[albeit21]

My friends and I went on a trip to Varkala, reaching Trivandrum by air then by car for the rest of the journey.We stayed at a wonderful Airbnb. For our way back, the Airbnb host offered to drop us back to Trivandrum airport as there was some issue with the cab that he usually calls. Our flight was at 20:50 and we left Varkala at 17:15 and reached the airport at 19:10.


The airbnb host had a Tata altroz with the naturally aspirated petrol engine. He seemed to really love the car, although addressing its lack of power and an issue with the air conditioning system which Tata had replaced for him. The airbnb host recommended a tea shop which had different kinds of tea located right opposite the airport entrance. Hence, we decided to stop by knowing that we had about 45 minutes before check-in closes.

We locked the car to have our tea and returned to the car, the door was not unlocking and the host is telling us that his smart wearable key had run out of battery and could not open the car. He quickly called his local Tata guy and explained the situation and they responded back saying a service person would come in 15-20 minutes with a new battery for the key. It was 19:50 which was closing time for check-in, we decided to go inform the airline people about the situation and they gave us an additional 15 minutes. The Tata guys arrived at 20:07 and tried opening the car with the key after changing the battery, nothing worked and as it was getting late for the flight the Tata guys decided to break the glass to open the car at 20:15. We quickly rushed with our luggage inside the airport and caught the flight. it was a touch and go experience.

The tea was really nice and I would recommend anyone going to Trivandrum to try that tea but wouldn't recommend a Tata car to people, although their safety standards and design have improved. The wearable key has to be carried with a physical key at all times, what is the use of the watch then?

Really disappointing from the gold standard and I hope Tata replaces the cars broken glass for free.

Have you guys experienced anything like this with latest technologies?

[Rigid Rotor]

Do we not need to get all the facts before we diss Tata, the Altroz or its tech?
What exactly was the cause? Was it traced simply to the flat battery in the wearable key or was it something else?

[ariesonu]

1) Trivandrum to Varkala is 45 odd kms
2) From above comm, I suppose that that AIRBnB guy bought the car from Trivandrum
3) Why break the glass but use flatbed to transfer car to workshop. I believe more than brand the local technicians were not synced with Altroz. After sending car to workshop, Owner could have chosen to go back home by bus or other mode, hence I mentioned point no. 1
4) This can/may happen with any heavily electronic dependent car, even a TESLA.

I believe we have a hard mindset that Tata cannot make good cars, while not realising that the other brands are even worst. You must appreciate the fact that Tata sent the technicians within 20-30 minutes. Also the fact that technicians took hard call of breaking a glass, probably very well knowing that they will have to replace it for free, there are no two ways about that.

In my own case Mahindra were unable to provide simple towing services (While me having Roadside Assistance Services) right in middle of Mumbai city. In fact I was also stranded at airport only & anyone who has been to Mumbai know that airport is right in middle of Mumbai Suburbs.



Regards.

[RD150]

Originally Posted by albeit21

We locked the car to have our tea and returned to the car, the door was not unlocking and the host is telling us that his smart wearable key had run out of battery and could not open the car.

Does the smart key display battery percentage? If yes the host should have carried the physical key instead of carrying the smark key inspite of low battery. Also it's a shame that Tata guys were not able to charge the key and had to break the window.

[udaikalra01]

Sorry, but I cannot see a "tech failure" in this. You faced the problem in the first place as your host did not have his wearable key charged. He should have been carrying the physical key, too. This also tells that one should never be completely dependent on the wearable key.
The service station guys were taking time. But, you had a flight, so they decided to break the window glass. If they were able to repair it afterwards, there's literally no fault of theirs in this.

[V.Narayan]

Before we come to Tata or the car - why take a detour to sip tea when you have only 45 minutes to check-in close time. Clarity of goals? Be clear of your aims - the first principle taught to young military officers. Was the aim to catch a flight or was the aim to sip special tea? Or was the aim to catch the flight in the nick of time? Why play with time if your primary aim was time defined i.e. catching a flight. It's not as if you had 3 hours for check-in. Before we come to your Air BnB host and Tata cars let's be clear about you meandering down the path of side distractions instead of staying clear of your main time restricted goal? Your post does not indicate you realize that, that is where the mistake lay.

When an accident happens it is very rarely due to one solitary occurrence or miss but several aligned in a row. Tata service folks not carrying a master key or spare battery comes much later. The next boo-boo was the owner not carrying a spare key or being aware{ through whatever means - there must be some regular way - typically a warning signal or beep or message flash} that his wearable key was low on battery. And then the Tata guys coming inadequately prepared - but I'll say this that they came rather quickly. At least grant them that.

And why should Tata replace the broken glass for free - because you are irritated? There are clearly lessons on management of time and being clear about what priorities take precedence here for the Air BnB host and your good self. Learning those will serve you better than taking your ire out on Tata's.

Thank you for the suggestion to check out the tea at this place. I'll pass. If I have to wait I prefer to wait at the airport.

[Mannu]

The title of this thread is misleading. It looked more as if that Tata had got some failed or outdated technology on Altroz.
What Tata provided was convenience. But if not used properly then the company is not to blame.
Regarding the breaking of the glass, was it done in haste or the service guys were simply clueless. If clueless then Tata needs to improve upon the training of the staff at dealers.

[Reinhard]

Well the key (pun intended) to latest technologies is that users should be sufficiently aware as well. Lack of preparedness on a user's side can't be squarely blamed on the maker. Also, this really isnt "worst". There are a lot more "worse" technical things that one can experience with a car if one uses it aplenty, with any machine for that matter .

That said, I wish the mechanic had simply used the car-jacking technique of using a long ruler to unlock the latch manually, rather than breaking the glass altogether. So it might be more appropriate to ask a question about the mechanic's approach than bashing the car for a key battery running out.

Thanks for the tip on the tea spot! I'm sure a lot of fellows will find it useful.

(Personally, I'm not at all a fan of this wearable key band. I see no value in it. Its more of a gimmick and tool to show off. But then - I have exactly the same opinion about a long list of items including large touch screens, sunroofs, connected car tech and so on. Gizmos sell. Customers should be aware of what they are getting into. If one expects an eternal power source in the key band, well there's going to be a rude awakening.)

[ashutoshb]

The car reminds the owner that the key battery is low.

In the manual, the company even tells the owner how to replace the battery.

There are even YouTube videos showing how to do it.

http://youtu.be/LW1a29pi31k

Even if the owner is careless, still, it must be the company's fault.

[Johnnny]

Originally Posted by albeit21

Have you guys experienced anything like this with latest technologies?

Are you new to technology? If so i would agree with your comments to some extent and would consider this as baseless if you have used any techs, simple as that - a smart phone ? Don't we know that the phone will not turn ON if the battery is dead? and defaming TATA for this: Shockked:?

Also how can someone forget about the gratitude the service guys did - "Breaking the car Glass"? I don't think any other manufactures would had such ideas to perform such kind.

Admins - Can we not merge this thread to existing Altroz thread? Personally i feel it doesn't add value to be termed as separate thread.

[sameerpatel90]

Looking at today's pace of technologies being adapted into automotive industry, it's definitely the driver/owner responsibility to make sure the keys are always alongside once the vehicle is exited & locked. Not to forget the smart band is just a point for entry/exit only, as the key is vital source for switching on the vehicle and no manufacturer has yet attained such advancement of using AI for identifying every single tool being incorporated into these machines.

What would have happened if the vehicle got stolen the same way the technician approached for accessing the vehicle?.

We need to remember, many details are always shared by both sales & after-sales executives while taking delivery of a new vehicle or visiting for regular service intervals, which are often ignored by many.

I hope a lesson was taught to the driver as well as airbnb that such incidents doesn't occur with other clients.

[Vishal.R]

Originally Posted by albeit21

My friends and I went on a trip to Varkala..

Failed to understand purpose of the thread.

Wearable key is not a new feature only exclusive to TATA.

Also its strongly recommended to carry duplicate key while traveling to distant place.

Quoting from an excellent thread,

Originally Posted by Technocrat

10) Duplicate Keys: Always carry these & don’t keep it in suitcases or in bags which are kept in the car while you leave it for snacks etc, it should be with sum one other than the driver just case the driver forgets the keys inside the vehicle.


Techno

Link to thread : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ong-drive.html (A Guide on Essentials of a Long Drive)

[J4J]

If I were you, I would thank Tata team for coming promptly that saved you from missing your flight.
The buffer time was very less.

Now coming to the problem. I feel Tata should not be blamed now because:
1. It is not your car. It's your hosts. You have no idea how it is maintained or serviced. So it's better not to blame anyone right now. The most reliable car can give issues if it is not handled properly by the customer.
2. No charge in key is customers fault.
3. The time is 8pm. In my city the service guys simply refuse to come or even accept cars post 6:30pm. The service guys took the extra effort for customer satisfaction.

Let them investigate and if the root cause is a manufacturing defect, then we can blame the company.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

I have never seen the point of that wearable key. Sure, if it had some additional features like fitness tracking, step counter, BPM monitoring etc., it would add immense value as a smartwatch. But what's the point of wearing something with such a limited purpose? Better to instead keep the smartkey in your pocket.

Smartkeys are also the preferred choice because they come with a skeleton key inside, which can be used when the battery runs out. Further, they can even start the car with no battery juice (you have to tap it on a specified spot inside the car).

[justwheels]

I think the title of the thread should be,
"forgot to charge the wearable key, got locked out - always have a back up key handy"

Why mention Tata Altroz? It has nothing to do with the car. It can happen in any car at any time. What if you had your ticket/boarding pass in your smartphone and when you stood in front of the CISF guy, your phone battery was dead and you missed your flight. Airline fault, smartphone manufacturer fault? None right.

It was a close call, lesson learnt for you and the host and you ended up with a broken car glass. I don't think it ended up any badly. It has anything to do with the car or Tata. Well we can debate on service centre's abilities etc, but let's be honest, they aren't an ambulance, and they still came in the nick of time. They came, assesed, you all took the call to break the glass. Should they have got a master key, may be, should they have a way to open every car, may be or may be not.

Let's brush this off as an incident and a close call with lessons learnt. I seriously propose to take the Altroz name out of the title.