[Thad E Ginathom]

but...

Originally Posted by CarNerd

Wow Tata wow! The "Flying Bonnet" is a terrific feature to have! Is this standard or optional? Or is it Tata's way of cooling the overheated engine? If this happens in America, the owner would become a millionaire I guess!

Not necessarily. The manufacturer might spend a decade denying that their cars even have bonnets, and, if they do, they do not open, and if they do open... and so on.

Another possible headline from this is that Tata bonnets behave differently in real life than they do under test.

schakravarthy has had a terrifying experience: I don't know if he is ready for taking the subject lightly yet. Hoping he doesn't mind.

[schakravarthy]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

.... ready for taking the subject lightly yet..

Bring 'em on, I say!

Anyway, the kind fellows at the Bodyshop have assured me that the accident was the easiest part of the whole incident.

[Jeep]

Happened to me way back in 2003, was driving the seven year old maruti 800. It was a latch worn out issue which even the service center couldn't fix.

To me it happened on the two way Highway of kerala, though since it was early morning, traffic was thin. Was scary indeed but only the bonnet was damaged, not the windshield...

[Twinn]

Dude!! Lucky escape... Looks like you have started off in a wrong foot with the much awaited buy of yours!

Did you apply for insurance claim?
BTW did you bring this to the notice of any TATA's big guns per say? Lets catchup on FB for more details.

Thanks all your stars, knowing how the BLR MYS highway works, you really did stay cool..

Reminds me of an instance - Had dropped the Gypsy with Brother in BLR, picked up the Scorpio.. Me and Mom on the way back to Coorg, remember there is a huge curve just before entering Maddur (with Median).. I had passed a Truck (with DRAG tyres)10 miles before that .. as soon as I pass him, his turbo kicks in and starts tailing me.. I entered the curve on the right lane.
I see a coconut vendor calming pushing his bicycle on the shoulder road, Truck makes an outside pass.. and see's him just when his tail end is parallel to me.. Stamps on his break and does a tailwhip, as soon as he does that, I down shift and take off.. matter of seconds.. My entire cabin is filled with white tyre smoke, truck is facing the wrong direction.. Mom is shaken, I pull-up to the shoulder, Wait for the coconut guy to catch up (who has no clue what just happened) buy a tender coconut and simply watch the actions unfold next.

No collision occurred, just that the passengers in the truck started their own, mother father history with the Driver (Mandya locals I presumed)

[schakravarthy]

Originally Posted by Twinn

....Looks like you have started off in a wrong foot with the much awaited buy of yours!

Did you apply for insurance claim?

Well, you can say that again! The car's been at the SVC more than its been with me. :(

Yeah man, I'm claiming insurance.

[jeeva]

Thank god you got away. The car can be repaired.
So this circled rubber bushes, on both the sides, which is threaded can be adjusted to move up and down. If not set properly, the bonnet appears to be shut, but it need not be in real life. You must have come across taxi Indicas and Sumos running around with flapping bonnets..

[saadat1992]

Damn.

The same thing happened to my Friend's Indigo Marina in 2006. Looks like TATAs are notorious for this. Good thing is that he was driving in the service lane of Marina Beach, Chennai and was doing about 50-60kmph on empty roads when suddenly the bonnet opened and cracked his windshield.

[Thad E Ginathom]

After releasing the bonnet lock, the sprung hook device is supposed to be failsafe. A hook that engages in a steel loop: is that so hard to design?

Hmmm... It often happens that I start thinking as I'm writing, and I wonder if the device is actually fail-safe? What happens if the spring breaks or looses tension? What do people think?

[schakravarthy]

An update-

I got a message today morning saying that my car would be ready by 5pm. I reached the Bodyshop at 5 and unsurprisingly, the car wasn't finished yet.
The new bonnet wasn't fixed and quite a few small jobs were pending. I decided to hang around the work area and monitor the progress.

The paintjob is of the usual Bodyshop quality- sloppy. The car is badly in need of a detailing job; SunnyBoi, you reading this?

The car was finally declared to be ready 7.30ish. I paid the bill, obtained the gatepass and started the car- only something felt very wrong.
The car was sputtering & choking; something like a bike that's running on fumes. Also the 'check engine' warning came on each time the throttle was pressed.
The floor manager tried to fiddle around a bit, but clearly this was not his area of expertise. With a comp not available, I left the car there and returned home.

An hour later, I got a call from the fellow saying that the car was now fine and if he could bring it over to my house. I gave him the go-ahead.

From what I could make out, they reset the ECU and drove the car. The problem isn't there now, but neither do I think its solved.

The car now awaits Monday morning. A trip to the service section to fix the 'check engine' and leaking coolant issues.

This hasn't been a happy ownership. Not one bit.
The car isn't bad, but incompetency of the A$$ is killing it.

[prasanna.vps]

I have been having a urge to buy a xenon for sometime. This is not doing it any good. However, I am in chennai, any opinions on Chennai ASS?

Either way, terrible to hear your story, have you directly written to TATA yet?

[schakravarthy]

Tuesday, September 22, 2015 4:22 AM
Mail sent to customercare@tatamotors.com

Originally Posted by __

Subject: Horrible experience with a Xenon XT

Hello,

It is with utmost regret that I am composing this .
I recently purchased a used Xenon XT 4x4 and I must say it hasn't been a smooth sailing so far.
The car has been trouble since the day of purchase and unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the "used car" cliché.

-- The car rattles and vibrates away to glory, which I am told is part and parcel of every Tata car. Sad, but livable.

-- The turbo hose gave way and I was made to wait for weeks before the part was procured. This despite it being a part shared with the much popular sibling, the Tata Safari 2.2L. Again sad, but again livable.

-- The car developed an oil leak and after a few days of repairs, the car now has a coolant leak. More sad, and something to be mildly concerned about here.

All these could have been ignored, since after all, its a Tata car that I have purchased and its quite notorious ownership sagas are pretty 'famous' online, but a couple of episodes really ticked me off.

-- The car is an orphan
Pardon me for the crude language, but that's the horrible truth. The first time I went to the service centre (Urs Kars, Mysore), the dear folk there refused to service the car, saying its a "commercial segment vehicle" and I had to take it to Prerana Motors, Mysore. It took quite a bit of convincing from me to get the car admitted, and I'm certain they are still not entirely convinced that they are supposed to be the people responsible for the service of a Xenon XT.
The spares section deny outright any request for spares placed, the reason being the same- go to Prerana, its a commercial segment vehicle. It again takes huge amount of talking from my part to get things done.

And, how well they do things! The car goes in for oil leak repairs, stays there for a couple of days, comes back with only part of the job done. Reason- Spares not available.
The order is placed for the spares, having collected a sizeable "compulsory" amount as advance with the assurance that the part will be procured within 3days. 3 days later, I call the service centre only to be told that the order was placed on that day!
End result- I had to miss quite an important family function due to me being stuck with a broken car.

Finally the part arrives after a week of wait and I turn in my car for repairs. The hose is replaced and I get back the car at the end of the day. The next day morning, when I'm supposed make a highway trip, I find a puddle of coolant beneath the car! This, when there was absolutely no leakage prior to the repairs.
Thanks Tata.
It's a desperately important meeting I have to attend, so I check the coolant level and having made sure all other fluid levels are OK, I close the bonnet securely, check the tyres and head out.
Around 50-60kms away from my home, on the highway, the bonnet suddenly decides to open, and stay open!
I was midway through an overtake, at around 80-90kmph, and was rendered blind by the open bonnet. The windshield was smashed to smithereens.
It took all my experience behind the wheel to not panic and bring the car safely to the side of the road.

Having kissed the meeting goodbye, I return back to the Urs Kars Bodyshop, Mysore only to be greeted by an even better bunch of jokers.
These fellows too insist that I take my Xenon XT to Prerana motors. They finally agreed to repair the car, "Saar, don't worry. We'll repair the car as you are XX's friend. Even if you bring a Maruti or Hyundai, we'll repair it for you".
They still don't see that the Xenon XT is part of the passenger car portfolio of Tata and is their responsibility to repair, mind you!

They made me wait from morning 11am to evening 5.30pm at the Bodyshop- just to give me an estimate.
They aren't ready to commit to a estimated delivery date, as they are unsure when the parts can be procured. Even when pushed for a October 1st week delivery, they aren't ready to commit. This is highly scary as my sister will be coming down from the US and I can't even begin to express how difficult me being car-less would be!

The new Xenon XT costs around Rs. 14Lakhs on road. I paid __ lakhs for my used car. It's more than many a premium hatchbacks and quite a few better SUVs too could be bought for that money. I bought a Xenon because that was the only car I was interested in.

Does the fact that I bought a used car entail me for such shabby and rude treatment at the hands of the Authorised service centre?
I was prepared for the "legendary" Tata ownership experience, many of my friends and family even chided me for having bought the car, but this ownership experience is something even I wasn't prepared for! I'm seriously deciding whether to keep the car or sell it off.

Go ahead and change my mind, Tata.

No Cheers,

Srinivas

-- I received a mail from Tata Motors at 9.44am seeking details of the vehicle and the SVC.

-- I replied at 9.50am.

-- At 10.53am I received a mail stating that the dealer and the regional office had been intimated about the issue. They also shared the number of the CSM and asked me to contact him if I needed further assistance.


The response from Tata was swift. No complaints about that. But did it result in any action, I don't know. Really.

I had also sought Behram sir's help and the Tata motors representative who called me said that Behram sir had asked him to help me.

I requested that, for starters, he could make the dealer aware that the XT was very much their offering. And, also it would be a big help if he could expedite the parts procurement process- the guys at Urs Kars and Prerana motors didn't commit to a date, refusing even to a generous 10-15 days guesstimate from me. A known SA at Concorde Bangalore, was more optimistic and said he'd "try" and procure within 15 days, but it would efforts from his side.

Well, thanks to Behram sir, the parts landed in three days flat!

Edit:
-- the first day I took the car to the Bodyshop, before the job card was even opened, I was given a 'job satisfaction' declaration to be signed. The SA said that it was a "standard process" and that it would expedite the insurance process. I refused to sign.
-- The job card for the car was closed on 30th September, ironically the day the repairs were actually started. Upon me questioning, I was told it was because of the "year end".

[arundeep]

Tata's are working overtime to launch more and more new models, but what strikes me as odd is why don't they take a step back and ponder a bit about why they are still lagging. Their after sales service sucks, period. The dealership from which i bought my Nano was shut down due to bad service and malpractices (thank god for small mercies), and the one i go to now (its apparently their regional training center too) is none the more competent. They make you regret every moment of your decision to buy a Tata car.

[funkykar]

I never believed this to be a possibility. Till date, I had not heard a single instance like this. All the while, I assumed that the Aerodynamics would always keep the bonnet pushed downwards and can never pop open even with a malfunction. Got my assumption totally wrong!! Only saving grace nothing happened to Srinivas or other road users.

Sad to know you are having a tough time with TASS. I had visited them couple of times in past for Safari (Prerana) and had a pleasant experience. Even experience with Palio while it was TASS, mainly Concorde was good (except for bits with now Vecto).

Really hope, everything gets sorted and you start enjoying the Xenon!

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by funkykar

All the while, I assumed that the Aerodynamics would always keep the bonnet pushed downwards and can never pop open even with a malfunction. Got my assumption totally wrong!! Only saving grace nothing happened to Srinivas or other road users.

Aerodynamics can both help and worsen the situation all depending upon where the air chooses to go. If the gap between bonnet and grill is well sealed with a rubber lining or the like, air will travel above the bonnet and push it down. But if air manages to find a gap below the bonnet, this happens.

Surprised to know that the protective latch failed too, or not sure if this car had one. Recently in a village near chikmagalur I found a WagonR being driven with an unlocked hood. Later I met the owner at a tea shop. When I warned him about the same, he told me that the latch was stuck open and the bonnet wouldnt lock in. However, the bonnet was held in place by the safety mechanism which by this occurrence I feel is as unsafe as having an unlocked bonnet. Told him to attend to the issue immediately.

[funkykar]

On an extremely funny note, may be something like this is need of the hour