[lapis_lazuli]

1000km update on my 2012 OBlue Punto 1.2 dynamic.

Yeah yeah, I know, not too many readers for the 1.2, but still an update for the few! Mile crunching, really, became better with the days. The drive quality has improved, number plate light niggle is still there, but overall the vehicle seems to have become much smoother. The last few days, FE has been 16+ mixed Noida roads, 55km to and fro trips. Shift to 5th after crossing 50kmph and max speed <70kmph. 4 people no AC.

I am serious, really.

But happy days do come to an end.

Last Saturday, I had hired a driver for the day. I had to go somewhere and my family, elsewhere. They would be escorted by the driver, was the idea. He usually drives OMNI cabs for ferrying students studying to and from the school where my wife teaches.

Around 12pm, we started rolling, and barely 200m from home, in front of a hospital, there was chaos. A few cycle carts, carrying construction matter like cement, bricks, iron rods and stuff, were unloading in-front of the building being constructed. I was at a safe approach distance, say, 30m. From the other lane, a Scorpio and a Civic were trying to get past the jam and me. I was in 1st gear and maybe just inching ahead at 5kmph. To make way for the Scorpio I had to swerve just a bit to the left and after it had passed, I increased speed and wanted to get past the carts. I asked the driver who was on the front passenger seat, if there was enough clearance to the left. He mumbled something in affirmative and as I got ahead, the usual passionate sound of iron kissing iron, my heartbreak, subsequent foot brake, and a short rear thud. ODO 942km.

The driver for hire had not noticed the iron piece jutting out from one cart. It had done the damage, and when I braked, the bike had rammed the rear bumper to the left. Not his fault. Damage: fender scratched, long gash. Pix tells all.

I am a patient and a forgiving man: no harsh words spoken. I drove on, dropped my family at their destination, and drove off to Oberoi car service center. I cannot bear the sight of my car having a gash with a temporary number, still.

(This post serves another purpose: the other thread where you post "at what odo reading have you scratched your new car" or similar. It is 942km!)

Anyway, the SA arrives, gives me a primary estimate, 8K, and says the insurance surveyor wouldn't be available till Monday. I wait till next week, finally submit the car on Wednesday, promised delivery a week later. Formalities went on smoothly. SA was Surinder, quite helpful but little impatient. Understandable, even at 830 in the morning, 20 cars were ahead of me.

Friday afternoon, pleasant surprise, get an SMS from Oberoi saying car is ready. I was in a meeting so could not call immediately but guess what. At 6PM Surinder calls asking me to take the delivery. He is desperate to handover the car! No space it seems, to keep cars; new and old! It is Navratras as well. I say would go there next morning, Saturday.

I reached Oberoi at 9AM sharp. Was extremely happy to see the Punto lined up in the delivery bay already. Restored like new. A few buff marks here and there, which Surinder personally supervised to get removed. They had cleaned the exteriors, underbody and the engine bay thoroughly as well. The SA seemed really sincere. By 925, the cashier had arrived. payed a very nominal amount, signed the gate-pass, gave a really good feedback and drove off.

Key points:

1) Never trust a hired hand!
2) The SA meticulously recorded all details, tool kit, wheel make brand , battery serial and all.
3) Could notice Mr.Gopalan, service manager, personally supervising the shop floor. Actually giving direction to the mechanics.
4) Personnel in general, are very courteous and polite.
5) Huge huge work area. Body shop is on the upper floors.
6) At least I received very timely and proactive service. Nothing missing or out of place, what I desired was done living up to my expectations.

I do not know if this could be the result of TBHP stickers at strategic locations on the car, but, well, I am a happier man now! I hope they are able to sustain this level of customer support.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by lapis_lazuli

1000km update on my 2012 OBlue Punto 1.2 dynamic.

...........

I do not know if this could be the result of TBHP stickers at strategic locations on the car, but, well, I am a happier man now! I hope they are able to sustain this level of customer support.

Sorry to hear about the scratch.

But I have one completely out of topic query - how come, within 1000 kms, your car's tyres are so dirty? I mean, it looks brown!

[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

But I have one completely out of topic query - how come, within 1000 kms, your car's tyres are so dirty? I mean, it looks brown!

That;s Primarily due to Off roading tracks One find around his / her House in indirapuram / Noida Area. Only The Main roads are tarred at most places, rest makes a good mixture of Slush during rainy season and loads of soil dust during dry summers. That;s why tyres have so much brown color.

[lapis_lazuli]

Dear Raj,

The wheels are shiny black, when i leave for work in the morning. My car cleaner guy, washes them daily. But, I drive through stretches of not so pucca roads, and that day, especially near of Oberoi cars, the stretch of road is like hell . A water pipe had burst or something in addition to perpetual road repair going on. Noida people know how the road behind IOC building till Oberoi cars, is! So the dust and water and everything is cause for the brown look.

Regards.

[Ricci]

@Crazy Driver :
great pics , wallpaper material in fill resolution !

@Lapis :
I feel the frustration of having a new vehicle take damage within the first few weeks, having scraped the front alloy on day 2 itself. Luckily my next drive was uneventful.
The blue looks darker in these pictures than on the Fiat website though, nice color.

[h@r$h@l]

hello all,

a funny problem has started occuring in my 2010 Punto MJD EP since today. My ODO reading keeps flashing. It is working and does add the kms my car runs but it constantly keeps flashing.

What could be the possible cause and what are suggested solutions? Do i need to take it to service centre?

Awaiting responses.

Regards,

[sukrit7]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

hello all,

a funny problem has started occuring in my 2010 Punto MJD EP since today. My ODO reading keeps flashing. It is working and does add the kms my car runs but it constantly keeps flashing.

What could be the possible cause and what are suggested solutions? Do i need to take it to service centre?

Awaiting responses.

Regards,

Has your blue&me malfunctioned as well?
If it hasn't then disconnecting the battery,waiting a bit and reconnecting will fix the issue.
If it has then unfortunately,you'll have to either bear with the fluctuation like I do or get a new blue&me unit.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by sukrit7

Has your blue&me malfunctioned as well?
If it hasn't then disconnecting the battery,waiting a bit and reconnecting will fix the issue.
If it has then unfortunately,you'll have to either bear with the fluctuation like I do or get a new blue&me unit.

you gotta be kidding me,a replacement of blue and me box for this?
its a pretty common issue and is nothing more than a software error.
i have seen it sometimes in my linea as well.
Reset the ECU,by disconnecting the negative terminal.
Else have the error code checked out.

[headers]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

What could be the possible cause and what are suggested solutions? Do i need to take it to service centre?

Apparently, replacing the battery should solve the issue!!

[sukrit7]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

you gotta be kidding me,a replacement of blue and me box for this?
its a pretty common issue and is nothing more than a software error.
i have seen it sometimes in my linea as well.
Reset the ECU,by disconnecting the negative terminal.
Else have the error code checked out.

No. I'm not kidding. If you read my post carefully,I've clearly mentioned that as long as the blue & me unit is functional,disconnecting the battery will sort out the issue.
In my car,the blue& me unit doesn't work anymore. Somehow that results in a flashing odometer that CANNOT be fixed.
The only time it did go away was when a functional blue&me unit was connected.

But yes,usually It's a software issue which can be fixed by a quick reset.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

hello all,

a funny problem has started occuring in my 2010 Punto MJD EP since today. My ODO reading keeps flashing. It is working and does add the kms my car runs but it constantly keeps flashing.

What could be the possible cause and what are suggested solutions? Do i need to take it to service centre?

Awaiting responses.

Regards,

Originally Posted by sukrit7

Has your blue&me malfunctioned as well?
If it hasn't then disconnecting the battery,waiting a bit and reconnecting will fix the issue.
If it has then unfortunately,you'll have to either bear with the fluctuation like I do or get a new blue&me unit.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

you gotta be kidding me,a replacement of blue and me box for this?
its a pretty common issue and is nothing more than a software error.
i have seen it sometimes in my linea as well.
Reset the ECU,by disconnecting the negative terminal.
Else have the error code checked out.

Originally Posted by headers

Apparently, replacing the battery should solve the issue!!

Originally Posted by sukrit7

No. I'm not kidding. If you read my post carefully,I've clearly mentioned that as long as the blue & me unit is functional,disconnecting the battery will sort out the issue.
In my car,the blue& me unit doesn't work anymore. Somehow that results in a flashing odometer that CANNOT be fixed.
The only time it did go away was when a functional blue&me unit was connected.

But yes,usually It's a software issue which can be fixed by a quick reset.

No need to replace Blue and Me or Battery.

Simply disconnect the negative terminal for 15-20 minutes. Once you re-connect, this problem will be gone. Tried and tested method.

Unfortunately, the placement of the B&M box is such that condensation from the AC causes it to temporarily malfunction, resulting in ODO flashing and/or USB not being recognized.

[sukrit7]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

No need to replace Blue and Me or Battery.

Simply disconnect the negative terminal for 15-20 minutes. Once you re-connect, this problem will be gone. Tried and tested method.

Unfortunately, the placement of the B&M box is such that condensation from the AC causes it to temporarily malfunction, resulting in ODO flashing and/or USB not being recognized.

While there is absolutely no need to replace the battery,if the B&M unit stops working then the problem cannot be fixed. I can confirm since the problem exists in my car.

In my original post,I was only letting Harsh know about all possibilities.

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Guys, I lost the cap on my ORVM yesterday, the cap took a hit a couple days back and was loosely sticking to the ORVM till yesterday.

Now, will I be able to procure the cap alone from Tata or should I buy the entire ORVM set?

Got it changed. Part costs Rs.71.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

hello all,

a funny problem has started occuring in my 2010 Punto MJD EP since today. My ODO reading keeps flashing. It is working and does add the kms my car runs but it constantly keeps flashing.

What could be the possible cause and what are suggested solutions? Do i need to take it to service centre?

Awaiting responses.

Regards,

If we go by what you have said, the culprit for sure is the battery terminal.
If you read my ownership thread, I too had this problem.
in the beginning, just like you, I thought that it was a funny problem.
Later when I opened the bonnet and saw, the guys in the A.S.S had literally "Forgot" to tighten the small nut after fixing some other problem
I took a spanner (size number i8 f I can recall correctly) and tightened the nut myself and that problem is gone once and for all.
I realised that day of what it means to be with Tata A.S.S

[headers]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

No need to replace Blue and Me or Battery.

Simply disconnect the negative terminal for 15-20 minutes. Once you re-connect, this problem will be gone. Tried and tested method.

Unfortunately, the placement of the B&M box is such that condensation from the AC causes it to temporarily malfunction, resulting in ODO flashing and/or USB not being recognized.

Yup, temporary solution!! but works!

Originally Posted by sukrit7

While there is absolutely no need to replace the battery,if the B&M unit stops working then the problem cannot be fixed. I can confirm since the problem exists in my car.

In my original post,I was only letting Harsh know about all possibilities.

B&M has no connection with the ODO flashing - Odo flashes tells you that the ECU has some incorrect inputs! In your case, it appeared to be the faulty B&M.

B&M box is prone to failure / errors due to the dust which comes in. A simple air blow at the connectors solve the issue.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

If we go by what you have said, the culprit for sure is the battery terminal.

I realised that day of what it means to be with Tata A.S.S

What I've heard from a little pigeon at TASS is that the secondary voltage levels of the battery go below a threshold level which indicates odo flashing or sometimes Airbag Failure etc.