowing Tata, they will attribute any future failure to this problem. If I were you i'd get rid of the vehicle and pick up another one.

[extreme_torque]

@Safari_dude... If it was oil sump failure, shouldn't it be covered under warranty?

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by Sideways

Goddy / Hari Rama, they've found fault with the oil pump. Probably wasnt supplying required oil pressure due to which turbo internals failed.
.

I did think of this at first and after your comment i read the entire scene again..
1. the car had the check engine light on for sometime.. Then came on again after 30 min ( Prob -- Sensor Malfunction)
2. The car was checked in Goa.. There were no White Fumes before that IMHO this happened in GOA during checkup, something was missed out here / not put back properly ( Prob -- Oil Pump Failure)

I have my doubts here as the problems cropped from one to another.
If there was an Oil Pump failure and loose steering cross nut would the vehicle have made it from Mumbai to Mangalore.. distance of approx 700 Km??

Godfather

[Jaggu]

get your vehicle checked thoroughly before you decide anything, and if you were actually relocating, this might be a good time to get a new car (whichever make/model) and since the car is just an year old try to get the best price possible at this time

[gd1418]

Hi S_dude,

Sorry to hear about your ordeal and loss of trust in TATA. I've been owning a '98 4x4 and have done several long distance including GGN-BOM-GGN run.

Never had any any problems and no breakdowns (if you like the flat at Ankleshwar can be termed as one). Why so - is it coz the TASC here in Delhi/GGN do a good job? No way.

I never and don't go to TASC at all. I trust my local garage who has been ahndling all my vehicles from day one. To hell with the warranties..

Safari is an excellant machine and flowers up on highways. No other truck comes closest to it interms of driver & co-passenger comfy, road-grip and prescence. Even the huge tankers give way...

[zucchero]

guys sorry for posting it but most probably getting my new dicor within FEW days.now after reading these problems in safaris i am nervous,i mean damn nervous.i want to back out but i am insanly in love with this vehicle but if i am not the lucky one then i would be dead guys bcoz its only me who wants the dicor the rest of my family members wants a trouble free(compared to safaris)car may be a honda city,lancer or hyundai.i am stuck guys.what should i do?

[theMAG]

i am stuck guys.what should i do?

Go for the Safari. While Safari Dude has had some bad fortune, and Tata's are not necessarily known for their reliability, their quality is improving.

[condor]

Safari Dude, like Hari asked, have you been following recommeneded start-up and shut-down procedures ?

Zucchero, I would agree with theMAG. I guess you would have read Steer's reports & reviews. Just remember to follow any instructions given in the owners manual and also common-sense stuff to take care of your dream ride... basically, do not neglect things like idling, warm-up, cool-down, proper fuel ..

[esteem_lover]

This sucks big time. All preparations made to enjoy a wonderful ride & this had to happen. 6 months old car, who would expect that to act up like this ? I feel sorry for you safari dude. Isn't your car covered under warranty ? Why would you have to spend anything on it ?

[doctorkats]

its reading about stuff like this about tata that shakes me up....
sorry s_dude to hear about your ordeal.
as a future safari buyer it completely rattles one's faith.
as i understand it s_dude did everything okay to prepare for a long drive.
had the vehicle chked and serviced, called the service helpline to chk with them when he started having trouble, took it to a TASS in Goa, where they give him a clean chit to drive on,again called the helpline, drove on, then had it towed, took it to mangalore where he was given a bullet to his head.
couldnt tata figure it out earlier?in goa?whats with the prospective damage amount of 80k?where is the warranty?
and what faith do people have in tata as a car company with senior members already telling him to sell the 6 month old truck?
my heart sank to my boots hearing that.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Isn't your car covered under warranty ? Why would you have to spend anything on it ?

Very correct - if it was a malfunction shouldnt it be covered by warranty? ESPECIALLY since you had the vehicle checked up in Goa by people who said nothing was wrong.

But I'm a bit curious as to how you were able to make it from Goa to Mangalore if it was indeed an oil pump failure as claimed by them!

I doubt if you will be billed for the damage, but that does not take away the trauma of a well planned trip going totally awry. I can imagine how it feels to leave your dog in that miserable, dirty, dog-box in the guard's cabin.

PS: Just realized your Safari was bought 2nd hand http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/332085-post29.html (USED Safari(diesel)or honda city?) . Did you get the vehicle serviced after Oct 06 when you bought it?

[zucchero]

yes MAG and CONDOR bhai.i would be lot more carefull with safari bcoz i dont want to take any chances.as far as backing out i think its not possible and in case anything happens i know i got the entire team to help me out