Team-BHP - Tata Safari Storme : Official Review

Guys I need some suggestions on the problem which I faced for the second time last week leaving me stranded and forced to call on road assistance.
My gear lever went free while the car was in 3 gear!?! It's because of a small pin which links gear lever to transmission, which is only Rs.16 fix at the Tass. But the fact that the pin came out and left me stranded in less than 16k kms is troubling me.
Both the times, the on road assistance (provided by tvs) fixed it with a small nut and bolt and asked me to take the vehicle to Tass for fixing the issue.
Can someone please throw some light as how can I get rid of this dampener, as otherwise I am completely in love with the truck. Has anyone else faced the same issue?

Quote:

Originally Posted by storme'd (Post 3283976)

Unable to catch the sound in the video. Any suggestions?

Is the sound too feeble to be heard? Where do you hear it usually? In the cabin or the engine compartment? Take your cellphone/camera close to the source where you hear it from. Should work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neel385 (Post 3284081)

Well..decided to take the plunge.

Congrats...!!!

Which variant? Which color? What price? What discounts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by n.devdath (Post 3284452)

Is the sound too feeble to be heard? Where do you hear it usually? In the cabin or the engine compartment? Take your cellphone/camera close to the source where you hear it from. Should work. Congrats...!!! Which variant? Which color? What price? What discounts?

The sound is not exactly feeble but still unable to capture on video. However I am sure I hear it from inside the cabin and not the engine compartment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by n.devdath (Post 3284452)

Which variant? Which color? What price? What discounts?

EX/Silver/ Through CSD so 980143 ex showroom Ranchi.

No discounts as of now. Missed the Diwali / Dussera schemes due to delay in some paperwork. Was told by the SA that a new scheme was to be announced today, but I have heard nothing from him. Does anyone have any news about this new scheme(s)?

9750 on the clock in 6 months of usage.

FE steady @ 10 in city, between 12 & 13 on highways, depending on speeds. A little more if speed is restricted to 100.

Two small problems -
1. A/c recirculation mode - the inlet for fresh air doesnot close fully/consistently , resulting in lesser cooling at times. This makes the cooling looking inconsistent.
2. Latches for back-rest of rear seat dont hold well many times. Hence if there's a lot of luggage at the back, the back-rest of the rear seat gets pushed forward.

Quote:

1. A/c recirculation mode - the inlet for fresh air doesnot close fully/consistently , resulting in lesser cooling at times. This makes the cooling looking inconsistent.

Hi Condor,

I faced the same issue in my earlier ride-Scorpio. More than the loss of efficiency of AC, it tends to suck up the foul smells from outside when you want to avoid them :Shockked:

Quote:

Originally Posted by condor (Post 3285255)

A/c recirculation mode - the inlet for fresh air doesnot close fully/consistently , resulting in lesser cooling at times. This makes the cooling looking inconsistent.

I remember having read somewhere in this thread that the fresh air intake damper can be adjusted at TASS to get rid of this problem. Have you tried it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by storme'd (Post 3283463)

Devdath, I had taken the truck to ASC who mentioned that the steering is fine; however I feel that mine is heavier. Also, I have a 2WD so no reason why it should be harder.

They had changed the stopper bolt some time under warranty. However as I said the sound I get seems to emanate from the rack and not the tire area. Any suggestions?

There are 4 big sized washers in the steering column that need to be changed as well. The older ones were too small and used to get cut, causing some bad moments with the steering jammed. The stopper bolts as mentioned need to be replaced and the wheels aligned properly again. The steering should be able to move to just short of 1.75 turns to both right and left. Equally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by condor (Post 3285255)

Problem number 2 was there with old safari too. You have to get the clamp on the body hammered into a a position so that adequate lock is achieved.
As for problem 1...

Quote:

Originally Posted by YGarg (Post 3285402)

I remember having read somewhere in this thread that the fresh air intake damper can be adjusted at TASS to get rid of this problem. Have you tried it?

No, it won't work. Even if it does, it will work for a few days. Only solution is to permanently block the external air path with a piece of padding or something. When external air is required, the air intake buttons on the right side of the driver, i.e. the power window switches should be used.

I have noticed a strange problem in my storme, this happens only when I take it for a long drive (read > 50 Kms). The engine service sign (the one with the spanner) comes on and I feel a momentary drop in power, it goes away if I downshift and accelerate and at times, if I release the accelerator pad and press it back again. This never happens in my daily city drive of 10 kms to office and 10kms back from office.

I'll get this checked in the 1500 kms service, but just wanted to check if there are any specific areas that I may ask the TASS to check. I heard that this is a known problem in the Aria, have any other storme owners faced this/ got this rectified?

Quote:

Originally Posted by condor (Post 3285255)

2. Latches for back-rest of rear seat dont hold well many times. Hence if there's a lot of luggage at the back, the back-rest of the rear seat gets pushed forward.

Same problem in my truck. Managed to figure out why. The clasp on the seat back which smaps and locks on to the small cylindrical post coming out of the central pillar, is not able to close and lock properly because it aligns with the circular knob like end of that post, instead of further inside on the thinner part of the stalk.

What the TASS guys did was remove that post and refit it on to the central pillar with a washer (as a spacer) at the base. This made the post jut out a bit more and the clasp of the seat back now aligns with the thin part of the post and manages to close and lock perfectly instead of aligning with the circular knob at the end.