[condor]

Couple of weeks back I had got the servicing done, as part of prep for an out-station trip. The trip came up earlier than expected, and completed it last week. 6 days, 1410 km. Odo is now just short of the 95.5k mark. Long drives, city drives, what ever it is - the Storme is ready for it.

Had to do a little higher speeds when going - upto 120. Had not got time to check the tyre pressures, and ended up with a slightly lower FE. But when I consider the distances covered, that 3 pt under-inflation adds up a lot to the fuel expense part. Lesson learnt.

Onward - BLR-Hubli- interior roads. Return was via Hubli-Hospet-Chitradurga-BLR. The Hospet-Chitradurga section is lovely ! Though I miss the old 2-laner, the current road means a steady 100kmph results in an avg 80-82 kmph speed over the stretch. 1 hour 25 min for the 130 km is good !

And after all the stuff that we brought along, now need to sit and clean it inside-out.

[condor]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

If that car has been driven by one owner and the odo is legit, and if it is in immaculate condition, 10 lakhs is a good price.

9 lakhs would be a steal- its a Varicor 400(better torque than even the new safari) ..

PS: Current Storme owners, pls dont take offense that the resale i have quoted is too low.

The 400 varicor - is it 5 gears or 6 ? The 5 geared Safari is actually better to drive than the 6 geared one, though a little lesser FE on long drives

And the prices you mentioned are fine. 3 years back when I asked Tata for exchange price, they quoted about 5.5L for my 5 year old Storme, though I had paid 14L for the new one. Getting a new Storme must be for keeps. Or get a used one.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by condor

The 400 varicor - is it 5 gears or 6 ? The 5 geared Safari is actually better to drive than the 6 geared one, though a little lesser FE on long drives

And the prices you mentioned are fine. 3 years back when I asked Tata for exchange price, they quoted about 5.5L for my 5 year old Storme, though I had paid 14L for the new one. Getting a new Storme must be for keeps. Or get a used one.

Varicor 400 is 6 gears, and yes, the 6 speed gearbox has shorter gear ratios, making you change gears often, in urban conditions.

My Varicor 400 is clearly more efficient than the Dicor 320. Atleast by 1.5-2 kmpl.

[Slushmaster]

My Storme has developed three problems after getting a regular service:

1) Just driving for 3KMs after servicing, airbag indicator turned on. Shown the same to Tata service centre and they said that some spring sensor in the steering assembly has gone bad. Not sure how it went bad after 3 KMs of driving after a service. Earlier it was fine.
2) The car is now giving a horn beep after I lock it. Typically the horn beep comes when a door is not fully shut. Anybody facing the same problem.
3) Third issue is although not related to service, but guess what, the tata service centre did not have a fix for it. The utility box on the top of the dashboard is not closing. I think the lock is broken. Is there any known fix for the same as knowing folks at Tata service centre, I do not want them to pry open my scratchless dashboard. Any thoughts/ Suggestions.

Slushmaster.

[viXit]

Originally Posted by Slushmaster

My Storme has developed three problems after getting a regular service:

1) Just driving for 3KMs after servicing, airbag indicator turned on. Shown the same to Tata service centre and they said that some spring sensor in the steering assembly has gone bad.

Did your invoice include wheel balancing, steering wheel alignment or any work that could involve the area around your steering??

The clock spring in the steering is a very sensitive part and when people remove steering to adjust steering angle after wheel alignment, it goes bad typically. Because of their harsh treatment

2) The car is now giving a horn beep after I lock it. Typically the horn beep comes when a door is not fully shut. Anybody facing the same problem.

That is accompanied by the cabin light not turning off, when a door or tailgate isn't closed properly. Are your cabin lights turning off??

3) Third issue is although not related to service, but guess what, the tata service centre did not have a fix for it. The utility box on the top of the dashboard is not closing. I think the lock is broken. Is there any known fix for the same as knowing folks at Tata service centre, I do not want them to pry open my scratchless dashboard. Any thoughts/ Suggestions.

Slushmaster.

Prying it open is not going to scratch since the dash has leather on it. It's held up well for me over the past 7 years, looks like you will have to replace it.

check for scrapped cars, and boodmo. I don't think it's a part that can be serviced or repaired. Can you send pics of the plastic hook on the underside of the top moving lid.

[Slushmaster]

Originally Posted by viXit

Did your invoice include wheel balancing, steering wheel alignment or any work that could involve the area around your steering??

As a rule(based on my experience) I never get wheel balancing and alignment done by tata service centre. Only thing they worked on other that oil change and rear door alignment was to pair a new key as the old one was broken.

Also, the lights are not turning off after locking.

Will post pics of the lock. Thanks for replying quickly.

Slushmaster

[viXit]

Originally Posted by Slushmaster

As a rule(based on my experience) I never get wheel balancing and alignment done by tata service centre. Only thing they worked on other that oil change and rear door alignment was to pair a new key as the old one was broken.

Also, the lights are not turning off after locking.

In that case one of your doors puddle lamps must be glowing continuously. That particular door's open/close button must be defective. If none of your puddle lamps are glowing when all doors are closed, it's your tailgate.

My best bet would be the rear door, since they aligned it.

About the airbag spring in the steering, I don't see how it could've gotten damaged without any messing with the steering. Since it was not there before going for service, it is most likely caused by tata. Though not very optimistic, try writing a mail to tata. Raise a complaint through the connectnext app.

Glad I could help.

[Slushmaster]

Originally Posted by viXit

In that case one of your doors puddle lamps must be glowing continuously. That particular door's open/close button must be defective. If none of your puddle lamps are glowing when all doors are closed, it's your tailgate.

My best bet would be the rear door, since they aligned it.

Glad I could help.

I checked all the doors and none of the puddle lamp is on and opened and closed all the 5 doors and the bonnet multiple times. I think that some sensor is gone KAPUT. Will get it checked.

Also, how difficult is the airbag sensor repair job? Is there any chance of airbag getting triggered while opening the steering wheel. Asking this as the service centre guy was giving excuses to fix it.

Slushmaster

[viXit]

Originally Posted by Slushmaster

I checked all the doors and none of the puddle lamp is on and opened and closed all the 5 doors and the bonnet multiple times. I think that some sensor is gone KAPUT. Will get it checked.

Also, how difficult is the airbag sensor repair job? Is there any chance of airbag getting triggered while opening the steering wheel. Asking this as the service centre guy was giving excuses to fix it.

Slushmaster

Don't ever ignore the airbag light. It deactivates your airbags and they won't deploy your airbags when an accident occurrs. If the battery is disconnected when servicing the airbag, the airbag will not deploy.
100%.

I think you should change your service centre if there's an option. These guys don't seem competent at all. Quite the opposite.

The door issue is most likely your tailgate if no puddle lamp is glowing. Check your instrument cluster for door ajar light

[ebonho]

Just got Beastie back from a full service and all fluid flush and change along with a front left shocker and tail gate latch replacement and few other jobs picked up over the last 2+ years since her last service (thanks to Covid last year and my ASS National shutting down).

She feels smooth and soft now. Smoooooth. Like literally driving on Alladin's magic carpet!

Love my monster.













Brought her home in Feb 2013. First gen first lot Storme.

Cheers, Doc

[dkamath]

Originally Posted by Slushmaster

2) The car is now giving a horn beep after I lock it. Typically the horn beep comes when a door is not fully shut. Anybody facing the same problem.
3) Third issue is although not related to service, but guess what, the tata service centre did not have a fix for it. The utility box on the top of the dashboard is not closing. I think the lock is broken. Is there any known fix for the same as knowing folks at Tata service centre, I do not want them to pry open my scratchless dashboard. Any thoughts/ Suggestions.

2) Yes, have been facing the intermittent door ajar horn issue for a few months now, and thanks to the others, agreeing that it must be to do with the tailgate, considering the poor road drives the vehicle has to put up with, and is squeaking/rattling too. Will check if the sensor can be disabled, as it sure will resurface even if replaced.
3) If the plastic lock has broken, maybe you can consider having the springs removed off the 2 hinges, so that the lid can remain closed. Only a suggestion, though.

Cheers.

[condor]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Varicor 400 is 6 gears, and yes, the 6 speed gearbox has shorter gear ratios, making you change gears often, in urban conditions.

Yes. However, me and Varun found the 400 Varicor a little softer. The extra torque should have compensated for the shorter gear ratio's, IMO. But overall, I am ok with the FE i get - 14kmpl on highways with a steady 100. But then I also use the brakes sparingly - anticipate stops and slow down accordingly.

[avinash_m]

Fellow Stormers - anyone knows if opening up the front bumper is a DIY job (can be done at home)!?

When I'd enquired about bumper repaint, during last service at TASS, they'd mentioned about some clip/clamp mechanism which has to be replaced, if the bumper is removed (it is kind of onetime use only). But came across certain videos on youtube where removal and refitting seems straightorward!? Would appreciate any pointers in this regard.

Reason for the query - have sourced couple of Hella HB3 projectors (low beam), to replace the std. fog lamps.

Thanks!

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by condor

But overall, I am ok with the FE i get - 14kmpl on highways with a steady 100. But then I also use the brakes sparingly - anticipate stops and slow down accordingly.

14 is amazing!

I have never been able to get anything over 11kmpl on my Safari Dicor 320 and over 12 kmpl on my Storme Varicor 400.

But I have not done tankful to tankful on them, except for twice on the storme. Now that storme has become my daily driver, I am already on the first tankful. Let me see if I can get anything over 12 kmpl.

Maintaining 100 kmph on the highways in the V400 is something saintly for me to do. The car goes dirty speeds quite easily.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Maintaining 100 kmph on the highways in the V400 is something saintly for me to do. The car goes dirty speeds quite easily.

Same here. I once tried an experiment and drove the entire expressway from Poona to Bombay at 100. Or so I promised myself.

Even there I inadvertently found the needle at 120 many times without realising.

I normally drive her at triple digit speeds and get around 11 on extended highway runs.

High 9s in the city. AC always on. Usually just me in the beast. Commute.

Cheers, Doc