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Old 22nd March 2010, 16:32   #61
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Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
A car straight out of showroom, catching fire on the day of delivery is a lot more worrysome than a car catching fire 1 year after purchase. In the latter cases, there is some benefit of doubt to the mfr, as faulty ICE installations, LPG kits etc., can be the cause of fire, but in case a car catches fire minutes after delivery, there is no excuse for the mfr!
I can't agree with you on that (bold part). There is so many reasons wha a car can catch fire or have other serious problems.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stanjohn123 View Post
Now the biggest doubt is will TATA start a recall or will they wait for more such accidents to take place ?? I'm pretty sure the govt. is not going to make any issue out of this as we don't have any strong governing bodies like the one in US .

Imagine the poor owners plight if the biker had not warned him ?? This has to be a very serious issue God Forbid !!!
Before Tata can recall all cars it is needed to be established where the fire is coming from. At this moment in time there atren't a lot of Nanos that caught fire.

Tata is doing what is needed and investigate. The information floating around is not conclusive. Therefore a recall wuld not solve anything as yet.

I have no shares in Tata, still I have to defend their position and so far can't fault them.

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Originally Posted by vinaydas View Post
and most people had a problem here with Toyota's recalls. At least they had to courtesy to do so unlike Tata who is basically trying to sweep matters under the carpet.
Toyota insited up to the day Mr Toyoda was question in public on the highest political level that there was no casualties. Under the pressure of Senators he had to make a public televised apology. And Toyota before tried to hold other reaons responsble than the actaul ones.

Beore making too many comments, give Tata the benefit of a doubt and this comes from one of your German friends!
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Old 22nd March 2010, 16:33   #62
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This would be the 4th known fire incident of the NANO.
From mid-day, we see:

September 13, 2009: A Nano parked in the comfort of a housing society parking area in Ahmedabad caught fire

October 20, 2009: A newly purchased Tata Nano caught fire at a parking lot in Hazratganj, Lucknow. Nobody was hurt

October 20, 2009: A Nano belonging to a Delhi businessman caught fire at a parking lot in North Delhi.

I strangely dont see anyone upload a video (if any) on Youtube. I also found a CNBC news footage on youtube of the Lucknow incident:


Last edited by funkykar : 22nd March 2010 at 16:34.
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Old 22nd March 2010, 16:57   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by funkykar View Post
This would be the 4th known fire incident of the NANO.
From mid-day, we see:

September 13, 2009: A Nano parked in the comfort of a housing society parking area in Ahmedabad caught fire

October 20, 2009: A newly purchased Tata Nano caught fire at a parking lot in Hazratganj, Lucknow. Nobody was hurt

October 20, 2009: A Nano belonging to a Delhi businessman caught fire at a parking lot in North Delhi.

I strangely dont see anyone upload a video (if any) on Youtube. I also found a CNBC news footage on Youtube of the Lucknow incident:
I believe most of the fires linked to earlier cases that started from the Steering column and I recollect seeing images of melted dash and nothing on the engine front.
The weekend case looks like a new type in which the engine is on fire.

Last edited by f1fan : 22nd March 2010 at 17:03.
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Old 22nd March 2010, 18:53   #64
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Quote:
Originally Posted by f1fan View Post
If you are referring to the incident that happened over the weekend in Mumbai, the car was completely burnt out. Check out the pics in the following news article:
Brand new Tata Nano bursts into flames
Quote:
Originally Posted by f1fan View Post
I believe most of the fires linked to earlier cases that started from the Steering column and I recollect seeing images of melted dash and nothing on the engine front.
The weekend case looks like a new type in which the engine is on fire.
Exactly, this is my point. It is not the front end that has caught fire, but, the rear-end of the car which has started burning & turned black before other parts of the car.

Does it not validate my point that there was something that could have caused overheating?

I would never like to point out to someone for something, but, if I observe that one makes a general statement on basis of stray incident it can send a feeler that such person is a fanboy.

My sincerest apologies to Gansan.

Regarding the guinea pig comments, my reply is that in case you feel like one due to the irregular product quality or any other reason you need not buy the product.
e.g. - in 1984 when Maruti 800 was launched, it was the smallest 9the most cramped) of the 3 cars available in India.
Similarly, the Santro was not as good looking as the Zen.

Yet both are success stories.


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In Car Fire Protection, ain't it Clevermax ?
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Originally Posted by HappyWheels View Post
That is a good one! Gansan, never knew you were a Maruti Fanboy!

Not sure if it was because you are always identified with that beautiful Alto.

@CarDeep,

I think you have mistaken Gansan. The note about Cielo's is true. I have personally seen one right after the mela of being toasted. And I reckon there were ~5 that the papers report.

And lets not forget all those LPG Omni, which used to go up in flames.



Funkykar: You want to know about how senseless this talk about after market fitment on the Nano is - just head to that snowman's thread where he drove from Mum - Delhi in a Nano and ended up pimping it with what ever he got his hands on.



My dooms-day theory: knowing TASS QC process and an equally horrible PDI process, I would not be surprised if someone forgot to remove some packing material or something that catches fire easily, from the engine bay at the back. Maybe the fire was not caused by short circuit, or fuel getting sprayed or anything, might be just driving on an (I assume the locale is hot) dry afternoon at 3, engine heat + climate caused this to happen. We have seen packing foam and card boards left out by the PDI before, this might have been something like that. (something new for all of us to chew on!)

Last edited by Dippy : 23rd March 2010 at 09:16. Reason: Back to back posts.
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Old 22nd March 2010, 20:40   #65
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TATA is TATA!!

I only wish these are stray incidents. However, TATA should seriously improve their quality lineage in the AUTO sector. This is no way a Car manufacturer can get away with!!
The cars cost less to buy and are costlier to maintain!!
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Old 22nd March 2010, 23:00   #66
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Another Tata Nano bursts into flames in Mumbai!

Came across this in the international website Engadget.
Back in 2009, three Nanos caught fire, and now we have pictures of the latest to go into flames, courtesy of an insurance agent Satish Sawant. Apparently, the auto dealership was delivering the vehicle to its new owner when a motorcyclist overtook the driver to get his attention. Since the engine is behind the driver, he had no idea that it had caught fire at some point on his journey.

The biggest disadvantage of placing the engine at the rear is lack of proper cooling. Could this incident have happened due to the inefficient design of the cooling system?

Source: Tata Motors' Nano lights up the streets of Mumbai -- Engadget
Attached Thumbnails
Tata Nano Fire Incidents. EDIT: Tata's analysis on page 34-tata_nano_flames_mumbai_fire.jpg  

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Old 22nd March 2010, 23:10   #67
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This is really bad.Just today I was discouraging a friend of mine,not to buy the Nano.
Whats the immediate action that the co.is taking?
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Old 22nd March 2010, 23:43   #68
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Is this the fate of the car that was chosen "Car of the Year"?

People used to say that one shouldn't go for a TATA vehicle soon after it hits the road. Wait for a while, may be an year, before the company rectifies all the glitches and then book your vehicle. For some strange reason the company uses the unsuspecting customers for all the tests!
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Old 22nd March 2010, 23:52   #69
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Oh Gosh ! Unbelievable to happen that too on a brand new car, the fire has definitely started from the back, anyone know how many such cases are recorded as of now ?
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Old 22nd March 2010, 23:58   #70
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit View Post
anyone know how many such cases are recorded as of now ?
This is the 4th such incident. And Tata has still not taken any steps.
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Old 23rd March 2010, 00:03   #71
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This is the easiest way to kill a good product. Kill its creditability. Can we have more info on the cause of the fire, and then make an informed decision. There are more than enough people / companies wanting this product from Tata motors to fail.
Lets judge, once all facts are clear in the open. There is way too much at stake on this little car.

I am a fan of Mr. Ratan Tata and believe he will fix these problems just like singur.

Last edited by neofromcapone : 23rd March 2010 at 00:05. Reason: typo
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Old 23rd March 2010, 00:19   #72
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I agree. For a product of THAT MUCH of research, there's a lot at stake if it's simply catching fire. Not like a jammed accelerator you can work around by switching off the car.
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Old 23rd March 2010, 01:52   #73
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neofromcapone View Post
This is the easiest way to kill a good product. Kill its creditability. Can we have more info on the cause of the fire, and then make an informed decision. There are more than enough people / companies wanting this product from Tata motors to fail.
Lets judge, once all facts are clear in the open. There is way too much at stake on this little car.

I am a fan of Mr. Ratan Tata and believe he will fix these problems just like singur.

You make a very interesting point. There have been occasions when corporations have tried to discredit a competitor by pulling similar stunts. The Nano is a breakthrough product, no car company in India can even dream of trying to compete with it.

That being said, the fact that the dealership's driver was driving the car (again according to the report), makes it a serious issue. I hope that Tata Motors comes up with a media report to answer some of these questions.

I would tend to go with @HappyWheel's statement, which he might have made in jest, but it is a very clever thought; perhaps the dealership left some sort of packaging material that caught fire.

Last edited by Amartya : 23rd March 2010 at 01:53.
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Old 23rd March 2010, 02:31   #74
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Originally Posted by vinaydas View Post
and most people had a problem here with Toyota's recalls. At least they had to courtesy to do so unlike Tata who is basically trying to sweep matters under the carpet.
Vinaydas: Toyota started recalling only after the US Govt took notice. Prius is the best example. They still do not know the reason for sudden accelaration of their vehicles. Can you answer why Toyota's in countries like India, mexico were not recalled.

This was discussed in lot of other threads. I don't know why you refer to it when ever you get a chance.
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Old 23rd March 2010, 04:09   #75
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I'm interested to know if any mods were done on the car - I know it is being driven after delivery, but was a music system installed at the showroom? I find it hard to believe a 100% stock car can decide to incinerate itself!
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