[Sheel]

This is what bugs me, what if I am doing a marathon trip with family onboard, with mighty sun showing all its worth or raining heavily at night and I am 700kms away from home, what if something like this occurs?

Does Mahindra have an answer or is Toyota the only answer.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Does Mahindra have an answer or is Toyota the only answer.

I completely understand your concern.

Also, Hariya, who was a simpler CRDe Scorpio never had a single issue, ever whereas these new MHawks seem to have quite a few of them and the latest gen, even more.

It looks like a Mitsubishi or a Toyota are the only options for "that" kind of reliability now.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

More later...

In all fairness to Mahindra and its dealer Koncept Okhla, an update is in order.

But first , allow me to recount the salient points over the ensuing weekend.

After bringing R3 back home on the Friday evening, the first chance I had to use his services was early Saturday morning - a trip to the green grocers at 7 AM (odd day - even numbered car).

Despite my trepidation, there were no tell-tale lights on the dash.

Thereafter, my better half took him out to the mall in the afternoon - a good 4 km from home and back. R3 failed to cause a flutter. Everything went smoothly - no lights , nothing.

Sunday, was spent doing odd errands - at the local markets. Most of these trips were less than 2 km each. Again.... nothing (untoward that is).

Monday morning dawned. On weekday mornings, it's my responsibility to ensure the kids board the school bus. A school bus , that has an uncanny sense of punctuality.

I turned the corner, and as usual , saw no one waiting at the stop.

And therefore, the usual drag race ensued. The kind that happens when a harried parent is in hot pursuit of the school bus that's fast disappearing from the horizon.

That's when, said parent realized that R3 was struggling to keep the gap unchanged, a far cry indeed from catching up.

Realization dawned - this was very unlike normal R3 behavior. In such circumstances I downshift , tap the accelerator, rev up, upshift - and swoop down on the unfortunate target.

Today was different. For the crucial 2-3 seconds after downshifting, heavy footing the accelerator was not eliciting any response.

And yet, there was no such observed behavior during the weekend. Was there a difference in driving style? -- yes. Most certainly. The problem was starkly apparent when driving zestfully.

It was almost 7:30 AM, by the time R3 was dropped off at Koncept. I had important work to attend to, so despite niggling misgivings, I had to leave R3 by himself (for the first time ever).

At 10 AM, I called the specialist Mr. Javed, and related my observation. It was difficult to convey the circumstances under which loss of power was happening. But he said he will call me back when on the test drive.

Friends - if you recall, his main job today was to get to the bottom of why the Engine light had appeared the other day. During the test drive, he had hooked up the scanner and laptop, and was looking for possible cause for the error codes. After driving around for a considerable distance, there were no obvious problems. That's when he called me.

I asked him to turn a corner , and accelerate. You see when one turns a corner, one normally brakes a little first. The 'Aha' moment. It was the Brake switch.

Confirmed by a readout of the Brake switch signal values on the laptop. It was stuck at "1" even when the brake was not pressed. When it does that once too often, the ECM thinks the brake's on. Why pump fuel?

And thereafter this diagnosis was validated by the Mahindra regional service engineer, - a faulty brake switch, can trigger error codes in the ECM. Error codes that would ordinarily be linked to fuel injection timing.

Brilliant, wot?


The rest of the process was a no-brainer. Said brake switch was duly replaced under warranty.

There was a small issue with the rear AC vent... a result of kids using the vents as a convenient foot-rest on our recent trips. That was duly changed - but as expected it was charged.

I must mention my SA Mr Manish Mishra and his boss Mr Atish were very gracious , in offering a free car wash, and waited until everything was done and dusted. Mine was the last car to leave the premises- a little before 8 PM.

Originally Posted by Sheel

what if something like this occurs?

Does Mahindra have an answer or is Toyota the only answer.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Also, Hariya, who was a simpler CRDe Scorpio never had a single issue, ever whereas these new MHawks seem to have quite a few of them and the latest gen, even more.

It looks like a Mitsubishi or a Toyota are the only options for "that" kind of reliability now.

Here lies a debate that probably won't lead anywhere.

I have owned and presently own a Toyota as well. I have extensively used the Pajero albeit not here in India.

I have a different point of view , whilst living through the Mahindra ownership experience.

When it comes to choosing a product , especially for one's own long-term use - Quality is the foremost attribute that comes to mind. But there's a silent other - it's the wow factor - a mix of innovative features, performance,looks and last but not the least - price.


There are some manufacturers , that believe product differentiation at or below a certain price point is a key to success in the market. Their products appeal to a value-seeking customer. Usually these manufacturers associate Quality with rigorous testing.

Then there are the Japanese Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi- who have made Quality a way of life. Their products are usually insipid, unexciting, but very very reliable. Its their chosen strategy to guarantee success in the market. Their product would appeal to a customer who just wants it to work, and probably does not really have any emotional quotient attached to how it performs.

That's why critical parts for a Toyota would seldom fail. It's because by the time the part goes into rigorous testing, there is an expectation that it will be free of defects 99.99966% of the time. You see, the entire supply chain is built around the Total Quality concept. They take it beyond that, - they take it to after sales service too. I have seen Toyota using a measurement system for each little job that gets done on the car. Individual skill is not as highly prized , as a documented method, with clear start, stop, and escalation procedures.

All that comes at a price. Those of us who are willing to pay the price, pay it, and enjoy the reliability of the product for years on end.
Needless to say, it's a product that's basic (read boring), but will perform without fail-come hail or high water. But it won't wow you.

Case in point - I have never had a single electrical or mechanical failure on Milemuncher Innova - and believe me it's seen more abuse in the last 7 years than R3 has seen in the last 7 months.
For that matter , I never had a single electrical or mechanical failure ever in my Corolla or my Civic. 10 years after I sold them, both were driven into the junk-yard by my friends (who bought them off me when I moved).



I started out by saying that some manufacturers value product differentiation and the price that the package comes at. I perceive Mahindra as just such a manufacturer. I am sure they rigorously test supplies, and their own products. But that testing might never be comprehensive enough to guarantee performance every-time. Not if the product versions become exponentially feature rich, complex , and thereby difficult to assure.

This goes back to devdath's point about "simpler CRDe's" never developing a fault.

I might be going out on a limb here.... but what the hell- I'll say it anyway.

What makes a Mahindra ownership experience, different from the experience of a VW/Skoda or a Tata? (that's right ... beat me up! )

I believe Mahindra prizes individual technical talent as the mantra, and customer first as it's dharma.

So, while you may not find a Mahindra technician being measured on the clock for procedure A or B as he works on the car, you would find him to be quite knowledgeable, and eager to help the customer.

As Manish ji my SA puts very succinctly ... "आपकी गाडी हमारी है " (your car is my car).

That I believe makes the ownership experience a little different from the rest in this bracket. Even though I may expect the car to fail at some point due to some critical part failure.... I rest assured - that genuine help is not that far away.

And that makes all the difference to me. I don't have any regrets.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

I

All that comes at a price. Those of us who are willing to pay the price, pay it, and enjoy the reliability of the product for years on end.
Needless to say, it's a product that's basic (read boring), but will perform without fail-come hail or high water. But it won't wow you.

I kind of agree with your thoughts. The trouble is that the Japanese way of unquestionable quality maybe under threat. I now believe (and its just me,please) Toyota is the only Japanese manufacturer that still adheres to the quality paradigm across all its operations globally. Others, I feel have compromised. I hope Toyota stays conservative, upholds quality.

[joybhowmik]

R3 behaved quite well in the days following the warranty repair.

As the odometer kept getting closer to the 9999 km mark, I made a list of things I wanted addressed in the 10000 km service:
1) Change out the steel stepney for an alloy. And get alignment, balancing and rotation done while we're about it.
A post from memory... and you will know why

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

I was a little disappointed with the stepney. It's a steel rim not an alloy. Off went the Dueler to be replaced with the Conti.
Attachment 1415414

2) Get the issue with ipod playback sorted.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Media Playback
iPod. Now this is where I have my real music library. It's still alive despite Apple's intent. ...
There's one glitch that I discovered. If like me, you are wont to have thousands of songs (yup as much as 100 GB) categorized by a few hundred Artistes and Albums, the system does let you down in no time. As one scrolls through the list of Artists / Albums (note there is no letter index search), after a point , the system just gives up. By "gives up", I mean it either defaults back to the current song display, or worse, makes iPod reboot. Nippon or better , Mahindra - are you listening?

3) Remote key lock operation sometimes did not work. On such occasions the only remedy was to lock using the key, or , start/stop the engine and then try the remote again.


4) Lag in pick-up - this turned out to be a non-issue in retrospect.

And so when the odometer turned to :

and shortly after to


I made the all-important call, and showed up for the 2nd free service exactly at 9 AM on Thursday.

I gave Manish (my SA) the laundry list, and helped him prioritize the order in which things were to be done. Nevertheless, it was almost 5 PM by the time I left the facility.

So what exactly happened in the intervening 8 hours?

Well for starters - it was not as if they were actually working on R3 all this time. Quite the contrary - R3 ended up waiting quite a bit.

But to start things off , I insisted that an OBD scan with the laptop is required and the SA obliged. This was to achieve two objectives.
a) Ensure the brake switch was working within parameters
b) find out the root cause of the lag in pick-up

So , Javed and I set off - and did a 12 km test drive. In all this while Javed was glued to the laptop, whilst I experimented with various combinations of driving conditions/style.



It did not take too much time to figure out that the brake switch was behaving perfectly.
The lag in pick-up , was recorded. However the conditions under which this was occurring were determined to be - downshifting late, or upshifting early. As soon as I started shifting in the recommended speed range, there was no lag to speak of - and so it turns out that sometimes its the driver's fault.

We tried replicating the remote lock not being able to operate the cetral lock. But R3 just did not oblige. Besides , there were no errors on this aspect on the scanner. So , I just waived it off the list.

Once we were back at the facility there was a wait for about an hour, before it would be R3s turn..

During this time, someone had a bright idea - and sent R3 in for washing. A very minor incident happened. A small rubber washer fitted with the windscreen wash nozzle, somehow got pried loose, and was lost.
Naturally I raised a stink. And therefore Manish ji organized a new nozzle to be fitted on the hood.

The actual service started at 12:15 PM, was interrupted at 1 PM (for lunch), and again resumed at 1:30 PM , finishing around 2:30 PM.

In this time, the brakes, air-filter, all fluid levels & suspension bushes were inspected. Then the tyres were balanced and rotated (by Rajeev). The steel stepney became the front left corner- oh what an eyesore- I was so glad I was not going to see it around much longer. And then the main gear-box oil and differential gear-box oil was changed.


Once the service was done, it was time to change the steel stepney for the alloy. However, as the facility does not have a tyre changer, we decided to combine the test drive, with a drive up to the friendly neighbourhood tyre-wallah for their JIT services.

Conti being put on the new alloy


And then we went back. R3 was pulling slightly to the left during the drive- and this was attended to by Rajeev. A slight adjustment to the cam controlling caster angle , and we were sorted. This is a departure from the earlier Scorpio where shims were the preferred solution.


While the alignment work was going on, a denter was pressed into service, to unscrew the plastic cover underneath the hood and fit the windscreen washer nozzle in place. Simple job - done in 5 minutes. All sorted - right?

Well no. As Rajeev and I embarked on our test drive, he tried washing the windscreen. Only to discover that the washing fluid was leaking all over the floor.

Anyway - we completed our test drive, and came back. The said denter - a gent by the name of "Deepak Singh" was called back to fix the issue. It was discovered that the hose supplying the fluid to the nozzle had got disconnected at the reservoir end.

And it's a b**** of a problem to sort out. In their endeavor to fit everything within the engine bay - the concept of easy maintainability has evidently not dawned on the designers.

Clipping the other end of the hose is 10 seconds. Reattaching this end to the reservoir took the better part of an hour. As for this - the fender and part of the bumper cover need to come off.

It was around 5 PM by the time I left. Here's the invoice for Rs 19k and change. The actual service cost around Rs 4.7k


I pointed out to Manish, that the problems with the entertainment system/ipod glitch had not been sorted out. He suggested to meet with Nippon directly. Mr. Anant - at Nippon Audiotronix, D7, Sector 10, NOIDA.

I went there this morning - to find out that the fix for the ipod was a 5 minute software flash.
Oh why.... did I not escalate this sooner ...?


I have a spare steel stepney with TPMS - felt really awful giving it away for 600 bucks at the tyre shop - for two reasons.
a) The stepney's never been used - and it costs Rs 1800 and change for a new one.
b) the TPMS is around Rs 1600 itself

I will try peddling it at an appropriate price point here in TBHP , and if it does not sell, will hold it as an insurance spare.

Everything works - for now. So for now, I am happy.

[joybhowmik]

I had not been fully satisfied by the offered explanation that my driving style contributed towards the loss in pick-up (see above).

And therefore I had sought an explanation on the Mahindra Issues and solutions thread for this observation.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Friends
My Scorpio S10 is ~10k kms / 10 months old. Bone stock except I have slightly upsized tyres.

An observation- I notice that around 1500-2000 rpm , on keeping A-pedal pressed for maybe 10 seconds, sometimes there is no linear power-delivery (pick up). It seems as if the engine hesitates for 2-3 seconds before putting down the power.

At other times, it works perfectly fine.

Also works perfectly fine when in cruise control mode - typically speeds of 60-80).

Though if cruise control were not on, then sometimes the lack of power-delivery is apparent - this has happened in 4th and 5th as well as all other lower gears.

There had been a recent brake switch replacement under warranty -for a similar power delivery issue.

I thought it had something to do with the brake switch or clutch release- and had both situations monitored by the service tech using a laptop.
The specific case of A-pedal input for 10s not eliciting a response - did not happen on the test drive.

My questions-
1) What might be causing this behaviour?
2) How can the cause be confirmed?

Appreciate thoughts on this matter from the gurus.

Yesterday (May 20) - while I was going through my pre-drive checks (planned a quick getaway to the Kumaon) I noticed the OBD indicator had lighted up on the dash.

Besides the A-pedal continued to give trouble. Not wishing to drive up steep inclines with a dysfunctional accelerator - I had no option but to take it in for a quick check.

To cut a long story short , I arrived at the workshop at 8:30 AM, and was handed the vehicle back at 3 PM.

At the workshop , Javed ji diagnosed this as a malfunctioning accelerator pedal position sensor.
Duly replaced as a warranty item.


There's another issue - often the remote won't lock the car. I had been trying to get Mahindra to acknowledge the issue , but they would not - as reproducing the said situation was not exactly easy.

Anyway, it happened again yesterday - right in front of them. And then they diagnosed it as a faulty ignition lock barrel. They've promised to change it out - in 3-4 days. Naturally this will mean I get a new set of keys.

[joybhowmik]

Friends,
I had made a short trip north to Binsar Uttarakhand (~7500 ft) between 13th - 16th May, 2016.
Due to the great north indian summer it had seemed a good idea to take my portable fridge along.
But I had not accounted for "happy feet" and their effects. Having been told explicitly to not rest their feet on the center row air con vent, the kids perched them on the small 12V car adapter that comes with the fridge.

Needless to say it broke, what's worse, developed a short. I did not know that, and tried the adapter in the other socket as well with disastrous consequences. Now, both the sockets were dead and I came face to face with the prospect of changing out a fuse in R3 while in the middle of nowhere.

Unfortunately, the fuse pinch/tweezer that comes with R3 is a joke. And I just could not make it work. So had to wait till I came down to lesser heights , and locate an electrician with a pair of pliers for the job.

On return, R3 was garaged (Milemuncher's turn)

Last night, when taking R3 out, I noticed that the cabin light was on. Had been that way for the last 9 days!
And turning the key ... as expected ... evoked not a whimper.

Took out the old jumper cables - and Milemuncher tried resuscitation - but looked like R3's battery was as deeply discharged as possible.

A call was placed to Mahindra RSA at 9:10- and they arrived just about an hour and half later. A couple of tries with their battery did the job.
A quick fluid check later, the guy was gone.

Left R3 to idle for about 45 minutes, and today morning it started as if nothing had happened!

[joybhowmik]

Friends
Despite a stoic silence here - all had not been quiet with R3..
After my biannual road trip to/ from Kolkata, R3 took us out to the great outdoors one more time. This was the Spiti loop (yes yes I know those who are connected with me on FB have been insisting about the travelogue) and hopefully I'll get started on one this week.
But what I wanted to really say is - R3 performed and how!

Anyway more on that later. Which brings me back to the subject of R3 and his care.

Shortly back from my return, there was an irritating sound from the tailgate - probably a result of offroading once too often on the rough terrain of Spiti.
There was also the age-old problem of the broken ignition barrel. I had been skeptical of getting the ignition barrel problem sorted before the Spiti trip - as did not want to jinx it. Nevertheless, on my return - I had it attended to. This obviously meant a great deal of work by the team - as it involves changing all the locks and reprogramming the remote and the computer inside.

Glad to say this was taken care of in Warranty.



The other problem that arose was that the Antenna seal got damaged, resulting in rain drenching everything inside the cabin. The root cause, was found to be the direction in which the maid takes the covers off R3 in the morning. And that proved to be a costly learning. One must take the cover off going front to back - rather than the other way around. If one does things the wrong way, the cover invariably fouls with the antenna- and all manner of tugging and pulling, has the effect of damaging the flimsy rubber seal on the roof.



Well the only other thing to report is that as of the Spiti trip, the rear bumper protector is off the car. The reason was to reduce weight - particularly important when at high altitudes. I have not put it back on yet. A teaser pic...


So at least till the travelogue comes up - that's all I have from the stable.

Stay safe, stay blessed and be happy!

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

This is another area where my passengers might miss the Innova's superlative HVAC design. For a hot country like India, its absolutely essential to have ceiling mounted vents. This allows the cool air to strike the face, the neck and the torso first before settling down - thus giving a faster cooling effect to the occupants. In the R3 - this may take some time - to their discomfort. But then, this could also be a reflection of cost cutting - overhead ceiling mounted vents and their plumbing do cost mucho dinero!

The solution to the problem finally arrived - and just in time too. This time, R3 will ferry extended family on a short trip and all the seats will be up.

Lack of vents, had caused the better half to remonstrate against taking R3 for fully loaded milk-runs.

But she was pleasantly surprised with the sub Rs 1250/- solution that promises to do the job. And for once , everyone important will NOT be sweating like pigs in a sewer.

A photo of the device


Yes I did use a coupon - so got it at less than advertised, and it does not void electrical system warranty - nor does it require unsightly holes to be drilled on the ceiling/pillars.

Be aware it ships from Hong Kong - so it will take it's own sweet time to reach you - should you order one.

I also took the liberty of extending the rather short power wire with twin-core. By the simple expedient of snipping the original , splicing the 3.3 m (purchased for Rs 50/-), soldering the ends, and taping it all up. No heat shrink available at the local hardware store today -so that's for the future - if I remember.

[joybhowmik]

A morning run to IGIA turned into a disaster.

An errant steel plate carelessly left by a construction crew, met an equally errant rear tire driven by a less than alert driver ..with catastrophic consequences.


My LIMI inflator can deal with most punctures... but sidewall holes are in a completely different league.

Luckily a good samaritan rescued my folks , and they made their flight. Whilst I labored under the gaze of curious taxi-wallahs, and struggled to heft the largish conti...cursing myself for not looking. Job done, I returned home, and bought a new one for Rs 11,900/-

A totally avoidable expense - on a black day.

[black_rider]

Maybe not the right time to post this, but I really liked the 265/65 tire on your car. It looks awesome I want to put the exact same tire, including R17 wheels, on my Storme 4x4. Was thinking of using either Scorpio or XUV wheels, but the PCDs don't match :( I don't like the negative offset wheels in aftermarket.

Have the bigger tires made a perceptible reduction in acceleration?

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by black_rider

Have the bigger tires made a perceptible reduction in acceleration?

Hello there! I am a big fan of making reasonable upsize choices. And now that you mention it, the thought that I should have looked out for perceptible reduction in acceleration leaves me a bit embarrassed- as I did not think about it quite that way before. Theoretically yes, I see what you are saying... but practically it has made no difference at all.


On to a further update. Today I decided to go ahead and get a couple of warranty repair items sorted.
Therefore at the stroke of 9, presented self and R3 and the friendly neighborhood dealer (FND) for much needed TLC of the free kind.

Issue 1. I have remarked almost a year ago about the weirdness of the fuel guage.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

The fuel meter problem

The resistance at the sender's terminals was next measured at the two opposite positions of the float - and the values were 24 and 173 ohms respectively.

As it so happened, the problem did not appear in the first two quarters this year. But since about July, it reared its ugly head with increasing regularity. Leaving me with no option but to get it addressed.

and thus today - R3 was put on the lift
- and shortly after the fuel tank was manhandled out of its fastenings



A special tool is used to unscrew the lid.



The tool...



The sender unit




A close up of the variable resistance - the resistance value is picked up by the onboard computer - and so on to the fuel guage display.


This time the readings at the terminal were 132 vs 152 - a clear indication that it was time for a replacement. Duly replaced following the usual warranty approval process.

Issue 2: There had been a recall notice sent by Mahindra that affected the new generation scorpio and nuvo sport - something about proactively protecting a "fluid hose" (report here)

The fluid hose(s) in question - turned out to be a pair of rubber brake lines (one on each side) that do have some possibility of chafing due to the movement of the suspension parts.

A picture of the offending part - that needs to be "proactively protected"


The fix consists of wrapping the line in tape, and placing a clamp to offset the line itself from the suspension.
And here's a picture of the plastic clamp


Job done... and all was well. The zero bill ... a joy to behold.

And best of all a free wash and I was out of the shop by 12:45.

All in all a satisfying visit.

[joybhowmik]

The 16000 km mark came up on Nov 18, 2016. What a ride it has been so far!


R3 had been garaged soon after - as I had a business trip to attend to. On return, the trusty Milemuncher was doing duty - and for the heck of it, we decided to let it continue being the daily drive. For two reasons:
a) We'd decided that we would use R3 for the annual दिल्ली - कोलकाता run - more so- because we expect poor road conditions in one of our many side-trips into rural Bengal. and;
b) By the time we return, the odometer should cross the 20000 km mark - and be up for service. What better way to start 2017, than to have a fully serviced R3 - raring to go at the mountains!

Per my practice of checking every aspect of the vehicle , before a long trip, I came across three issues.
a) The center vent vanes were jammed-doubtless due to my kids fidgeting with the levers. This necessitated a trip to the local FNG for a quick fix. This involves taking out the central console, and fixing the central vent - and putting everything back again. As this also involved, disconnecting the 4WD rotary switch, I tried the 4H and 4L once I was back. And a surprise awaited me - the 4L would not engage. The light would continue blinking. Suspecting that it was just a faulty connection from the switch, I took it back - only to discover that there was nothing wrong with the switch or connectors per se.
Then the routine call to Javed (the technical support guy - in Warranty claims) followed. I suspected a failed electric motor (that engages the low gear into the drivetrain).
I was asked to come in the next day.

b) The next day arrived. I showed up at the workshop at 9 AM sharp. Mr Arya who heads the workshop, assigned Sunil (a master mechanic) and Javed on a test drive. The first thing that Sunil did , was drive the car in reverse. And lo and behold! - the 4L was engaged. Javed launched into a technical explanation of how the teeth/splines were not aligned properly, when the 4L is selected at stand-still. Accepting the explanation, I put up the car for washing, and changing out the central power outlet (just below the center vane) - it had lost it's cap - and had been on backorder.

The car was washed , the power outlet changed, and I was sent on my way.
The bill :


c) A map update had been pending for long - I was still driving with 2013 vintage map software. I checked with Mr. Anant of Nippon, and was told that they have a release as recent as October 2016.
Getting the update means one has to actually visit Nippon's HQ - where all they do is stick a pen-drive, put the onboard ICE in diagnostic mode, and perform the update. Naturally , that did not work - twice! So that meant the ICE had to be taken out , and put on the bench for a motherboard swap.
The ICE being taken out.


Job done- and everything's working fine now. The only issue that remains is that I need to go load all my favorite places in the gps. A laborious process that does not have any shortcuts.

I so wish Nippon/Mahindra could have made the porting of favs.txt easier. It works like a charm with MMI software installed on Milemuncher. Why not here?

And I also so wish - that they open up a full service Nippon unit service center in Delhi. It's really quite a pain to drive to Noida everytime one needs something looked at.
Mahindra - are you listening?

In other news - a set of new mats arrived from ebay


Due to the distinct inadequacy of cubby holes and niches - that are an absolutely mandatory ingredient of any long drive , I decided to splurge on the following accessories - (again on ebay)
Organizers


And in continuation of the fine tradition of saving the best for the end, friends, I have bitten the bullet, and put ₹ 7990 down for a handirack - an inflatable luggage rack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnRJLbfMiE4

How well it works - only time will tell. But going by the experiences of a few people here, I expect to be delighted.

[joybhowmik]

I did not quite realise it, but how the time has flown!

But first an update. R3 continued to floor me with sheer performance and then some on our recent Dilli Kolkata trip , including a side trip to venerable Santiniketan.

That the trip would be by R3 and not Milemuncher, was more by design than choice! Amongst other things, Milemuncher's 80k service point would have happened somewhere in the middle of the gangetic plains - which I was wont to avoid. Besides, I had never really taken R3 out on what's become a semi-annual ritual. And , with 4k kms to go before R3 was due for the 3rd service, I thought , that is reason enough.

A quote from one of my social media walls - that begins to describe my feelings at the end of the journey - would not be out of order! As some BHPians would appreciate... there are few inanimate things that bring fire and passion into one's life -and the carmine R3 is no exception!

The end of a road trip calls for some reflection. When the trip is on R3, there's some passion thrown in - for good measure.
Like The time , when on a green signal, R3 turned into a narrow road adjacent the railway station - holding up about 50 cycle-rickshaws coming the wrong way! And to hear them say - how dare you bring this red monster , into our midst ... which was swiftly retorted to by a rejoinder - "At least I pay my taxes, and therefore this road."
Or
when we covered the Chinsura - Varanasi stretch in about the same time , as a Merc AMG - that had started from Asansol for Varanasi at the same time. That's making up a 4 - hour headstart on a 12 hour drive!
Or
when we did some off-roading, on the verge , as some sleepy tractor trailer drivers, decided to catch their fair share of forty-winks parked on the expressway!
Or
when R3 dazzled , parked regally in the special parking slot for visiting dignitaries, @ Lalbazar (Calcutta Police HQ).
Or
when normally unruly kolkata yellow taxi drivers, gave R3 , the right of way on congested city roads.
Or
when the driving through the darkest corners of kolkata's port district (notorious for crime) , was dismissed with so much scorn.
Or
the looks of pure adulation that we espied, when we stumbled upon a group of young ladies and their kids, posing for selfies with R3 :-) @ Mankundu Amrakunja
Or
when a dear friend who scoffed at my decision to get R3 home, was subsequently heard "seriously" considering trading up to something "like it".

It was not all passion though. The seat backrest profile, and the hard suspension, have given us (some pain) to remember R3 by! And we sorely missed Milemuncher's suave and impeccable behaviour on what Indian highways can throw one's way.

But enough said!

On to some updates now...
On the way from Kolkata to Varanasi (somewhere in Bihar), I noticed a crack spreading on the windscreen. No doubt the effect , of an itinerant pebble thrown at it, kicked up by the wheels of some truck in front.

On my return to Dilli, there was no option but to get it checked at Windshield experts - EoK. The shop manager told me , there was absolutely no way to safely stop the crack from spreading further, far less remove the eye-sore. The only way out, was to replace the windshield - cost quoted - Rs 8200/-.

I called ahead at Koncept, Tughlakabad (body shop) and the quote was exactly double this amount. On enquiry, it was revealed that a part of the quote is the parts cost of the rain-sensor. Windshield Experts had told me that they would re-fix the sensor using epoxy, but the dealer said, that is essentially a "jugaad". While it may work (and probably will), I was in no mood to experiment, by paying Rs 8200/- and living with a faulty sensor. So I bit the bullet - and asked the authorised dealer to have a go.

The work took half a day, but the car waited for close to 36 hours in the shop. The reason ? I was torn between using my insurance, vs paying out of pocket. But, when the claims adjuster, deigned to pay only Rs 11k , I decided to foot the bill myself. As the bill will show- the difference amount of approximately Rs 4k, is roughly the amount of my NCB today.



After that came the wait, of getting R3 to the magical figure of 20k kms... not too long a wait though.

It happened sometime around 10:30 AM today,

accompanied by genteel alarm bells tingling from the dash. That intrusion was due to the service reminder.


Finally, R3 got to the service point at 10:40 am. This is the regular service point, we go to every time - except that the location and the company name have changed. It's now at B-24 Okhla, and goes by the name of "Genesis". Nothing much else has changed - still the same people , and their machines, including the parent company "Koncept".

Service in a nutshell:
It was quickly hoisted on the lift, and an oil change was processed.

Brake pads were checked for wear and replaced. Subsequently brake lines were bled, and brake pedal pumped, until all sponginess was sorted.

Water in fuel filter removed.

Air filter replaced

AC particle filter replaced.

Windshield wash fluid topped.

Clutch fluid checked and left alone.

Nuts mounting body to chassis - torqued to spec.

Alignment, balancing and rotation (all 5 wheels). TPMS re-programmed.

Suspension bushes, links , arms and steering links, boots inspected and left alone.

A bracket fitted onto the firewall - ostensibly to keep some pipes away from others. (Recall item).


Tail gate hinge adjusted for noise (warranty)

Car washed and scrubbed clean - inside and out.

By the time I got R3 back it was just past 4:30 PM. I left Genesis, lighter by Rs 10,310. Not cheap - for a "free" service.


It had been a long day. But I am satisfied. R3 is Spiti ready... that's all well, the only problem is I don't have immediate plans to go there!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

It was not all passion though. The seat backrest profile, and the hard suspension, have given us (some pain) to remember R3 by!!

That is a revelation. Didn't reclining it to more comfortable angle help? I always presumed the 8 seater's middle row to be significantly more comfortable compared to the 7 seater due to its reclining back rest.