Owner asks for Mercedes after parked Nano catches fire. EDIT : One more on page 5!

pb10gagan · 22nd October 2009, 08:47

seems like the quality control deptt. is still non-existant at TATA, even after being the owner of such brands like JLR.
i had seen the picture of one of these in today's times of india. seems really horrifying

shatrughna · 22nd October 2009, 08:56

News was all over on the news channels last night. The damage control measures are being taken by Tata Motors. Its not only about the quality of the car or at Tatas - its also about the various outsourced parts. it appears that there was some short circuit in the switch panel- which meleted plastic/ abs assembly board, affected fire retardant wires - causing smoke. "Nothing major" as quoted by Tata officials. They have been able to identify the root cause and rectified the problem in the first car reported- within two hours . They are also planning to pre-emptively check all the cars delivered/ dispatched for delivery at the dealers place.

I would like /wish to write it off a minor glitch and important lesson and hopefully- all is well from here onwards. However, the famous maxim here at TBHP holds good- first batch/ initial batches of customers are always at the receiving end - on road trials reports- helps in improving subsequent batches of the product. They should put a disclaimer in the intial lot of their cars - Beware - human trials have commenced with intial reports satisfactory only minor glitches reported. First lots are subject to fire, failures etc. Buy at own risk!

ph03n!x · 22nd October 2009, 08:59

Hmmm... Twice within 24 hours

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ches-fire.html

ACM · 22nd October 2009, 09:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Hmmm... Twice within 24 hours

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ches-fire.html

Just shows how resonable and opportunist car buyers in India can be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilead

Going by what has been written, here is my theory. The guy burnt his car himself in order to get something from Tata. The most damning evidence in favor of this is the lack of a police complaint.

The car indicator stalk on stearing buring seems to be genuine from all reports but all the rest seems to be an opportunistic move to get some money in the process.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp2u

Mercedes for an Nano, man that must be the deal of century if it happens.

Opportunistic is the word that comes to mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by suren181

Gentlemen, before we flame Tata, don't you think that we need to first get to know the cause of the fire itself.

Emanating from near the Battery could also mean ICE added onto the car ain't it? Haven't we heard of poor installations causing this before?

yep, we need to wait and see further.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gansan

Let the facts of the case be out. Before pouring venom on TATA, let us remember the number of Hyundai / Daewoo cars that caught fire on the move in the early years. Not to speak of the cases of suffocation inside the car during rains, when the A/c was running.

I have myself seen a Ford Icon getting completely gutted on the road close to where I stay just last year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by emkay456

Nano having its battery below the driver seat is quite a dangerous thing.

I have started doubting whether newer models of most manufacturers are being wired with cheap quality of cables to reduce costs. Two days back when I had taken my Swift for inspection of A/c found that a pair of cables , having meshed black insulation, have been damaged with the insulation having melted and become sticky. I am getting finicky of the wiring now.

Wire quality would not be compromised, it can be a design flaw, batteries below a seat are not really dangerous, or rather are less dangerous than fuel tanks below the seat which all cars have.

Lets not jump to conclusions.

Actually mods lets merge the two threads on this topic together.

idea1979 · 22nd October 2009, 10:54

After this :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ches-fire.html

Seems like trend has started !

Source: 3 Nanos catch fire, Tata to do pre-delivery audit - India Business - Business - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Nano, the world's cheapest car, appears to have developed a technical snag. Three cases have been reported of the car developing short circuit near the combination switch in the car's steering column, igniting small fires. The company has called two of them back for repairs.

The company has now decided to carry out pre-delivery audit of the car's electrical circuits and also check out cars that are already with customers. It is not, however, calling these check-ups a "recall". Recalls are done by companies when they detect a snag in a batch of vehicles that could lead to a compromise in safety norms.

"We do not believe that this is generic and we are not considering any recall. However, a pre-emptive check may be carried out on cars that are to be handed over or those that are with customers, purely as a precautionary measure," a spokesman for Tata Motors told TOI from Mumbai.

The problems, that are similar in nature, have been noticed in three cars — one each in Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Delhi. The cars have seen smoke emanate from near the steering column area, even when parked with ignition switched off, following which some of the area around it has melted due to heat.

Giving details of the problem, the Tata Motors spokesman said, "There was a minor emanation of smoke, following which there was localised meltdown of some of the wires in the combination switch area probably because of a short circuit."

The spokesman said while the car damaged in Ahmedabad had already been repaired, the vehicle in Lucknow was being repaired now. "The Delhi customer is yet to give his car to us," he said.

Industry analysts hoped that the glitch, if generic, is sorted out as soon as possible. Nano, they pointed out, is planned for overseas markets too. Pawan Kumar, the customer in Delhi, said his Nano caught fire while it was parked and blamed it on a "manufacturing fault". "I have lodged a complaint with the police as I feel a manufacturing defect is responsible for this mishap," Kumar, for whom this is a first four-wheeled vehicle, said.

Raza Rizvi, the customer in Lucknow whose car also had a similar problem, also said that the problem happened after the vehicle had covered about 1000 kms and was due for a service. "The car belongs to my niece and was due for a service. But before we could give it for service, we noticed smoke and flames near the steering column, following which we called the company dealer. They rectified the problem free of cost," he said.

Dilip Desai, a technical expert on automobiles, said that there are live wires in vehicles even when they are parked and the ignition is switched off. "There are certain systems that are always live. If there is a leak in any of these systems, then there is a chance of a short circuit that can lead to such problems," he said.

Rudra Sen · 22nd October 2009, 11:02

Mods note: Thread merged. We really don't need separate thread for the same topic. Please continue with your discussions in this thread. Thanks.

MutantX · 22nd October 2009, 21:23

Well, if this news is true, TATA should be forced to recall all nanos that have been delivered. They should be checked once again and a guarantee should be given to each and every customer.

1.5 Lakhs + is not easy money. How many people spend their hard earned money on buying the nano coffins! We Indian customers have been treated like scape goats! Try and test nano on Indian gunnie pigs before selling it in Europe or Americana!#$#@$

arnabchak · 27th October 2009, 11:38

Seems to be the deal of the century if it happens.

The owner claims actually seems out of place.
A linea or a Safari and then suddenly the demand of the Merc.

Something really fishy.

sdp1975 · 12th November 2009, 19:54

I was at the concorde motors ( dairy circle ) showroom a couple of days ago.

Was talking to a nano owner, who got a call from the showroom for the steering column replacement.

Apparently something in it that was causing the fire , and owners are getting calls for replacement. Positive move by tata motors.

The owner was also quite satisfied with his vehicle.

Daewood · 7th January 2010, 12:56

Imagine what would have happened if a Fiat or Skoda car had burned.
There would have been 500 posts by now blaming the Italian company for commpromising on quality.
But its Tata and our Indian Pride wouldn't let us blame the company

Atul-C · 7th January 2010, 15:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daewood

Imagine what would have happened if a Fiat or Skoda car had burned.
There would have been 500 posts by now blaming the Italian company for commpromising on quality.
But its Tata and our Indian Pride wouldn't let us blame the company

That's not true. Tata gets a lot of bashing on this forum too for compromising on quality on its vehicles.

vivekgk · 14th January 2010, 17:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daewood

Imagine what would have happened if a Fiat or Skoda car had burned.
There would have been 500 posts by now blaming the Italian company for commpromising on quality.
But its Tata and our Indian Pride wouldn't let us blame the company

Not True. Tata gets bashed all the time. It's just the nature of the problem and Tata's prompt response that's keeping the bashing at bay. 2 hours from incident to locating the cause and finding a solution is extremely good. And Tata also seems to be taking steps to rectify it thru their dealers.

IMO, the owner who refused to let Tata ASC examine his car is a real jackass. It was highly irresponsible of him to hold up the investigation of such a serious fault. Perhaps the fault could have been diagnosed and the other incidents likely prevented if he'd not been such a moron. It seems to me that the guy was regretting his decision to buy the Nano and the fire is a blessing to him, so that he can get a refund.

refaircargo · 15th January 2010, 13:29

I have not yet had the occassion to look into the dicky (the actual engine room) of the Nano ; but feel it could be the wrong location of the battery, where the positive and negative terminals have got shorted due to contact with the body in the presence of some rubber/plastic, which got inflamed and caught fire in due course due to continuous feed of the shorting. Also the fuse needs to be checked, whether it has been provided by Tatas

at all or was shorted by some 'genius'

Quote:

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

Source : Parked Nano catches fire off SG highway - dnaindia.com

A newly purchased Nano car that was parked in a housing society in Ahmedabad reportedly caught fire on Sunday morning. No one was hurt in the incident. The car, whose registration number is GJ-1KA-4648, was parked at Vaibhav Gokul bungalows behind Rajpath Club on SG Highway. Local sources said that some technical fault in the car battery had triggered the fire.

A watchman at the bungalow told DNA that smoke was seen coming out of the car in the morning. "One of the neighbours phoned some Tata Motors officials about the fire," the watchman said. "Company personnel arrived soon after and put out the fire. The car was then immediately moved from the place by the owner." Despite much effort by journalists, the identity of the car's owner could not be established.

When the mediapersons requested that they be allowed inside the bungalow to talk to the car owner, their request was denied. The owner had apparently left instructions that no media-person should be allowed to enter the bungalow premises. Meanwhile, a Tata Motors official based in Ahmedabad alleged that the Nano owner was now 'blackmailing' the company.

"When his Nano caught fire, he went to Cargo Motors, a Tata Motors dealer in Ahmedabad, and demanded Rs5 lakh in compensation," the official said. "When the dealer refused, he demanded a Fiat Linea or a Tata Safari as replacement for the Nano. Now he is asking for a Mercedes. " Ravi Suri of Cargo Motors confirmed this and said that the customer was 'blackmailing' the company and demanding a Mercedes as replacement for the Nano."We need to find out the technical reasons why the car caught fire," Suri said

Debashish Ray, head, corporate communications, Tata Motors Limited,Mumbai said, "Only after we have examined the car, shall we be able to know what the problem was and what went wrong. If we find a manufacturing defect, we will replace the car. But we haven't checked the car yet, so we can't say anything."
Incidentally, no police complaint has been lodged in this connection by either side.

Mods: If required, Kindly move it to the relevant section please !

ikoneer · 22nd March 2010, 11:45

My God, it's a complete burnout and looks very scary. After so many months since Nano released, what explanation are they going to come out with.

Seems the Nano testing is being done by the Nano owners and not done by TATA.

Spitfire · 22nd March 2010, 12:05

Oh man... that can be so disheartening to see your brand new car go up in flames even before reaching home.

My heart goes out to Mr Sawant.

22nd October 2009, 08:47	#61
pb10gagan BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Construction Capital Posts: 370 Thanked: 13 Times	seems like the quality control deptt. is still non-existant at TATA, even after being the owner of such brands like JLR. i had seen the picture of one of these in today's times of india. seems really horrifying
	() Thanks

22nd October 2009, 08:56	#62
shatrughna BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 894 Thanked: 68 Times	News was all over on the news channels last night. The damage control measures are being taken by Tata Motors. Its not only about the quality of the car or at Tatas - its also about the various outsourced parts. it appears that there was some short circuit in the switch panel- which meleted plastic/ abs assembly board, affected fire retardant wires - causing smoke. "Nothing major" as quoted by Tata officials. They have been able to identify the root cause and rectified the problem in the first car reported- within two hours . They are also planning to pre-emptively check all the cars delivered/ dispatched for delivery at the dealers place. I would like /wish to write it off a minor glitch and important lesson and hopefully- all is well from here onwards. However, the famous maxim here at TBHP holds good- first batch/ initial batches of customers are always at the receiving end - on road trials reports- helps in improving subsequent batches of the product. They should put a disclaimer in the intial lot of their cars - Beware - human trials have commenced with intial reports satisfactory only minor glitches reported. First lots are subject to fire, failures etc. Buy at own risk!
	() Thanks

22nd October 2009, 08:59	#63
ph03n!x Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 2,566 Thanked: 5,960 Times	Hmmm... Twice within 24 hours http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ches-fire.html
	() Thanks

22nd October 2009, 10:54	#65
idea1979 BANNED Join Date: May 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 234 Thanked: 0 Times	Owner asks for Mercedes after parked Nano catches fire! After this : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ches-fire.html Seems like trend has started ! Source: 3 Nanos catch fire, Tata to do pre-delivery audit - India Business - Business - The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Nano, the world's cheapest car, appears to have developed a technical snag. Three cases have been reported of the car developing short circuit near the combination switch in the car's steering column, igniting small fires. The company has called two of them back for repairs. The company has now decided to carry out pre-delivery audit of the car's electrical circuits and also check out cars that are already with customers. It is not, however, calling these check-ups a "recall". Recalls are done by companies when they detect a snag in a batch of vehicles that could lead to a compromise in safety norms. "We do not believe that this is generic and we are not considering any recall. However, a pre-emptive check may be carried out on cars that are to be handed over or those that are with customers, purely as a precautionary measure," a spokesman for Tata Motors told TOI from Mumbai. The problems, that are similar in nature, have been noticed in three cars — one each in Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Delhi. The cars have seen smoke emanate from near the steering column area, even when parked with ignition switched off, following which some of the area around it has melted due to heat. Giving details of the problem, the Tata Motors spokesman said, "There was a minor emanation of smoke, following which there was localised meltdown of some of the wires in the combination switch area probably because of a short circuit." The spokesman said while the car damaged in Ahmedabad had already been repaired, the vehicle in Lucknow was being repaired now. "The Delhi customer is yet to give his car to us," he said. Industry analysts hoped that the glitch, if generic, is sorted out as soon as possible. Nano, they pointed out, is planned for overseas markets too. Pawan Kumar, the customer in Delhi, said his Nano caught fire while it was parked and blamed it on a "manufacturing fault". "I have lodged a complaint with the police as I feel a manufacturing defect is responsible for this mishap," Kumar, for whom this is a first four-wheeled vehicle, said. Raza Rizvi, the customer in Lucknow whose car also had a similar problem, also said that the problem happened after the vehicle had covered about 1000 kms and was due for a service. "The car belongs to my niece and was due for a service. But before we could give it for service, we noticed smoke and flames near the steering column, following which we called the company dealer. They rectified the problem free of cost," he said. Dilip Desai, a technical expert on automobiles, said that there are live wires in vehicles even when they are parked and the ignition is switched off. "There are certain systems that are always live. If there is a leak in any of these systems, then there is a chance of a short circuit that can lead to such problems," he said.
	() Thanks

22nd October 2009, 11:02	#66
Rudra Sen Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,590 Thanked: 6,532 Times View My Garage	Mods note: Thread merged. We really don't need separate thread for the same topic. Please continue with your discussions in this thread. Thanks.
	() Thanks

22nd October 2009, 21:23	#67
MutantX BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Madras Posts: 868 Thanked: 93 Times View My Garage	Well, if this news is true, TATA should be forced to recall all nanos that have been delivered. They should be checked once again and a guarantee should be given to each and every customer. 1.5 Lakhs + is not easy money. How many people spend their hard earned money on buying the nano coffins! We Indian customers have been treated like scape goats! Try and test nano on Indian gunnie pigs before selling it in Europe or Americana!#$#@$
	() Thanks

27th October 2009, 11:38	#68
arnabchak Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: MH-04 Posts: 1,346 Thanked: 1,162 Times	Seems to be the deal of the century if it happens. The owner claims actually seems out of place. A linea or a Safari and then suddenly the demand of the Merc. Something really fishy.
	() Thanks

12th November 2009, 19:54	#69
sdp1975 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,700 Thanked: 1,273 Times View My Garage	I was at the concorde motors ( dairy circle ) showroom a couple of days ago. Was talking to a nano owner, who got a call from the showroom for the steering column replacement. Apparently something in it that was causing the fire , and owners are getting calls for replacement. Positive move by tata motors. The owner was also quite satisfied with his vehicle.
	() Thanks

7th January 2010, 12:56	#70
Daewood BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 940 Thanked: 234 Times	Imagine what would have happened if a Fiat or Skoda car had burned. There would have been 500 posts by now blaming the Italian company for commpromising on quality. But its Tata and our Indian Pride wouldn't let us blame the company
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 11:45	#74
ikoneer BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: chennai Posts: 486 Thanked: 14 Times	My God, it's a complete burnout and looks very scary. After so many months since Nano released, what explanation are they going to come out with. Seems the Nano testing is being done by the Nano owners and not done by TATA.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 12:05	#75
Spitfire BANNED Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Panaji - Goa/Bangalore - Karnataka Posts: 3,312 Thanked: 774 Times	Oh man... that can be so disheartening to see your brand new car go up in flames even before reaching home. My heart goes out to Mr Sawant.
	() Thanks