[coloneljasi]

Hi, my Linea crossed the 50,000 mark a few weeks ago. Since I haven't seen any long term posts for the Diesel Linea at this mileage, I thought I'd put up my own little review.

The car has been performing as it should. Agreed the car no longer feels like a new car, then again 50k on Kerala's roads are punishment enough. In addition to the regular services, the car has had a clutch replacement at 45000 kms. There have been a few unscheduled dealer visits, mostly for suspension sound and two brake pad replacements.

The interior trim has stood the test of time, save for one of the a/c vents in the centre which has developed a small crack. The beige coating paint has peeled off on the trim which houses the cigarette lighter and hand brake. Though this was noted before the second service, it was never rectified. The selling dealer who did the first two services tried to get an approval for warranty but never fell through. It was a relief when the new dealership came up in Calicut, at least effort-wise. They tried to get the trim replaced also, but finally I just gave up and asked them to change it on paid basis. That was almost 6 months back and the elusive trim is no where in sight. They're now talking about getting the trim painted as per factory specs. I guess, they're having a lot of complaints in that area and FIAT/TATA had to come out with that option. I'm still to go for that it though.

I've never really liked the OE seat covers in my Linea as they tend to get soiled pretty easily and look drab unless interior cleaned every now and then. A set of leathers are long overdue for the car and inspite of the kilometres, I'll be getting a set soon enough.

The car's had two brand new tyres at 35000 kms. Surprisingly, the rear tyres still have some life in them and the wear indicators are yet to show. Nevertheless, I will be replacing them soon enough.

My Linea has had it's fair share of bumper scrapes and minor disagreements with buses and autos (which car owners are bound to loose). Nothing major and no insurance claims yet. Touch wood!

My Linea will be three years old in February and I have no plans of getting her replaced anytime soon. I still like the looks of the car and the equipment it has, although I do feel like kicking myself for not having opted for the Emotion +. I do wish for a few more horses under the hood, especially after getting behind the wheel after a session in one of my more powerful company cars.

And then there's the usual question regarding the service standards. Yes, I do not like TATA dealerships in general, but to be honest my dealer does tend to exceed my expectations at times. Being in the same industry does have it's benefits, but then again my job also makes me biased!

The car has just gone in for a battery replacement. The OE battery seemed to be struggling to keep up with the electronics in the car. Symptoms included the ABS, immobiliser, low fuel warnings coming on for no reason. Not to mention the delayed cold starts and a stubborn remote key. I've put in a 55Ah battery because the 45Ah one that comes as OE seemed really inadequate.

That is all I can think of at the moment, but will update as I when I can think of the issues that I've had in the past. The past two and a half years has not been a rosy ride, but I can live with that. I knew what I was getting into when I put my money down for the Linea within a few weeks of the Indian launch. And I'm yet to regret doing that....

[ishlinea7260]

Hi there , I have driven linea extensively for the past 2 1/5 years and have clocked 71600 Kms till date.
I havent had the clutch replaced and even the battery Is doing fine as of now.
As the roads I encounter are mostly rural the car is running on 3 rd set of tires. I know it might seem on the higher side but at the same time I never drive a set beyond 30k or max 35k.
On the statement that the car no longer feels like a new one, I think this can be subjective.
Foe eg: I have been driving this car 70-80 Kms daily for past 2+ years. So I know how this car feels like , the other day my father who drives only petrol cars took her out for a 100 + Kms drive and he said that he actually had to see the odometer to believe that she had run so many Kms .
So I guess this car holds it's tagline true " admiration guaranteed "

[PGNarain]

Thanks a lot, colonel & ishlinea7260, long terms owner reviews i feel are really needed to lift the falling image of a very competent car like the Linea in the Indian Market.

As a fellow Linea Owner I feel very heartened to see that your Lineas are performing well even after really piling on the kms.

Colonel, why don't you perhaps put up a few pics of your Linea and the interiors as well to give us a better and more clearer picture of how the cars have weathered.

[aks_karthik]

Congrats coloneljasi for crossing a Milestone.
I too crossed 35K kms in my 2.5 years Linea as my driving is very limited and it's pure bliss to drive this car.
I am very much happy in all aspects from A.S.S to F.E.
Enjoy the Car and Drive Safe

[coloneljasi]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Thanks a lot, colonel & ishlinea7260, long terms owner reviews i feel are really needed to lift the falling image of a very competent car like the Linea in the Indian Market.

As a fellow Linea Owner I feel very heartened to see that your Lineas are performing well even after really piling on the kms.

Colonel, why don't you perhaps put up a few pics of your Linea and the interiors as well to give us a better and more clearer picture of how the cars have weathered.

Here you go....




The centre trim which looks worse for wear. And yes, I did get it vacuumed a bit later.


Another case of plastic coating peeling off. This time it's on the top portion of the driver's door pad. It's too small for others to notice, but I know it's there!


You can see the small crack on the RH side of the a/c vent


The logo on the horn pad still has the plastic cover which it came with. I guess I'm paranoid about damaging the chromework.....

[PGNarain]

Thanks a lot colonel for the pics, though a little out of focus, the car's interiors seem to have weathered rather well.

The plastic coating on the door pad is hardly noticeable and so is the crack in the Ac Vent, btw how did that happen. I ask becoz the vents move and adjust very freely, so can't imagine how the frame broke. Perhaps you can shed some light on how it happened!!

[Soccerfan]

Nice to see the long term ownership review. Are you sure the OE battery is 45 AH?

[coloneljasi]

@ Soccerfan: The OE battery was 50Ah, not 45Ah. My mistake.

@ PGNarain: Honestly, I have no idea how the a/c vent cracked. Your guess is as good as mine!

I've never used any a/c vent-mounted air freshners in the centre. My dad had put one up on the driver's side vent soon after buying the car and just like clockwork, it leaked, damaging the MFD switches. I've been using My Shaldans ever since.

A brief update: The car's going back to the dealer today. Apparently, the ABS warning light has come back on. The car has already been to the dealership once for the complaint and I'd specifically asked them to check the wheel speed sensors and wirings.

But they'd concluded that it was the battery that was acting up and asked me to change it. The SA told me that they'd driven the car with a stock battery and the fault had gone away. I knew that the battery was due for a replacement anyway and took their word for it.

[coloneljasi]

My Linea's back from the dealer. The ABS warning was indeed due to a cut on one of the wheel speed sensor's wires. I told the SA that he should have had that checked the first time round rather than attribute all of the faults to a weak battery. He still told me that they've fixed the wire and will recommend a battery replacement if the faults recurs . I had to laugh and tell him that the battery has already been replaced. So much for professional courtesy!

Anyway, the car is now back in form and as is my confidence with the ABS functioning perfectly. Next up, I need to replace the two rear tyres in a week or two.

[coloneljasi]

Latest update:

My Linea's been at the dealers (Marina Motors) for the past 10 days. I'd sent it there so that they could look into the issue of excess oil consumption and black smoke while redlining the car.

This issue has been there for some time now. But as with most TATA dealers, they cited various reasons from imagination to high speed runs as the culprit. When I had to full up 3 litres of oil (top-up in TATA speak), I put my foot down and told them to look into it.

They initially checked the turbo, which was fine, then suspected compression leak. But as things turned out, the dealer managed to break one glow plug while taking it off and promptly spent the next two days 'thinking' of how to remove it, don't know why though. They could have simply taken off the cylinder head and sent it to an engine rebuilder to clear it.

Anyway, the dealer said that compression is indeed weak in the other three cylinders, after managing to take off the three glow plugs (thankfully without breaking them). But since the car is under extended warranty, the dealer has not touched it since. They'd been sending emails/photos and whatnot to FIAT India for the claim approval which never came.

I just got word today that some surveyor had inspected the car and refused the claim citing a dent on the oil sump. I've personally contacted the surveyor to find out how he managed to get to that conclusion when there is no oil leak and he has not checked the oil stainer!

When I asked why the sump damage was not pointed out during the last service, done only a month ago, he said that the damage must be a recent one. In other words, they are contradicting their own argument.

I am not very keen on being a typical customer and cause a ruckus over service issues, for I know very well the headaches and trouble that's going to cause aftersales personnel. I guess there is no point in expecting TATA or the dealer to show some professional courtesy in the matter.

[akshay4587]

How many kms on odo now?
Isn't it too early for signs of weak compression?

[PM - B]

I have 55000 KMs on the odo. 2.7 years old
Original set of tyres, seems like they should last up to 75000KMs.
Original Everything except for brake pads which were replaced at 39000KMs.

Touchwood, but the car feels really good and lovely.
This is a MJD Emotion.

[coloneljasi]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

How many kms on odo now?
Isn't it too early for signs of weak compression?

62,665 kms. Obviously it's too early for the engine to show signs of wear. I guess it's just a one-off case, since the 1.3 MJD is known to be very reliable.

Originally Posted by PM - B

I have 55000 KMs on the odo. 2.7 years old
Original set of tyres, seems like they should last up to 75000KMs.
Original Everything except for brake pads which were replaced at 39000KMs.

Touchwood, but the car feels really good and lovely.
This is a MJD Emotion.

That's phenomenal. You seem to be getting exceptional life for your car's components. Good for you!

No doubt the Linea is a lovely car. The only thing needed now is for Fiat to get their act together...

[coloneljasi]

No updates on the repair status. When I contacted the dealer, they said that they're pushing TATA/Fiat for a reconsideration on the extended warranty approval.

It's been over two weeks and I'm still waiting for some generosity. Ludicrous!

[coloneljasi]

This is the email that I managed to elicit from Fiat India after I sent them a reminder saying that I hadn't heard from them in a week:

Dear Sir,
As per the update received from our regional office, the extended warranty surveyor has rejected the claim due to external hit in oil sump.

Pl contact your service dealer to understand the facts and get the job done on paid basis.

With warm regards,

Ashish Bhattacharya,
Customer Services,
Fiat India Automobiles Ltd

If this was all that they had to say, I wonder why they waited for so long since the external suryeor had already rejected my claim over 10 days ago!

Downright pathetic! Fiat is simply refusing to see logic. If this is how they deal with people who know what they're talking about, I wonder what the average Fiat customer must be going through....