[lemedico]

Adding parcel tray strings to a Tiago for Rs. 8. This method would work for a lot of other cars as well.

We’re all aware of the frequent habit of feature deletions across the Tata motors range. So much, that I wonder if they are secretly inspiring Indians to be crafty with their hands and tools to bring such deletions back to their cars by DIY. I’m happy about that, an active brain is prevention against old age Alzheimer’s disease! When I’m not playing Sudoku or operating on patients in the operating theatre, I am busy with my cars- cleaning, maintaining, and upgrading features!

I recently acquired a pre-owned Tiago XZA+ 2021 make. This was a boon purchase as it's compact size and ease of ownership was a desperate need amongst the usual cars in my garage, which are far too long, or tall for my daily get around. Alas, on purchase, I immediately lost a few hair strands learning of the absent reverse parking sensors (on the top model!) and these measly parcel tray strings to lift it up when the boot opens.

I am a fan of transplant surgery. This concept works well outside of healthcare as well! You may have read my thread on grafting a Honda City’s auto-dimming IRVM into a Ciaz.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...rs-6500-a.html (Upgraded to an auto-dimming rear view mirror for Rs. 838 | EDIT: Honda hikes price to Rs 6500)

This was a proper achievement by myself, and a lot more DIYers who grabbed the part for Rs. 422. Unfortunately, the fanfare caused the part to shoot up to a price of Rs. 6000+ as of now.

Anyway, I needed hooks to attach to the boot, which would hang the loop of the parcel tray string. I didn’t even try going to Tata motors to find out if they had them, or even bother trying to explain to them what I need and why the hell I need it. Tata motors has the most nonchalant staff who are best left alone.

I have a few friendly faces at Maruti Suzuki through my work on their kidneys. I rang a chap up o’er there and told him what I needed. I was giving the example of a similar part from the Baleno but I quickly realised the stings on the Baleno hang directly off the rear windshield by metal clips. What I needed were hooks from a Swift. Luckily, being a rare part sale, they were available in stock for a price of Rs. 16 per hook. I wasn’t charged and handed them over complimentary! Perhaps they’ll stick it on the bill during the service for my wife’s Ciaz but for now, I’ve yet to spend any money.

There are rubber plugs covering the holes where you need to push in the hooks. It’s a simple task that needs no descriptive sentences. The hooks are a perfect fit. I wouldn’t try pulling them out, I think they will break.

For the strings, I bought 4 meters of ‘kala dhaaga’ or ‘maala dhaaga’ from a typical ladies' store which sells bangles and bindis. That cost me a total of Rs. 8 and he even gave me two large plastic balls with a central tunnel, which are needed as described later on.

At home, I divided the string into two parts of 2 meters each, then further divided each string into 3 equal lengths. These 3 lengths need to be braided, as do girls with their hair. YouTube to the rescue! It’s a not too difficult task for a newbie, but a swift one for the ladies who do so to their hair regularly. I braided one, and my wife did the other.

With the braids complete, I threaded the plastic ball to the far end. This would act like a washer against the parcel tray. You could also do without it and instead tie a lot of knots at one end to make it bulky, and that would in turn stop it from slipping off the hole made in the parcel tray.
Whack out the parcel tray and drill a hole at two near corners. Try using a small drill bit. Perhaps 3-4mm. There is no need to make a large hole. If your thread is smooth(reshami), it won’t snag on opening or closing the boot. All that you need to do now is place the braided strings through the holes and then tie a loop around the newly installed hooks at the top end.

Tie it up at your desired height at which you’d like the parcel tray to be lifted when you open the boot. I tried it at multiple levels, and it didn’t snag at any. You may need to put some fevi kwik or melt the frayed ends on both sides. I haven't trimmed the excess yet, I may need it if I choose to alter the lift height again.

And voila, the job is done! A few pictures are attached for better understanding. All in all, I spent Rs. 8. However, with the cost of the hooks, some fevi-kwik, and those two plastic balls, this is no more than Rs. 50 TOTAL. Boodmo has parcel tray strings for the Altroz at Rs 140 per string, shipping extra! What a waste. Absolutely save those rupees and buy yourself, or your car a respective pint of preferred beverage!

I am working on more small changes and upgrades to the Tiago. Next up are atmosphere lights (already bought from Amazon for Rs. 323. Offline accessories shop wanted Rs. 1500), reverse parking sensors( Bought from Amazon Rs. 500. Offline Rs. 1100), front armrest (Bought from Gomechanic.com Rs. 1836. Tata wants Rs. 6000, Galio spare parts online wants Rs. 2830). I’ll post them as they are completed. Thanks

[ajayc123]

Nice cost effective jugaad.

Usually the parcel tray strings have loops at the parcel.tray end, and hooks in the parcel tray, as a result the parcel tray can be removed after removing the loops. I am not sure, if you have that possibility in your current setup, buy that's an improvisation that you can attempt if that's missing.

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by ajayc123

Nice cost effective jugaad.

Usually the parcel tray strings have loops at the parcel.tray end, and hooks in the parcel tray, as a result the parcel tray can be removed after removing the loops. I am not sure, if you have that possibility in your current setup, buy that's an improvisation that you can attempt if that's missing.

Oh that's easy, I can undo the knots. The strings are very smooth, the knots remain tight with the weight of the tray but open up easily if needed. I have used a particular knotting method, we surgeon's call it the Roeder's knot. It isn't too different from a neck noose knot.

[sagarpadaki]

Nifty DIY. Good job!

I did a similar DIY for my Tiago as well.

These are the parts you need from Tata parts bin. 2 nos of each of the below

(1) -> https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-pin_...helf-33079831/
(2) - >https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-butt...helf-33079830/


There are 2 rubber grommets on the hatch either side of the rear glass as shown by the OP in the pics above. Remove them
The (1) will go first into the hole exposed by the removed grommet. (2) will then go into (1) and lock.


Drilled a couple of holes in the parcel tray. For string, I used this from Mahindra parts bin. This has loops at one end and a stopper at the other end. Adjust the knot position based on how high one wants the parcel tray to move up when the hatch is opened.
Tata does not provide strings as independent part nos.

https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-parc...read-33064204/

One thing I noticed is that the string tension on the two strings need to be almost equal. Meaning, when the hatch is open both the strings must be taut. If one of them has slack, then the boot door will not open smoothly. I do not know if the lifter gas struts are not strong enough or there is some other issue.

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Nifty DIY. Good job!


Tata does not provide strings as independent part nos.

.

They do indeed

https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-5442...0aAnqdEALw_wcB

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Nifty DIY. Good job!

I did a similar DIY for my Tiago as well.

These are the parts you need from Tata parts bin. 2 nos of each of the below

(1) -> https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-pin_...helf-33079831/
(2) - >https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-butt...helf-33079830/


There are 2 rubber grommets on the hatch either side of the rear glass as shown by the OP in the pics above.

One thing I noticed is that the string tension on the two strings need to be almost equal. Meaning, when the hatch is open both the strings must be taut. If one of them has slack, then the boot door will not open smoothly. I do not know if the lifter gas struts are not strong enough or there is some other issue.

Regarding the OEM hooks, they are rubberised. That surely isn't going to let the loop glide without friction. The ones from the Swift are hard plastic, virtually friction-free and have a deep enough groove to prevent loop slippage. They are also a single piece rather than two-chock and stop.

For the gas lifter struts, perhaps a spray of WD-40 would sort it out. They are definitely strong enough. I mean TATA wouldn't develop weaker struts to install in cars with absent parcel tray lifters.

Could you upload a few photos of your DIY, and other mods if any? Thanks

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by lemedico

They do indeed

https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-5442...0aAnqdEALw_wcB

Thanks for sharing. However, we cannot be sure if the length of the cord is right to work in Tiago as expected. Also, from the looks of it , the string length is not adjustable. The Mahindra part that I shared has a hole in the stopper though which the string passes. The sting can then be knot at the appropriate position.

Originally Posted by lemedico

Regarding the OEM hooks, they are rubberised. That surely isn't going to let the loop glide without friction. The ones from the Swift are hard plastic, virtually friction-free and have a deep enough groove to prevent loop slippage. They are also a single piece rather than two-chock and stop.

For the gas lifter struts, perhaps a spray of WD-40 would sort it out. They are definitely strong enough. I mean TATA wouldn't develop weaker struts to install in cars with absent parcel tray lifters.

Could you upload a few photos of your DIY, and other mods if any? Thanks

I do not think the problem is with the hooks that prevent the hatch door from lifting up. What I observed is, if I place an umbrella (medium size) and a box of tissues of the parcel shelf, the hatch struts are not able to extend fully with the load of the parcel tray + umbrella + tissue box. I need to push the hatch door to the max open position manually. This made me wonder if struts on my car have become weak or Tata reduced the strength of the lifters after discontinuing the parcel tray strings.

Other DIY I have done on my Tiago is boot lamp which I have not documented here.

Here is my DIY for adding 12v socket near the handbrake area
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...-my-tiago.html (DIY: Installing a rear 12V accessory socket in my Tiago)

[DDIS_RE650]

When I read the title, I assumed you might have used black shoe-lace but you have surprised. Ab parcel tray ko kisi ki nazar bhi naa lagegi

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Other DIY I have done on my Tiago is boot lamp which I have not documented here.

Here is my DIY for adding 12v socket near the handbrake area
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...-my-tiago.html (DIY: Installing a rear 12V accessory socket in my Tiago)

Your thread on the 12v socket installation is very informative. I shall do it to my car in the future.

A thread on the boot lamp would have been such an amazing one to follow. I'm desperate for a boot lamp lamp but haven't got around installing one. I did check that there is a switch with wire installed on the edge of the boot hatch, but no wiring harness in either the left or the right side slots for the lamp.

Any quick guidance, or videos that you followed?

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by DDIS_RE650

When I read the title, I assumed you might have used black shoe-lace but you have surprised. Ab parcel tray ko kisi ki nazar bhi naa lagegi

That's a nice way to consider it, may the evil eye spare it bumper to bumper! I hadn't thought of it until I read your comment. Thanks!

[rkw]

I was under the impression that all cars since about last 10 years come with parcel tray strings for swing movement with hatch. If not, then those can stay at "up" position on its own. But in older models, parcel tray had to be held in "up" position thereby obstructing the use of boot as one hand is occupied. I recall doing the same DIY on our Indica V2 2001 model which came with a parcel tray without strings.

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by rkw

I was under the impression that all cars since about last 10 years come with parcel tray strings for swing movement with hatch. If not, then those can stay at "up" position on its own. But in older models, parcel tray had to be held in "up" position thereby obstructing the use of boot as one hand is occupied. I recall doing the same DIY on our Indica V2 2001 model which came with a parcel tray without strings.

The tray does stay upright on its own, gotta give that to Tata. But the convenience of it self-lifting, and a boot lamp switching on is nice to have

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by lemedico

A thread on the boot lamp would have been such an amazing one to follow. I'm desperate for a boot lamp lamp but haven't got around installing one. I did check that there is a switch with wire installed on the edge of the boot hatch, but no wiring harness in either the left or the right side slots for the lamp.

Any quick guidance, or videos that you followed?

Unfortunately, I did not take any pics of the boot lamp install. I used a fuse tap for +12v and tapped into the factory tailgate harness for ground. Used a corrugated plastic conduit as seen in my DIY thread and ran it from the top of the driver side A Pillar to the boot area under the roofliner by removing the door beadings.

This is the boot lamp which also comes with a switch
https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-load_area_lamp-6613697/

[Nikhil Beke]

Originally Posted by lemedico

Your thread on the 12v socket installation is very informative. I shall do it to my car in the future.

A thread on the boot lamp would have been such an amazing one to follow. I'm desperate for a boot lamp lamp but haven't got around installing one. I did check that there is a switch with wire installed on the edge of the boot hatch, but no wiring harness in either the left or the right side slots for the lamp.

Any quick guidance, or videos that you followed?

Considering its just a boot light that won't be used very often, why aren't you considering something like this? Atomlite Electric 5 Watts Striker Round LED Surface Cabinet PVC Down Light (6cm Dia, Pack of 4, White) https://amzn.eu/d/bKWcor2


Stick-on wireless USB light, destined to be used inside the wardrobes. Would save you a lot of hassles with wires.

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by Nikhil Beke

Considering its just a boot light that won't be used very often, why aren't you considering something like this? Atomlite Electric 5 Watts Striker Round LED Surface Cabinet PVC Down Light (6cm Dia, Pack of 4, White) https://amzn.eu/d/bKWcor2


Stick-on wireless USB light, destined to be used inside the wardrobes. Would save you a lot of hassles with wires.

I have considered it but I decided against it. Where I, live, in the summer we have 48 celcius. The car's cabin would hit 60 celcius and I CANNOT trust a lithium ion battery to not explode!

[lemedico]

https://youtu.be/_9ZOzwkyBk8

this is the video I have recorded to show my work. on request of multiple persons to show it in its full functionality.