[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by SDP

Tomorrow I am going to do a day trip to Pune and back. Planning to stick to 80-90 in top gear and fill-up after returning back to Mumbai. Hopefully I would get a decently accurate number for highway-FE.

I d say do it this way.
Maintain 80-90 kmph one way, or even better, till half way and then maintain 110-130kmph the other half way and check the figures. Eddy had extracted 13kmpl on his trip at speeds of 120-130kmph.

And yes, 1800rpm sounds more ideal for gear shifts (3-4, 4-5) compared to 1500rpm for a TC engine.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by SDP

Just behind the bumper, before the radiator, there is a metal bar (behind that grill) to protect the radiator in case of a shunt.
Attachment 979673

Excellent report of your XUV.

I am not sure if I am seeing the dog bar as pointed in the photograph. Are you referring to that silver 'U' tubing behind the grill? That looks like the cooling coil for the hydraulic power steering system.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Excellent report of your XUV.

I am not sure if I am seeing the dog bar as pointed in the photograph. Are you referring to that silver 'U' tubing behind the grill? That looks like the cooling coil for the hydraulic power steering system.

No, I am not referring to the silver U tubing.

The picture shows a honey-comb mesh which is placed underneath the front of the car. The mesh has 4 levels/layers so to say. Look at the layers closely. The bottom 3 layers show horizontal grey lines. That's the radiator. The top level/layer of the mesh shows a solid black part. That's the dog bar. Hope this clarifies.

[nitinralli]

Originally Posted by SDP

FE Update

Attachment 1005800.

Quoting from a PM from fellow XUV owner NitinRalli:

I am going to follow Nitin's advise 1800-1900rpm for upshifting for the current tankful.

Do let me know how it turns out. I have now went up to 13+ these days in city

[SDP]

Originally Posted by SDP

Yes, even I do believe that these are not the best figures for the XUV5OO.
...
Tomorrow I am going to do a day trip to Pune and back. Planning to stick to 80-90 in top gear and fill-up after returning back to Mumbai. Hopefully I would get a decently accurate number for highway-FE.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

I d say do it this way.
Maintain 80-90 kmph one way, or even better, till half way and then maintain 110-130kmph the other half way and check the figures. Eddy had extracted 13kmpl on his trip at speeds of 120-130kmph.

And yes, 1800rpm sounds more ideal for gear shifts (3-4, 4-5) compared to 1500rpm for a TC engine.

Originally Posted by nitinralli

Do let me know how it turns out. I have now went up to 13+ these days in city

Thank you guys for the recommendations and advise.
I did the trip yesterday. Drove with cruise control for most of the time on the expressway, except some of the sharp turn sections in Lonavala-Khandala. Kept an eye on the FE meter and reset if a few times to understand how the FE reacts to different steady speeds.
Maintained 80-90 for a good enough stretch while going to Pune. This stretch is gradually uphill. got around 17kmpl in the infotainment system. Post Lonavala, reset the FE number and kept the cruise at 110 and the FE settled at 18kmpl. While coming back to Mumbai, again did the same thing. Except the Lonavala-Khandala section, where I drove at 80 and lower, drove around 100kmph most of the time. The FE meter showed 18kmpl and stuck there.

Topped up the tank some 10-15kms before reaching home. Filled till auto-cut-off. 17.51 Liters. 286.2kms since last tankfull. 16.33 kmpl!

From my low FE numbers, I had doubts about 3 culprits:
1. Something wrong with my driving style.
2. Mumbai traffic situation.
3. Something wrong with my XUV5OO itself.

The highway mileage seems in the right range. So hopefully I can rule out the vehicle as a culprit.

Started shifting up at 1800-2000 rpm. Let's see how that affects the FE.
With a pure highway mileage of 16.33kmpl, a pure city mileage of 11-12 should be achievable. A highway+city mix mileage should be in the 13-14 range. Let's see.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by SDP

Topped up the tank some 10-15kms before reaching home. Filled till auto-cut-off. 17.51 Liters. 286.2kms since last tankfull. 16.33 kmpl!

Now you are talking XUV figures. I d suggest you keep your gear shifts at 1800-1900rpm and you should get 12-13kmpl in the city.
Remember that a while a diesel engine will pull through at low rpms, the turbo not spinning simply means that the engine is not being driven as efficiently as it should.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by SDP

Dealership Experience:
...
Dealer attitude (Should take care of your car while in their possession) - This is where the dealership sucks. I had called up and told the sales-manager very clearly that my vehicle should be taken cared off really well. ... What I noticed was most likely during this trip to the workshop, the vehicle got 2 minor scratches and 2 mini dings . There were a few swirl-marks as well on one panel. Took the SA and the sales-manager to task, and the sales-manager have promised that he would fix-up a date and get the dings and scratches fixed in a day. He also took photos for getting a time-estimate from the work-shop.
...

After a lot of followup over last 4-5 weeks, finally got the 2 dings and scartches gifted by the dealer removed free-of-cost from the dealer. The car was with the Pune dealer for 3 days last week. Got it back on Saturday, 3rd Nov 2012.

On a separate note, the Mahindra XUV customer-care experience on e-mail was really bad. I had written to them first on 30th Aug. Besides an acknowledgement, they didn't do anything for 3 weeks. Then after followup emails, I was promised that the Customer Care Manager for Pune Area Office would get in touch with me. He never did. Neither call back or reply on e-mail EVEN AFTER me sending a final direct mail to him on 1st Oct, 2012. Really thick-skinned guy.

After that I gave up the email communication and started calling the customer-care number. During the first call, I asked the number of the Customer Care Manager for Pune Area Office and the customer-care agent told me that his contact-number can not be shared and she would take down the complaint and pass it on to him. I asked - he hasn't bothered either to reply or to do anything till now, what makes you think that he would do something now? No answer.
After the second call, I got response from the dealer directly and they finally asked me to bring down the vehicle to fix any cosmetic problems existing from delivery time. Got the work done last week. Another chapter closed.

Looks like the e-mail support of the customer-care sucks big time and I am planning to write to Mahindra's customer-care VP sometime this week.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by SDP

...Looks like the e-mail support of the customer-care sucks big time and I am planning to write to Mahindra's customer-care VP sometime this week.

I believed the Customer-care VP is Pawan Goenka. Just checked the XUV official site to verify and get the exact email-id. Surprise, surprise!
The official site has taken off his name and email id. All email communication goes to customer-care email id.

Looks like XUV5OO customers are no more the 'elite' lot. Rexton effect, I guess.

[anandtheleo]

Originally Posted by SDP

I believed the Customer-care VP is Pawan Goenka. Just checked the XUV official site to verify and get the exact email-id. Surprise, surprise!
The official site has taken off his name and email id. All email communication goes to customer-care email id.

Looks like XUV5OO customers are no more the 'elite' lot. Rexton effect, I guess.

Hi the customer care escalation point is Mr.Sanjoy Gupta. And you are right previously i used to see that they had a clear escalation and problem resolution TAT, its gone now.

[SDP]

Mail sent to the head of Customer-care:

Dear Sir,

I am a proud XUV5OO owner and love that vehicle. Buying the XUV5OO in the first year of launch was a bold decision, but I went ahead with it because of the good stories I heard/read about the exemplary customer service that was being provided to the XUV customers. So although horror stories of perpetual brake-grinding, clutch-failures and power-steering failures were making frequent rounds on the internet, I still did not lose my peace of mind as I was positive that any concerns that I might have would be attended to promptly and efficiently by M&M.

Unfortunately that faith was broken recently with less than adequate support I received from the customercare@mahindra.com channel. I have attached the complete email-chain just for your reference.

I had a concern about the scratches and dents on the vehicle at the time of delivery and the dealer taking the matter lightly. I had written to customercare@mahindra.com first on 30th Aug. Besides an acknowledgement, they did nothing for 3 weeks. I sent a followup email on 11th Sep and 17th Sep. After the 2nd followup email, I was promised that the Customer Care Manager for Pune Area Office would get in touch with me. He never bothered to call me OR send me an email OR ask somebody from his team to attend to my concern. Another 2 weeks passed and on 1st Oct, I sent a final email directly addressed to Customer Care Manager for Pune Area Office and the lady handling the customercare@mahindra.com. That final email (just below this mail) has gone un-acknowledged and un-responded till now! This is not acceptable. I was expecting to deal with people who were much more responsive and accountable.

Finally I gave up on the email channel and started calling the customer-care toll-free number. Their response was decently prompt and the concern stands resolved as of date.

I am writing to you because:
1. You should know which channels and which members from your customer-care team do not even understand their core job and show complete disregard to customer complaints
2. There is no ticket-number mechanism by which one can track the progress of a compliant and quote the ticket-number in subsequent communications.

Expecting a prompt positive action from your side to correct the lax attitude of the customercare@mahindra.com team and to re-instill confidence in customers like me that we would be taken cared off when we have issues with a newly launched vehicle.
Thanks

[krreddy]

I'm sorry to see the problems you are facing with the XUV. It was a bold decision indeed buying a Mahindra product in the first year of Manufacturing.

As soon as i booked the vehicle, i started hearing horror stories and waited for like 8 weeks before finally cancelling the booking. Two months later, i'm really glad that i did cancel it. I just don't like the mindset of Mahindra dealers. I found even our FIAT dealers better than Mahindra.

We had to wait for over 2 months to get a power windows switch replaced on our Bolero.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by krreddy

I'm sorry to see the problems you are facing with the XUV. It was a bold decision indeed buying a Mahindra product in the first year of Manufacturing.

As soon as i booked the vehicle, i started hearing horror stories and waited for like 8 weeks before finally cancelling the booking. Two months later, i'm really glad that i did cancel it. I just don't like the mindset of Mahindra dealers. I found even our FIAT dealers better than Mahindra.

We had to wait for over 2 months to get a power windows switch replaced on our Bolero.

Just to make myself clear, I am not facing any major problems with the vehicle as such. I have had issues with a careless dealer and unresponsive customer-care, which I have highlighted to the customer-care-head.

[SDP]

First Service Report

Got the first service done a bit late (from time perspective) with the ODO showing 4111kms.

Along with the regular service reported the following issues:
1. The security alarm went off a few times over the last month or so. -> The bonnet was the culprit. The bushes where the bonnet rests were adjusted a bit and the s/w configuration for the security alarm was tweaked. The RM is positive that this would solve the problem.

2. Small kat-kat sound from the suspension occasionally. -> The balancer -bar bushes were again replaced under warranty. When the bushes were being replaced, I spoke to the mechanic and mentioned that the bushes were already replaced once 2 months back. He asked me a few questions about when does the sound come and said most likely its not the balancer bar bushes, but the nuts for the lower swing arm. He tightened those as well. The sound is gone now.

3. A 'clang' sound from the rear hatch while locking/unlocking. -> Fixed

4. Left ORVM making kar-kar noise while folding. It wasn't really hitting anything. I thought its just a matter of lubricating something. -> They replaced the entire left side ORVM assembly under warranty. Apparently costs 4500 Rs!

5. Small noise from the power-steering when locked in either direction. Besides that I told the SA and the RM that couple of people I know have reported power-steering failures because of fluid leakage and I need it to be checked thoroughly. -> The SA said that the fluid level has dropped a bit and there are signs of a minor leak in some tube. Unfortunately the tube is not in stock and I need to visit again on coming Saturday. Although the problem is not fixed, I am still happy that it was identified early on.

6. Brakes. I told the SA that I have a doubt about the ABS and I think the wheels locked during a couple of instances of urgent braking. -> The SA tried the brakes a few times and braked hard a couple of times. He ruled out any issue with the brakes. He got the brakes cleaned.

7. The front fog lamps are practically useless. Asked the SA if they can be focussed or directed better. -> He said there is no adjustment possible. Did note down it anyways. There was a tested-OK in front of it on the job-card. No noticeable difference while driving back.

8. Music from USB. Sometimes it stops abruptly. Sometimes only a few folders are read. Quite rare, but has happened. Asked him to check if their is a loose connection or there is a upgraded s/w. -> Checked and no issue found. Infotainment system not flashed.

9. Dome light has a few fused LEDs. This has been reported by me twice and the last time the RM promised that the part has been ordered. So this time I asked the red dome-light to be replaced -> A senior person from the dealer asked me what's the problem. When I explained, he checked a few more vehicles and ALL had the same issue. So he wasn't sure if this was the way it was supposed to be. So finally there was a difference of opinion between the dealer-person and the RM. The RM said, he does not have authorization to replace the part under warranty. Finally the issue remains unresolved. But the RM has promised that he would get additional details about the part and see if the replacement can be done on Saturday when I am scheduled to visit again.

Total cost for first service -> 2330 Rs

Besides the consumables (mainly the engine-oil and oil-filter), the service center included a line item called "Service Plus" under labour and charged me 300Rs for it. Apparently the Service-Plus includes labour for checking a lot of small minor things which are not included as part of service inspection. I objected, but did not push for it as the RM had kind of mentioned it while preparing the job-card.

HUGE rush at the service center because of holiday season and people having travel plans.

I am myself headed for Gujarat the week after Diwali. Told that to the RM and mentioned that I need the power-steering tube issue fixed before that. He has promised that they will get it fixed on Saturday, 10th Nov.

[SDP]

I put on the first TBHP sticker ("Got BHP?") on my XUV5OO today! After about 4 months of ownership, now I believe I am driving decently well. Hoping that noone spots me doing any stupid stunts on the Mumbai roads and reports in the TBHP-Sticker-Sightings thread.

I have yet to come across a XUV with TBHP stickers in Mumbai. So thought of being one of the first ones.

Happy spotting!

[magikrider]

Originally Posted by SDP

First Service Report

Got the first service done a bit late (from time perspective) with the ODO showing 4111kms.

did you face any problem as you got your first free service more than a month late i.e. after 4 months instead of 3? and if I am not mistaken you got your engine oil and oil filter changed first at around 1900+ kms and then again during the first free service after 4111kms, which is mandatory right?

Originally Posted by SDP

5. Small noise from the power-steering when locked in either direction. Besides that I told the SA and the RM that couple of people I know have reported power-steering failures because of fluid leakage and I need it to be checked thoroughly. -> The SA said that the fluid level has dropped a bit and there are signs of a minor leak in some tube. Unfortunately the tube is not in stock and I need to visit again on coming Saturday. Although the problem is not fixed, I am still happy that it was identified early on.

Did you find anything else strange besides the noise? like steering getting a bit hard or something? or was is just a hunch that made you get it checked? because how do you come to know if something is wrong as I think I might have also noticed some small noise with the PS when turning it fully at parking speeds.

also by SA do you mean your sales person who sold you the car? because in my case I doubt that I will now have much interaction with my sales person as she is at the showroom only and the service centre is far from it. so I guess it will only be the RM in my case of any service or technical issue.