[ambujlal]

The most amazing
video that I ever saw for wearing seat belt:

[akp]

Originally Posted by ambujlal

The most amazing
video that I ever saw for wearing seat belt:

It's really a beautiful video. For those without a facebook account, here is the youtube link:

YouTube - Embrace Life - always wear your seat belt

[ambujlal]

I had an accident some time back and the back portion of the car got smashed. The car was cooling its heals at the Concorde service center for about a week before I got it yesterday. Well I must say they did a pretty good job with tinkering and painting and it looks brand new! Not a good way to make your car look new but still it is back to shape.

Total financial damage about 11K. Tail light was replaced which costed about 1000 rupees, rest for tinkering and painting the rear door and the quarter panel.

I cannot emphasize more the importance of wearing seat belts. I see so many, I mean really a lot of people driving without wearing seat belts. You never know which one would be your bad day on road. You may be driving safe and think why do you need to put it on, but you have no control on how others are driving on road. So please wear seat belts always while driving.

[vivekgk]

This has been a very helpful thread. I just booked an Indigo CS LX TDi. Even though yours is petrol model, the info about the interiors, cooling, ride, etc were very helpful. Which brand tyres did you get as stock? Did you have to pay extra for metallic shade?

[ambujlal]

The car gave up on me today. Was in Delhi peak hour evening traffic coming from Gurgaon to Delhi on NH8. It stopped and didn't start. Got a "dhakka" start done and then prayed that it not stop! It didn't and thank God for that.

Looks like a self problem. When I try to fire the engine, it just gives a tick tick sound. Battery is okay. everything is working fine.

Gurus any advice! How much would it cost me :(. The car has completed 2 years and I have a extended warranty. Would this be covered in extended warranty?

[ambujlal]

Called up Tata motors 24/7 vehicle breakdown assistance. I had paid Rs 500/- for this membership and guess what it came to my rescue.

The problem was rectified within 2 hours of calling helpline. Nothing big, the starter motor connection was loose. I also learnt where the starter motor is located and the wiring. He was a nice guy and explained the problem and the solution. Advised me not to do a push start as it is harmful for the car.

Total money spent = 0 rupees.

[ambujlal]

Its been a while since I wrote about my sweet car! Yeah Tata's can make some good car, although I come across their critics almost everywhere!

Anyway, since I first wrote my post about my CS, the car has proved more than a transportation medium from point A to point B. I had never thought that Point A would be Bangalore and point B would be Delhi.

So, you must be thinking that crossing the country in a petrol driven car and that too a Tata Indigo, would have cost me a fortune. Neah, it didn't. Few weeks back I took out all the petrol bills of my drive and calculated approximate mileage and it came out to be around decent 16.8 kmpl.

Back to my ownership or rather she owns me, as if I don't drive her for few days, I start missing it. It has been absolute peace of mind driving, be it engine, electrical, AC, braking, robustness anything. I have had no complaints. The drive has always been comfortable. I remember once one of my friend, who just got down from my friends Hyundai verna and came and sat in CS, said "your car is so much more roomier an comfortable". Verna is a fun to drive but for rear bench passengers its a pain in long drives.

It has not cost me anything extra to maintain it. Just the usual servicing and some disciplined driving. It has not failed me when I wanted to burn the tyres to 140-145kmph or when I wanted a sudden acceleration. Yeah, yeah, I am not competing with the k-series engine cars, or the hyundai's! The car does what it is meant to do and responds without showing tantrums. Am I not loving it hehehe yeah I do!

Pictures of how does it look after 2 years and 30K kilometers? sure they follow in sometime

[ambujlal]

Life at 3.5 years

Bought in the summer of 2008 in Bangalore, my companion on road is now 3.5 years old and its been a smooth relationship so far

A list of places where I have been with her!

• Ooty
• Chennai
• Pune
• Coorg
• Kabini
• Horsley Hills
• Aurangabad
• Bhopal
• Gwalior
• Agra
• Bareily
• Nainital
• Merrut

[ambujlal]

Had a very strange problem today and a first one about which I have no clue. I was returning from Merrut and as usual stuck in Modinagar jam and till Delhi in killing slow jam and suddenly Check engine light came up. I noticed that AC has stopped working, so thought that might be the reason. The car was running fine, temperature, lights, everything was spot on.

But when I parked the vehicle, and locked the car, I heard a sound coming as if the car is still on! After hearing closely I realized that some fan is on, either it could be the radiator fan or some other fan (about which I have no idea, AC fan?)! Anyway I immediately took out the tool and disconnected the battery and reconnected. Then I fired the engine and switched off, the fan had stopped, even after taking the keys out. But the "Check Engine" light is still glowing.

Wondering what this could be! But anyway I was kinda amused at this... how can something keep running even when keys were in my pocket. Is Tata playing tricks with me. Have to get this checked up! The good thing is that even after disconnecting the battery, the ECU is still indicating a problem. Normally what these service center guys do is, that they disconnect the battery to reset the ECU. Even if after me disconnecting the battery, the ECU got reset, it is still showing "Check Engine" light. So there is something!

[ambujlal]

Originally Posted by ambujlal

But when I parked the vehicle, and locked the car, I heard a sound coming as if the car is still on! After hearing closely I realized that some fan is on, either it could be the radiator fan or some other fan (about which I have no idea, AC fan?)! Anyway I immediately took out the tool and disconnected the battery and reconnected. Then I fired the engine and switched off, the fan had stopped, even after taking the keys out. But the "Check Engine" light is still glowing.

The check engine light was due to a loose connection to AC, as told by the service advisor. I trust him as he was recommended by one of senior Bhpian, Sumantra

Also the service experience was great at Auto Links Gurgaon, the better ones after leaving Bangalore. They thoroughly listened to my complains and fixed almost all of them. In fact the car is running like new and now when I look back at few times I took car to Carnation Gurgaon, I feel cheated. Cheated because I feel they charged me for fixing things which in reality they did not and handed me inflated bills!

Thanks to Suman for helping!

[greenhorn]

i had the same problem show up when my TP sensor died. Cost me 2k for a replacement. But i think mine was a diesel specific problem as i was asked to go to a lucas tvs service center where they fixed it

[ambujlal]

Four years of trouble free ownership and counting Real value for money car.

[ambujlal]

After almost 6 years of ownership and about 50,000 kilometers, changed the tyres to Nankang toursport, 175/65 R14. Finding the ride and handling much better than the stock tyres. Fantastic road grip.

The car is doing just amazing. No reason's to complaint. Went for a trip to Ooty on the 31st march long weekend. Car had four adults and two kids with boot full of luggage. The car returned a fantastic mileage of 12.5kmpl with 100% AC. Switched off the AC only for climbing the 36 hair-pin bends.

Nothing major has been replaced in the car except that battery gave way after successfully serving since 2008. Replaced with Exide Matrix.

[Nissan1180]

Thank you for maintaining a wonderful log about a rare car!
I often wonder what is it about a product that makes you feel emotional about it. One explanation is that there should be an interaction that is not transactional. In case of Tata cars, it is the need to spend time on them periodically that makes the ownership/driving experience interesting and sometimes miserable. But,you end up having a sentiment attached to the car, and the experience won't leave you with a neutral taste.
I don't think there is any manufacturer in the world which can permit such lenient tolerances in quality of parts used, despite being a global giant.
If you look at the nature of failures and replacements, you will find that a lot of the failures are due to a design issues which actually cost a lot to fix but are easily incorporated in the design phase itself.
My Nano needed a replacement of the windshield washer motor. A relative's Nano had the same problem and later I found that this issue has even been posted on their facebook page! When you know there is a problem, a more proactive approach would be better to gain the trust of the customer.
Cheers to your well maintained steed

[Rugged]

Originally Posted by Danindica

Dear Ambuj,

The viscosity of the engine oil is high right now and it will slowly go down to normal. You engine must also be feeling a little "tight' at the moment. Your perception of the mileage drop is absolutely correct and connected to the new oil. It will return to normal in like a 200kms. It happens after every servicing that includess an oil change.

To get the best fuel efficiency, you could buy fuel in amounts that you intend to use immediately. Some time in the parking lot is fine but if you buy fuel for any more than two days at a time, you end up losing a lot of fuel to evaporation and largely during the sun hours. Also, try buying fuel in the night or early morning. You get it thicker per ml.

Marsh's law about the evaporation of gases tell us that the surface area available to evaporation plays a huge part. Though the indica has a lowering plate, the shape of the final funnel that takes the fuel away from the tank must be conical. This is why I get ~19 when I buy fuel for 200 bucks and ~16 when I fill up for 500 (distance covered per day being the same).

Hi Danindica and Ambujlal,
One of my friend has a Indigo GLS
he complains of
1 ) Fuel smell while driving
2 ) Sudden jerks while driving.
What could be the reason

i see that you (Danindica ) are from HYD, can you suggest a good reliable mechanic for him.

@Ambujlal Your ownership review on the Indigo is excellent