[fast lane]

I have a siena 1999.

Two times in Bombay, the car just refuses to start, and gets immediately switched off if the throttle is released and the clutch is engaged. Both times the problem sorted out if the car is switched off and left alone for 30 minutes. Last time it happed was in October 08 - no problems after that at all.

Do not have any idea what is the matter. 3 garages have not been able to understand it. 4th garage is on work right now.

Soumo Chatterjee
Pune
cell - 9970411311

[straightdrive]

Originally Posted by fast lane

I have a siena 1999.

Two times in Bombay, the car just refuses to start, and gets immediately switched off if the throttle is released and the clutch is engaged. Both times the problem sorted out if the car is switched off and left alone for 30 minutes. Last time it happed was in October 08 - no problems after that at all.

Do not have any idea what is the matter. 3 garages have not been able to understand it. 4th garage is on work right now.

Soumo Chatterjee
Pune
cell - 9970411311

Since you say the problem gets sorted out when the car is left alone for some time, it may be vapour lock. This is a situation where the petrol vaporises while flowing to the engine, usually due to overheating, and the flow is interrupted due to loss of pressure. The reason it gets better when the engine is switched off is because it gets time to cool.

I am no expert though so can't be sure. Why don't you try checking the posts under the technical problems section? I remember seeing a post from another member there with a Siena who had a similar problem.

[lordofgondor]

Indica V2 Diesel 2002
1. Dead battery after ~2 years of purchase.
2. Coolant leak as radiator fan not working due to a short.
3. Engine oil leak due to same reason as 2.

Because of 2 & 3, engine overheated big time, as the stupid driver (on hire) never checked temp. gauge and just kept driving the overheated car until it stalled completely. Gave him a lecture, when the car got home, about certain things to keep in mind while driving.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

People who do highway driving should never watch the movie breakdown

And those who have (like me), should make sure that their car's in great condition before embarking on a long highway journey.

Originally Posted by rippergeo

I'd like to say
Best Reliability
M800

That's for sure. M800's definitely a buy it forget breakdown kinda car. Ran mine for almost 1 Lac Km before selling off without a single breakdown.

[DirtyDan]

My worst was in North America. My clutch decided to disintegrate 600k from home with no prior warning. When it gave out it also destroyed the tranny input shaft. The bill, 1 lakh, and 3 days to fix it.
They saved the old parts and showed me what failed and gave me an itemized repair bill. No trouble after that.

[hrag]

I recently relived tsk1979's Indica alternator experience. 94,000 km on the clock, driving around and suddenly lights go dim and after a while, the engine dies. Car starts with a push (everything fine at startup) but dies after a km or so. Battery gone - whether by itself or thanks to alternator giving up is yet to be determined.

Had to inconvenience traffic on Bellary Road by stalling in the right lane. Was lucky this was in the city and close to home. Managed to find a drunk mechanic (who claimed to be an ex-bike racer at Sholavaram / Sriperumbudur), trickle charged the battery and drove & parked the car at home.

An OEM Lucas-TVS alternator that gives up at 68 months / 94,000 km? The regulator unit was replaced at 39 months / 60,000 km.
Or a replacement Amaron that gives up at 29 months / 34000 km?
I'm about to find out.

Edit: still running the OEM clutch.

[novice]

I had a scary experience on my Mondeo six weeks back. I gave the car for a complete service and picked it up at 8 PM. The next morning I left Bangalore at 6am and I was on my way to Chennai. I was nearing the toll gate at Krishnagiri and doing around 80kmph. Suddenly the Engine stalled; luckily the road ahead of me was clear from any traffic. Somehow I managed to stop the car without hitting anything. Tried cranking couple of times, it did start but stalled immediately. I didn't know what to do, just rolled down the windows and I could sense a thick smell of fuel in the air. I got down immediately and to my horror, saw petrol flowing down the road. I asked my wife to crank the engine and I could see fuel pouring out from beneath the fuel tank.

Immediately called up my friend and asked him to come and pick up my wife and kid. Then called up the Metro Ford and got a senior Service Manager’s number. Woke him up from his Sunday morning sleep and after a couple of phone calls he arranged for a tow-truck. They reached the spot by around 1pm and towed it to their work shop. The next morning I received a call from the workshop saying that the fuel line (pipe) got detached from the fuel tank. I still fail to understand how that could possibly happen. I believe it was more of a human error made at some point while servicing.

I just could't imagine what would have happened if my Engine stalled while passing through some heavy traffic or if I was driving at 120+.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by novice

I still fail to understand how that could possibly happen. I believe it was more of a human error made at some point while servicing.

Not connected back properly after the fuel stealing ritual!

[anujmishra]

1968 model Mark 2 Ambassador 1985: Converted to Mark 4 had break failure quite a few times. The worst was in 1985. When I was kid but not traveling in it. Break was failed just before railway level crossing. Level crossing was closed and train was approaching. Surprisingly, it broke one of the pipe of level crossing and got stopped near to next one. No family member was hurt. After it stopped train passed from the back side. It was miraculous save of my five family members + driver in that car. This happened near to Dhanbad currently in Jharkhand.

Same Ambassodor 26th June 1988: I was travelling is the car and we were going as a marriage party (baraati) in some village of Bhagalpur, Bihar. Again at night around 10:30 PM brake was failed due to leakage in master cylinder. Since it was night no was on the road and car was doing 30 - 40 KMPH. My cousing was driving and he hit in a closed paan shop and broke of part of his shop and stopped. It was again a save.

1 Feb 1997: 20 days old Tata Sumo: We we going to Jharkhand from Nagpur, MH. The hose pipe from radiator to engine came off and all coolant leaked completely. Result heated engine at night around 8:30 PM in pure jungle Area where either side of road had board Tiger crossing point. It was somewhere near Simdega, Jharkhand 130 kms before Ranchi. Somehow, we fitted hose pipe and put water into radiator. And stopped in nearby dhaba. Result was burned gaskit. It was really scary in the dead night and one cannot touch engine as it was overheated to fit that hose pipe. We waited for almost 20 - 30 minutes engine to cool.

These are the major breakdowns I mentioned for my family cars. I own a Maruti 800 and had puncture in Chittor Byepass at night 10:00 PM when we were going to Tirupati. Apart from that no break down in my Maruti 800 for last 5 years.

[Superleggera]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

My worst was in North America. My clutch decided to disintegrate 600k from home with no prior warning. When it gave out it also destroyed the tranny input shaft. The bill, 1 lakh, and 3 days to fix it.
They saved the old parts and showed me what failed and gave me an itemized repair bill. No trouble after that.

Which car did you have?.Was it covered under any warrenty? $2500 Bill was too much !

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by Superleggera

Which car did you have?.Was it covered under any warrenty? $2500 Bill was too much !

Ford F350 heavy duty diesel pickup truck, 4x4. Ah! You are right, some of that bill is for having the complete clutch rebuilt. I had them do it since they had it out fooling around with it. But the pilot bearing failed and made a real mess of things. The bill was for a complete new clutch and part of the tranny. Reasonable cost at a dealer in N. America. I was on the road, far from home and at their mercy in any case.

[Hashim]

Breakdown my Esteem had:
1. Central locking disconnecting the ignition and I was not able to start the car. Found a mechanic and got that system removed that day only. It was a nusance.
2. Left headlight on by mistake and all the battery was drained. Called my friendly mechanic with spare battery.
3. Wiper failed in middle of heavy rain, so I had to stop for a while. Not quite a breakdown but still.

[hrag]

Originally Posted by hrag

An OEM Lucas-TVS alternator that gives up at 68 months / 94,000 km? The regulator unit was replaced at 39 months / 60,000 km.
Or a replacement Amaron that gives up at 29 months / 34000 km?
I'm about to find out.

Edit: still running the OEM clutch.

Turned out to be a blown rectifier - replaced and the car is back as good as ever. Thanks Luke

[garry.brant]

I wont say break downs , but too many badlucks, search for a thread "I loved and hated my car", You will find about my experiences

[DieselFan]

I have owned many cars in last 10 years and never had a breakdown except for about 8-10 punctures. Periodic Maintenance by a reliable service shop is the key to avoid breakdowns.

[rrs1951]

I had a few breakdowns on my Premier Padmini. Generally they used to be because of radiator hoses getting ruptured. But I used to keep a spare set of hoses and hose clips with me, so there never was any serious problem. One unusual breakdown, however, is worth mentioning.

I was driving with a friend of mine, who was a new driver. He asked me how quickly I could brake in an emergency. I promptly slammed on the brakes. Instead of the car coming to a dead halt, the rear left brake liner came off and broke into three pieces! Lucky that I was going up a slight slope and there was no vehicle in front of me.

With my petrol Indica, there was an incident when the car suddenly stopped on the road. The reason was a clogged fuel pump. There was another case with the same car when the wall of the front left tyre tore and a part of the tube popped out, without puncturing! (See photograph).