[LEGION_FIVE]

Originally Posted by Bruichladdich

I want to know if anybody is using EV Travel Charging Kit. I wanted to buy one but thought why so much fuss for one night stay. I don't even travel frequently to Lonavala or Pune so I didn't really bother. But would love to know more as I am very keen to drive Mumbai - Goa.

https://aha.store/product/ev-travel-charging-kit/

Has anyone tried this?

Thanks.

I've been using it for a long time and it's been a lifesaver for someone like me who loves exploring the wilds and the rural areas where EVs aren't meant to go, at least for now. I've undertaken journeys from Delhi to Kufri (way above Shimla, which has the last EV charger in Jabli), Kalimpong, Mussoorie, etc. where chargers are very few and far between or straight up don't exist. I've been able to rent homestays and charge my car through this kit and push on further high up in the mountains where even regular tourists don't go. It has been incredibly useful and I'd recommend it in a heartbeat. I have the fully kitted out version with the longest cable. The tow rope comes in handy not just for towing but also when your charging port is on higher floors (I just tie the plug to the tow rope and run it downstairs in the parking to connect it to the car). The earthing equipment has been the boon of my life especially in these remote regions where earthing is not even a known concept to most locals who offer homestay. And just the sheer convenience of not having to pay sneaky charges at some chargers (like at malls where they install the chargers inside the mall parking asking you to pay the parking fees + charging fees when you just want to charge and go instead of shopping at their mall).

Having said that, you don't need one for a Mumbai-Goa trip. I get the feeling you're still very apprehensive about your ride's capabilities. I'd suggest cutting your teeth with it first and then deciding whether you want it for emergencies or for when you undertake longer trips where chargers are scarce. But for anyone else who intends to push their Nexons to the limit, this is a must-have.

[K_Drive]

I stumbled into a Youtube video which explains electrical and mechanical components of electrical car(Nexon EV). The video is in Malayalam. Unfortunately no subtitles. Diagnosis expert of KVR service center Palakkad explains working of EV in detail and precautions that needs to be taken as a mechanic while working on EVs. He also shares EV driving tips. Very useful video. Happy to see a service center guy with good knowledge on EVs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZdBoQa0wHs

[Palio_2005]

Hi guys. I faced an issue with my Nexon EV within couple of days of delivery. 1. The window beading folds in with the power window 2. The request sensor stops working off and on
3. Post fast charging, the SOC started fluctuating showing erratic SOC.

Tata promised to resolve the issue and asked us to bring the car to the SC on Monday. On reaching there the SC was clueless as to what is to be done as no instruction was passed on to them. A series of calls yielded no result. Finally we were told to leave the car and they have not been able to give a date as to when the issue would be resolved nor are they giving us a loaner car.

Sorry state of affairs at Tata seriously. Regretting purchase of a Tata vehicle.





Mod Note : Please do NOT use acronyms (e.g. ANHC, MS, T-Fort, ANHV) when referring to cars or their makers. You are ONLY permitted to use the full Make & Model name. This will make our content useful, searchable & easy-to-understand for experts & newbies alike.

Thanks for the support & understanding

[BrokenHW]

An Indian EV has made it to the highest motorable road in the world. Tata NexonEV MAX, the first electric car to drive up to Umling La pass in Eastern Ladakh, that’s 19,024 feet. Highest road in the world, right here.

[spkrnh]

This was one of the most efficiency conscious highway drives i did in my Nexon EV Max.
The speed was constantly between 60-80, max 90kmph.
The average Wh/km was 141, went to a low of 133 when i was alternating between feathering the throttle and lifting off/braking on potholed roads.
Kept in eco mode with regen 2.
Worked out to 121kms over 44% charge which equates to 275kms.
I will try to put up an update after returning back, but i am going to do it in normal city mode with regular speed and lets see how that comes.

[RJK]

Originally Posted by RJK

I just made my final payment for the car today. Suffice to say, there are miles to go before one can buy TATA products blindly. For my own satisfaction, I went to do a PDI of the car that was allotted to me by TATA motors, assuring that they have done me a favour by diverting someone else's car as I was making full payment. Realised upon reaching the stock yard on my own (2hrs away from where I stay) that it was just a cock and bull story.

Anyway, I selected a car (even that one has scratches, some of them even catch the nail) and got assurance from stating all scratches will be removed & deeper ones will have panels repainted with exact colour match.

Update: Got my car delivered on 4th September. Puneet motors assured delivery would be very good and they need time to paint the panels that were identified in my stockyard visit etc, which I granted. Lo and behold, on the day of delivery they bring the car out and I see that nothing had been done on the scratches, not a single blooming thing! The delivery experience was so pathetic, I wasted 4hrs there getting things fixed; in fact I had initially refused delivery because they wasted my time and had sat in my car to leave. I told them you keep the car even though I have paid in full. The standards of Tata and its dealers are so low that they found nothing wrong in the way they handled the situation, for them it’s perfectly alright to hand over a pre scratched car to the customer.

Of special mention is a lady by the name of Anita Jadhav who’s a General Manager of their Saki Naka outlet and was filling in for the Prabhadevi manager since he was away on family medical emergency. This blessed (insert a curse word of your choice) lady was so disinterested that she actually rolled her eyes at me for asking them to fix things. I had initially refused delivery but on their constant nagging I said ok, I want ceramic coating done and she gave me a look as if I’m a stupid fool. She found nothing wrong with the fact they had no standard procedures to check the vehicle before handing over to the customer. She’s the epitome of how not to interact with a customer!

The Tata motors (not dealer) employee was accommodating but he also said “sir we have done the best we could”. Sad part is that they had done nothing but he said he’ll do something and gave me 3D mats and mud flaps complimentary on the car when I had been insisting on ceramic coat.

Finally we left after 4hrs, thoroughly disappointed-I’m certain I lost a year of my life with the amount of heartburn & screamin/shouting I had to do. No one likes to be have so much acrimony on delivery day but Tata & Puneet ensured that I do. I must add my sales guy, young fella named Prashant was conveniently absent on the day of delivery and his team leader was assigned to do the delivery. Both were equally clueless and careless despite documenting everything on email. I guess they’re living out the adage of pay peanuts and get monkeys.

The saddest part was my 70yrs old father was with me the entire time and had to witness this waste of time and waste his time too. In the midst he actually went to the hospital because the hospital called (he’s still a practising cancer surgeon and a mighty good one at that) Usually I never drag him along for deliveries unless it’s one of the nicer, premium family vehicle. Anyway this mistake won’t be repeated again.

Coming to the car itself, after nearly 3 weeks of usage, I find the car is pretty decent and that Tata have made good progress from the time when we last bought their product in ‘02. Only drawback is the ride is a firm but we knew that before we bought it, so not really product fault. Only thing that I notice is that the regen doesn’t work for until first 5-6kms charging the car to 100%. Do anyone of you guys also face this problem? We usually drive on regen level 3 and manage about 190-200kms on full charge. The least we’ve gone down to is 9% charge, our driver gets massive anxiety and insists on charging every night, even at 60% charge since the travel during the day can be unpredictable. At this point I do feel that a bigger battery pack would’ve helped but not the Max version with the leg space getting compromised.

I must mention, Tata have done a marvellous job on the seats, especially the front ones - mind blowing contours and support for the upper back! The Apple car play isn’t as fluid as I’d liked but won’t complain. The speakers audio quality is also quite decent for being stock fitment.

That’s all from me for now, I intend to start a thread on the vehicle at some point

Cheers

[sahakar]

Originally Posted by RJK

Only thing that I notice is that the regen doesn’t work for until first 5-6kms charging the car to 100%. Do anyone of you guys also face this problem? We usually drive on regen level 3 and manage about 190-200kms on full charge. The least we’ve gone down to is 9% charge, our driver gets massive anxiety and insists on charging every night, even at 60% charge since the travel during the day can be unpredictable. At this point I do feel that a bigger battery pack would’ve helped but not the Max version with the leg space getting compromised.

Regen starts at 97% as logically there's no need to start regen at full battery

9% battery will still take you another 25kms or more as the car aggressively saves energy on the last 10%. I go till less than 5% before charging myself everytime.

Expect to get around 180km minimum with bumper to bumper traffic at full charge. Even with the worse kind of spirited driving you will get 150km. The AC uses around 6% battery an hour and can be leveraged to increase range by shutting it down in case of range anxiety

As you and your driver get more experience driving the EV, the range anxiety will go down as it's impossible to get stranded in any city even for the lower range Prime.

For example in Bombay from the suburbs to town you can easily do four round trips at full battery before you need a charge. And there's enough charging stations all around.

Just remember to charge all the way to 100% always for proper cell balancing and go atleast below 10% every month before charging again.

Cheers

[RJK]

Originally Posted by sahakar

Regen starts at 97% as logically there's no need to start regen at full battery

9% battery will still take you another 25kms or more as the car aggressively saves energy on the last 10%. I go till less than 5% before charging myself everytime.

Wow, didn't know 9% could stretch that further.

Expect to get around 180km minimum with bumper to bumper traffic at full charge. The AC uses around 6% battery an hour and can be leveraged to increase range by shutting it down in case of range anxiety

Yes, 180-200 kms is what I had mentally prepared for before buying. However, we end up charging the car at about 120-140kms itself because limited amount of juice left & the associated headache of finding & sitting while the vehicle charges. Besides, I'd prefer slow charging at home over fast charging to prolong the battery life.

For example in Bombay from the suburbs to town you can easily do four round trips at full battery before you need a charge.

I wouldn't generalise like that, we live in suburbs & come to South bombay everyday, covering roughly 40kms one way, best/most I can hope to do is 2 round trips given the travel.

Just remember to charge all the way to 100% always for proper cell balancing and go atleast below 10% every month before charging again.

Cheers

Noted chief

[sahakar]

Originally Posted by RJK

I wouldn't generalise like that, we live in suburbs & come to South bombay everyday, covering roughly 40kms one way, best/most I can hope to do is 2 round trips given the travel.

My bad. I was counting from Andheri to town. Yes 2 trips is best you can do and run some local errands before charging.

Generally what I have seen are the following ranges for the Prime, depending on how you drive

200Wh/km - 150km
150Wh/km - 200km
120Wh/km - 250km
100Wh/km - 300km

So if you really drive conservatively you can do max 3 round trips with the last one really anxiety filled

And the coming Bombay winter will give the best Wh/km for the year to try it out

[Palio_2005]

Hi. I have recently joined the nexon owners group and one of the biggest problem faced is a stuck charging gun. The reason is that the actuator pin gets stuck due to collection of dust and mud. This is due to the charging port placed above the rear tyre which splashes mud. One needs to put your hand in and wiggle around to find a pin which when pulled manually releases the pin. Tata is unable to give a solution till date. Maybe placing a thread and pin in the boot compartment would be more helpful than putting your hand in small space above the tyre. Imagine doing that in the night with low visibility. Anyone has any short cuts?

[sahakar]

Originally Posted by Palio_2005

Hi. I have recently joined the nexon owners group and one of the biggest problem faced is a stuck charging gun. Anyone has any short cuts?

Till Tata comes up with a fool proof actuator cover (which they are working on), the following mostly works

Clean the underbody beneath the charger port with a water pipe every couple of weeks or so. That washes away the mud and grime which is supposed to be the culprit for stuck actuator

Many a times the charging gun gets released with door look & unlock, hand brake release or starting the car in ready mode

If the above doesn't work, then manual unlock by pulling the pin down is the final option to unlock the charging gun. It isn't hard once you get the hang of it.

Just FYI that I haven't still faced the stuck charging gun since 6 months I have the Prime.

Max and Tigor don't have this problem as they have a button on the dashboard to unlock.

Cheers

[Palio_2005]

Originally Posted by sahakar

Max and Tigor don't have this problem as they have a button on the dashboard to unlock.

Cheers

Thanks. I wonder why Tata skipped Prime. And if its such a simple fix why not provide it. Strange are the ways of Tata

[sahakar]

Originally Posted by Palio_2005

Thanks. I wonder why Tata skipped Prime. And if its such a simple fix why not provide it. Strange are the ways of Tata

The learnings of Prime are being put in their next releases. Prime owners are also benefiting from the updates though maybe not to the full extent but sufficiently so.

The hardware updates are difficult but a lot of the car is software so that helps. The cruise and regen software update for example is very intuitive even without any hardware change.

Overall Tata EVs really have no competition currently and now with the Tiago EV they just made their lead even more unassailable

Cheers

[Ankit998]

Electric Vehicles were not such a common occurrence on Indian roads until 2021. Of course, this makes sense considering that the technology is relatively new for the Indian market. I do distinctly remember the 'Reva' - which was a common sight in Bangalore as far back as 2006.


Let me start off with this: I belong to a family of 3: My father, mother and I. No siblings and we've never found the need for a car larger than a compact SUV or a C segment sedan. My father, a biomedical engineer by profession, has always been enthusiastic about cars although he doesn't care for power, torque and 0-100 figures but does appreciate performance, luxury, comfort and a certain degree of finesse.

Some of the cars we've owned in the past include:

1. A lavender Hyundai Santro Xing XG

Notably my father's first car and cherished by all of us. This car performed wonderfully for it's time, we loved the shade. It served us well for nearly 5 years.

We did briefly also own a Hyundai Santro eRLX XO for maybe a little over a year. A job transfer was the reason for parting ways with this car. Once again, the Santro Xing was a gem of a car.


2. 2006 Suzuki Swift VXi ABS

Part of the first batch of Suzuki Swifts sold in India, yes this was the one with the 1.3L engine from the Esteem. Again, a brilliant car that served us well for over 5 years/60000kms before we decided to upgrade to a sedan.


3. 2008 Honda Civic V AT

Screams luxury, was a fast sedan and very comfortable. This was a car that was so loved by us, we had it with us for over 10 years before finally parting ways. We had no issues with the car's performance but had issues with ground clearance, a flood in 2017 nearby our house did cause significant electrical damage to the car. We had to let it go in 2019. We had clocked well over 1L kms by then.


4. 2011 VW Vento DLF IPL edition

We were looking for a second sedan and didn't mind buying a manual. VW had just launched the Polo and then the Vento, while we were briefly considering the Swift Dzire, we all loved the Vento more. This car works beautifully even today. Some of the issues we faced: Spark plug failure, alternator stopped working within 30000kms. Today, the car has completed a little of 1L kms and has issues with the power windows and infotainment system.

5. 2018 Suzuki Dzire ZXI AMT

My parents shifted to Noida and I remained in Mumbai (during my undergrad days). My parents did not want to take the Vento to Noida and decided to keep it in Mumbai to be used for my grandparents. They decided to go for a smaller car, comfortable enough for a couple yet was practical and frugal. They were clear that a compact sedan is all that was needed: Afterntest driving all the cars they liked (Honda Amaze, VW Ameo and the Dzire), they settled for the Suzuki Dzire ZXI AMT in Oxford Blue. The car remained with them for 2 years/24000km before they returned back to Mumbai as my father's project in Noida was completed. Within the 2 years, the car had absolutely no issues and my father was very unwilling to let the car go.


6. 2021 Nexon EV XZ+ Glacier White

The return to Mumbai and Mumbai's abysmal roads meant that my parents were not keen on buying a hatchback/compact sedan. Even some of the larger sedans such as the Honda City were not considered. Our 2011 Vento was used for the first couple months but with increasing petrol prices and the Vento's deteriorating condition, there was an increasing need for a new car. We booked test rides of multiple cars: Nissan Magnite being the front runner. In fact my dad had booked this car when he was in Noida, a few days post the official launch at the end of 2020. Consistent delays in delivery date with no explanation caused us great frustration and we ended up cancelling the booking.


Nexon EV - 14 points that summarize our initial ownership experience over the past year.


1. Clean, mean and serene: The Nexon EV looks good. It's quiet yet incredibly fast and obviously incredibly silent. We've never before been so reliant on the horn to warn pedestrians. Sport mode is unnecessarily quick and we have almost never used it due to congested Mumbai traffic.

2.Running costs are brilliant! While fast charging isn't economical, we rely on it very rarely: 8 or 9 times over the past 1 year.

3. Slow charging - Only reliable means of charging - have faced issues here too. The charger gets incredibly hot and the car will stop charging. This has happened maybe 4 times until now.

4. Inaccurate BMS - There was a point in time when the car at full charge displayed only 80kms of range. The range figure eventually goes up to 230+ as the battery level drops to 70%. Sometimes however, the range would remain stuck at 80kms yet the car would still complete close to 200 kms in that one charge cycle. Eventually the range drops to <80kms as the battery level drops below 40%. This issue has been fixed after the prime software update.

5. Fast charging reliability is poor and the system throws up multiple errors which make it very difficult to depend on.

6. High speed stability is rock solid.

7. Headlight throw can be described as 'adequate' at best. It could have been much better.

8. Fit and finish is lacking - Accelerator pedal had loosened within first 1000kms and was moving from side to side. This has never happened on any car we've owned before and was very odd and off-putting. Fixed within the first service and has not happened again.

9. Major front suspension noise: While going over bumps or while acceleration/regen/braking there was an audible clunking noise that worsened over this past monsoon season. We were well aware that Nexons had a link rod issue and pursued this with Tata for over 90 days with no response - Service Guys at Wasan Motors, Deonar did not bother to check and said all was 'normal'. Booking a slot for service has always been cumbersome. Finally, just 3 weeks back, we returned the car for service + Prime update. We asked for a different service representative who immediately identified the issue after a short drive and I'm glad to say the issue has been fixed. It was not due to the link rod but due to a screw/bolt which had lost all threading and causing the suspension to mechanically clash against the bushing. Had to be re-threaded and tested for 60kms. A word of advise to all prospective buyers of a Tata vehicle:

10. With the latest Prime Update: Range has gone UP! With our style of driving, we're consistently getting around 200-210 kms in the city, up from 180-190kms before. This is with AC on about 70% of the time, regen mode on Level 3. A figure of 260kms on highways seems possible. We are yet to go for a long distance trip, so will update regarding that in the near future. Cruise control is a welcome feature. The iTPMS is nothing but a sensor that lights up the dash symbol if it detects and issue with tyre pressure and needs to be reset. Service rep has advised us to not fill the tyres with nitrogen and just use air as nitrogen can mess with the sensors. If anyone can confirm and provide some clarity on this matter, I'd greatly appreciate it.

11. This is a very comfortable car - Rear seat comfort was definitely above our expectations. A feature that would have been welcome - Rear USB port provision and AC blower controls.

12. Infotainment system is average, can lag at times and Android Auto can be a pain to use. The 8 speaker Harman system is pretty good, it isn't 'fantastic' but definitely above average!

13. 205mm of ground clearance. We're glad to bid adieu to all ground clearance issues within some of the cars we owned in the past (particularly our 2008 Honda Civic). The Nexon EV handles bad roads and poorly constructed speed breakers with ease.

14. Service experience is truly lacking. Tata is very busy launching new 'editions' of their vehicles and I applaud how they've revolutionized their product offerings, however there seems to be no attention paid to taking care of their customers AFTER having bought their products.


Attached are some pictures of our car. Overall, the ownership experience has been good although a little troublesome.

[RahulNagaraj]

Thanks to Kunal Haria for sending this in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

Dear Team-BHP,

I would like to publish an article related to the pathetic service workshops by Tata Motors for the Tata EV division. And the problem of owning a Tata Motors EV vehicle.

I am a not-so-proud owner of the Tata Nexon EV, would never recommend anyone to buy a Tata Motors vehicle after my experience with the company and the dealership.

My vehicle had problems from the start. The dealer Heritage Motors, Thane sold me the vehicle without Pre Delivery Inspection in November 2021

The problems I faced during the delivery are listed below:

1. They got the name wrong on the invoice which the dealer did not correct in their system but changed the name on my invoice by correcting it in Microsoft Docs it's been 11 months now and yet not corrected it. I have multiple times tried reaching out but they only say we are doing it and yet nothing has been done. Even Mr Aniket Salaskar and Mr Sharad Ranjan from Tata Motors have not been able to resolve the issue to date. Both are TMVP Sales and Marketing at Tata Motors. I have taken an update for this on 24/09/22
   
2. There was a major safety risk at the time of delivery, there was a cut in the seat belt from the company itself and if the dealer had done their PDI this would have been addressed before delivery but they did not care even a bit for it. And I had to figure out things myself and it took them more than 6months to acknowledge that it happened during the delivery and fix it.
   
3. The charging port lid was sticking out from the time of delivery and even that took them more than 6months to replace the Heritage Motors workshop at Wagle Estate Thane replaced it with such poor quality paint work that the paint came off within 2 months and it started to rust and water started to leak in.

To my surprise, these were just the start of problems with the vehicle and the major problems came in after this.

In around February or March 2022 the problem arises was of sudden battery depletion, during this time I almost had 80% battery and it happened while I was returning from the office, and I contacted the workshop and they brought the vehicle in and said there is no problem they just disconnected the battery and cleaned the connector.

Then again the same thing happens in April as soon as I left from office in the afternoon and the battery started depleting quickly only this time I had 25% battery and within 1 km of driving it depleted to around 10%. That day I had to leave the car at the office and my office is in a rural part of Bhiwandi, I got stranded there, and contact the workshop they said not to charge the vehicle while it's depleting like this and charge it after a few hours and I'll need to bring the vehicle in the workshop again, so I charged to vehicle overnight at the office as I had fitted the charging station there as well. And somehow I managed and arranged another vehicle to get home and I had to cancel all my work after that day then next day I brought the vehicle back and arranged a pick up from the workshop to pick it up from my home. The person was supposed to come at 10 am and he reached at 11.30 am that too without a job card, I had a word with the service advisor and he said he will send me the job card after the vehicle reaches the workshop. They sent me the job card on WhatsApp later and they did the same thing of disconnecting the battery and cleaning the connector and charging the vehicle for a while and dropping off the vehicle the next day in the afternoon saying there is no problem.

The next day I drove the vehicle and reached my office which is 40km away from Thane City I opened the boot to remove the charger and surprisingly there is no charger in the boot, whereas during the delivery I had shown the driver who came to pick up that the charger is packed in the pouch. The workshop misplaced the charger. And to my luck, the vehicle had enough charge to reach back home.

I contacted the workshop and that this is the situation and that my charger is not there in the vehicle. First, they denied it happened from their end and the manager started to blame me that I did not send it but upon asking for inventory, the service advisor did not even have inventory and they have the audacity to even blame me for it when clearly they can't do their work properly. I registered a complaint on Tata Motors consumer services and later I found they had falsely reported there that the charger was delivered the next day. Whereas I received the charger after 4-5 days. So my vehicle was immobile for those days.